Day Three in Rio de Janeiro

It is now our third day in Rio de Janeiró. Yesterday we made it to the Christ statue and got some great photos of downtown Rio, the beaches, and so on. The views from the lookout points were quite spectacular and despite the wind and occasional cloud cover, it was well worth the trip. From there we found our way to Ipanema Beach in time for a late lunch and quick swim before dark. We then made our way back to Lapa, which is the subdivision in which our hostel is located. We´re becoming quite comfortable with the use of public buses now, and we´ve found the people of Rio to be more than willing to lend a hand with directions and translations. The city is actually very welcoming and we´ve seen no signs of the dangers that people from North America talk so much about.

Today we are back at Ipanema Beach. Sundays are clearly a popular day for heading to the beach as there were thousands of people just along this one stretch of sand. Sunday is also the day for a weekly market located one block off the beach in Ipanema. We spent some time looking through the market for various souvenirs.

Tomorrow two groups will be off to the airport very early to catch our flight to Salvador while the third group makes their way to the port where the Tocorime is docked. We´re all going to miss Rio and look forward to our return in a couple weeks. That being said, we have much to see and do between now and then. Ciao!

Day Two in Rio de Janeiro

It´s now 10:30 a.m. on our second day in Rio de Janeiro. All aspects of our flight went smoothly and we made it to our hostel without a hitch yesterday. We thought the boys might be tired after almost 20 hours in transit, but that did not turn out to be the case. They were too excited to explore the city. After some time to shower and clean up, the entire group walked down the hill to a local restaurant for a taste of Brazilian barbecue for lunch. From there we caught a city bus to Copacabana beach. We spent the afternoon swimming, playing frisbee and football, and sipping on coconut water right out of the coconuts. Travelling with a group of 40 people has proved to be challenging, and we certainly attract some attention, but we already seem to be getting the hang of moving around in this city.

The plan for today is to make our way to the Christ Statue followed by an afternoon of fun on Ipanema beach. I hope to have some photos to attach with my next update.

Countdown

One week remains before the start of the 9th annual SASSAW trip. Thirty-four students, five teachers and two Old Boys will be embarking on a three week adventure to Brazil. Site-seeing in Rio de Janeiro, a community service project in Salvador, a sailing expedition along the coast of Brazil from Rio to Paraty, a trek in Chapada Diamantina National Park, and a tour of Iguassu Falls are among the many adventures in store for our group. Departure: Thursday, July 28.