pics at last

With the help of Roman I have at last managed to add those 3 images to the last blog. I hope I remember! Should make notes.

Yesterday was very hot, and no rain, so we took buses and the ferry to Niteroi. We went to a new Art museum, which was shut. However, from the outside it looks just like a flying saucer and i shall add a pic for you to see. We also went to a couple of beautiful, but hot and crowded beaches. Its holiday time of course and was good to see so many kids enjoying the sea and sand. Ominously there was a set of Pteradactyle looking birds circling around, which also dived from time to time quite close to bathers. Noone ran away though.

We are now getting near time for getting on the bus and leaving Rio. But NYEve to come still.

Suesays - i vaguely resemble elephant man at the moment as have been bitten all over by mozzies. Apart from that all good.

hi everyone! i have just taken some images from my camera and put them somewhere (don´t know where) onto this computer at the caff. whether i shall find them and be able to put them here remains to be seen. they are Father Christmas comes to Leblon, the wonderful night flowering cactus of Mirantao, and Sue on horseback!
here it is raining, raining, raining. but at least still warm. the brollys are useful, except i´ve already lost mine! now sue has loads to say:
christmas was chaotic. ros and i tried to create an english christmas dinner in a kitchen the size of a cell, for 13 people. the crackers were new to most of them, so was blind-mans-buff. however, it was a noisy, happy event and everybody scoffed the food hungrily. my best christmas present was from Mother Nature as early on christmas day, we were visited for the first time by several tiny, pretty monkeys, two toucans and some seabirds that looked like pteradactyls. but the big one here, apart from carnival, is new years eve which we are really looking forward to. then we are wandering south. sue

sorry folks! i shall have to come back with roman sometime and try again to do the photo thing because just can´t get it yet myself........

Christmas in Rio

The heat has arrived with temperatures between 30 - 40 C the past few days. We had a stroll along the beach from leblon, through Ipanema to Cocacobana yesterday late afternoon, which was interesting but tiring and hot. Back on the minivan.
The house computer is broken so we are having to use internet cafes now, with pressure of time. Also i keep forgetting to bring the camera/cardholder etc. but soon with get it together and have a lot to put up.
Roman has been looking after us most of the time, showing us about and interpreting/speaking for us. Now we are out on our own..............
A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL FRIENDS AND RELLYS who might have been wasting a few minutes reading this.
Sue says `who won Strictly?

Mirantao

Sue´s messge from our trip into rural brazil:
Horseriding was a gas. I somehow got the biggest but laziest horse, so practically needed a crane to get on it. Rode cowboy style, which is basically bobbing in the saddle unlike the posh rise and fall of English riding, so I hung on for dear life and redeemed myself somehow.

Fireworks in the village herald the start of the weekend, which basically means heavy drinking and lots of domestics, like a cowboy town.

I don´t speak Portuguese, so get by with a mixture of English, French and handsignals, which means that often food is served which isn´t remotely what i expected, a sort of magical mystery menu. I think stray dogs have sussed we are English as they hang around outside. Wildlife is as exotic as ever, and an amazing cactus that only blooms at night for the night insects. It is hot and rainy with electric storms and I am very pink.

Family all good, if a bit batty. Roman rides horses as if he´s been doing it all his life, is very much part of the village bar/party scene, hurtling around on motorbikes on treacherous unmade mountain tracks.
Brasil has adopted `no smoking´, sort of keeping up with Europe. Nobody takes any notice so all the no smoking signs have an ashtray underneath, which is nice.

Watched Liverpool v Arsenal in the middle of the rainforest during a massive downpour, which was somewhat bizarre. I have a feeling that surrealism is going to be a big feature of this trip. HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Sue and Roman

Sue says: great to be back here. Roman is like a child in a toyshop with his new keyboards etc.

so it was worth the lug. He says Madonna was out of tune, so we gave it a miss. Aren´t we boring old farts! Going rustic for a few days soaking up the glorious nature and hopefully sunshine of the rainforest. Back Monday - probably walking strangely as we haven´t been horseback for many years.

First Buy - brolly

Raining in Rio.

Well, that´s not the only thing. We did sit out in a pavement cafe and have our first delicious vitaminas, made from avacado.

We are gradually catching up on sleep and being back in a hammock is bliss for me.

Tomorrow we leave for a few days in the mountains. Fresh air, horseriding, waterfalls - all sounds lovely. No computer so we will be off air.

RIO DE JANEIRO at last

Sue says: we´ve arrived! Hooray! Brought the rain with us but at least it´s warm. I`m glad to get rid of all the stuff we`ve brought for the family.
Ros: both pretty exhausted after 11 hours flying, preceded by excitement and lack of sleep, anxiety, baggage problems etc.etc. But wonderful to finally get through Rio airport and find Mariza and Alamo waiting for us with big welcomes and the car to whisk us home here. Sue`s son Roman is waiting back at the flat, so lots of hugging all round.
Today we are pretty spaced out, so are now off to build ourselves up with papaya, mangoes, passionfruit and other deliciousness. There is a hammock hanging in my room.........zzzz

Not yet from Rio

Is this us? Surely not...... SCARY

Checked In

Today we are extremely together and I have checked us in online and have the boarding passes printed.
We shall be up at the crack of dawn for the drive to Heathrow, fully packed, including sarneys, and the next post will hopefully be from Rio.

At Frome

Now at Sue's in Frome and the computer has been down. This morning took a pic of ourselves but, strange to say, I have not managed to post it here. Unless it gets easier, sad to report this blog will only contain words. Sue says we are already losing the plot and have not yet got to the airport.

adding a pic

Can i add a pic? Hastening to add that this is not either of us and we will try to add US as and when.

blogging

Gradually getting to grips with this. I am still having to spend a lot of time sorting other stuff for the journey and seeing friends, which is good. Today, I heard from Olivia in Chile, who is looking forward to seeing us when we reach Vina del Mar. The excitement is growing.

Layers

I'm at last finding out, I hope, how to work a blog. This morning I was in Leeds where it was snowing as I stepped out of the house. Will Tierra del Fuego be this cold I wonder? Testing layers just in case.

(Provisional) ITINERARY Southern SOUTH AMERICA - December ’08 to March ’09

Sue and Ros’s little trip.

BRAZIL

14 Dec to 4th Jan: Rio for Christmas & New Year with Sue’s family.

5th Jan to 7th Jan: Curitiba including train trip to Paranagua.

7th to 8th Jan: Porto Alegre


URUGUAY

9th to 12th Jan: Montevideo

12th Jan: Colonia and ferry over River Plate


ARGENTINA

12th to 14th Jan: Buenos Aires

15th Jan: bus going South into PATAGONIA

16th to 18th Jan: Puerto Madryn, including trips to Peninsula Valdes and Trelew/Gaiman

18th to 20th Jan: Caleta Olivia and Puerto Deseado

21st Jan: Rio Gallegos

22nd Jan: travelling into TIERRA DEL FUEGO

22nd Jan to 25th Jan: Ushuaia


CHILE

26th to 28th Jan: Punta Arenas

29th Jan to 5th Feb: Puerto Natales, including on 30th, day on board Seabourn Pride with Hamish and Gail, and Torres del Paine Glacier Park etc.

5th Feb to 9th Feb: up the Chilean Archipelago on Navimag ferry.

9th to 10th Feb: Puerto Montt

10th Feb: on the Carretera Austral bus to Temuco

10th to 11th Feb: Temuco, home town of the Mapuche people. Catch overnight train

12th to 15th: Santiago

15th to 18th: Valparaiso and Vina del Mar, where friend Olivia lives.

18th catch bus, which goes via tunnel through Andes, to Mendoza (Argentina)


ARGENTINA

18th to 19th: Mendoza.

20th to 22nd Feb: La Rioja

22nd to 25th Feb: Salta

Weds 25th /26th Feb: on bus to Resistencia


PARAGUAY

27th Feb to 1st March: Asuncion


BRAZIL

1st to 3rd March: Iguacu Falls

4th to 15th March: Rio, Sue’s family & lots of sleeping in hammock.

15th March: fly back to UK