Tocorime

Yikes, it really has been ages and ages since my last post. A whole new month this time! Cant believe how fast this trip is going. We are almost half way through already and it feels like only yesterday we were at the airport!!

Our last few weeks in Rio were as fantastic as ever! Carnaval was absolutely insane. Unfortunately I got very very ill over that crucial week! Just read the end of my last blog which was raving a bit about Acai. Well scrap that! Can never NEVER touch the stuff again. Not sure if that was what made me ill but it was the last thing Id had before 2 instances of being violently sick and really dont fancy it again!

Despite the illness I still managed to enjoy myself! Parading with Imperio da Tijuca was such an incredible experience. It almost feels like we didnt do it, it was so surreal! Shame that the costumes were so ridiculous, but when everyone was there all dressed the same it really didnt matter. The atmosphere was totally electric. Very very scary once we got into the Sambodrome. You dont realise how many people are watching you, and not just that: how clsoe they are to you aswell! We were supposed to know the words for the Samba song, but as we didnt we were just miming crazily so that the judges (who sat much higher up) got a good impression. However, it mustve been totally obvious to all the people along the barriers that we didnt have a CLUE and nor could we Samba especially well. Bloody gringos!!

After our own performance in the Sambodrome we went to see the Special Groups performing which was another incredible experience. Their costumes were absolutely incredible (many photos to come, but they really dont do them justice at all!). So on Sunday night we were up watching the Samba untill 6am (plus scavenging for costumes afterwards - they just ditch them mostly! Its heart breaking to see all these beautiful sparkly creations lying in the dust. Got into proper magpie mode and salvaged a few special and transportable pieces!). After just 3 hours sleep we got up and headed to the final blocco being held up in Santa Theresa. It was totally BRILLIANT! Beforehand Id thought it was a bit weird having a street party like that during the day, but honestly it worked! It was fantastic! Managed to get rather tiddly (ahem!) by about 10 oclock and happened to bump into a gorgeous guy wed met in Lapa a few weeks back. He was Brazilian but with the most incredible sea-green eyes. AND, to top it all off he was dressed as Jack Sparrow. Phwoar Captain!!!

Which leads me nicely onto our week aboard the tall ship which we just finished today - sad times! It was a truly incredible week. Everything about it totally exceeded my expectations!!

The boat itself was just amazing. It was built by hand by Markus who was the captain on board. It had such soul and it was incredible to meet the guy whod actually made it himself. Apparently hime and a few friends had just decided one day that they fancied building a boat.Thought it would take them about 1 year but due to a change in currency all the money theyd saved up became worthless over night and what with a few other set backs it actually took them 6 years to complete the Tocorime. But I think it was totally worth it. It is an incredible boat and with such soul. Difficult to explain but it certainly wasnt your average boat!!

The itinerary was breath taking too. We went to so many beautiful beaches. It was properly paradise! We sailed to one which is rated as the 4th best beach in the world. It was so gorgeous - the sand was so soft it actually felt like snow. It even crunched and squeaked a little as you walked on it. And the sea was so so warm. It was close to heaven - especially was we arrived super early in the morning and so were the only ones there! Most days were similar to be honest. Wed always be in the sea (aquamarine, of course!). The boat had a supply of foam noodles which meant you didnt even have to use any effort to stay afloat! There was one American passenger who actually bought his own inflatable lilo with him and spent rather a lot of time floating on that (plus an umbrella to prevent sunburn - cue many Mary Poppins realted comments!) getting people to throw him beers. Definitely a good way to live! We also did a few hikes. One was absolutely incredible as it wasnt too much hard work but invo9lved scrambling up a fresh water stream to reach a waterfall. It was absolutely gorgeous and there was a little ledge in the water that you could climb up to and then slide down the rocks into a huge cool pool. Hopefully someone with a waterproof camera got some photos. It was truly breathtaking. We did another hike on the penultimate day which wasnt so enjoyable. Admittedly there were great views from the very top (the mountain is referred to as Sugar Loaf even though its not the offical one in Rio ((which we did go up, forgot to write about that! Absolutely lovely wathcing the sunset and drinking hot chocolate on there!))). The walk up was horrific. It took over an hour and was so so steep that there were a couple of ropes attached to the trees to pull yourself up on! It was also stinking hot.... Not entirely sure if the view made up for that but I guess its all good training for Macchu Pichu!!

Finally, the bit that really made the trip. The people on board. Everyone was absolutely brilliant: passengers and crew. Possibly my favourite thing about travelling is the people that you meet. Everyone was so interesting and interested - Danni and I and a guy called Sam were all the youngest but I never felt it. Its odd how at home Id never get the chance to meet certain people and lots of them would probably turn their nose up at hanging out with someone half their age. It was great to meet people from different countries too. Everyone was so different but really contributed. It was a brilliant group, we all seemed to get on so well and actually feel really sad to leave them all. Especially Christian the Norwegian barman, he was rather nice! Hehe......!!

Anyway, really need to gert off to bed now! Didnt get brilliant sleep on board. Having said that, one of my favourite parts was sleeping on deck. Wed watch the sunset at about 6.30 and then have dinner (oh my god the chef on board was incredible! A proper magician given the size of the kitchen and the heat down there!) and then lounge around drinking beers (or capirinhas..) as the stars came out. There were a couple of hammocks on deck but mostly Danni and I brought our matress upstairs. Then in the morning youd be woken up by sunrise or occassionally the monekys in the trees on the islands nearby. Wow!!!!!!!

2 nights in Sao Paulo now before heading off to Peru to start the big Southern Cross. Unfortunately we are both a bit ill at the moment. One inconsiderate passenger boarded the ship with a cold and subsequently most of the rest of us have it now and he is fine. Thanks Rogier!!!

Its a shame I missed such a long time out. This blog acts as my own record of the trip. Im sure Ill remember all the best bits... though there have been so many!! Almost half way now which is scary scary SCARY!!!

Boa noite
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