The final blog

What to say? I'm writing this from North Wales - pretty jet-lagged, living funny hours, got up at 4am, usually I'd still be out at that time.

I still remember getting the train to Heathrow about nine months ago, gradually becoming more and more terrified. The tension was exhausting and I fell asleep almost as soon as I sat on the plane. At that point, and for the following few days I wondered if I'd made the right decision, I missed everyone and Delhi is crazy and (to steal back a favourite English word among Indians) bamboozling. But the trip just got better and better and has been the greatest experience of my life.

I have been to 13 different countries, across three continents, all of which were new to me. The trip has starred the Taj Mahal, Angkor Watt, the Great Wall of China, Milford Sound, Cape Horn, and the Inca Trail. I have been to bustling modern cities such as Hong Kong and Tokyo and the beautiful little corners of Rishikesh, Halong Bay and Fraser Island.

But the real joy has been in meeting so many different people - fellow travellers and the locals of each country. I've said before I've rarely been happier than sitting on a bus or train, heading into the unknown. People ask what my favourite places have been, and I've met many travellers who believe I go too fast and cannot get a feel for any of the places spending so little time in them. But for me the mix of cultures and lifestyles, seeing what unites us and how we can be so different, strolling among the temples and geishas in Kyoto, dancing in a samba club in Sao Paulo, playing rugby on a beach in Sydney - just feels like you're not only seeing the world, but reaching out and touching it.

To everyone who has perservered with this tripe, thanks very much, the blog has been a very enjoyable part of the trip.

Favelas

I just want to blog briefly about the favelas. These last few blogs have suffered from me not being able to load pictures - I´ll add them asap when I return home.
The favelas are the slums of Rio. The ones I visited today has 200,000 people living in them. They are crumbling old buildings with bare bricks and open windows. Several people live in a single room and they´re pretty unsanitory. However, they are far from depressing places. The people, though poor, appear healthy and happy. They are all controlled by Brazillian drug barons and amazingly this leads to them being crime free.
Walking between the beach, fashion shops and nightclubs of Ipanema, particularly at night, there´s always a risk you will get mugged, and it will probably be by someone from a favela. But in the favelas themselves they will not touch you. This is because the drug barons do not allow crime as they do not want to attract the police. They also refuse to deal crack cocaine in the favelas as it is so addictive it often leads to people committing crimes to fund the habit. However, most of Brazil´s coke and cannabis come out of these neighbourhoods.
We went to a graffiti artists shop and a daycare centre, and listened to children playing samba music on makeshift drums in the street. In a way it is poverty tourism, but the money goes back into the favelas, into the daycare centre, and tourism has been instrumental for some years now in gradually improving quality of life in the neighbourhood.
Today is my final day. Tonight we are going to live it up in Lapa, tomorrow I start a mammoth journey back. It´s been an amazing experience and I will blog some more and try and recap a little, hopefully without boring you all too much more.
Incidentally, before deciding on the title Travel and Travails I had planned to call this blog Around the World in 80 Blogs. Without any pre-planning I have now hit blog number 77, so who knows, maybe we will finish on 80 after all.

Sugar Loaf and Jesus Christ superstar

Just a quick blog to let you know (as the title suggests) I´ve been to Sugar Loaf and Christ the Redeemer in Rio. As I can´t load photos, its a pretty pointless blog, but that has never stopped me before.
I went to Sugar Loaf with a couple of Dutch girls. It provides great views of the city - Rio is a beautiful city, with so many beaches and a massive lake it looks as if it was built on water - while the Christ statue is very impressive, but what can I really tell you about it, you´ve seen the photos.
I´ve been pretty lazy about going out, but last night we headed to Botafogo only to be turned away from a nightclub because not all of us had ID. Hopefully we´ll have more luck tonight as we´re off to Lapa for some samba action.
I´m off to a Favella now, which have been highly recommended. They seem to be huge Rio communities where some of the poorest people live, and are filled with art and music, etc.
I will blog about it on my return.

At the Copa, Copacabana...

... don´t pretend you don´t know it.
I can see why Rio tops a lot of people´s lists and why so many - once they have arrived - do not leave. There are acres of beach here, the sand is soft and stone free and there are great waves for the surfers. The locals are friendly party people and the whole place buzzes.
I spent my first day touring the beaches, Rio has two main ones - Copacabana and the even cooler Ipanema. To be honest, I think I´ll return today. I only have a few other must sees while I´m here - Christ the Redeemer, Sugar Loaf - which provides great views of the city - and the Maracana. I think the first two could be done in one day.
Yesterday I went to Saint Theresa, an historic neighbourhood now given over to the artists. It was different to the many colonial parts of South America, which was a relief as I´ve really seen enough. Many of the buildings resembled a Disney fairytale, but it has to be said that ugly additions have been allowed to spring up at random and all the views are spoiled by huge numbers of electricity cables that head off in every direction.
The bad news for you is that the hostel computer doesn´t seem to be compatible with my card reader so I won´t be able to load pictures until I return to the UK, the bad news for me is that is Monday.

Ille Grande, Swedes and the law of sod

It was a blinding day today, gorgeous sunshine ... as we sailed away from the tropical island where it had rained for most of my two day stay. Ille Grande was still very cool, a little island about two hours from Rio, which is in itself surrounded by smaller uninhabited islands. Its a haven of fishermen with jet black sand underneath the golden brown, which I guess might mean it used to be volcanic. However, it was rain and not ash that kept hammering down.
There have been an extraordinarily high number of Swedes travelling with me of late. Starting with four in Paraty and adding a couple more in Ille Grande. Scandinavians in general are always good fun and up for a laugh. It´s been a good few days as I wind down to the end of the trip.
However, I left the island with ba British couple and now that I´m in Rio I seem to be worryingly surrounded by English hooray Henrys and Henriettas.
I am writing this from the Copacabana, where I arrived early this evening. I have six whole days in Rio, which is a lifetime compared to how long I usually stay in places, but I am sure I will not get bored. As we arrived in the city the Christ the Redeemer statue appeared on the horizon - it is so high up compared to most of the city - and Flamengo and Botafogo were kicking off in what I think was a Brazilian cup final (but must admit am not entirely sure). Both teams are from Rio and shirts and flags have been out in force. I caught the second half on TV, which saw Botafogo score twice to equalise at two-all but then lose on penalties. The area has since gone nuts! I`ll add photos of Ille Grande soon.

Paraty

It´s so beautiful here - lovely beach, rows of white wash houses, with brightly coloured doors and window frames, and streets that are less cobbled than bouldered. It´s quiet, which is nice after the madness of Sao Paulo, and exactly what I need with little over a week to go. There´s been a good crowd in the hostel although most have left now. I stayed an extra day because its so nice and, quite frankly, I´m a lazy git.
On my first night here we had a boat party and was drinking calparinas until the early hours. The Brazilian national drink is a mix of their own spirit, limes and a ridiculous amount of sugar. It´s nice as the lime cancels out the sugar´s sweetness, but I´m not sure how this isn´t a nation of diabetics.

The good, the bad and the bohemian

I have been wandering around downtown Sao Paulo - or Sampa as its known - today and dont really know how to start to describe it. The city is elegant in parts, but mostly shabby, the people are generally friendly, but can appear quite menacing - whether or not thats just the reputation putting ideas in my head its hard to say, but I would not return after dark.
This is the first ethnically diverse place I have been in South America. As well as the Latinos, there are a lot of Asians, Caucasians and Blacks, which is refreshing. The city has a history of being a home to immigrants and is known as the gateway to Brazil. Its very poor, with a lot of tramps and street sleepers and people searching through the bins for whatever they can find. However there is practically no begging. Its strange how poverty manifests itself differently in different places.
In contrast to the city centre, the area I am staying in is safe, fun and friendly. There are more bars than you can shake a stick at and they were all so full last night people were queuing to get in and there was music blaring out of every corner. Its more of a place to live than visit, but I can imagine it being a lot of fun.
I have two more nights here than I head to Paraty and Ille Grande - I think thats what they are called - before completing my trip in Rio.