Rio De Janeiro - March 14th

Today we left Ilha Grande.  There would normally be some sadness in the air leaving such a beautiful location, but as we are going on to Rio De Janeiro it’s not too bad.  We actually stayed an extra night on the island because we couldn’t get the accommodation we wanted in Rio for last night, so it worked out well.  Rather than do public transport, we have opted for a private transfer to the door of our apartment.  I think it actually works out cheaper.  Because of this we aren’t leaving the island until 13:00 so we even have time to do some blogging.

One good thing about this voyage is that we are able to get a good look at the island from the sea in nice bright conditions, which we didn’t have on the ferry across or the beach transfer yesterday.  So we get to see the parrot shaped highest peak on the island in great detail.  The private transfer is on a much smaller boat than the ferry so the waves affect us more.  There were some on the boat who looked like they were about to lose their breakfasts, but luckily nobody did as it would have set off a chain reaction.

When we got onto land on the other side we got a small minivan which would take us to the southern parts of Rio.  The back row of the bus was filled with 4 people from Ireland, so I had a good chat with them while we drove.  It has to be said that from first impressions as you approach Rio is doesn’t seem that nice, even compared to Sao Paulo, but as once we got to the centre of town (and some strange geography meant that even though we were coming from the south we still have to go through the centre of town to get to the south) it improved.  There are some really nice buildings, and the mountains that surround the town give it a great look too.  Of course we got to see the Sugar Loaf and Christ on Concorvado during this voyage.

Probably the two strangest things about this drive through Rio was going to the airport for a drop off, because the airport is as close to the city centre as you can get, 1km from the equivalent of Piccadilly Circus, and driving through the tunnels that connect the centre to Copacabana.  The mountains just rise out of nowhere in front of the road and then only a few metres later you are out again and in Copacabana.

We have chosen to stay in Arpoador, which is a tiny little suburb sandwiched between Ipanema and Copacabana.  Our apartment is OK (not as nice as our one in Buenos Aires) but location is amazing, 1 block from Ipanema beach, 3 from Copacabana beach.  In the evening we walk a bit through Ipanema looking for somewhere to eat, and a local supermarket.  By luck we end up in a bar which turns out to be the place where the famous ‘Girl from Ipamema’ song was written.  If we had known such as bar was near us, we probably would have headed for it anyway.  And even though we only had starters, the quantity of food we got filled us up.