Rio de Janiero

I am really lucky that I have the Big Guy up above looking out for me! Apart from the mishap of losing my luggage I have had a fantastic time in Rio. On my flight from New York to Toronto I was seated ne*t (the letter after W doesnt work so readers figure it out ha ha) to a guy called Lloyd (lloyd i told you i would write about you). Lloyd and I talked non-stop the whole flight - you could not find two people more chalk and cheese - seriously - he couldnt believe I was travelling alone, with a backpack, for 3 months, no hotels, no fancy restaurants, only having a vague idea of where i will head ne*t! He thinks Im totally unique and totally crazy and we laughed non-stop (i should say i laughed at him.....) LLoyd booked his holiday to Toronto a month in advance and has spent the last month searching the internet for restaurants and making reservations!! ha ha who does that ha ha. lloyd seriously u cracked me up! He wouldnt dream of backpacking and I told him he needs to go to NZ and he will meet many people just like me lol. Well - there is only one me but you know what i mean!

On my connecting flight to Brazil I was seated ne*t to Gustavo who is Brazilian. We got talking and he said he would help me out with finding the right bus to take me to Rio de Janeiro from Sao Paulo which was awesome! We arrived in Sao Paulo, Brazil to find that my backpack had not arrived with me! Gutted! The airline said they would locate it and send it on the ne*t flight from Toronto.....yea right...they should make that a Tuis add.......enter Gustavo...my brazilian angel......Gustavo stayed with me the whole time in the airport to talk with the Air Canada staff about finding my bag and then he took me in the ta*i his company pay for to the bus station (bout 30mins drive from airport) and the ta*i driver waited while Gustavo took me into the bus station, helped me buy my ticket, took me to the right gate for getting on the bus and then said goodbyes and left to go home! Total angel for sure! I looked on the bright side.....i didnt have to carry my pack to Rio - they told me they would deliver it to my door there.

On the bus to Rio (a 6 hour journey) I got talking to the only english speaking person on the bus and his friend, Mike and Monica, who are from the states and Mike just happened to speak Portuguese and has been living in Brazil for a while! So, another angel to help me out with language difficulties during the bus ride. While on the bus I realised I had no idea where I was supposed to meet the people I was staying with in Rio. I had no idea what they looked like and also knew that they spoke no english so trying to call was out of the question! Ahhhhhhh......i got off the bus and just stood in one spot for 5 mins until someone resembling Tulio (my friend in the Mount) came up and grabbed me saying Carla Carla....ha ha i nearly cried!

I have been staying with Walter and Jacqueline in their tiny little cute apartment in an area of Rio called Grajau for 5 nites. They have been so good to me, totally going out of their way to make me feel at home, feed me, clothe me (i had to wear all Jacqueline's clothes including underwear!!!!!) and drive me around Rio every day. It has been so awesome and they are the bomb. Totally amazing family - they have 3 young sons, Mathius 11, Lucas 9, and Samuel 6 and they live in a 2 bedroom place. The boys shre a room. When i arrived they took the mattresses from the boys room and moved them onto the floor into their bedroom and gave me the boys room - this is how out of the way they went to make me feel comfortable. The whole family speak no english which has been a total crack up at times. Never the less, with my spanish and somewhat very limited Portuguese and numerous hand signals we have been able to communicate no problem for the whole time. Its amazing how you find ways to communicate without language! My portugues has improved dramatically which is cool and now i speak a mad combination of spanish, portuges and english and somehow get understood. Wicked!

Unfortunately the weather has been not so great in Rio. I arrived late on Friday night and it rained for 3 days after that so going to visit the famous Cristo Redentor and Pao de Acucar were out of the question. You cant see them on a cloudy day let alone rainy! Walter and Jacqueline took me to shopping malls and a museum on the first day. Oh yea - Brazilians are freaky crazy drivers man!!! Insane! I had to close my eyes......everyone zips in and out of the traffic and toots horns at each other and drives twice the speed limit. Cops seem to be ornaments here and not sure how much use they really are!

Walter and Jacqueline have feed me amazingly well - i have never eaten so much queijo (cheese) in my life and they are stoked that i now have a little round tummy to take on my future travels ha ha. Brazilians love to eat!!!

Finally yesterday we woke up to the sun shining and we went to Cristo Redentor (the famous MASSIVE statue of Christ on top of a hill) - it is absolutely incredible. Up close it is huge!! And then after they dropped me off at Pao do Acucar (sugarloaf mountain) where I took a cable car up to the top. Amazing, incredible views!! I thort the $33 charge was a bit steep at first but when i got to the top (i had a free tour guide as well) i realised it was definitely worth it and I recommend it to anyone going to Rio!

Walter and Jacqeline are Christians and took me to their church, Maranatha. Really cute little place near their house. They go to church every day here! The first nite it was awesome just to sit and listen and have no idea what they were saying. Amusing...and then last nite the pastor brought his son along and got him to sit ne*t to me and translate the whole service - songs included!! Turns out their church is the same church we built the school at in Tijuana! Crazy but not coincedence im sure.......

Im now sitting in Foz do Iguazu - decided to fly here to save myself the 24 hour bus ride from Rio.........its pouring down with rain and there are hardly any travellers about so it is a bit lonely at the moment....i hope to meet some people when I go to see the amazing water falls tomorrow!