Goodbye Rio & hello Perrrruuuuu!!!

...we leave Brazil with no regrets,we done what we could as it's one giant country and all in all not too bad...so it's goodbye to the land of Samba and the beach life,bye bye sexy futbal and beach valleyball and now it's hello THE LAND OF THE INCAS!!!!AND MACHU PICCHU IN PARTICULAR-the Nazca Lines and Lake Titicaca too!
...arrived Lima after 5 hours flight from Sao Paulo-bumpy flight over the Andes.
...1st impression of Lima Peru -weather is nice & cool after heat of Rio-it's madness on the roads like Asia- clean city still stuck in the 60's and big gap between rich and poor as it is all over this continent...
...plan is we have to be back in Lima to catch a flight on 30th January to fly to Quitto Ecuador-so between now and then we have to do Nazca Lines,Lake Titicaca,Cuzco,4 day trekk to Machu Picchu, we also go deep in to Peruvian Amazon jungle for 3 days, visit La Paz and Salt Lakes of Bolivia too-3 weeks Peru and 2 weeks Bolivia and all by land so it's good luck to us then you say...can't wait to reach Machu Picchu The Lost City Of Incas...So here it goes again and hold on to your seats!!!!!!!

Buy this lot and you win the Premiership!

...what price for PELE!...even now Chelski can't afford him...in Brazil he was and still is priceless...but imagine the midfield of Kaka and say Rnho and upfront you have Pele and Rldo with sprinkling of Reina in goal and Carra and Agger in defence and captain by God himself mastering the mid-field and here we are talking about Stevie G...I think the opposition would be wasting their time turning up each week...3 points in the bag even before the kick-off...and of course the team managed by the other god...Raffa!!!...that's OK! we Hindus are allowed to worship more than one God you know!..

...I have a dream ! oh yes I have! that one day not too far in the distant that my beloved REDS will lift that Premiership Trophy! oh Yes! I have a dream! ...

( I hope she is not pointing at me and calling me KAKA!)

So! What did you do on XMAS DAY?

...XMAS DAY 2007 in the life of the Patels on world tour...

...another un-eventful day then!..

...8am breakfast by the beach...

...then 9am picked by Paulo of Just Fly from our hotel to jump off 610m high mountain called Pedra Bonita running at full speed holding this kite in our hand...
...2nd from left is the towering peak of Pedra Bonita mountain-one of the giant granite slabs that tower over Rio...and that's where we jump off from...
...at 09:45am Pritti ran at speed holding THAT kite you see and jumped off the mountain and there she is soaring above Rio like a gliding Condor...
...me and my co-pilot Paulo at 10:00am -me thinking the un-thinkabale-should I get back in the jeep to go to the beach or should I jump off running at full speed holding that kite!...well I did the un-thinkable and jumped...

...P with her co-piolet Marco gliding above Rio-smiles says it all...
...she loved this feeling she says...by the way she does'nt know I have published these two pictures so between you and me don't tell her or she will erase them both...
....hang gliding...it's more enjoyable than other things we've done as you spend almost 5 minutes flying before you land...
...check the golf course-that's Gavea Golf & Country Club-green fess 100US for weekdays & at weekends just play some place else!...I was surveying the Course at the same time for MGS Tour 2009-I may be DQ for having done this flight over the course...
...landing on this beach known as Praia do Pepino...we both had a smooth landings...

...12pm visit to the Lord to say Happy Birthday and asking for 3 points against Derby on Boxing Day...this of course is THE place to visit in Rio and better for visiting on Xmas Day...

...CRISTO REDENTOR or CHRIST THE REDEEMER...

...the statue sits on top of Corcovado mountain which gazes out over Rio,the expression on the Lord's face is rather placid but on a well crafted face.The mountain rises straight up from the city-710m-38m high statue on top and it is visible from nearly every part of the city- all of 1145 tons of the open armed redeemer...Jesus! thats heavy!

...Happy Birthday my Lord... Jesus Christ! watch out for that chopper my Lord I think he is going for your private parts and this day from now on could be remembered as 12/25...
...the views from here were stupendous all around...you can see the famous Maracana futbal stadium in this picture and this area is also part of Tijuca National Park...
...Sugarloaf in the middle...
...Lake Rodrigo de Freitas and beyond it is Ipanema beach,on the right the Jockey Club Of Brazil...

... 3pm late lunch/early dinner in a buffet restaurent where you pay by weight of the food in your plate and time for hairstyle change on Copacabana...
...4pm...watching Valleyball with a difference on Copacabana... but here you are allowed to use any part of your body except your hands...these guys are so good at using their heads,thighs,chests,legs,shoulders etc to keep the ball in play...wonderful to watch...a real joy on Copacabana...
...family prayers on Copacabana as another huge cruise ship leaves Rio...
...5pm...hired bicycle for the family and rode around Copacabana...here stopping for refueling yet again on tasty local coconuts...
...Copacabana on Xmas Day ...bodies sand and water as far as your eye can see...

...and a Merry Xmas to you all...from Copacabana...

...hmmm! on Copacabana...look at it before P removes it!...
...selling sarongs and so called bikinis... on Copacabana Xmas Day...
...6:30pm....watching valleyball on Ipanema beach as yet another cruise ship leaves Rio...
...7pm...back to the hotel on Ipanema and ready for few Brahma's...
7:10pm...Ipanema beach,favela in the distant and beyond it second from left Pedra Bonita mountain from where we jumped off this morning holding a kite...

...8:30pm Xmas Day...sunsets over Rio and Ipanema beach and another normal day completed for the Patels on world tour...so we have to ask...
...What Did You Do On Xmas Day?...

Favela...slums of Rio

...they say in Rio both the rich and the poor have the same gorgeous views from their living room as they both live side by side on the hills of Rio and also on the beaches of Rio rich and poor mix like they are all equal...in this picture far left on the hill is one of the 750 favelas that are dotted around Rio hills...favelas is Spanish for slums but they are not like those slums you find in Asia...here they are each totally run,policed and controlled by the drug lords and they have their own laws eg you can never be robbed once you are inside the favela-because the robber will be caught for sure by the drug lords own deadly police force and his or her throat will be cut open on the spot for others to see-problems are resolved within the community-and it goes without saying that official Rio police are all paid off by the drug lords too...if you want to see two systems one country come to Brazil...

...Favelas were not even recognised on official maps until 1992-they were initially started in 1800 by freed slaves moving in to the city and then other poor people started moving too from countrysides...

...this one called Rocinha and it's the one we visited with a guide...you have to visit a favela to understand Brazil -it's a real eye opener...
...average age of a drug lord is never above 30 years as they die well before that in a gun-fight...as luck would have it while we were there travelling on a one way street, a huge blacked out jeep went past us the wrong way and our guide told us that he can do that as one of the drug lord was in there going about his business -we failed to see his face but we all agreed that he was under the age of 30...
...all properties in favelas have all the amenities like water,electricity etc and drug lords spent lots of money on schools and so on...most of the money spent during the the great Rio carnival are provided by the drug lords too...drug lords themselves are in competition against other drug lords from other favelas as to see who can spend the most money during the Rio carnival and which favela has the best floats and winning the parade competition during the Rio carnival is the priority... over 95% of people taking parts in Rio carnival are from favelas-Rio carnival is the favelas...
...in the middle of this picture you see a line running across the mountain-that's one very expensive mountain rain drainage system built by the drug lords after a mud slide in the 80's which killed many in this favela...

...what favela produce in vast numbers are FOOTBALLERS that play for local clubs and for Brazil...most recent famous being no other than RONLADO from Flavela Rocinha and from years gone by ZICO( then so called white Pele!)...

Sugarloaf Mountain...Rio

...two cable cars rides to reach the summit-we had a clody day but still the views were simply majestic...
...top of Sugarloaf...views of many pristine beaches of Rio...the long beach is Copacabana-it's almost 5km long and really pristine -79 beaches in Rio and they are all very clean and comes alive with people in the evenings and at weekends...
...Copacabana...at far end round the corner is the other famous Ipanema beach and on this corner was our hotel for 7 days- right on the beach...people watching was fantastic from our hotel...
...two cable car rides to the summit...Rio has so many mountain peaks and they are all black/lush green jungles...
...family of MICOS seen at the summit-monkeys with grey fur,striped tails and tiny scrooge- like faces...hmmm! where have I seen that face before!...

Maracana Stadium

...Maracana Stadium in Rio(100,000 capacity)...home of PELE...on his last game in 1972 there were 200,000 crazed fans were crammed in this stadium...stadium is a concrete jungle of 60's era...new one to be built here for WC2014... Brazil won first of their 5 World Cups here in 1950....
...all mega stars and little girl is a budding football supporter but her heart is torn between Liverpool,Chelski,Arsenal,MU or who ever wins on the day really!...she has a soft spot for Chesea though...criminal!...
...perfect fit...but it's me standing in PELE'S foot print...all past and present stars of Brazil are here...it was a real pilgrim and I think even P enjoyed it!...

Ilha Grande

... Ilha Grande(IG)...two street island and no cars...spent a week just lazying...
...IG...arriving in a magnificient boat...
...sailing around IG ...
...give P & V just a bit of water and they will jump in...here snorkelling...

Getting bored on Copacabana! Wish you were here! ...so for a laugh!

...this one dedicated to Bhirenbhai for following my blog religiously...

... Outlaws Prutch Cassidy & Daughter Dance Kid(PC&DDK) are at it again abusing the local wildlife- this time in Brazil…Kid asked the Alli-gators if they were all Muslims! And Prutch accused them of being Alliga-terrorist then she asked why they all looked the same and said is it something to do with being friendly with your cousins!...

…theses comments have caused uproar in all Alli communities all over the world…diplomatic relations are under stress yet again!...

…ALO(Alligator Liberation Organization) Chairman Alligator Arafat said from his bunker in Florida swamps “ my Muslim brothers we are fighting for independent Allistan and we will fight the infidel by every means possible”…
also at the same time…Alli’s were seen in East African river Mara wearing body armours and carrying bulky rucksacks and this has caused alarm in many Western Capitals…at the same time Alli suicide bomber explodes at London Zoo completely destroying the Pakistani cockroach house!...

…British Premier GB tries to put all British troops at home on full alert before he realizes that they are ALL in Afghanistan and Iraq and have been on full alert since they’ve been there -he mumbles f…..g Tony!

…Bush again bullies Presd.Mushy of Pakistan to close all the Alliga-terrorist camps in AOK(Alligator Occupied Kashmir)…Mushy said that will incur in loss of many jobs in AOK- A.B.S &B (alligator bags shoes & belts) industry…Bush tells him bluntly either he is with us on WOA(War On Alliga-terrorists) or he is against us…Mushy thinks for a second and says he is with the US as long as the US promise to keep him in his job as President of Pakistan for the next 30 years…Bush thinks for less than a second and says- DONE!...

…FATWA has been issued by Iranian Mullahs on PC&DDK…Kid thinks FATWA is something Dad should leave it alone if he wants to be thin again!...and Mum too said the Kid very quietly as Mum was about to down another slice of FATWA Pizza!...where is all that food going thinks the third person in the party as he downs sixth or seventh Brahma beer and who is counting anyway!...Prutch thinks with all that Brahma he is going to get up in the middle of the night more than usual!...

…TB said he will go to the UN and ask for sanctions against all Alli’s including stopping all imports of A.B.S & B before he realizes that he is no longer the British Premier!...meanwhile British Premier GB blames TB for all his problems as Labour can no longer keep blaming the previous Tory Governments …

…Bush said there are WZD(Weapons of Zero Destructions) in Florida swamps and gets ready to press the Nuclear Button before the 1st Lady reminds him that Florida is still part of USA and that his own brother Jess Bush is the governor there!...

…meanwhile PC&DDK are enjoying another dip in the cool waters of Copacabana Beach not realizing that thanks to them Third World War is about to begin …the so called third person in the party now has grown a beard,full head of hair(you should be so lucky Dad! said the cheeky Kid) put on weight, wearing salwar kameese and turban , carrying a sword, D&G dark glasses and from now on speaking only in Punjabi so not to look or sound like the third person!... and also carrying a bottle of Bisky to smell like a Punjabi too!...

…meanwhile PC&DDK have been released by the Brazilian Police after questioning as the Kid pleads not guilty as she has been under the influence of too many fizzy drinks thanks to the third person and Prutch pleads insanity due to very long holidays in many nice countries and also said she has been missing cooking, house work , going to work,Cardiff traffic jams,Eastenders , Corrie Street,Tesco’s cheese cake,M&S vegee triple decker sandwiches etc for the last 7 months!...two police officers with stomach cramps were curled up on the floor laughing as two others almost fell off the chair as she promised the Police that she will quit this long holiday lark on 10th May 2008 …

Still in Rio

... still in Rio and not been robbed or mugged yet!-acutally we have been mugged twice but not as you think-read on! 24th Dec xmas eve 7pm-went to Rio central this morning and it's the worst city center in the world as all the action takes place on the beach-been walking Copacabana beach all day -it's over 4km long! -must have walked over 10km today-seen everything on the beach-valleyball,football,tennis,open air gym,smallest Mcdonalds ever! etc-downside is you can't take your camera with you for safety reason so not too many pix to show-been to a very nice Arabic restaurent for lunch/dinner on the beach side called Amir-on 22rd went to what must be the worst Indian restaurent ever called Indian Cuisine then on 23rd we went to even the most worst ever Indian restaurent in all my life called Rajmahal-Rajmahal my arse-more like poison mahal-I mean how can you call a dish Mattar Paneer when it's got no mattar or paneer and the bastard had the nerve to charge us 175 Riels ie 55 quid-we can eat happily for 2 days on 55 quid-I am sure the bastard closed it for the rest of the day after we left and went to the beach as he made whole weeks profit from poor us!-I mean we were warned that we could get mugged by some poor Brazilian after dark but they never warned us that we could get mugged in broad day light in some shitty Indian restaurent by our own kind-although I must confess it's all my fault as my wife has reminded me a few times over the last 48 hours as I had read the reviews on the net about these two restaurents before going there and they all said DO NOT GO TO THESE TWO INDIAN RESTAURENTS as THEY SERVE ANYTHING BUT INDIAN FOOD but me being patriotic and all that I had to find out the hard way(thank god these are the only two so called Indian restaurents in Rio)...we have to say Brazil as a whole has been real disappointment comapre to Chile and Argy where we had great time and Rio is specially very disappointing to us...it does'nt feel like xmas here as it does in UK...on the night of 21st they had a huge carnival type xams parade on Copacabana beach and it had real festive spirit...tomorrow xmas day and nothing planned except that we are hanggliding over Rio at 9am to start the day then it's party on the beach all day with the locals...
by the way Vedanta is asking what's the weather like in the UK!..and if you are going to the beach or not!...

Rio

... 20/12/07-at last in RIO!...Ilha Grande(IG) was beautiful and we rested well and now we are ready for more travel and new discoveies..IG is a small tropical island with very few people,just 2 streets and no cars,unpaved paths and wild!...spent most of my time in a hammock by the beach reading the new Harry Potter book and I have to say it´s the worst book in the HP series,read it in 4 days now it´s Pritti´s turn,weather was good in the end.We ate everyday at Biert Garden,buffet but you pay by weight of the food in your plate and for 15 quid for 3 we use to eat like Kings...this concept I have seen 1st time and it could work very well anywhere.

We left IG on 18th by ferry and arrived Rio on 19th,weather is cloudy but hot and we have a beachside hotel in Rio called Arpoador Inn on the corner of Copacabana and Ipenema beach...evreyone warns us not to take anything with you except little money once you walk out of your hotel and it is rather scary and we have loads of horror stories from other travellers...visited Maracana Football stadium-The Great PELE´S home-it´a concrete structure for 100,000 fans and it´s a stadium of bygone era´s of 60´s-new one to be built fo 2014 World Cup in Brazil...Rio has great location by the green/blue sea and black/lush green mountains but the city it´s self is again stuck back still in 70´s...hoping to hangglide/paraglide or something over Rio very soon hoping to do it on xams day...

Brazil...on the way to RIO for xmas

...after Iguazu Falls -bus to Campo Grande in Pantanal-total 24 hours bus ride-then 6 hours minibus to jungle lodge-few days spent exploring Pantanal-then back to Campo Grande and to Sao Paulo then another bus to Angra Dos Reis-total of 24 hous bus ride- then 2 hour ferry to a tropical island called Ilha Grande,its 300km from Rio and we are spending 7 days here just relaxing but first 3 days it rained non-stop and today 15th Dec it was glorious day and we spent all day on a boat exploring the differfent beaches of the island and snorkling too!-we leave here on Tuesday and be in Rio for xmas from 19th till 26 th then we fly to Peru the land of Incas! we also travel to Bolovia for 2 weeks from Peru...

Pantanal...Lodge

...our jungle lodge on Rio Negro...surrounded by wildlife specially thousands of alligators and millions of Piranhas fish....we know there are Anacondas ,Pumas,Panthers and Jaguars too but they are all nocturnal and very difficult to see...but we know that THEY were probably watching us at some point in our stay in Pantanal...

...Pantanal is half the size of France and it crosses Brazil-Argentina-Bolivia and we were very near the borders of both Bolivia and Argentina-it is mainly swamp land with jungles thrown in-it has very few people and no towns or roads-it has the greatest concentration of wildlife in the world and it is lot easier to see than in the Amazon Jungles...
... sunset from balcony of our lodge ...

...there is no better way to fall a sleep than in a hammock in the jungle...here we are trying to have afternoon nap as the sun really heats up...
...this lawn is teeming with birds of every kind all day but specially in the morning ..and when the lights were turned on in the evening there were thousands of bugs everywhere some the size of our palm and we had to run a gauntlet through them each night to get to our bedroom.. and when you got there there were frogs waiting for you on the door,in the room and in the bathroom...in the end we just left the frogs were we found them and bugs under 2 inches well we just ignored them and we just got use to them...honest! ...as we were about to leave our lodge we found Vedanta palying with a baby SNAKE...I am not kidding and it was about 12 inches long and very newly born...harmless said our guide Lewis...
...there were futbal matches every evening at 6pm as the sun goes down on the lawn between the river and the lodge...
...BRAZIL v TOURIST
...you don't want to know the scores...all I would say is if I were Harry Redknapp I would definitley sign up our cook and the barman-though the barman may need to loose some weight!....

Pantanal...Piranha fishing

...Piranha fishing on Rio Grande(big river) from front lawn of our jungle lodge-it was great fun and I think I may take up fishing... the bait used was chunks of pure beef and soon as you threw the bait in the water you could feel the tug of the Piranhas feeding on it straight away-real scary sensation...
...P trying her luck at fishing but Piranhas would just eat the bait and swim away...fishing ain't easy as I thought it was...
...this is the first fish I ever caught and boy did I enjoy it!-and yes it was PIRANHA-it was too small so I had to put it back in the river...note the sweat soaked shirt and it was only 9am...

...this is PIRANHA I caught and look at those teeth...boy they are vicious...it is known in this part that group of Piranhas has now and then eaten a fully grown cow in less than 15 minutes...
...some of the other fish we caught like this catfish -were grilled-I was told they tasted real good!...
...this is the same waters where we were fishing for Piranhas above and this waters are teeming with 20 species of Piranhas and hundreds of Alligators-just believe me because we have seen them and if you look carefully between the boat and the small white building on the left there is an Alligator swimming that got little bit too close to where P & V and their chums were swimming and I told P and V to come out of the waters-I am not kidding..across the river there were many Allis just waiting for the sun to comeout...Locals go swimming here all the time but not if they have open wound or women are on their monthly but it is still dangerous...the brave Swedes stayed in the water as though they had a death wish...I refused to get in that water for love or money...I think P would think twice before she would do that again as well...I think....