Rio de Janeiro, one of the most vibrant, exciting and intense cities in the world. My first long-haul flight, my first step outside of Europe, 9000km from home.

I actually almost didn’t make it because the airline would not let me board the flight without a return ticket… I jumped onto Skyscanner and booked the cheapest ticket available out of Rio within 3 months and was on my way!

Whilst queueing at immigration, I met a clown , yes clown, a Swedish man named Geir who works as a clown to cheer sick children up in hospitals. This was the moment that I realised that I was going to meet a lot of interesting characters on the road. We were apparently heading the same way, so shared a taxi and he left me at my hostel in Copacabana.

I had booked 10 nights in a 22-bed dorm room at Secreto hostel. It was too early to check-in and I was exhausted so I made my way to the closest beach, Copacabana. It was cloudy, really cloudy, and not as hot as I had expected Brazil to be, how could I complain.

I sat on the beach wondering what the hell I was doing, why had I left everything to be on the other side of the world on my own? It started to rain and I started to cry.

Sop story aside.

O Cristo Redentor

Actually this is kind of sad also… I never made it to Jesus.

I had excuses, mainly the weather – it rained practically every day whilst I was in Rio. There is was a live webcam feed of El Corcovado that you could check before setting off that let you know if you would be able to see anything at the top. I would hop out of bed and check the webcam with my hostel receptionist…. she’d turn the screen towards me and watch the hope in my eyes fade…

In hindsight, my laziness and the 1L Caiprini’s were also to blame, it is just easier to blame the weather.

Speaking of Caiprinas…

LAPA

You will most likely hear some sketchy stories about this neighbourhood but you have to go and live it for yourself.

Books Hostel was recommended to me, I did not stay there as it was fully booked. This is the place to stay if you want to party (not sleep), it is also a good spot to meet people that you will undoubtedly bump into on the Gringo trail.

I only visited Lapa by night walking by the lit up arcs and dancing in the rain whilst enjoying the ridiculously cheap litre-glasses of Brazil’s most famous cocktail.

Escadaria Selarón

THE multi-coloured stairs you’ve most likely seen pictures of or without a doubt seen in Snoop Dogg and Pharrell Williams’ video for the song Beautiful.

PAO DE AZUCAR – Sugarloaf Mountain

My first new friend Pita and I really lucked out and got to head up to the Pao de Azucar without having to queue for the cable car up. This was the first of many cable cars you may take whilst in Brazil. The weather that day was again pretty dreadful but the sky magically cleared once we got to the top. It is 100% unmissable if you’re in Rio.

HANG-GLIDING

“Oh but it’s so expensive and I’m at the beginning of my trip and…” I am so lucky that I Pita and Patrick convinced me to go because it is to date ONE OF THE BEST THINGS I HAVE EVER DONE.

I went with Flying Guru, which was the company Secreto Hostel worked with. They picked us up at the hostel, brought us up a hill then made us ran and jump into thin air. It is exhilarating. The “flying” time depends a lot on the weather/wind, but can be between 20mins and an hour if I remember quickly. You can then enjoy a coconut on the beach at the bottom whilst watching others land. They take pictures and videos on two GoPros and you can buy the pictures at the end. I believe the whole thing was about 170$ but 100% priceless.

PA COMER

Churrascaria Fogo Da Chao – a happy accident

Brazil, just like it’s neighbour Argentina, is a haven for meat-eaters. You will find numerous “Churrascarias” that serve churrasco meat aka “tasty meat on a skewer”. The ‘passadores’ go from table to table with different cuts of meat and you choose the ones you would like. There is usually a small token on the table: one side is red the other is green, which you turn over depending on if you want more meat or not.

Pita and I had asked for a list of Churrascarias from our hostel receptionist. On our walk back from the Sugarloaf we saw a Fogo de Chao an recognised it from our list. We thought that it was one of the cheapest options but we had read the list wrong and it ended up being one of the most expensive meals I had in South America – somewhere between 30-60€ with a cocktail. However like most good things with time you forget the price and just remember the happy memory, and in this case the mouth-watering beef. The buffet of side dishes was incredible as was the meat of course. I later found out the chain also exists in the States. 

More to come on:

AÇAI 

TAPIOCA

ALL YOU CAN EAT // PIZZA 

PARQUE

Ipamena Beach

Not as famous as Copacabana but a much nicer beach in my opinion.

 

What I learnt:

• Never book 10 days in one place
• Pack waterproof gear
• Be extra crazy careful with your belongings, especially at night
• Go Hang-gliding
• Get up and just go do things!!