When my baby, when my baby smiles at me I go to Rio! (Peter Allen - Aussie songwriter! - blame him not me!)

Well, Rio has been awesome thus far! We arrived on Monday and managed to find our way to Ipanema minus my backpack which BA had convieniently misplaced! (I really was starting to think maybe someone was trying to send me a sign about travelling either that or I have done something bad to a backpack in a previous life!!) Ipanema is the more upmarket side of Rio and the beach next to Copacabana beach.

Starting to settle in and get more of a feel for Rio itself now. Tuesday we went to the beach and Mike had a go at surfing the pitching shorebreak which is hard and fast on his first go of a short board. An experience shall we say! We went up Sugarloaf mountain on Wednesday and the views of Rio were spectacular! Kind of Byron Bay crossed with Sydney but more mountainous and more populated. Yesterday, we went to St Teresa which is the area behind Rio centre and quite bohemian in atmosphere. We caught the street car (open tram that looked about 50 years old) with people hanging off the sides and had lunch in a funky little restauarnt with bright colours, paint peeling off the ceiling and a live 6 peice jazz band!
The weather is not so good today so we have spent time planning the next leg of the journey. Tonight we hope to go to a Samba club and tomorrow we are trying to organise a guided tour of a favela (one of the many shanty towns) that also contributes money to that particular community.
We are probably heading out of Rio Monday and onto Saquarema and the Isle de Grande for more beach and trekking. The off to the Iguacu falls and Argentina.

The food here has been excellent! I actaully don´t think that much of Copacabana to be honest! The beach, is the beach and the area back from it is hustle and bustle but not so nice. Ipanema, where we are staying is much nicer with great bars and restaurants. The beach is just as nice with a younger crowd and the scenery surrounding is spectacular! Definately more safe than some of the other areas surrounding.

My bag arrived yesterday and all intact thank goodness! We recieved some compensation from the airline on the day we arrived and can claim things on our insurance although I think that may be more hassle than it is worth!
Anyway I will leave Mike to the next installment down the track - photos may be a while as I need to get them to disk before I can eduit the site! Sorry!
Hope all is well with everyone! Let us know your news!