Breathaking Brazil part 1

At the end of October, I had the privilege of travelling to the amazing country that is Brazil. Flying via Lisbon, it was then a further 10 hours to fly across the Atlantic to Rio De Janeiro. Splitting my stay between two fantastic cities, and then one night at the beach resort of Praia de Bahia

RIO:

WOW, what a city! From the magnificent beaches, the world-famous Copacabana, Sugar Loaf Mountain and of course Corcovado – Christ the Redeemer, and all things carnival and Samba it really is an amazing city, and a must for your bucket list!

We have all heard and seen many stories of the city, good and bad, but the colours, the vibrancy, the scenery and the buzz of the city is mind-blowing.

After settling into our hotel situated right on the Copacabana Beachfront, the first visit was to Sugar Loaf Mountain. Taking two huge cable cars across the two enormous spans to get to the top for amazing views over the city and across to Corcovado was worth every minute. For Bond fans, you may recall the cable car being used by James Bond and Jaws in Moonraker!

Rio is also famous of course for Carnival – did you know there is a 2 ½ mile stretch purposely built with permanent stands the whole way for the carnival to parade through! I can only imagine what an amazing experience to take part in the carnival or to even watch would be! You can visit the factory, as I did and watch them creating the masterpiece floats, see how they move and create them and hand making every costume. Every carnival has a theme and every float tells a story, which is kept top secret – so don’t tell anyone what you have seen! You even get to try your own costume and learn a bit of Samba whilst there.

The highlight of this magnificent city stay was of course to stand at the foot of Corcovado. Taking a tram up the side of the mountain, which was very very steep, through the rainforest area. You arrive near the top and then take the lift and then an escalator - I was shocked at how high up it is! You are there. It was very breath-taking, and quite an emotional experience. The Aura and magnificence was just – well hard to say as it was so amazing – you really need to go and find out for yourself!

If you love food, you will LOVE Rio! If you love beaches, you will LOVE Rio! If you love a real mix of cultures, you will LOVE Rio! If you love people you will LOVE Rio – in fact, there is nothing not to LOVE ABOUT RIO!