Today is a bank holiday in Rio, so there isn’t much going on except sunbathing and relaxing (as well as drilling of course – there is always someone drilling on a bank holiday!) It’s given me a good chance to catch up on some pictures from around the world which I thought I’d share.
As one of my favourite countries in the world, I was saddened to hear of the volcano and then the storm which hit Guatemala this week. Boston.com always have some incredible pictures of current events and this weeks gallery of Guatemala pictures are no exception. Two particularly awesome pictures are Picture number 5 and Picture number 34. I hope little Melanie
Continue reading Pictures from around the world
Last night, Sean and I went to the Maracanã to watch Flamengo play Botafogo in the Carioca cup final. This is a bit like the English FA cup, but only with teams from Rio. The Maracanã is a fabulous stadium. Built to host the World Cup in 1950, then upgraded for the Pan America games, it’s perhaps on par with Camp Neu, Barcelona’s famous ground for size, and Fratton Park, Portsmouth’s shabby ground for facilities.
We bought the tickets the day before through tiny holes in a concrete bullet proof shelter outside the ground. Tickets were BR$50 each for seats in the green or yellow areas – the best bits behind the goals – where vast swathes of fans sing in
Continue reading Flamengo vs Botafogo at the Maracana
Yesterday we went into the Favelas right at the top of Santa Tereza to carry out my first truly worth-while, highly rewarding yet backbreaking piece of charity work.
Marju and I helped clear the mud which had fallen into the community hall of a centre in Santa Tereza, along with around 15 others. The mud was thick and gloopy and everywhere. We had only 2 wheel barrows – both (as is standard for Brazil) made from Aluminium (everything is here) – one of which broke half way through the day. We scooped the mud up and removed it from the hall, before hosing down and sweeping the floor of the concrete football pitch with these pooly made wooden water-pushers. The guys
Continue reading Clearing Rio’s landslides
The last few days have seen some violent thunderstorms in Rio which have made an excellent light show for us from our 15th floor vantage point across Rio from our flat in Lapa.
The lightning has been shooting down over Sugar Loaf Mountain and Santas Dumont airport most evenings which has given me some great shots with my DSLR camera.
Rio in the summer follows a very regular weather pattern. Hot sticky nights – perhaps 25-30 degrees followed by scorching hot blue sky days – 40 degrees plus during the afternoon – after which the sky turns grey, then black, then down comes the rain and lightning.
Here are some pictures of the Rio lightning as taken by my trusty D80
Continue reading Rio Lightning photos
Today I thought i’d just let the photos of my Sri Lanka and India travel experiences do the talking:
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