RIO DE JANEIRO (BRAZIL)

Rio de Janeiro was trully an amazing city, quite unlike any other I had ever visited before. Probably the single thing that stuck most in my mind from my brief but hectic, 4 day visit to the 'wonderful city' was the level of diversity in this city of 10 million people. Added to this was the natural beauty all around, with the white sandy beaches, untouched jungle and mountains jutting out everywhere, providing the perfect backdrop for many amazing photos. Following a less than enjoyable 5 day stay in Sao Paolo, I travelled to Rio, where I arrived many hours later than I had anticipated having been stuck at the scene of an accident for the best part of the day. Thankfully, I was able to contact Marcos, a friend of my father's, who organised me to visit the office of the company for which he worked where I was looked after immensely and given a run down of the sugar industry in Brazil (which for all you cynics, I found most interesting !).

Following this, one of the junior employees was directed to escort me around town and so with the aid of his car I was able to visit both the Sugarloaf mountain and statue of Christ the Redeemer in a single day. From these elevated vantage points, the views of the city were incredible and thankfully the perfect weather enabled me to get a number of great photos. It was also clear from these sights that the demographics of Rio were quite unlike most cities in the world, with the richest suburbs being literally only a few hundred metres from many of the largest and poorest flavellas in South America. Also included in the tour was a lunch paid for by the company at one of the city's most famous restaurants, where apparently celebrities such as Ronaldo could frequently be seen. The food in this place was equisite and I don't think I am likely to taste steaks much better than I did here !

Despite the constant talk from both locals and other travellers about security problems in the city, I must say that I neither felt uncomfortable nor noticed anything particularly dangerous about Rio. Whilst I was careful not to take anything of value out with me and to avoid where possible, walking around alone, I did not take any extreme precautions and managed to have a great time in the city. In some ways, I felt that publications such as the lonely planet guide did not help by fuelling stories of roberies and muggings, whilst not promoting more common sense and explaining that Rio actually had alot to offer as a city.

On my second day I was invited to play golf with Marcos and a number of his collegues, an experience which I enjoyed immensely. Playing my favourite sport on an excellent course with great people and with such a magnificent backdrop, what more could one ask for ? Another lunch paid for by the company and after a relaxing afternoon I ventured out to sample some of the famous Rio nightlife. I managed to find a rather expensive club, where the music was ok and the people were very friendly. It turned out that dancing was not the primary focus of clubbing in Brazil, in stark contrast to Argentina but I still managed to have a good time nonetheless.

My final days in the city were spent just exploring other areas and wandering around the markets at Ipanema and Copacabana beaches. Unfortunately I chose not to capture any of the famous beaches or nightlife in Rio, for fear of having my camera stolen, but I don't think photos could really do justice to what these aspects of the city were really like. Quite sadly I left Rio and headed onwards to Madrid, the south american leg of my journey over. However, the experiences and memories I will carry forever from this journey are some of the most important from my life and I am certain that I will soon return to the fair shores of Latin America to sample more of what this amazing continent has to offer.

Photos 1-3: Golf course photos with the city and mountains in the background.
Photo 4: Statue of Christ.
Photo 5: View of Rio from Christ the Redeemer.
Photos 6 & 7: Photographs of the city from sugar loaf mountain.

IGUAZU FALLS (ARGENTINA/BRAZIL)

On sheer 'initial shock value' Iguazu falls was almost certainly the most amazing location I visited during my tour of South America and I think it is reasonably safe to say that there isn't anything much like it in the world with possibly the acception of Niagra Falls. Situated right on the Argentinian-Brazillian border, Foz do Iguazu could be described simply as an amazingly large quantity of water (sourced from the Rio Parana and Rio Iguazu) spills over a massive chasm. At the time of my visit, the two rivers sourcing the falls were full almost to the point of bursting because of some recent heavy rain. As such the falls were certainly in fall swing and I found myself soaked to the skin after only 5 minutes, the result of torrential downpours and the enormous quantity of mist generated by the falls.

On my first day in the national park I viewed the falls from the Argentine side and it was from here that I was able to get very close to some of the largest cascades such as 'El Diablo' where the thundering roar of the falling water made it difficult to make myself heard (surprising I know!). One of the most amazing things from this first day was just how large the falls were and it seemed that they continued on forever, for around every corner there were another 5 or so falls to marvel at. I found myself having to remove previously taken pictures from my memory card so as to free up space to capture some of the sights I was witnessing. After a long day walking around the entire park, I returned to my hostel and enjoyed a massive steak, my last in Argentina.

The next day, after taking a bus to the Brazillian side of the national park, I realised that the parts of the falls I had viewed the previous day on the Argentine side was only a fraction of the total site. Whilst not being able to get quite as close to the falls in Brazil, I thought this side provided better opportunities to comprehend the true size of the falls. Thankfully I had plenty of room for taking literally hundreds of photos !