greetings from rio de janeiro

hello my faithful friends! ola de brasil!! really nice to be able to find Internet access here!

bit of a shock since landing yesterday after a nine hour flight from lisboa right into the bustling city of rio.. from 0 degrees in london to a tropical 30 degrees celsius.. phew! rio is every bit the way i expected it to be.. ever bustling with semi-clad cariocas on their way to the famous beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana - amazing stretches of pristine white sand beaches curving some many kilometres along the coastline - to the mix of new and old architecture, slum housing and decaying urbanisation lying in the shadow of the giant statue of Christ the Redeemer and the peak of Corcovado one sees often in postcards, as well as the asymmetric Sugar Loaf mountain standing incongruously in the bay, unavoidable to one´s eye no matter which way you turn.

the heat is getting a little to me.. as well as the knowledge that tourists have to be ever on the alert.. after all, rio is supposed to be the fifth most dangerous city in the world.. and tourists are known, to the very bad, as ´filet mignon´! gulp! oh well, what to do.. better to be on the side of caution, my mantra that is always..

chao! :)