hangliding 2

hangliding 2 Originally uploaded by Road Trip

hangliding was amazing, my only complaint is that it went by too fast. I´m still not sure if I was up there long enough to really let in sink in.

Hangliding

Hangliding Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Running off the platform was probably the scariest part. Hopefully Gina will get back to me with the Favela photos which the other thing we fit in while she was around.

cable cars

cable cars
Originally uploaded by Road Trip

taking 2 sweperate lifts are the only way to the top

coconut bus

coconut bus
Originally uploaded by Road Trip

the next day was ´Pao do Asucar´ or Sugar Loaf, probably Rio´s second most recognized landmark. We saw this on the way there (you might have to look closely to get it)

tons of churches

tons of churches
Originally uploaded by Road Trip

there are chuches all over Rio, this one is form the first Portugese settlement there, but its being rehabbed right now

like spaghetti

like spaghetti Originally uploaded by Road Trip

not thought out all that well

Rosinha Favela

Rosinha Favela Originally uploaded by Road Trip

this is the ghetto we visited

Rio

this is just part of Rio, but its from up at Pao do Azucar, awesome city. The views from up here are fantastic. I´d have to rate Sugar Loaf above Christ just because of the cable cars and lack of an insane ammount of tourists, there are plenty at both but christ was nuts. Plus on the backside of Sugar Loaf there are cool terraced paths all over the place with tons of deserted tables and benches.

Pao do Azucar

Pao do Azucar Originally uploaded by Road Trip

this was taken after the first lift and before the second, but that is the Loaf of Sugar

the cathedral

the cathedral Originally uploaded by Road Trip

pretty bizarre church, the way the walls tilt in keeps it from needing any columns inside, just one gigantic open space

little marmot type thing

little marmot type thing Originally uploaded by Road Trip

there´s a huge park in downtown Rio and there were tons of cats and these things all over the place. A kid was chasing one and when they get scared they flare out the hair on their rearends and kind of buck (I´m guessing there´s probably a spray of some sort incvolved as well) but the hair/fur under the top coat is bright yellow. Weird things, pretty tame as well, when not being terrorized.

Sanbodromo 2

Sanbodromo 2 Originally uploaded by Road Trip

the pirate ship was probably the best I saw. People that stayed later told me that they had a working ski slope on one of the floats, complete with skiers and snowboarders.

Sanbodromo

Sanbodromo Originally uploaded by Road Trip

So besides a huge party Carnaval is also when all the samba schools compete for best float, best dancers, etc. It´s actually pretty prestigious. One night me the canadian and a bunch of english went out to the Sanbodromo to see the marches. It was crazy, the floats were so elaborate and I know the women on them were amazingly gorgeous. I just wish I splurged for decent seats.

Botafogo vs Vasco de Gama

Botafogo vs Vasco de Gama Originally uploaded by Road Trip

I was able to goto 2 games while in Rio, this was the more fun even though there were less people in the stands. Botofogo is in the state final on Sunday. That´s tommorrow but unfortuntely I´ll be on buses all day so I won´t get to see it.

Da Jesus

Da Jesus Originally uploaded by Road Trip

probably the most well known symbol for Rio it´s up on a mountain overlooking the whole city - Christ the Redeemer - what a great name for a monument

Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro

so I spent about a total of 2 weeks in Rio and the first was durring carnval. It was completely nuts, I haven´t partied so hard since college. A lot of it was thanks to the group of people that I met in the hostel. I realize now that as I´m writing this I never got a picture of the whole group which is a shame because it really was a good one. The rest of my time was spent either sight seeing, on the beach or recuperating in the hostel (oddly enough recuperating takes up a lot more time than it used to). Rio was a hell of a lot of fun but its time for me to get a way from a big city and see some of the country side. Gina a friend I made in the Amazon, came through for the last few days I was in Rio so the two tourists went on a favela tour and did some hangliding. A favela is the word they use for slums down here, it was actaully suprisingly nice. They have schools, hospitals, stores and everything they need, the drug cartels run everything and because they´re known to be pretty ruthless and that they have very little to begin with, everyone takes care of eachother. Suprisingly very little crime, of course thats not counting the thousands of tons of coke that go through there every year, but it´s still amazing that it works as well as it does.

Labbish, Me and Lein

Labbish, Me and Lein Originally uploaded by Road Trip

these are the two that put me up while in Manaus, i really had a great time and they helped me out so much.

our boat

our boat Originally uploaded by Road Trip

this is the nice boat, at the end of the festival some of the people on the tour bought one of the float pieces and tied it up to our antennae

Joe´s fancy sandals

Joe´s fancy sandals Originally uploaded by Road Trip

festival 2

festival 2 Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Ornamental Fish festival

Ornamental Fish festival Originally uploaded by Road Trip

church in Cashuera

church in Cashuera Originally uploaded by Road Trip

so apparently in this town (i don´t know how common it is in the rest of Brazil) if you hurt you arm or leg and it heals you carve the same arm or leg out of wood and leave it as thanks in the church

our crew trip 1

our crew trip 1 Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Coral Snake

Coral Snake Originally uploaded by Road Trip

carniverous plants

carniverous plants Originally uploaded by Road Trip

baby cayman

baby cayman Originally uploaded by Road Trip

fun with arachnids

fun with arachnids Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Monkey Ladder

Monkey Ladder Originally uploaded by Road Trip

my catch

my catch Originally uploaded by Road Trip

a few piranha

Amazonian Opossum

Amazonian Opossum Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Monkey's Passifier

Monkey's Passifier Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Trip 2

So after 2 weeks in Rio it seems like the second trip on the river is a while ago but I´ll do my best. The second one was split with a bunch of tourists, which meant a much nicer boat. I had no problems with the first one but after staying on the second it´d be hard to go back. So I was still on a part of the research team but when we weren´t at a sampling station I got to go hiking and snorkeling and looking for animals. Luckily our guide Junior seemed to know almost everything we ran into. It was a great trip which included 3 amazing meals a day and finished up in Barcelos at the ornamental fish festival. I left the tour a few days early and quickly flew into Rio de Janeiro in time for carnaval.

Our crew trip 1

Our crew trip 1 Originally uploaded by Road Trip