Our guide arrived and within minutes each member of our tour were pillion passengers on motorbikes driven by favela residents travelling at breakneck speeds through winding uphill streets. Safety helmets – who needs such things. It was all so sudden I didn’t think to say ‘Hang on a minute, can I see your Health and Safety Certificate’.

The tour of the favela was fascinating. We were warned which streets we were not allowed to take pictures as these were the drug-dealing streets. I have to say I would have been reluctant to show my phone in front of the dudes sitting around with their guns on display and the bags of cocaine openly for sale. School is not compulsory in Brazil and while most parents will send their kids to the state schools, some do not. A vicious cycle,

We got some fantastic views from the balcony of a favela dwelling where the resident charged three dollars per person for access to the view. It was a wonderful excursion.

That Sunday evening we dined at the Churrascaria Carretão Lido – a Brazilian steakhouse that we departed a few hours later with the meat sweats. The food was delicious. I am not sure what the vegan experience in Brazil would be like. As a country it seems quite carnivorous.

Monday morning was meant to be for relaxing as we had no definite plans made until 2pm. I climbed out of bed at 7.30 and glanced at my phone. Hell’s bells – we actually had a ticket to get the train up to the Christ the Redeemer Statue at 9am. I had a vague recollection of changing it from our last full day in Rio to Monday. I think my reasoning was that on cloudy days the view of and from the statue is poor so I didn’t want to risk visiting the famous monument on the last day as we would not be able to revisit it.

Like a dervish I called my travel buddy. In an incoherent babble I explained the situation. A quick shower and hotel breakfast later and we were in Uber hoping to make the scheduled 9’o’clock train, We were late by ten minutes. It didn’t matter as our train tickets were valid for three hours. We could have walked to the summit of the hill to see the Statue but in the thirty three (the age of Jesus when he died) degree heat uphill on a pathway that guidebooks warned were favoured by pickpockets, so we took the train. The word ‘iconic’ has been debased in recent years. Any mediocrity can now have this descriptor assigned it – the most egregious one in recent times was when the flight attendant referred to Ryanair’s ‘iconic toasted ham and cheese panini’ It’s a piece of toast .

Christ the Redeemer actually deserves the title ‘iconic’. I was quite dumbstruck when I arrived at the base. It’s a statue that speaks of exotic, foreign climbs and glamourous South American religious belief. The problem of course was the crowds (of which I was part). Obviously it’s a popular spot but there were quite a few individuals who didn’t understand the rules of such places. You admire the statue, you take it in, you take a few snaps and you keep moving, You do not sit on the concrete for twenty minutes for the ideal Instagram shot.

During our descent from the statue I had an interesting conversation with a tour guide named Alexander from Belo Horizonte who told me that the Flamengo neighbourhood of Rio is named after the Flemish people of Belgium. We made our way to the cable car to the Sugarloaf mountains for some breath-taking views of the city – Rio de Janeiro has, quite easily, the most beautiful cityscape I have ever witnessed.

That evening was spent at Ipanema Beach where we dined at the Boteca Belmonte and afterwards enjoyed a few beers at the Delirium Beach bar.

Tuesday was a day of leisure before our onward travels. We visited the most beautiful library in the world, followed by a trip to the modern art museum.

Back to Copacabana for a basic chicken, rice, beans lunch and a siesta before a repeat soiree back in Ipanema. Maria – our Uber driver on the way home asked us if we were in town for the Shakira concert on Saturday. That explained the massive stage on the beach. Every summer a global female pop star plays a free concert to an audience of millions. In 2024 Madonna played to an audience of three million. This year it was Shakira’s turn.

On Wednesday we left Rio and had a very turbulent two hour flight to Foz Iguacu in Brazil. This is the Brazilian town located close to the Iguacu Falls. The Iguaçu Falls are waterfalls on the border between Brazil and Argentine. Between both countries, they make up the largest waterfall system in the world, numbering over two hundred waterfalls in total.

On Thursday we had booked a bus tour to see the Argentinian side of the falls. With passports in our pockets and our entrance tickets to the Argentinian national park we boarded the train to the Devil’s Throat canyon – the most famous of the falls. There followed an upper and lower hiking trail where you see various monumental falls up close.

On Friday we had planned a cheeky daytrip to Ciudad del Este in Paraguay which is only a few kilometres away. This was more an excuse to get a passport stamp than any genuine interest in seeing the city. It is Paraguay’s second city but it also serves as a tax free shopping destination for electronic goods for Brazilian, Argentinian and Chinese tourists (the China Mall is the main shopping centre). However Friday was also international Labour Day meaning that our bus tour to Paraguay was cancelled.

Instead we took a day to see the Brazilian side of the falls. How lucky we were. The queues to enter the Brazilian National Park were catastrophic – it was a national holiday so there were many families who had the same idea as we did. On the Argentinian side of the falls you are more immersed in the waterfall system. In Brazil you get to witness their majesty with spectacular views. I wouldn’t recommend either side over the other. If you get the opportunity visit both. They are a true wonder of the natural world.

On Saturday we bid farewell to the waterfalls and flew to Buenos Aires via Sao Paolo (only a two hour layover so no chance to see the largest city in the southern hemisphere – twenty two million inhabitants versus Rio’s fourteen million). Buenos Aires is no village either though with fifteen million). We had a tango show with wine, booked at the Piazzolla theatre located a few kilometres from our hotel for our first night. The American couple who had opted for dinner who sat beside us were a mystery. The blonde woman in her fifties was talking about her eighty-five year old boyfriend to the Asian-American man from Seattle who fell asleep before the show started. The woman was resolute in her refusal to leave. I suspect they were on a business trip and that she had arrived a few days earlier so was no longer suffering from jetlag.

The following morning we took a walking tour of the old town of Buenos Aires.


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