to do this. We stayed put as we wanted to see the rest of the game with a little more peace and quiet. The fans did have a tendency of rolling out a massive flag every now and again and covering the crowd with it, which is all well and good but not so great when your trying to watch a game of football from under a massive flag! Thankfully Botofogo pulled off a 2-1 win. It had been an incredible experience with footballing passion like you’ve never seen before. I can’t say that we spotted any budding Ronaldinho’s or Roberto Carlos’s but it was still a fantastic spectacle to witness.

We woke the next morning to sunshine beaming through the window, at last the sun was shining. After breakfast we got chatting to Fausto who said did we want to go to Christo Rendator, the famous Christ statue that overlooks the very pretty Rio. Unfortunately Fausto couldn’t take us as he had commitments

for the day so we arranged (weather permitting) to go the next day. So we decided to go and check out the beaches seeing as it was warm and sunny! We caught the bus to Leblon checked it out then headed round to Ipenema. The beaches were lovely and Rio is certainly a very beautiful city. After a good few hours out we chanced our arm yet again on another of Rio buses. I’m not entirely sure what the qualifications are for bus drivers in Rio, but a love for speed must be definitely high on the bus companies agenda. Not only do the buses drive around at hair raising speed they also have a turnstile which you have to contend with once you have paid the conductor. I’m sure the turnstiles are there as a crime deterrent but trying just to get to a seat whilst staying on your feet is difficult enough without then having to contend with a heavy old turnstile. It also doesn’t matter what bags you have with you, you still have to pass through the dreaded turnst