Brazil

It took a couple of years after returning as a resident of Canada before the travel bug bit again, but long behold, I find myself blogging another incredible experience...As my Nanny said, I'm very blessed to do so. After getting my ducks in a row with a full time job at a fantastic school, I booked a flight to my next-to-see continent, South America. Beginning with Brazil, Meera, Shilpa and I landed in Rio de Janeiro and took up Copacabana as our new temporary home. Spoiled with 30 degree weather, we didn't hesitate greeting the sun with our sun dresses and flip flops. First stop? Buying some Haivaianas flip flops, just to fit in with literally every single person in that country. Our week in Rio was filled with some exciting, cultural , and unexpected moments and heaps of inside jokes (that we're ready to share via Facebook comments...right Meer ;) My first impressions of Rio, were that we felt less like tourists, and more like wallflowers walking around the streets, familiarizing ourselves with the beaches, markets, restaurants etc. Rio isn't as 'touristy' as I would have imagined, and we didn't stand out as foreigners, as there is no real Brazilian look. I suppose one difference was, our bikini bottoms covered our bums, as opposed to not lol. 80% Catholic faith, Christ the Redeemer Statue was a predominant icon of the country, and that was our first stop on day 1. He was a gift from the French, and sent over in pieces.  Placed atop Corocovado mountain, he's quite the site to see, and the view of the city from up there, in which he is meant to bless, is stunning. From Corovovado, you get a clear view of Sugar Loaf mountain, the other mountain that is predominantly shown in movies like Rio and Fast Five. We took a cable car up and walked around the wooded area, again seeing a great view of the city, as well as the port that the Portuguese first arrived. They called it Rio (River) of Janeiro (January), the month they discovered it. Brazilian beef ... Hells ya. At lunch we had a buffet, and my vegetarian friends (ironically) encouraged me to eat 2 freshly BBQd fillet mignon steaks. Amazing!! I got a good kick out of them poking at it with a knife to 'see' how it would taste ;)

We lucked out on a personal tour to a favela in a military jeep. Cruising through rio with Antonio, our guide, we felt safe and sound and learned a lot about the 1000s of people who live in the favelas (shanty towns) up the mountains. Their community is organized  chaos, and everyone seems quite happy. We met a pharmacist, police officer, barber and stopped for some acai frozen yougurt (a favourite there). Feeling fortunate to live in much better conditions, we left some money along the way at stores and with artisans. Apparently the crime rate is quite low there, only the drugs remain an issue. After the favela, we did a bit of site seeing, walking around a forest even higher up the mountain and had a nice look at waterfalls and views of the city. We completed our days sometimes with caprisca; a mix of sugarcane alcohol and lemons. It was a strong mix, but made for a lot of giggles during Kings :) We even made some cocktails ourselves during our Brazilian cooking class with Simone. We made some yummy fish and veggies, appetizers and sauces. After our culinary experience we hit the bar district, called Lapa. At first we were a bit apprehensive about going out, as all of the warnings in the travel books suggested staying in groups and taking a taxi directly to the bar. We felt out the area, and saw lots of people drinking (booze) and eating street meat from the loads of stalls approaching the area. We didnt stay long to linger, but headed to the bar that had been recommended ... Rio Scenarium. This bar was classy mixed with unique. It was $15 cover and each level had a different vibe ... Different Brazilian bands playing and cool decorations on the walls, like guitars, chairs, motorcycles etc. We enjoyed a bottle of wine and watched some local talent. Although Rio offered some great culture, we ventured off to bask in some natural wonders too, at Iguassu Falls, bordering Argentina and Bolivia. Iguassu has roughly 300 falls, and is an incredible site, especially from the bottom...which is how we first experienced it. We went on a motorized boat trip to the base of one of the falls. Wish we would have known how wet we'd get, because it was a soaker at the base of the falls...and so much fun! Good thing the sun was on our side, because we dried quickly before moving on to our hike along the top of the falls. Words can't really describe the magnitude of the falling water, and it kept going for a mile.  The rainbow topped it all off. After a visit to the bird sanctuary, and holding a toucan, we flew back to Rio and had one more day to be daring.  When in Rio, jump off mountains as they do.  A morning of hang gliding, overlooking the beach was a perfect way to say bye bye Brazil.  One final goodbye to Cladia (our sweet momma bear driver) and back on the planes we go. A fab trip with some fab sisters aka ciblechauds ;)