Back to Rio.....

We arrived back in Rio after our paradise trip...our double room had gone and we were demoted to bunk beds but we had a private room and bathroom, so not so bad. The shower was more like a bath but you wouldn`t want to sit in it and i`m not sure how safe this was but when you turned the hot water on the gas burner came alight so we were showering next to a flame???
A lot of our new found friends had left but there were plenty of new faces ready and waitng to play with! Since we had been gone they had also set the pool table up so we had that to keep us entertained.
The weather was not great on out return to Rio so we spent the day organising ourselves. We had to do our laundry and send some bits home from the post offices, its amazing that we dedicated the day to the post office and the laundry...I wonder if that will happen when we return home!
The usual Wednesday night BBQ was happening at the hostel, eat and drink as much as you like for 20 Real...bargain! So, we joined in with the fun and games, with happy hour starting at 6pm, we were there on the dot as our room was next door to the bar. My new favourite drink is Caprivodka which is an alternative to the Brazillian drink, its made up of vodka, crushed ice and half a lime squeeezed in, with 4 quarters of lime floating in the drink, its yum and I will be making this on my return home. By midnight we`d eaten and drunk plenty and now it was time to go out, there was quite a crowd in the hostel and we all went to a bar in Ipanema to continuw with the party,a fun night was had by all and we returned around 6am, very drunk and ready for bed....we woke up at 5pm!
We spent that evenign chilling and watching DVDs not able to handle 2 nights in a row!
The next few days were spent chilling and sunbthing on the beach. Bretts Nan was 90 whilst we were here and there was a party going on, so we went to it via web cam. It was a nice surpise for Little Nan to see us from Brazil and amazing for her to see the wonders of technology. We were able to see her have her cake and open our present hand delivered & organised by Em (THANKS again EM). It was lovely to see evry one and catch up with all the family from a far!
By Saturday we were fully recovered from our big night so indulged in a few beers, about midnight I was chatting to a couple of friends Tom & James and Tom was telling me that he was booked in todo the famous hang gliding over the beaches of Rio...I`d had a look but wasn`t brave enough! His friend wasn`t doing it with him and he said I should do it, as it was so late I htought there is no way i will get booked on for 9am the next day so went and enquired....with in 10 mins I was booked on for hang gliding the next day!!! Arrgghh!!!
So, sunday morning came round very quickly and I was us and getting ready for my 830 pick up to run of a cliff...as I hadn`t had much time to think about it I wasn`t nervous. We got picked up by the guy who would be flying with one of us, his name was Mosquito aka as Mr Smooth but past it and a little creepy!! The car journey consisted of him telling us how wonderful he was and how he always did the flight with famous people and had flown with lots of play boy girls etc...I think we were all asleep with our eyes open!!
We got there and had to sign ourlives away and that if any hting happened to us no one would sue etc, I didn`t sign it but I was still allowed to fly. We took a buggy up tot he top, which was an interesting bumpy ride. Once at the top, Brett & Tom headed straight over to the edge I stood frozen to the spot refusing to look...then got a little brave and headed straight ober to have a look, big mistake, now I was thinking...what was I thinking!!!
We got put in to our flying clothes...Tom and his instructor were doing there practise runs and my guy, mosquito was no where to be seen, we had a look around and saw him, in the corner on his knees..... praying!! My thought were on over drive.
Eventually Mosquito joined me and attached him self to me. When you take of hang gliding you have to run off a platform so we had to practise running together. We then got attached to the hang glider and I had to practise a few moves, then it was time to go. Whilst we`re waiting for the signal, MOsquito in a very firm voice says to me "you promise you do not stop running, once we run you run if you stop we die" such a nice thing to say to me and freaked me out even more. Then he says you listen to me you do as I say which of course I would do. This is it we`re off...he starts shouting "run run run run run run" so i run for my life off a cliff and we`re away floating in the sky!
It was amazing, the views of Ris beaches were spectacular, the skies were blue it was brilliant. The Rio marathon was on as well so we were able to see all the runners. Mosquito let me fly the hang glider for a bit and i accidentaly jolted and we did a direct right turn towards a cliff, he told me off..I didn`t mean it. So whilst we were flyign I thought the landing must be easy he hasn`t mentioned it so must be straight forward.
As we were flying towards the beach at some speed he says to me right take your feet off and basically hang as we land you stand up straight and run, at which point he wrapped his feet round my legs so how I was suppoes to run i don`t know. Next to the beach was a motorway and we were going faster than the cars and fast approaching our landing. We pretty much landed and didn`t really run the hang glider came down on my right shoulder so hard, I wouldn`t say it was the best landing. My Mum has the DVD, its an interesting watch, even if its just the landing you see! I`m glad I did it, it was another amazing experiance to add to the memories....sky diving next!
We spent our last day in Rio on the beach which was soo nice and on our last evening we went out for dinner with Sam an American guy we met who is studying on Brazil. we went to the nicest restaurent we had been to in Rio. They give you a card green for yes please and red for no thanks, they bring round every kind of meat and steak u can think of and carve it on to your plate, they also had a huge salad abr and an even bigger pasta bar, we were both in paradise, oh and it was eat as much as you like for about 27 real...nice! When you order side orders once you finish them they replace,which was also included in the price so we had fried banana and chips on a continuous fill up...mmmm nice!
We loved Rio and were very sad to leave, `we didn`t want to go but all good things must come to end...so it was good bye to Rio....