Hola,
Slowly but surely we are catching up on our blog! This installment takes us through Rio to Cape Town with beaches, drinking, food and laughs filling up most of the time.
Sadly we were too busy (drinking most likely) to take many photos but there are a few here to break up the dialogue.
Rio de Janeiro
We arrived in Rio in the late evening to a torrential downpour. Having limited our Brazil time to slightly less than a week we were a little wary of the weather but appreciative of prepaid cabs as we spent more than an hour in traffic from the airport. After finding the hostel in Ipanema we were directed to our “room” down the road, incredibly pleased at having been allocated a one bedroom apartment for our bargain (for Brazil) hostel rate. Drenched but incredibly hot we set off to start our food journey in Brazil so as to make the most of our time there.
Food and beverages
It wouldn´t be our blog without mentioning the food and drinks and the food in Rio deserves a spot in any bloggers entry.
Picanha
On our first steamy night in Rio (I am talking about the temperature for all of you out there with dirty minds) we set off to find a quick bite after a long day of travel.
To the surroundings of a hot night, lively atmosphere and happy crowds a strange tune floated into our heads... do do doo do do do-do... we found ourselves admiring the sizzling grills on the tables in one of the restaurants and decided to head in for some Brahma (the cerveza of choice in Brazil) and the famed meat dish Picanha.
A beer was very refreshing after 2 months drinking wine in Argentina. Picanha involves a hot grill coming to your table with finely sliced rare beef sizzling away. With eyes opened wide we started eating the very rare beef which we (especially Dave) thought was cooked to absolute perfection.
We didn´t realise that we had inadvertently done something wrong until the waiter returned a few minutes later with condiments ready to explain how to eat picaña and realised half of it was already gone. We did however consider the idea of ´wrong´ and continued eating the meat with as little more cooking as possible. Very full, we finished our dinner, still with the catchy do do doo do do do-do running through our heads.
Caipirinhas
It just wouldn´t be Brazil without drinking Caipirinhas and we did our best to sample as many as possible. They were all very delicious although Kate really liked the passionfruit one which isn´t very traditional but I think might have to be replicated with a bottle of cachaca and some passionfruits this summer in Manly.
The Churrasceria
For those who don´t know what a churrasceria is, it is basically an all you can eat meat restaurant where waiters carrying around meat offer you some of what they have depending on whether a little card at the table is turned to available or no thanks.
After having a very light breakfast and no lunch we eagerly sat down at the churrasceria which was a set price (more expensive for men than women) and were blown away by the amazingly fresh bread and buffet selection. Wary of the temptation to fill up before the ´good stuff´ came out we had only a little buffet and shared a couple of sausages and chicken.
It was a good thing we waited because not long after came some great rare beef and slow cooked beef ribs which are definitely in our top 5 food moments so far this trip. The Brazilian beef is quite salty but juicy and delicious and we ate our fair share before waiting for a second round of beef ribs and then rolling home.
Acai
Given the heat, it wasn´t surprising that Ipanema was full of juice stalls where you are served your juice in a glass while standing which saves waste but stops litter on the streets and beaches. While sipping on our Acai´s (a national drink of Brazil which is a blended berry served frozen at the juice stands), watching the people head to the beaches the familiar do do doo do do do-do entered our heads and we were glad to have found out that the restaurant of our very first picaña was where ´the girl from ipanema´ had been written.
While we didn´t quite see a beautiful woman sauntering to the beach everyday (or not that Kate noticed) we did get a chance to check out Rio´s beaches.
The Beaches
We awoke on our first morning to the sun shining and decided to hit the famed Brazilian beaches. We were perplexed (but slightly happy due to overindulgence in the food and alcohol department) to discover that the infamous portrayal of Brazilians with amazing bodies didn´t quite match up to what we saw on the beach. It took an afternoon beach volleyball game of locals to realise that it was mid week so the other less-than-perfect bodies on the beach had probably overindulged on their holidays too. While we watched the volleyball to the backdrop of an amazing sunset over Ipanema, Dave assured me that his interest in the volleyball was purely sporting!
Beach volleyball on Ipanema
Sunset over Ipanema
We were also surprised by the surf at Ipanema. Not only was the water extremely chilly (or very refreshing on a 30 degree day depending on which one of us you talk to), the currents and swell on Ipanema were very strong and potentially very dangerous. We walked over to Copacabana one day and the surf was the biggest either of us had seen (not on tv). There was only one brave soul who faced the surf and he was on a boogie board, although Dave pointed out that this was one time when a boogie boarder deserved the less childish title of a body boarder. Aside from the waves, Copacabana was a little bit like the gold coast on steroids so we were glad to have chosen Ipanema for our stay.
Being good tourists
We couldn´t have left Rio without a visit to the famous ´Cristo Redentor´(or as it was easier to remember the ´jesus statue´) that overlooks Rio. While not on the same pilgrimage to the statue as a lot of the hundreds of other tourists with the same idea, we certainly appreciated the stunning views of Rio that ´jesus´ looks over.
Cristo Redentor
Jesus´views (unfortunately a bit foggy that day)
Luckily for Kate there was a Havaiana shop just around the corner from the hostel. I´m not sure if they were actually cheap or we are just royally ripped off in Aus but I couldn´t go past a few pairs of ´half price´Havaianas (and come on when you wear a type of shoe 359 days a year shouldn´t you grab a few when it´s a bargain?).
With a loving fond farewell to my white Havaianas who more than earned their place of pride on my havaiana shelf, it was time to say good bye to Rio.
Farewell Brazil
The food, caipirinhas, landscape and Havaiana prices all more than exceeded our expectations and overall we found Ipanema (we can´t claim to know all of Rio) sassy, brash, tough and expensive (except for the Havaianas) but incredibly beautiful, fun and life loving.
Cape Town
From Brazil we headed to Cape Town to take the chance to restock supplies and have a couple of weeks of relaxation and restoration before the much anticipated wedding of Laura and Pete.
On clearing customs in Jo´burg we took the cautious Aussie approach and veered to the ´something to declare section´ where we were greeted by a large South African security man who asked us what it was we wanted to declare. As we tried to remember everything, listing off things that would be important in Aus such as wood, cakes and tea, the security guard stopped us and asked ´yes but have you got any cocaine?´. After a stupefied moment of shock we said no and luckily he laughed with us.
We had been to Cape Town in July 2009 which is also the South African winter and thought it was absolutely stunning despite Laura´s protestations that it was much better in the summer. Arriving mid summer it certainly lived up to Lau´s declarations.
We also had to laugh at how cautious we´d been of ´unsafe, dangerous´ Cape Town when all we felt this time was a feeling of familiarity and relaxation compared to many of the parts of South America we had been through. The familiarity of English speaking, left hand driving, bacon and egg eating Cape Town was a very welcome break.
However, the drinking, fun and catch up with the Jephcott family and Laura and Pete´s mates meant it wasn´t quite the two weeks relaxing on the beach we had been expecting.
Hermanus
For our first weekend we headed on a scenic drive up the coast to a place called Hermanus for family bonding. With beautiful ocean views, whale spotting and a stop at a penguin colony filling the 2.5 hour drive. On arrival the kids immediately ran to the supermarket to stock up on beer and wine while Chrissie and Will stayed behind to make some excellent Moscow Mules. I think this gives an indication of why all four girls have chosen beer loving husbands and it set a very bad/good precedent for the two weeks of drinking ahead
Penguins on the way to Hermanus
With resident chef Wes on board and a fantastic indoor braai (South African coal barbeque),which the boys spent two days working out how to replicate at home, we had a great catch up with some amazing meals and great cocktails (although if anyone is heading through Cape Town duty free we recommend not to buy any vodka as three bottles of two different brands turned solid when we put them in the freezer).
The inside Braai
The Cheetahs
On the way back to Cape Town we stopped in for a ´Cheetah experience´ at a cheetah rescue centre where we went in to a cage with four cheetah cubs and had a chance to pat two of them. It was a great experience but we were quite glad the handlers were in there too when a couple of the cubs became curious as to the strangers in their home. A big thanks to Wes for these photos!
Relaxing Cheetahs
Patting Cheetahs
Hope he´s just yawning
The Cheetahs
No, this is not an accidental editing error – a rugby starved Dave realised that the Cape Town super 14 team (the Stormers) were playing South African rivals (the Cheetahs) while we were in Cape Town and a quick email to Lau to find out about tickets turned into a lunch time bender followed by the rugby with 20 people.
Not only were we keen to see some live rugby after almost two years since a game, Newlands, the Cape Town stadium, is rated as a great stadium in a rugby mad country. With a lot less singing and a lot more suggestions to the team, the South African rugby fans almost rivalled the Argentine football fans in enthusiasm. Sadly one similarity was no beer allowed in the stands, however Newlands did provide a bar at half time and while the boys made up for no beer with Cane and Sodas after the game, Sophie and Kate did their best to catch up with shots (that story is best left there).
Not only getting to see live rugby, Dave was in sporting heaven with every super game, cricket from IPL to Aus/NZ games and Formula 1 being screened on tv. He was also in company that enjoyed any excuse to have a beer so there was lots of sport (I wonder if that´s where all the time went?).
Camps Bay
After a few days in Tamboerskloof we moved to some stunning apartments in Camps Bay. Not only was the regular view spectacular, we were lucky to be there on a day when the ´table cloth´ rolled over and on another day we were slightly panicked by a mountainous wave on the horizon which turned out to be an enormous, tsunami shaped cloud.
Eating and drinking
It goes without saying that we ate a lot of meat on this trip The bacon and eggs have already rated a mention and among other highlights were, Malaya laksa, droewors and biltong from a small boutique on the way home from Hermanus and a beachside seafood braai with ten courses. As you can imagine, this wasn´t extremely exciting for Kate so she made up with it with lots of Windhoeks (our beer of choice for the trip) and South African Pinotage. Wes´slow cooked ribs were without doubt the best meal of the trip and could be slightly dangerous for our health kick if we can convince him to replicate them when we head home.
None of this would have been the same without the great company which involved getting to know the van Zijls and culminated in a ´wine off´(Aussie v South African) two days before the wedding. With the families getting along so well, it became clearer and clearer why Laura and Pete are so suited and we weren´t too sure whether the evening out would have been more appropriately called a ´weird family off´´.
Wedding
Now we get to the real reason for being in Cape Town- Lau and Pete´s wedding!! The morning was a little grey and drizzly but we were holding out hope for a clear afternoon. Around 1 or 2 we headed to the venue, which is absolutely stunning with amazing views, and the wind was whipping up a freezing frenzy. Worried for the bride and bridesmaids we rushed out to get some pashminas for the reception.
As hoped, spending the money turned out to be unnecessary and there was a beautiful break in the weather when Laura arrived to a nervous (?) Pete. She looked absolutely stunning and I´m pretty sure Pete wanted to rush her off then and there but with some good giggles and lots of emotion they had a beautiful ceremony followed by a fun party of a reception with fantastic food and a to die for wedding cake.
The happy couple
If you are interested there are more photos on Monica´s (Lau´s photographer) blog (which look like they came out of a magazine) at http://www.monicadartphotography.com/blog/
Speaking of blogs, it´s time to end this one.
Next time will be Mexico which will hopefully bring us up to date
Adios Dave and Kate
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