Rio
We were greeted by a rainy and dark Rio last night - not all that welcoming but we have been won over in the daylight.
Our hostel is nice which is a good start (we had to take a gamble and book something over hostel international website or risk having nowhere to stay). We are staying in Ipenema which is one of the wealthier areas of Rio and spent the morning on a city tour. The tour in an open jeep was just Bri, our guide and me. We went to see Christ the Redeemer although it was a bit clouded in it is still very impressive. apparently the arm span of the statue is 20 meters...
We also went for a walk in the national park Tijuca to see a few small waterfalls. The luch tropical rainforest was such a pleasant walk and the clean air in the hills a change from the pollution in Rio city. The weather held out all day despite threatening clouds althought the humidity is a little stifling.
For dinner we tried Braxilian fare which was a nice change from the Argentinan - a lot more variety of flavours. Blackbean is a particular staple here in various forms with rice and different meats.
Tomorrow we sill go to Sugarloaf mountain ´´Pao de Acucar´´ to see the views.
