Being Mr. Kenny

So, the time has finally come for the last post from South America! We fly tomorrow, all the way back to England. I’m excited in some ways, and sad in others. It will be nice to see everyone again, that’s for sure.

The first thing we did when we arrived in Rio was to get in a taxi to a hostel that had closed down since the publication of Lonely Planet. I swear those books are more trouble than they’re worth! So, we got into another taxi, and paid another R$30 (30 Reais) to come to another one, which turned out to be lovely.

There was a Mexican lady staying here who was very interested in a particular comic book, which she had been collecting for 40 years. She was married to a German, and had a small child who insisted on waving my digital camera around (which I thought was funny, to be honest, but I did get it back pretty sharpish). I also found a book, The Millstone by Margaret Drabble. It was about an independent woman who gets pregnant on her first attempt at sex, set in the mid sixties. At first I thought it was a bit naff, but reading on I actually got quite involved.

The next day we went for a little walkabout in Rio. Rio is a very beautiful city, and has a really strange geography. It’s full of beaches and there are a number of mountains in amongst the place. It’s kind of stretched out in bits, and it makes for a lot of diversity and beauty; the place feels very light, and not really like a big city at all—you don’t feel boxed in.

Caught my first glimpse of Cristo Redentor, the famous statue. As I have mentioned before (probably—can’t remember) I had the poster on my wall for 3 years without thinking much about it. Actually seeing it was quite spectacular. It appeared out of the mist, and it was really amazing to think that I was actually there! I never thought I’d ever be here! I plan to return at some point in the future :D

We went in the cable cars up to Sugar Loaf mountain. Got a spectacular view of the city at night, the lights were beautiful. Took loads of photos, naturally. Then, afterwards, we went back to the hostel where some Irish girls were just popping out for beers. Had a really lovely evening talking to everyone, including a French girl with whom I had a secret conversation in French, ha ha! Been waiting to do that for ages… I also managed to break the internet. Pressed the swtich off button (conveniently placed by the enter key) and when I switched the computer back on, it wouldn’t connect properly, to my very considerable chagrin.

The next day we went on a city tour of Rio. A man named Wilson drove us round, explaining everything to us. The first thing we visited was Cristo Redentor. Very cleverly, I managed to leave my camera at home, so I will draw a cartoon or something when it comes to uploading my photos. I was most seriously displeased, to quote lady Catherine de Burgh (Claire, I want a comment on how excellent I am for quoting Austen on my blog). We then went to see where they do all the carnivals. I thought they went round the whole city, but it’s actually a road about 1km long with a block of seats up one side. I was actually a bit disappointed! they have judges and everything, and the best parade wins a prize, I think. They tried to dress us up in carnival clothes, but me and Alex stubbornly refused, especially after we noticed a middle aged American tourist making a complete fool of himself dancing, as he was, like a complete pillock.

I don’t remember its name, but there is a long stretch of stairs that a Chilean artist has been covering in broken tiles for years. Seeing as I forgot my camera I can’t show you any pictures. I’m also a little annoyed cos I just broke the internet again and lost half the post, and I was but a few sentences from finishing, so you’re gonna get the shorter version (fewer words, but all the facts).

Also saw a modern Cathedral made out of concrete, and some really intereseting buildings, one which resmebled a Rubix Cube, and the other was almost identical to the Arts Tower in Sheffield.

Well, the rest of this post was really cool, but then I lost it all, and it’s irritated me so much I think I’m gonna have to leave it here. Will do a sort of “summing up” thing when I get back, and will add a few more details to this post. Or who knows, might have loads of time in the Airport. Anyway, have to go now before my head explodes!

Last night

We went out last night, for the first time yet in South America because we are boring idiots. Anyway, we went to a Samba bar which was really good fun! There was a live band and you paid for everything right at the end of the night, which is a brilliant way of getting people to spend more money, but never mind. Anyway, never knew the samba music was so good! Would have danced loads if more people had been there, but dancing in threes is rubbish :D