Welcom to Para(dise)ty!

Greeting all of you who are so kind to follow our blog!

We thought we would update you with some pictures and stories from the good life.

Right now we are in Paraty, a small colonial town 4 hours south of Rio de Janeiro. It really is a paradise!

We spent 4 days here and have just been enjoying the beach, the waterfall and the historic part of the town. The waterfall was pratically a free waterpart just up the hill from the town and is a great place to relax and have some fun! There was a huge stone in the middle of the waterfall and you could either slide down on your bum or try to surf it standing up. The locals try things that really should not be tried at home. We have tried the local cachaça, the sugarcane licor they use a lot here in Brasil. We also got to see a wonderful sunset and try the local dance club. Yesterday we went to the spa and got a massage each. An aromatheraphy and a hot stone massage. HEAVEN! Today we are hoping to leave to go to Sao Paulo, but there might not be any tickets left for the busses today. Oh well, lets see what happens.

So, lets go back in time.

The carnaval in Salvador was amazing! We got to be in the blocos and dance all night to great music. There were people everywhere and the samba drums were always playing somewhere through town. We met some norwegians as well, and enjoyed the carnaval with them for a while. The carnaval could be compare to 17th of May in Norway, only a houndred times bigger, louder and warmer. Drinks, people, music and lots of costumes could be enjoyed anywhere.

We then had some days after the carnaval to relax and enjoy the last bit of Salvador before we had to get on a 27 hour long bus heading for Rio. The trip went ok, and did not feel as long as it was. We got to Rio on Saturday 28 February. We were supposed to enjoy the last parade of the samba schools, but decided not to go to that area of town on our own on our first night.

In Rio we got to see the Sugarloaf (a famous hilltop on the coast of Rio), get tanned on Ipanema beach, walk on the beach of Copacabana, see the Cristo, get to know many nice people, enjoy the hammock in the hostel and dancing in the party area called Lapa. We also took a small train to the top of Santa Teresa, which was a smal nice area of Rio on a hilltop downtown. We went with a guy working at the hostel to see the favelas. We went into a safe one though, and it was very interesting to see how they lived on top of eachother.

We also got to go shopping (hehe), go around down town to see the main center and main spots in downtown. We also got to see some more during some of our adventorous bustrips, which sometimes led us places we did not mean to go. No harm done. We got to do some more "sightseeing" and just took a taxi back to the hostel. Rio was great and we will definately go back!

So now we are heading towards Sao Paulo, and then after a couple of days there our next stop will be Curitiba. Our last stop here in the beautiful country of Brasil will be the great Foz do Iguaçu. Take care!

The girls from Ipanema

Just wanted to pop in to tell everyone that we are alive and living the good life in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil! We have now left Salvador in the north, and reached Rio yesterday, Saturday 28.02.09 after a 27 hour bus ride. Wow! Recommended! Haha. It was a nice trip, and felt shorter than it actually was.
We don´t have much time to write this time, and we promise to tell you all about our ventures throughout the Carnaval later. At this point we are just enjoying the life in Rio, spending the day at the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema, and the evening goes to relaxing in the hammock! Life is great! Sends all of you lots of hugs and kisses! Ciao!