Yesterday, we explored the beachfront some more and walked in the other direction towards Copacabana beach. It was amazing walking along all the white sand beaches, with the large waves crashing down - such a total contrast to the cold and grey weather back home. We went for a quick dip in the sea (independently, taking it in turn to guard our belongings!) but the waves were so big Bianca kept being bowled over! We carried on walking down to Copacabana beach and saw the market stalls on the front selling an array of exotic fish, fruits and producing sugar cane juice to drink.
We stopped to try a Caipirinhas - a Brazilian cocktail similar to a Mojito, just made with Cashasa instead of Rum. Bi has taken quite a liking to them, so after our second cocktail we walked home sloooowly (well, Bi did).The afternoon could not have been more of a comparison.
We decided to go and visit one of the favelas that Rio is famous for. We joined a local tour which took us into the heart of one of Rio's 700 favelas, called Rocinha, with a population of 300,000 people. We took a particularly mad motorbike ride a couple of miles to to the top of the favela (no helmet!), whizzing through the streets, dodging buses and flying around blind bends. We're glad we took out that extra travel insurance! The favela was unbelievable, a real sight to behold. The level of poverty and corruption was quite staggering, and our guide recounted the stories behind the favela. 
This one we were visiting was responsible for handling over US$2 million a month of drugs. It was run by a 22 year old so-called 'drug king', who had 7 'Golden Boys' aged between 14-17 working for him. They were given this title because they all kept a gold plated pistol, to mark their superiority out in the favela. In a strange way, they kept peace in the favela and were the equivalent of police (who apparently never come near the place). Bizarrely, the experience never felt unsafe. We were clearly very welco
me and the street children were absolutely over-awed to have us 'gringos' take their photos. We made our way down through the filthy narrow streets and just took the whole thing in. Along the way we stopped in an art gallery and viewed some of the beautiful paintings some of the locals had created. We also stopped into several 'homes' and stores, as well as a school that had been set up by a charity to assist education in the favela. It
was amazing how these 'houses' were stacked on top of each other, sometimes 3 or 4 on top of each other. With limited space, the only way to build is up! They all also had free electricity and telephones, having hacked into the main lines and routed the power down into the favela. It was a different world, with rubbish and sewage tumbling down through the streets. Without trying to sound trite, we really did begin to value the things we have at home.... it was an experience we won't forget.
This one we were visiting was responsible for handling over US$2 million a month of drugs. It was run by a 22 year old so-called 'drug king', who had 7 'Golden Boys' aged between 14-17 working for him. They were given this title because they all kept a gold plated pistol, to mark their superiority out in the favela. In a strange way, they kept peace in the favela and were the equivalent of police (who apparently never come near the place). Bizarrely, the experience never felt unsafe. We were clearly very welco
me and the street children were absolutely over-awed to have us 'gringos' take their photos. We made our way down through the filthy narrow streets and just took the whole thing in. Along the way we stopped in an art gallery and viewed some of the beautiful paintings some of the locals had created. We also stopped into several 'homes' and stores, as well as a school that had been set up by a charity to assist education in the favela. It
was amazing how these 'houses' were stacked on top of each other, sometimes 3 or 4 on top of each other. With limited space, the only way to build is up! They all also had free electricity and telephones, having hacked into the main lines and routed the power down into the favela. It was a different world, with rubbish and sewage tumbling down through the streets. Without trying to sound trite, we really did begin to value the things we have at home.... it was an experience we won't forget. 
Today, we have visited two major landmarks, Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf mountain. We took the bus this morning through the streets of Rio to the small train that wound it's way up through the jungly vegetation to one of Rio's highest points, where the famous Christ the Redeemer statue is perched on top as guardian, overlooking the city. The views from the sum
mit were incredible and we spent a long time taking pictures of both the statue and the views, and simply stood their taking it all in. We could see for miles and from the height we were at, could make out the whole city, nestled in between the surrounding hills, mountains and coastline.After taking the train back down and grabbing a bite to eat we took a bus over towards Sugar Loaf Mountain at the other end of the city. Unfortunately, and with our limited understanding of Spanish, the bus started to go away from our destination and so we had to jump off and make our way by foot, which was extremely nerve-wracking as Rio is a notoriously dangerous city. With no taxis to be seen we moved quickly in the direction of Sugar Loaf Mountain and finally entered an upmarket area and began to relax. 
We finally made it and took the cable car up to the beautiful Sugar Loaf Mountain, which is a large 'cake' shaped mountain that rises spectacularly from the sea. Like this morning, the views were simply superb and offered a different perspective on the city. We could see the bay stretching away in both directions and off towards the mountains in front -we could also make out the Christ the Redeemer statue in the distance. After a while, some clouds rolled in and it became very cold, despite the blasting sun, so we made our way back down and took a taxi home, eating dinner locally near our hostel in Ipanema. Ash has burnt feet this evening... ouch, but it won't stop him for tomorrow!
We finally made it and took the cable car up to the beautiful Sugar Loaf Mountain, which is a large 'cake' shaped mountain that rises spectacularly from the sea. Like this morning, the views were simply superb and offered a different perspective on the city. We could see the bay stretching away in both directions and off towards the mountains in front -we could also make out the Christ the Redeemer statue in the distance. After a while, some clouds rolled in and it became very cold, despite the blasting sun, so we made our way back down and took a taxi home, eating dinner locally near our hostel in Ipanema. Ash has burnt feet this evening... ouch, but it won't stop him for tomorrow!
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