Christmas in the sun

First of all...MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all and a HAPPY NEW YEAR fast approaching. We have has a very different festive period I feel. Upon leaving Ilha Grande (where we accidental-on-purpose forgot to pay for our room...) we arrived in sunny Rio and to our hostel located a stones throw from the Copacabana beach. On arrival we meet up with Josh, Dave and Guy again and decided to hit the town hard, and I mean very hard. We went to a place called The House and were astounded by the beauty of the woman and the strength of the drinks....needless to say it all ended well. Armed with heavy hangovers we quickly got our camera fixed (so no more black-smudge-ufo-things) and headed to chill on the beach which although quite crowded was great fun in the 30+ degree heat. Followed by a more relaxed evening at our excellent hostel.

Christmas eve started with a bang as me and Dave embarked on a 6km run of the beach to see the 'sights', although it was already 29 degrees at 9oc so was hot work but great fun! After a quick dip at the rival Ipanema beach, we wandered back down the Copa were I nearly got in deep trouble trying to take a photo I shouldn't....it was for u Dad! We followed this by getting a big game of volleyball going on the beach. Then to stay in Brazilian customs we had an amazing roast dinner (best we could manage esp with Steve and Guy throwing hot gravy around) and exchanged secret Santa presents on Xmas Eve and a few beers into the evening (and into the next morning as it happened) to get merry with fellow hostelers from around the world.

THE BIG DAY! and a scorching 34 degrees, so after a relaxed morning with a Brazilian breakfast we again frequented the Copacabana beach for more football, swimming, ogling, etc before an all-you-can eat Xmas BBQ and more beer to continue to merry theme. Obviously not a standard Christmas for us, but good fun all the same. To finish off Rio in style, Boxing day, we went on a self-guided city tour, some more football and volleyball on the beach then a cheeky game of vodka poker, some ufc fighting and a bar crawl in LaPa, Rio's party district.

All in all, we had an unforgettable Xmas period in a city which has quickly become on of my favourites in the world so far. The combination of weather, cityscapes, beaches, green scenic mountains, partying, woman (who are by far and away the best iv ever seen, you fall in love, on average, every 12 seconds) make it the premier destination for any trip to South America.

We are now in Puerto Iquazu in Argentina after a 25 hour bus ride, with Rod Stewart live on the TV, and sweating a lot due to suddenly finding out we are in a Malarial region with no tablets, so keep as much skin covered as possible! Then off to Buenos Aires for New Year....'tis a hard life!