Exploring Rio

On our way out of Copacabana, there was a gas line explosion on our street! Nobody was hurt, but it was quite a scene to remind us where we are!

We have moved to our 2nd couch surfing house where we have learned to cook some delicious Brazilian food. Tapioca cakes, mmmm so good, are kind of like quesodillas or crepes back home. You can put practically anything inside and it is awesome!

We have been all over the city to bustling downtown and, in contrast, the Santa Teresa district, which is a hippy slash reggae neighborhood far up on the hill overlooking Rio central. There is this crazy old trolly car up the hill, which is packed full everywhere it goes with people hanging out off the railings which run dangerously close to parked cars, lamp posts, concrete walls, and steep drops off the side of a bridge!

We were really hoping to get to a futebol match here in Rio, where people are crazy about the sport. Maracanã is the home of the soccer stadium, where we got the wrong date for a soccer game; anybody who has struggled to understand a foreign language will know what its like to go somewhere expecting to see something, only to find out that the event is next week! Haha, we must look like some very silly gringos! Dang looks like we wont be seeing a soccer game in brazil.

Yesterday we trekked in the Floresta de Tijuca, a national park right outside of Rio, which supplies the much of the freshwater to the city, in the Mata Atlântica climate, so green and lush. It was a rainy and cloudy day, adding to the mystic feeling of the forest, although I guess there are some wonderful views of the city on clear days.

One interesting thing about Brazil: there are cars here that run only on alcohol, derived from the abundant sugar cane here. The alcohol-based fuel here is much cheaper per unit and, it is good to see that other fuel options are being used here. This country is flush with natural resources, and it shows that here they are doing their best to direct their efforts in the right direction!

See the rest of our pictures here!

Lots o' love!

Tony & Anna