Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

After a flight change and 12 extra hours at the airport we finally made it to South America! We were both pleasantly surprised by Rio de Janeiro despite the warnings from friends about its high crime rate. We found Rio to be a vibrant, fun, and relatively safe city (at least in the areas we visited).

Our time in Rio was largely spent lounging on Copacabana beach and Impanema beach absorbing the relaxed culture of the Brazilians. One day we took the gondolla up Sugar Loaf mountain to see the beautiful views of the city. Another day we partook in a Carnival blocos party, following a large float blasting samba music through the city streets as we danced with 200,000 other revellers. This bloco party was considered small compared to some which host up to 1.5 million partiers... insane! Despite making our way to see the statue of Christ the Redeemer overlooking the city, poor weather put a stop to this adventure. We will be happy to come back and see it another time.Read more