Viva Brazil

Before we left BA we made a stop at a local bar to watch the opening game of the 2014 World Cup between Brazil & Croatia.  The crowd was unified in supporting their neighbour, and the atmosphere was electric.  There were streamers coming down from the ceiling after each Brazilian goal!  Crazy!  We got a bit caught up in all the celebrations and woke up the next morning with sizeably sore heads! (but nothing Macca's for breakfast wouldn't fix).

It was time to say goodbye to Buenos Aires.  Our flight to Rio was full of Argentinian fanatics, which made for some rowdy entertainment.  Pillows were flying across the aisles, and windows shaking from all the banging and chanting.  The flight attendants quickly learnt that keeping any kind of order was no easy task and simply gave up.

Rio has made a lasting impression on both of us.  Contrary to what we expected, it has felt safe, not unreasonably expensive and food at least as good as what we experienced in BA.  The weather, the people, the beaches and festive atmosphere really add to the great holiday experience.

The only time weather hasn't been kind to us was the morning we set off to visit the Christ the Redeemer.

Christ the Redeemer in a steamer 

Notice the wonderful panoramic view of Copacabana over GS's R shoulder 

(you can see how excited she is...)

It did clear up for a split second and we managed to get the postcard picture:

Not all was lost for the sightseeing, as we got lucky with a better day for the Sugarloaf mountain.  

The famous Copacabana beach strip 

Getting around has been pretty easy.  Metro during the day and taxis by night.  Similarly to other places in South America, the traffic is mayhem and the road rules optional.  Some taxi drivers slow down a little for red lights, others don't.  Some watch the football on their dashboard TVs, others make you feel like you're in a car chase.  

The main attraction of this trip hasn't disappointed so far.  We've been to 2 matches so far, both at Maracana stadium in Rio and both were spectacular.  The Argentinian and the Chilean fans had the weight of numbers in their respective matches and made a hell of a noise.  

For all the passion and excitement, the crowds were actually very orderly.  The masses of riot police and armed forces on foot and horseback with air support probably had something to do with it. (Anyone who saw the media centre getting stormed by Chilean fans - this was on the other side of the stadium to us and we didn't know about it until we got home and saw it on the news.)

Heading off to Sao Paulo tonight on an overnight bus for our final match between England and Uruguay before starting our journey home on Friday.

Salut!