Land of Llamas!

Sorry it has been awhile.  Right now I am in Cuzco and tomorrow am heading on a 5 day, 4 night trek to see Macchu Piccu!  No Internet for a few days!!

So, after almost missing my flight from Medellin to Lima, and taking a 22 hour bus ride, I made it with my friend Brian and his friend, Sam, a Peru native, to Cuzco.  Lima was a short visit, but fun. We ate some ceviche and went to some salsa clubs.  The next day we strolled the boardwalk and then took the exciting bus to Cuzco. 

22 hours on a bus - first few hours - great scenery.  Next few hours, not so great.  But, for about $50 usd, worth it.

Cuzco has been beautiful.  The first full day here we strolled the city and wandered during the Sun God festival.  The second day we did horseback riding through the countryside.  So much fun - we stopped along the way and visited some great sites.  We also crawled though some ancient sacred tunnels. 

The next two days we did some wandering around the city, bought some Peruvian accessories, and toured some ancient churches.  

We just finished our trek orientation and now I am off to pack for the trek.  

Adios!

Off to Peru Tomorrow!!

So Monday started off as a great day.  I did this amazing walking tour of the city where I learned a lot about the history of Medellin and Colombia.  Apparently, around 10 or so years ago, this city was one of the most dangerous in the world.  Colombia has been divided for a long time between two political parties and then in came the drugs.  Yes, Medellin is the home of Pablo Escobar.  When he was around, it was very dangerous to walk around in many public areas of the city.  Now, crime rates are comparable to U.S. cities.

Here are some photos of the tour.  

Above: memorial

Above: Government building.  

Above: A famous artist in Medellin sculpted the bird on the left.  In the 90s, that bird exploded after someone left a backpack with explosives during a fair.  Around 20-30 people were killed, including several children.  The city wanted to take the original bird down.  The artist called furious, saying to take it down would be to forget the past.  Instead, a new bird was built beside the old bird to represent the future.  

Above: Plaza de la Luz (Plaza of the Light)

Above: View looking up to Plaza de la Luz.  

I had way more fun facts to share, but I have forgotten the details of them.  Why?  Well, first let me tell you how to have a great time in Colombia.  Try to go to the FedEx and mail clothes back to the US!  Used clothes I might add!  I wanted to ship all my warm weather things as I am going to colder climates and make room in my backpack.  The fed ex form had me specify what percentage of each item it was.  Ie: 1 skirt: 98% cotton, 2% nylon.  This took about 40 minutes.  Then, apparently you can't mail clothes back, so I had to classify all the items as "unsolicited gifts".  Sorry Mom and Dad, what you thought was perhaps some nice Colombian handicrafts was instead my beach wear.  

Anyway, I have been missing American food.  One item in particular, Gyros (so not totally American).  I saw what I thought was a nice Gyro place.  I ordered myself a Kebab, enjoyed a nice meal (it was delicious), watched a movie on Netflix and had an early night.  I woke up at around 3am with the worst stomach ache.  I will spare the details.  I spent all day Tuesday and Wednesday unable to move, missed my Bogota flight and am still in Medellin (today is Friday).  The last three days I have spent eating crackers, drinking powerade, and enjoying the fact my Netflix subscription works here.  

One thing I absolutely had to do here was get pants.  I only brought a few pants (well, had a few left after sending several home) and needed some decent jeans.  So today I absolutely had to force myself out of bed to go buy some.  Never has shopping been so miserable.  Tip: Zara is the one store you can go anywhere and no one will come talk to you.  One thing I don't understand is when you say " no hablo espanol" people still talk to you in Spanish.  I can get by with basics, but really I hate shopping when sick and really can't stand salespeople hovering over me.  I finally got out of there with some jeans and leggings.  Nice benefit of being sick: I finally fit into my skinny pant size again at Diesel after binging on caipirinhas in Brazil!  Yay!  

After that, I figured I would try to eat something beside crackers so I went to try to get some American comfort food.  Comfort food for me is my dads Mac n cheese.  My dad isn't here and after my experience with FedEx, I didn't want to go that route either.  Colombia has KFC.  That would have to do.  They do not have Mac n cheese!  What the heck.  They also do not have green beans or mashed potatoes or potato wedges.  You can have rice and beans with your chicken.  Vomit.  I left with nothing and later went to the grocery store and made macaroni with some pathetic excuse for cheese.  Yes, I'm bitter when I'm sick.  

Right now I am just chilling and trying to psych myself up for next week.  A week from yesterday I will be trekking up Macchu Piccu!  I am soo so excited, but honestly I did a few laps at the mall today and that almost killed me.  Tomorrow it is off to Lima where I meet a friend from college I haven't seen in about 6 years (who I travel with for the next month) then Cuzco for a sun festival, then up the mountain I go.  Apparently, you can rent a horse up the trek if you can't make it, but I do not want to be that girl!

Adios Amigos!  Wish me luck!!

Colombian Cowgirl

I have had an excellent first few days in Medellin.  The first day was exactly as planned - straight up relaxing.  The second day, a friend of a friend who is a tour guide of the city, arranged for a countryside horseback excursion.  

Now, when I agreed to go on this excursion (using my phone during the immigration line in Colombia), I being a bit sleep deprived, imagined 10 people trotting through the Colombian countryside, stopping for some delicious Colombian coffee, and riding back.  Sounded like a nice relaxing day, no?  Well, we did trot, but it turned out to be me and about 50 others around my age coupled with aquardente (Colombian national drink - tastes like Sambouca, Greek Ouzo, Turkish Raki, etc) being freely passed around.  Apparently, that is how you drink aquardente: straight up and passed among friends.  Below is a pic before the ride.  

The ride started out awesome.  Everyone kept passing me drinks of the Guaro (short name for the national drink) and it made me slightly less nervous about being on the ferocious beast (if you don't know the story of last time I was on a horse, it started with tequila and ended with me being bitten and needing a tetanus shot).  Anyway, this time along with drinks flowing freely, music was playing (people hooked up speakers to their horses), and everyone was so welcoming and wanted me to practice Spanish with them or they wanted to practice English with me.  About 30 minutes into the ride, it started pouring rain. Thankfully, I bought the sweet hat and was ready.  

The view during the trek was beautiful!

After a two hour ride there, we stopped at a bar, ate some snacks, drank some more and danced.  A new Colombian friend tried to teach me how to dance Reggae-ton (some sort of Colombian reggae - sounds weird but I loved it).  On the way back, I don't know if it was me or the aquardente, but me and my horse bonded much more and did a lot more trotting than on the way there.  I had a great time and definitely want to ride a horse again!

The next day I went to the cable car from some fellow hostelers.  The cable car promised us a great view of the entire city.  We took the subway from where we are located, Poblano, to the correct stop, which puts you at the base of the Barrio, which is similar to a slum/favela.  Basically, the poorer part of the city.  We connected to the cable car, which by the way apparently Rio is working on developing as an easier way for residents of the favelas to get to their homes (most favelas tend to be on mountains), and headed up.  One of the cable cars was sponsored by Citibank.  As an ex-financier, I found that interesting.  

As we headed up and admired the views, I observed the streets in these neighborhoods were much wider and it was much more open than the favelas in Rio.  I don't know if that was only a tiny part I saw, and I certainly don't feel comfortable comparing poverty levels, but it seemed "nicer" here than the favelas in Rio.  Perhaps that is attribute to Rio being a bigger city, but really I have no idea.  I would by no means call it nice though and still found it very sad.  Another thing I have found very sad throughout my travels here in South America is the amount of children working.  Kids were working at the horse farm, the street selling food, and other places.  It has made me feel very appreciative of my life.  

Once we got to the top of the cable car line, there was a beautiful national park where we rented bikes and strolled around.  

That night, we drank at the hostel and I met up with some old friends from college for a few drinks.  Look, Colombia has rum in a juice box!!

 

Today has been a very low key day.  I went out for lunch with some friends, ate a salad (not common at all, so much fried food/bread here) and now am working on planning some trip details.  I head to Bogota on Wednesday, and next week will be in Peru climbing Maccu Piccu.  From there, off to Bolivia and likely Argentina after.  But, a woman has a right to change her mind, so who knows!!

Adios Amigos!

  

New Photos and Exciting News!

So news first, I am in process of working to get paid to blog.  Please help me out and share to anyone you feel may be interested!  Any tips or ideas, please share in comments or send me an e-mail at KendraLWebster@gmail.com

So exciting!

Second, here are some photos from São Paulo and Ilha Grande I wasn't able to upload until now.

Graffiti Alley!  One reason I think Brazil looks a bit scarier than it really is, is due to graffiti being legal and being almost everywhere!! Normally, I associate graffiti with alleys, being done at night, and being done solely by gang members.  Not true in São Paulo.  Here, they embrace the graffiti for being art, and not just in Graffiti alley. Here are some examples.  

Here are some more standard beach shots of Ilha Grande.  

And a great meal I had for 7.50 usd!  No, it was not red, I just need to improve my photo skills!!

Ok, off to a countryside Colombian horse back tour.  Adios!

First Day in Colômbia!

I arrived in Medellin at 7am this morning after no sleep at the Bogotá airport and about a 20 minute nap on the plane.  I arrived in dirty clothes as I haven't done laundry in 3 weeks, been using 3 day old contact solution as a small bottle of solution in Brazil is $18usd (Chicago = $4) and just feeling plain disgusting. 

Landed, got my bag, grabbed a cab and took the most beautiful ride to the hostel.  Medellin kinda looks like Ireland on the country side.  It is just so green.  It was a bit cloudy and misty and the ride took us through the hills. Like I mentioned in my previous post, I always try to get a cab from the cab stand in the airport.  Here there were no cab stands.  This, coupled with the fact there was no meter, made my ride slightly less enjoyable. But, I made it!

Once I made it, I was able to drop off my laundry and go to sleep.  After a nice three hour nap, I scored some contact solution for $4usd (only so expensive because I got the American brand because I refuse to possibly mess up my eyes), a new disposable razor (first time I think I have used a disposable razor) that I kid you not smells like mangos, and a fresh bar of soap.  As I re-read this, I realize how different I am after living out of a backpack.  Never before would I get so excited about a new $1usd razor.  After my shopping spree, I took a shower and put on a 100% clean outfit.  

Now, I am chilling at the hostel drinking a nice beverage and relaxing.  I am on the fence about going out tonight as I am so tired and tomorrow have I exciting plans that I will share later. 

Adios!!

Last day in Brazil

Right now it is 3am In Sao Paulo and 1am in Bogotá.  I am sleeping/killing time in the Bogota airport because I do not want to pay $100usd for a hotel for 4 hours.  4 hours to kill at this AirPort before I am off to Medellin.  What I will do to save a few bucks.  On a very positive note, I just spent $3usd on a Diet Coke (well, Coke Light - NOT Coke Zero) and a bottle of water.  For an airport, that is amazing.  So glad to be traveling in cheaper countries now.  Brazil dented my budget.  

This part below written in Sao Paulo: 

Today is bittersweet.  Right now I am chilling at the São Paulo airport waiting to take off for Medellin, Colombia!!  I have spent 58 glorious days in Brazil and have only 47 days to go! Really, this could be the end of BlondieBravesBrazil - I will Keep the blog title though, with my new love of português I need to come back!!

Flight got delayed, which I do not mind so much as I have a overnight layover in the Bogota airport and sleeping in airports blows.  So, more time here, less time there!

So excited to see Colombia and so excited to get my laundry done.  I have worn these jeans for about 3 days/nights and the cleanest shirt I have left has been worn once already, so I am rocking it again.  Ugh.  At least the hostel in Medellin has laundry service.

Yesterday I wrote this entry from the bus stop:

Ahoy from Ilha Grande - (Well, now the bus station off the island)

The last ferry left ilha grande at 5.  It takes 1.5 hours to get to the mainland from the island.  The bus to Sao Paulo leaves at 10, so now I am trying to kill time.  Important lesson learned: do not book a trip after 3.5 caipirinhas with someone you have known for about 5 hours.  I know my new companion is safe to be around, but they are horrible at planning (we wandered the street for quite awhile trying to find our boat at 6:30 am, had no idea about there being no atms on the island, didn't know where our hostel was) and after a day and a half, I have realized that this person is quite racist and obnoxious.  Plus, had I planned better (or not has 3.5 caipirinhas when I decided to come here), I would have realized Ilha Grande is much easier to get to from Rio.  I have to put up with this obnoxious human being until we part tomorrow around 8 a.m.  Ugh.

Ilha Grande is beautiful and I am always a sucker for a boat ride, but to be honest kinda a waste of a trip.  It is very similar to Florianópolis, and I had wanted to see more in São Paulo than I got to in the 3 days I was there.  Thankfully, at the very end of my trip, I have time to explore São Paulo again. Plus, I lost my favorite Lululemon yoga pants and a body piercing I had in my back on this island.  But really, I am in Brazil, I can't complain too much This definitely beats office life!  

Tonight, my bus leaves at 10pm arrives to São Paulo at 5am will take the metro back to our hostel.  A few notes on these South American buses.  They are absolutely freezing!!  I could not get warm to save my life.  Plus, police come on with their dogs and just sniff around.

Anyway, after that I will sleep a few hours in a hammock and then head off to the airport to catch my flight to Colombia!  I am so excited!  Colombia has such a bad rep, but when you look at the statistics, it has improved greatly in recent years.  But, as in any city/country, it depends what part you visit.  That is also true with how you get to your destination. Most horror stories I have heard from fellow backpackers involve getting to and from places with your luggage - especially corrupt taxi drivers (drivers calling their friends who they then pick up and then all will rob you), so the best advice is to get a cab from a cab service and not try to hail one on the street(or airport, train station, bus depot, etc.).  Although, that does not always work.  One girl a friend of mine knew, called a cab driver she had used before to drop her off at the airport at the very end of a six month stint traveling.  She got dropped off at the airport and the driver took off with all her luggage!  Lesson: always have your bag in the back seat with you, or if you travel in pairs, one sit in the back seat, while the other deal with the bags.  I am telling you all the horrors why?  My love of traveling is worth the chances I am taking I suppose.   Plus, the areas I do a little extra spending are safety precautions, especially when getting to and from my hostel/airport/bus with all my stuff. Hey, I am a cop's kid.

As much as I do love traveling, at times, I get a bit homesick. The last few days I have been daydreaming of my must-dos when I get home:

1. Get my hair done!!
2. Jimmy Johns Beach Club sandwich
3. A authentic gyro
4. Brunch with Bloody Mary's
5. A high quality dirty martini w blue cheese olives - peninsula lobby bar, tavern on rush, my kitchen, and a few other places comes to mind
6. Hendrickxs for a croissant and coffee
7. My own bed

But I definitely have things I will miss about my time in Brazil.  In no order, the top 10:
1.  Randomly hearing "girls just want to have fun" by Cyndi Lauper and dancing in the pouring rain in Lapa, Rio
2. Riding a 15 second wave in Florianópolis
3. Carnival party in Florianópolis
4. Futbol game in São Paulo
5. Every time someone complimented my Portuguese!
6. Drinking on the beach
7.  Winning a Jiu jit su submission
8. Being made to feel like a super model when I walk down the street due to exuberant Brazilian men (this does get old, but it definitely is an ego boast on days I feel disgusting!)
9. The food: fresh seafood, fruit, hot dogs, and rice/beans!
10. All the people I met - they really contributed to the entire experience so thank you!!

Anyway, I need to start changing my "Eu preciso"s (I need in Portuguese) to "Yo necesito"s (I need in Spanish).  Off to practice!

Beijos!
Kendra


Enviado via iPhone

Playing with Paulistas in São Paulo

I have had am absolutely exhausting last few days.  Today was especially exhausting.  I am writing this from Ilha Grande.  Getting here was interesting.  From my hostel in Villa Madalena in São Paulo, we took the train to the bus station, then we took a 7 hour overnight bus trip to the ferry.  We then had to wait 2 hours for the first ferry, rode the ferry for 1.5 hours and then walked 30 minutes to the hostel, which was awful so we left for another.  One thing I have learned is I am a bit of a control freak and get super annoyed when people don't plan, especially when I am tired.  My current friend I am traveling with neglected to tell me about the 1.5 hour ferry, the wait to board the ferry, or the fact there are no ATMs on the island, so I have about USD $15 until tomorrow, which blows.  Also, my friend has no clue where we are going and speaks no Portuguese, so it was up to me to do a lot of heavy lifting.  This has been a common thing I have had happen on this trip, so not just a blow to my current travel partner, but I can't wait until my good friend meets up next week and will share this task much better.  This is such a change from Kendra back home where I am used to having people take care of me.  This way is way more exhausting, so to all my past boyfriends who made all arrangements for me before, thank you!  

Anyway, back to São Paulo.  Many people warned me that it is a very ugly city and is very hard to have fun unless you know someone.  It isn't exactly beautiful, but I wouldn't go as far as ugly.  Graffiti is legal in Brazil, which is one reason I think so many cities here look sketchy.  I would agree that people make the difference.  During my travels I met several Paulistas (people from São Paulo) and they were amazing at showing me their city. 

My first night here, I met a friend for drinks, sushi and then we went to a club for Sartanejo (Brazilian country music.  I came home at 6 that morning.  

The next day I met some friends I met while I was in Rio the week prior.  They had me over for a BBQ at their gorgeous apartment where I met several of their expat friends and we shared experiences both in Brazil and South America.  The food, the drinks and the company were amazing!  

After eating a ton of meat, I met the same friends the night before for a futbol match - definitely a must do while in South America.  We went to a Corinthians versus Portuguese match.  Both teams are from São Paulo and the Corinthians are the wild, every man team and the Portuguese team is favored more by Paulistas with Portuguese heritage.  

Going to a game here was like being in the Michigan State student section during a final four basketball game if the students each had about 10 vodka red bull before the game.  So many rowdy sections with so many different cheers and dances going on at once.  The seats were more like cement blocks, but who needs to sit during a game?  There were police in riot gear all around the stadium and police on horseback outside the stadium.  

That night after I got back from the game, I had a rather chilled out night as I was pretty beat from the night before and the following day hung around the neighborhood I was in beforing heading to Ilha Grande.  

Right now I am insanely dehydrated and not feeling my best, so I plan on having a chilled out night, but it is my last night in Brazil (tmrw night I will be on a bus) for a few months (I fly out of São Paulo and will go back for a weekend likely at the end) so who knows!

Tchau!!

Last day with the Cariocas (people from Rio de Janeiro)

My last day in Rio, I decided to take a tour of the largest favela in the city, Rochina.  Deciding to take this tour or not was a pretty big decision.  Last year, after being robbed, I really had no interest in anything to do with the favela, as I felt like it already came to me.  This year, my issue was more or less with not wanting to look at people like they were in a zoo.  I was assured that by doing the tour, you help fund educational programs and was told many people like to show their side of the city.  Besides those reasons, I was hesitant because a few days earlier a German tourist had been shot in the favela.  He had went in the favela by himself and took a photo of someone with a gun.  Really now.  Knowing I wouldn't be so stupid and with an incident like that causing an increase in police, I decided to go. 

I was picked up in a van from the tourist company and we were off. We arrived at the entrance to the favela and the first thing I noticed was how more developed it was than I anticipated.  There were actual supermarkets.  Then we opened the van door, and I noticed the smell.  It smelt like Division Street in Chicago the morning after St. Patrick's Day mixed with human waste.  

We then wandered down the labyrinth of streets.  The streets here are so narrow (no cars) and we had to constantly move out of the way as several people carried heavy parcels to stock the shops that were in the favelas. 

Our first stop was a school.  We didn't go in the school, but near it to see the view.  The kids could see us and enjoyed waving and clamming for attention.  Me, standing out as I did, was a main attraction for them.  I kept getting shouted at "gringa, gringa!", which apparently isn't so negative in Brazil, and when I wouldn't look at them (I didn't want to distract them from school), they tried throwing colored pencils at me to get my attention.  I ended up giving 8 colored pencils to the teacher when we were done.  Here is the view from the school.

The guide explained to us that there are 6 million people who live in Rio.  1 million live in favelas.  300,000 live in Rochina, the largest favela by population (the favela we were touring). There are 70 police who patrol Rochina.  There are over 720 favelas in Rio.  How about that for some emerging market statistics?  Anyway, the guide continued to explain how many people who live in the favelas come from the north and north east states, which are some of the poorest parts of the country.  So, for them, living in a favela was somewhat of a better option.  He said many of the homes had tvs with satellite dishes (satellite runs around $15usd/month) and other appliances.  It looked like to me there was a wide dispersion of levels of wealth in the favela as well as the rest of the city.  

After that, we stopped by a "samba circle" and watched some kids dance and donated money.  The tour was actually way different than I expected.  A lot of stopping into little shops and possibly making purchases.  But really, when I think about it, how else could you tour a favela?  

I would absolutely recommend this tour, not only for the great views, but it also allows you to have a new insight into the city.  

My last night in Rio was interesting.  Me and a friend went back to Santa Teresa to Bar de Mineiro for their famous caipirinha (passion fruit apparently is their specialty), codfish balls and feijoada (national dish of Brazil made with rice, beans, meat scraps with oranges and started by the slaves).  

We then went to Lapa to buy some more caipirinhas.  The vendor tried to sell them to us for 7 reals.  Normally, they are 5 reals.  I was not about to pay 7.  Usually if someone tries to sell to me for 7 (which happens about 1x a night), I tell them (in Portuguese) that everyone else sells for 5 and I do not like to ripped off because I am a gringa and then leave to buy from someone else.  But, my last night in Rio, I had a better idea.  I told the vendor if he showed me his way to make them, I would pay 7.  Here is how you make a caipirinha:

1. First, properly cut the limes. 

2. Add sugar.  

3.  Mash the lime and sugar together.

4. Add ice

5. Add cachessa.  It is about a 7-13 second pour, depending on size of drinks.

6. Shake it!!

7.  Enjoy!!

After enjoying our drink, we went to stop at a supermarket for more refreshments.  This night, I had my phone (I never bring out - and never will again!) as I needed an alarm to not miss my flight.  I went in the store, had my friend watch my phone, and when I came back, we headed out again.  No less than 3 minutes I asked for my phone.  My friend couldn't find it.  I had a panic attack and was going to lose my mind.  I have been phone-less and music-less for 10 days last year, but for 2 months?!?!  I had the cabby turn around, my friend ran in the store, I ran to the street and there it was.  Sitting on the side of the road.  Seriously, I have no idea how the heck that happened, but I am still in shock.  If you look away from your phone for 3 seconds, it can disappear.  I was so lucky!  That kind of put a damper on the night, but at least I had my phone. 

The next day, I was off to São Paulo!!!

I will update on that later!!

Tchau!

Finally saw Cristo!!

Last year I had a failed attempt to see the infamous Christ Redeemer statue as it was so foggy I could barely see the armpit.  This year me and a friend got up early (early being 8:30!!) and left the hostel an hour later to to see it.  

We hopped on the bus and got off at the correct bus stop. After walking around a bit, and getting frustrated I couldn't find it, I got the courage to ask.  This trip is definitely making me more courageous and brave at speaking in front of people.  Anyway, we finally found the right spot to catch the train and headed up!  At one of the stops, a live samba band hopped of and serenaded us.  

Once we got to the top of the mountain, we saw something amazing - monkeys!!!  They were so cute and surprisingly friendly.  

After a monkey and me photo shoot, we kept on walking, and let me just say, Christ Redeemer and the view from the top were not too shabby either!  

Once we has our fill of posing, it was off to Ipanema beach! We had a nice afternoon relaxing, drinking more agua de coco, eating acai, enjoying the views and people watching.  

The easiest way to get back from Ipanema to my hostel, Discovery Hostel in Gloria, is via metro near Copacabana beach.  The walk from Ipanema to the metro is nice and about 40 minutes. It was around 4pm, so we decided to walk.  While walking along Copacabana, a girl around 8, stopped and turned to a few guys near us.  She then tried to reach into one of their bags and take his stuff while talking to him - while her mother was there I might add. I find this so alarming. On one hand, I believe stealing, armed or not, is wrong, but on the other hand, are these kids just doing this to survive?  I am not sure if I have "rich man's guilt" (I would hardly call myself rich, by American standards, but when I come here, I don't know) and feel bad for these kids or if I am just being scammed by people with bad values.  I want to believe in the best, but when I walk around in constant fear of being robbed again at knife point, it is quite difficult. Is this a government issue?  I really have no clue.  Anyone have any thoughts on this?  

Anyway, I want to get up fairly early for some marketing so Tchau for now!!

Rambling in Rio!!

It has been a great few days in Rio de Janeiro (my favorite city - so far!!) Sunday I went to the "hippie market" and then to Ipanema Beach with some new friends. I drank some agua de coco - coconut water. This is not your typical coconut water. For one, you get the entire coconut. Second, the coconut is not the typical brown one. It is the green one, which is the outer part of the coconut. You pay $4-$5 reals for one and them the man selling them axes out a hole for you to drink out. So cold and so refreshing!!  

The beaches here are filled with vendors selling everything from drinks, jewelry, temporary tattoos, food and even bikinis!!!

After the beach, I strolled along through the rest of Ipanema and Copacabana and took the metro back to the hostel. On Sundays here, they close the street in Botafogo and open it to runners/bikers/skateboarders. I went for a nice jog through the neighborhood and did some people watching. Since I was robbed last time I was here, I refuse to bring my iPhone in public. This caused me to run with no music for the first time in a long time. Surprisingly, not nearly as bad as I thought.  It was nice to listen to the noise of the city over the latest Calvin Harris hit (and I love Calvin Harris!) 

That night I had some acai for dinner and went to Santa Teresa with a friend for drinks.  After drinking caipirinhas at one of the best caipirinha spots in Rio, Bar do Mineiro, we wanted some more action, so we headed to Lapa via one of Rio's infamous van taxis for $2.50 reals. I was a bit nervous about it, but I was assured by many here that they are fairly safe, so we chanced it and were totally fine.  

In Lapa, we visited the steps and then wandered around for a bit and really just spent the night popping in and out of local bars.  While out in Lapa, two young boys, similar but maybe a bit older than the 4 who robbed me last year, came up to us and said they were hungry in Portuguese, so I gave them $2r. I was told after that it was highly unlikely that they were hungry, but I just don't know how I could not help a hungry child.  

Monday was a rainy day (sad!), so we chilled a bit and saw Hangover Part III.  Not a bad way to spend the day either.  When you see a movie here, it is in English if it is originally in English with Portuguese subtitles, which really helps with my studying. Not many times can you say The Hangover helps with studying! 

Last night was another fun night in Lapa that ended with me dancing to Cyndi Lauper's "Girl's Just Want to have Fun" with a caipirinha in the pouring rain.  Some things never change.  

Today, totally off topic, my friend sent me this great photo of me surfing in Florianópolis! 

After I updated my Facebook page with this great new pic, we headed to Parque Lage via the bus.  Parque Lage is now an art school and beautiful park.  We admired the view, drank coffee and checked out some art.  

After that, we were off to Jardim Botanico, Botanical Gardens.  It was absolutely gorgeous and it felt like I was walking in a story book.  Pictures, not words are best to show this.  Definitely worth the $6reals.  

For dinner, we headed to a kilo place.  A kilo place is where you go to a buffet, fill with what you want to eat and have your food weighed. It cost around $50/kilo and it was around $30reals for me to be satisfied tonight.   Now I am chilling on the couch at the hostel.  Tomorrow, the plan, weather permitting, is to go to see Cristo and then the beach.  Last year, I went to see Cristo it was so cloudy you could only see the armpit.  Hopefully this time is a bit better.  

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Tchau Tchau!!