Rio de Janeiro

Well, the tales of the awesome city are true. Apart from completely detatching ourselves from our desired budget in hopes to have more fun, everything has been an unbelievable experience here. It is a hard place to describe, but a must visit for anyone who will be in Brazil.
En route to the city, we had read that it´s not a very safe place and probably the most likely city ro run into trouble. With this in mind, we wanted to get a taxi as soon as we got off the bus. However, the bus dropped us off in a not so bad spot and we managed to catch another bus straight away heading to Ipenema, where our hostel pick was located. It´s three blocks north of the beach and everything from food, to banks, to shopping is within that radius. A very nice place.
The ´Girl from Ipanema Hostel´ is in an alley with 2 or 3 other hostels and is a very organized and happening place. The first evening we went out to a local pub with Ole and Mathius from Norway to have a relatively cheap night out. Friday we went to the beach where we got plenty of sun and experienced our first lobster-esque look. I think that is about all we did that day, and that night after some poker in the hostel, went out to another local bar.
Saturday, the Norweigans took off, and Matt and I invited ourselves to go for a walk with Karyn and Jane from Australia. We walked around the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, checking out the beautiful Jardim Botãnico (Botancial Gardens) on the way. 5 hours later, we had easily meandered 10km, and decided to go play in the waves at the beach. We ended up at the gay beach and Matt and I fit in with our matching speedos. One friendly guy even approached us inquiring, "I love your speedos; where did you get them?" with an on-fire accent and all. A safe beach despite the awkward display of male intimacy.
The Australians headed out that night, so Matt and I played some more poker with a Swiss girl, Titiana, a Frenchman and Sharon from California. After buying in twice, the Frenchman took it. Following that we read and went to sleep for our early Sunday morning.
Matt and I got up early to hit up the internet, where Matt and Robyn skyped. At around 8:30, Ricardo, a hang glider pilot came looking for 2 guys who had booked a flight, but they weren´t around, so we decided we would go. Very, very cool! The wind was good and steady and both the view and weather were amazing. Hang gliding is not really a huge rush that adrenaline junkies should chase after at every turn, but more of a peaceful ride. We soared above Rio at 520m and criss-crossed over rich residential areas, towering skyscrapers and the waves crashing into the beach. The ride only lasted approximately ten minutes, but it was well worth the cost. Yet another thing for us to check off our to do list.
After that, we hit up the beach again before going to Maracaña Soccer Stadium (the biggest soccer stadium in the world) to watch a high level friendly match between Rio Flamengão club and Northern rival, Fribuguense. In the end, the favorite Flamengão team one 1-0.
At this point it was nearly 8pm and we were pretty exhausted from the long day. Nevertheless, some drinks and poker were in order and we decided at the last minute to go to a Favela Funk party, which was definatley worthwhile. We got VIP passes into the club, and partied from midnight til 4 in the morning. Danced so much, my Canucks sandals had seen their last of South America. Apart from all having our turn getting lost in the crowd of two thousand plus, we had a great time and were ready for sleep. In the end, it was about a CAN$220 day...
Monday was a chill, inexpensive day. We went to the beach with a group of Californian girls (Sharon, Molly & Rashan) and Aaron, from Indiana. Playing in the waves was good fun, and when the rain started to pour we peaced out to find some food. Rio has been our first real experience of Brazillian cuisine, and we may just have to write an entire new blog on that alone.
After swimming, food, açai and chocolate, we headed back to the hostel and watched the 40 year old virgin. A nice cheap day indeed.
Tuesday, we had one mission: to get ourselves to Cristo overlooking Rio. We wanted to hike it earlier in the day, but the clouds were kind of detering, so we lazed about and finally decided to take the bus over and check it out. While we were searching for the proper bus to take, the sun came out and we could see Cristo from the streets below, so it had to be done. This was the first day time appearance he had made since we have been here. Finally found a bus and it dropped us off right in the hands of a helpful tour guide. He took us to a viewpoint before taking us right to the top. A lot of people taking pictures, so it was easy to fit in and got some incredible pics of the amazing city. After about an hour of enjoying the view, we headed down again and back to the hostel. Just as we were leaving, the clouds and rain came in, so it all worked out so nicely. That night we went to a club in Leblon where we were charged 10 reais for entry and 20 reais for drinks. However, from 10 til 12 they give out free caprinhas. It's about 80% cachaça, and 20% lime/sugar/ice. They tastes pretty good, but the hangover is deadly.
The next day, a good handfull of us weren't feeling so hot, so we made our way to copacobana beach to laze and play in the waves. Apart from getting power owned by a few giant waves, we were successful in feeling better. Still, Ipanema beach is preferred.
Today is our last time in Rio, and tonight we will head to the bus station and hop on one that is North bound, hopefully to make our way to Itacaré. Later!

Photos: 30m statue Cristo Redentor at 710m above Rio. Matt hang gliding over a Rio beach. Flamengao getting ready for a free kick against Friburguense. Crowd at Favela funk party.