Weddings in Florianopolis & Chopper Rides in Rio de Janeiro – Brazil

Tough day at the office – Matty & I up Sugar Loaf in Rio

All the boys – Martin’s wedding

With a friends wedding and Carnival just around the corner it was high time to cover some serious distance and take in the sunshine of Southern Brazil. After two full days of travel, Florianopolis started with a hiss and a roar. Arriving at 1am to find Matty Pestell chomping at the bit to hit a local beach party. After a few drinks and very little coercion I joined him for my first experience of the Brazilian nightlife as we saw the sun come up over the ocean at a dance party on the sand that was still pumping when we pulled up stumps at 7am. This would be the first of many sunrises seen in Brazil.

After some early rain we couldn’t have asked for a better afternoon for an outdoor wedding. Some flight delays from NZ meant Rene Smith took the fashionably late award, strolling into the apartment 30 mins after our ‘scheduled’ departure for the ceremony. Thankfully the this was to be the most relaxed wedding on record, with family and a few friends overlooking the water, as more than a few local passers-by got their camera’s out for a slice of the action. A couple of I do’s later and we congregated to

Cushla dressed in her finest for the wedding

a nearby house where the sweltering temperatures meant swimming and some back yard soccer was the order of the afternoon.

It was here we were introduced to our first Brazilian BBQ, a fantastic tradition that involves an absurd amount of marinated meat being slow roasted over coals. The celebrations went long into the night, pausing briefly for the bouquet toss where Cush was reluctantly forced into claiming the honors, launching everyone into full scale planning mode for our big day. Around 4am the group decided the Nelson Speedway was the only sensible option for the ceremony with the Stoke Rugby Club the likely venue for a classy reception. Weddings are always a great day out and we’ve had to miss a few important ones to make this trip, so it meant a lot to get to see one of my oldest friends tie the knot and catch up with a few of the old Nayland College boys.

With Rene and Matty in toe it then came time to attack the

Cush & I at Lapa Stairs – Rio de Janeiro

jewel in the Brazilian crown, Rio de Janeiro. From the very first minute it is absolutely pumping with energy, a bit grimey and a bit rough, but ram packed full of soul. Arriving on a Friday, we were immediately thrown into the thick of it attending the Lapa Street Party. This basically involves tens of thousands of revelers partying as street vendors wander around selling various potent drinks and shots of tequilla. There’s not really any bands, there’s not really any reason, it’s just a party that goes off because everyone’s having a blast. For me this sums up Rio perfectly.

By day we did our best to take in the  wealth of attractions, visiting the much famed Copa Cabana beach and the much nicer Impanema beach which sits next to it. In one of those moments that leaves you unsure whether to laugh or cry, we fought through huge crowds to see the infamous Christ the Redeemer, only to have the entire statue shrouded in fog. You couldn’t

Cush finally gets a glimpse of Christ the Redeemer

even see the base of the statue when standing right next to it and we were forced to wait in the rain for 2 hours before the fog cleared for 10 minutes, just long enough to take the obligatory photo. We left felling pretty disappointed at missing out on a real highlight, a feeling that wouldn’t stick around for long.

The following day our exploration instincts were rewarded when we stumbled across a navy museum where we were treated to a self tour of a formerly functioning submarine. After doing our best to spy imaginary bogies through the telescope and launch imaginary missiles, we headed to Sugar Loaf Mountain for sunset. The cable car accessed mountain provides panoramic views of the entire city and was to be the scene of a fantastic surprise. There’s a lot to love about Matty P, but without doubt his affection for helicopters now sits at the top of the list as he shouted us a 15 minute sunset chopper ride around the city!! The beaches, mountains and skyline combine to create an amazing spectacle and seeing it from the air was an

View of Copacabana Beach from the chopper

absolute treat. Making Up for the previous days disappointment we twice circled around Christ the Redeemer with pristine views of the statue.

Poverty and wealth collide – the view from the Rio slum

Rio is also well known for it’s nightlife and as well as the Lapa Street Party we took advantage of our incredibly social hostel to meet some new friends and enjoy wandering through Lapa’s bars. On one evening the ridiculously cheap price of rum lead to my downfall and resulting in me making quite a scene in our 8 bed dorm room. After far to many drinks and sporting nothing but a pair of superman undies, I twice fell off the top bunk before crashing around the room en route to the bathroom to regurgitate the nights work. Cush, being the darling she is had been kind enough to book an early morning Favella (slum) tour the next day, so despite being in danger of being blown over by a stiff breeze we headed off to inspect Rio’s largest slum.

In a bizzare twist, the slum; located in Rio’s hillside, provided some of the most spectacular views of the city we would see

Some interesting wiring in the Favella – Rio

anywhere. Despite sighting some incredibly unsafe wiring and plumbing techniques, the slum contained a lot more wealth and safety than we’d been expecting. When we later mentioned our tour to some locals they scoffed at the concept of walking out of a Favella alive let alone cruising around one with an SLR camera around your neck, indicating this was very much a tourist slum. It was an amazing week and left us very much in love with the city of Rio. Between it’s bustling streets, it’s random alley parties, it’s amazing beaches and world renowned tourist sights, this is a place you’d struggle not to enjoy.

Nights Stayed: Florianopolis – 6, Rio – 5

We got here – Via one hell of a mission. 24 hour bus from Cusco to Rio Branco, then a flight to Florianopolis via Brasilia. Flights were with Tam who incidentally appear to have a supermodel only hiring policy when it comes to air hostesses

Matty, Rene & I On our way to Christ the Redeemer

It’ll cost you – Plenty, this is the most expensive Latin American country we’ve been to by some distance. In fact Brazil is the first place we’ve been that’s made more for a holiday budget than a backpackers one. Thankfully we were on the receiving end of some generous mates who helped make things a lot more achievable. $22 for a bed in an 8 room dorm. During Carnival this price skyrockets to $110 per night which is crazy

Cush and I up Sugar Loaf – Rio de Janeiro

Quote of the week – “Watching you was the highlight of my trip so far – like Christ the Redeemer was good but watching you was great” – Ollie Shore, one of our dorm mates after enjoying my intoxicated display in our room

Quote of the week 2 – “I think the real story here is how much weight Oprah’s put on” – Cush isn’t too concerned with Lance Armstrong’s confession

Getting ready for our helicopter ride up Sugar Loaf Mountain

Safety – The Lapa St party was the first time we’ve (knowingly) had a pick pocket attempt. There’s certainly an edge as you walk around Rio and you quickly see how it gained its reputation as a dangerous city

Stay at – Books hostel in Rio. An absolute gem

What grinds my gears – The Spanish deserve a lot of respect. They conquered vast amounts of foreign lands, meaning people can now move seamlessly through Latin America speaking just 1 language. So why couldn’t they go one step further and vanquish the pesky Portuguese?? 4 months of tirelessly practicing Spanish out the window. Thanks for nothing Spain

Acai – Cushla’s new favorite food

This blog was bought to you by – http://www.sciencekids.co.nz. Thinking quality childrens’ educational resources, think Science Kids (there you go Rene, as promised)