Sam and E-J's Adventure

The bus ride to Bariloche (Home to the 1985 Skiing world Championships) was definitely the best so far out of all our travels, especially when we were handed a glass of sparkling wine to enjoy while watching an evening film during the journey. Also what helped for E-J, was that she was able to sleep 12 out of the 19 hour journey.

When we arrived in Bariloche, suprisingly we found it to be incredibly hot. we knew it was the summer season, but it was scorching. We found the buildings around to be made of stone and wood, giving it a slightly swiss feel, though we also felt there was a part of it that looked so clean and brand new as though it was all really just for show.

The next shock was how expensive it was. In the past we had always managed to wangle a deal here or there, but Bariloche only gave you a couple of companies to do tours with and no room for negotiation. We also found, if you wanted to try to do something independently to any of their overpriced tours, they were of no help to us.

On a positive side for E-J, she found Bariloche to be full of chocolate shops. Although when ordering her craved hot chocolate, she had the misfortune of ordering a submarino, which ended up just being, over processed, hot milk.

Our hostel was more like a hotel and was 2 km outside of the town. It was lovely to be out of the bustle of the touristy town and the place was surrounded by 40ft evergreens. It was also run by an old, eccentric German, who had very extreme and opinionated views about certain nationalities, especially his own. Despite not wanting to get on the wrong side of him, we found him to be very friendly to us and helpful.

The next day and a half, were spent dealing with the admin of getting to El Calafate, which turned out to be more difficult than we had originally anticipated. Naively, we hadn't realised it would be such a problem to get there, but after discovering that the only road down to it was the route 40, which changes from tarmac to rough gravel and rocks for the majority of the way, with very little in between the two locations. Also the tour that we had planned to do in El Calafate, sounded a little too extreme for E-J, who at her best, wasn't the most competent at climbing, let alone trekking and climbing over an ice glacier for 6 hours! Eventually, all was sorted and we were able to explore the beautiful landscape around Bariloche that everyone raves about.

The next day we walked to the cable cart, which took us up to the top of the mountaion, Cerro Otto. At the top of this there is a 360 restaurant, which seems to be the gimmic place that everyone flocks to. We decided to avoid this overpriced feature, though E-J decided to have a wander around the restaurant, just to get an idea of the panoramic view. We then decided to walk along one of the pathways and get some pictures of the breathaking sites of the lake, Nahuel Huapi below us.

We then headed in the direction of another walk, but within 5 minutes Sam was insisting that we turn back, as with no map we might get lost. E-J tried to explain to Sam that this place was a well known walking district, and it was highly unlikely that we would get lost following a track. E-J aso pointed out the families with their young children where walking past us, but Sam was having none of it. It was only when we were back at that start that we noticed the sign board, pointing out the three walks that you could take, which only took a maximum of 1 1/2 hours.

After we were back at the bottom of the Mountain, having finished a minor squabble about not doing the walks, we decided to explore another famous tour, which was called the Isla Victoria tour. This is a boat ride which takes you along the lake to several different islands dotted around the place. Finding it a little over budget we decided to have a drink in the famous hotel Llao Llao instead, which was 100km from there. This hotel was huge and beautiful. It claimed itself to be one of the leading hotels in the world and when we walked inside we could see why. It had a long, wide corridor, which stretched a good 75 metres in length and was completely decorated in rich wooden beams all the way around it's perimeters. The view from the restaurant window was also spectacular and we both day dreamed about returning there for the ski season, one day when we are rich and successful...

As we left the hotel, it began to rain and twenty minutes later we were standing crammed with a load of other people on the local bus back to Barlioche. An hour later, having had several elbows and armpits shoved into our faces we were back in Bariloche and headed to a bar for another well deserved drink. That evening, just for a change, we treated ourselved to the supposively best steakhouse in Bariloche and found the steak to be amazing! It was then that E-J said that she was seriously steaked out and needed a break from all that red meat, having had 7 steaks in Argentina since we arrived there on the 16th January. Sam worked out he had beaten this record with a total of 9!

The next day, after moving to a more central hostel (which was slightly painful as our original booking had made a mistake) we headed to Cerro Catedral, which is the biggest ski resort in South America. The journey took an hour by bus and when we got there it was a strange place. Decked out to be a ski resort, it looked more like a ghost town full of empty restaurants and bars with slopes full of grass, wild flowers and muddy rocks. E-J had always wondered what a ski resort looked like during the summer and she found it to look rather depressing. Meanwhile, people around us where raving about how beautiful and tranquille the place was. We decided to catch a chair lift to the top and after E-J's numerous stories about her times on a chair lift when skiing, Sam was desperate to get off!

The view from the top was very impressive as we were able to see a large panoramic of the place with the lake and mountains all round. We were also able to see the Chilian Mountain range, which seemed so close. After an hour of taking in the sites, we headed back down to the bottom of the mountain, again by chair lift, amuzing ourselves with trying to see if we could get a response from the people travelling in the opposite direction with our waves and holas - very childish, we know.

The trip back to the centre of Bariloche was equally unpleasant to the day before, as we were the only two people to willingly and rightfully give up our seats for the elderly. We again found ourselves in the same situation as before, being shoved in all directions. That evening, we resorted to having pasta and giving our digestion systems a break. We then headed to bed to be ready for our 6am wake up the next day to begin our journey along route 40, stopping in the towns of Puerito Moreno and El Chalten before we would finally arrive in El Calafate.

Sam's comments: Beautiful Bariloche is far too commercial for me. Steak count up to 9 in 11 nights!

E-J's comments: There are elements of Bariloche, which I did find incredibly beautiful; The sea of evergreens covering the bottom of the moutnain range and the way the deep blue lake seems to stretch for miles. I was also disappointed by how Bariloche is catered solely for the American tourist and prices are doubled just because they know people will pay!

The flight over to Buenos Aires was most enjoyable, thanks to the fact that we had control over our own TV screens. E-J was in her element watching the musical "Hairspray", while Sam was loving the fact that he was beating the computer at chess.

When we arrived in Buenos Aires, the first shock was remembering to thank with gracias rather than the Portuguese, obrigado. We did the usual, of checking into a hostel and then explored the area we were staying in.

The next day, after dealing with the admin of changing hostels, we hit the shops on Calle Florida. This is where all the main high street shops are found, along with a number of leather selling shops. A couple of hours later and we had purchased some jeans, a Christian Dior suit, a leather handbag and some other essentials for a backpacker! We then walked around the Centre of the city, taking in all the main sights, such as the Casa Rosada (where Eva Peron said her famous speeches), some churches and other magnificently structured buildings. The place had a very European feel to it.

We walked over to Puerto Madero, which is a more modern area where you can find all the sky scrapers and walked along the river bank to find a bar.

We ended our evening, by heading back into the centre and to the restaurant Cafe Tortoni, which is well known for its Tango shows. This was now 11pm and having not eaten we were starving. Without making a booking, we were incredibly lucky to be given a seat at the tango show and sat there enjoying the amazing show with a delicious bottle of Malbec.

The show was in an incredibly small and intimate room, so that we got to see the tango dancers up close and personal, taking in the detail of their impressive moves. The performances were amazing and by the end of it we felt as exhausted as they must have been!

The next day was our day of sharing requests, so in the morning we went to the Evita museum for E-J (which Sam actually found very interesting) and in the afternoon we headed to La Boca, where we had a tour around the ground of Boca Juniors FC, Diego Maradona's first football team.

The stadium itself, was actually pretty tiny, but it was fascinating to see all the seating area and how some of it still has a standing area, which must enhance the atmosphere so much during a game. Sadly, we were told that by next year the whole stadium would be seated.

We then walked around the inside of the stadium, to the conference room, where Sam enjoyed posing for a picture and into the changing rooms, which turned out to be a bit of a dump! We found it most amusing that one of the most famous football teams in South America had a cafe machine in the changing room! Sam envisaged the manager, instructing the team at half time to have a doube expresso to peak them up if they were losing!

After the tour we then wandered around the Caminito district, which is where you can find all the coloured houses.

Disappointingly, we found this place to be terribly touristy and having been spoilt by the excellent tango show the night before, we found the street tango dancers very average.

That night, in need of an incredible steak we headed to a place in San Telmo, called El Disnevel, which had been recommended to us. From the outside it looked nothing special, though it was totally packed (which was a good sign). When we had our steaks, they were simply amazing. It was almost as though the meat melted as you cut into it. After this, and feeling incredibly full, we headed to a bar near by for a drink before calling it a night.

The next day, E-J for no reason was in an absolutely foul mood, so Sam, thinking what would be best, suggested some more shopping! A few hours later, with our wallets again, feeling a bit lighter we headed back to the hostel before going out for a few more drinks around town. At 11am we headed over to another hostel, where we had found out our friends Ben and Veronica were staying. Having caught up over a few beers we headed to the restaurant of Ben and Veronika's recommendation. This turned out to be no other than El Disnevel.

After another hearty steak, washed down with a few drinks we headed to La Boca in the hope of finding a recommended Jazz club. Sadly, when we got there it was closed and by the time we were back in the centre we were all practically a sleep so decided to call it a night.

Sunday, was what E-J would like to call, tour day as she literally ticked each thing off her list as she went along. First we walked from the centre into the district of Recoleta, which had the most beautiful architecture and is known as one of the expensive areas. When we reached the church Nuestra Senora del Pilar (which is thought to be one of the most beautful churches in Buenos Aires), we looked around it and then walked around the Sunday market called, La Feria de Recoleta, which was just outside. After wandered around the market and purshasing a few souveniors we headed to the Recoleta Cemetery.

The cemetery itself was breathtaking, with all the amazing mausoleums, which were decorated in the most ornate and opulent designs and sculptures.

As you walk through the walkways branching into smaller alleyways, it is as though you are in a city of chapels. What also adds a little eariness to the place, is that it is literally swarming with cats and as you look into the windows of the mausoleums you can see the tombs of the whole family buried together.

We first followed the crowds to the mausoleum of the Duarte family, where Evita Peron was finally buried. There were lots of people posing for pictures next to it, but we finally got to see it and overheard that Evita is buried 6 feet under the rest of the tombs and cemented in, so that no one is able to steal her body again. We found this to be quite sad, that although she now rests with her family there is still a divide of concrete between them. We continued to wander around the cemetery and appreciated the detailed structures and sculptures around the place. A couple of times we would turn a corner to find it completely deserted, without another sole in sight and this would send a shiver down E-J's spine, particularly when she came a across a mausoleum that had been broken into. As over dramatic as ever, she let out a little yelp at this and ran in the opposite direction.

After we had wandered around the cemetery, we made our way to the Museo de Bella Artes and spent a couple of hours appreciating all the foreign artists, including Jackson Pollock, Cezanne, Picasso, Van Gough and Monet.

By the end of this we were both pretty warn out from all the extensive walking around and after E-J's final insistence of seeing the Evita monument in the Ruben Dario square, we headed back to the hostel for a beer and a break.

Feeling refreshed and in need of ANOTHER sumptuous steak, we went in search of a restaurant called Cabaña Las Lilas, which had been recommended to us by several different people. This was in Puerto Madero, so we walked there (again) and had a drink by the dock, before having one of the most delicious steaks to date!

By the time we had finished it was 11pm, so we headed over to our friends hostel again and proceeded to stay there drinking until 4am. As we finally dragged ourselves away, we walked back to our hostel, suprised to find the supposive party city, desolate, empty and asleep.

The next day was pretty much a right off, as we were exhausted so we spent most of the time dealing with the usual ordeals of admin. In the evening we decided that we would visit the Palemero district for some drinks and food. This place is also referred to as the Soho of Buenos Aires, full of trendy bars, restaurants and boutiques. After a drink and a pleasant meal, we headed over to our friends hostel to find they were still out, so resorted to a relatively early night.

When our final day arrived we did a few chores in the morning and decided to cram in the last few things we hadn't yet done. First, we headed to the Torre de Los Ingleses as we had hoped to get a good panoramic picture of the city from the top, but sadly, it was closed due to maintenance. We then headed back to Palermo, for E-J to hit the shops for one last chance to find some bargain deals. We managed to be dropped off in completely the wrong place by our taxi driver and after walking around with a few arguments in the middle of the street about each other's abilities to map read, we resorted to catching another cab to the right place. We wandered around the boutiques full of beautiful clothes and E-J wished that we were here on holiday rather than as travellers...

Realising that our time in Buenos Aires was almost over, we raced back to the centre, had a quick bite to eat and with 15 minutes until departure, raced to the bus terminal to catch our bus to Bariloche in the nick of time.

Sam's comments: A great city offering brilliant steak, good nightlife and plenty to do in the day. I do think that after a few pints I could pick up the Tango dancing very quickly!

E-J's comments: Buenos Aires is a lovely place and I love the architecture, the contrast of the old with the new, but I still felt there was something missing here. This may have been due to the contrast of the backpacker limitations compared to the previously indulgent time spent in Brazil with the Matias'. I absolutely loved the tango show and the place definitely has an air of sophistication about it.

Armed with a Matias food pack, which consisted of beef sandwiches, biscuits and two bottles of wine, we set off on the night bus from Salvador to the former dutch colony of Recife, otherwise know as "the Venice of Brazil" due to its many rivers and canals.

We arrived at 7am both feeling a bit dazed and tired and quickly found a map of the city and an address of a hostel. We then set off on the city metro for the town centre. Arriving at our hostel we where told we couldn´t check in for four hours, so decided to find somewhere else. After a few hours on the hot streets of Boa Viagem we finally found somewhere. Our dormitory was shared with a lady, who worried us slightly with the words " I love red wine but my medication forbides me from drinking it!!"

The hostel owner armed us with another map of the city and the highlights of what to see. Sam by this time was struggling to keep his eyes open, while E-J trying to be polite, took in as much of his information as she could. Half an hour later, having heard the entire history of Recife, we set out for the centre. Apparently, the old shopping centre had an impressive view of the whole city, when we reached the top, however when we turned up at the post office, we realised that maybe we hadn´t listened to the kind words of the hostel owner as well as we should have!

We walked around the centre for a while, taking in the sites of the Palace of the Princesses and The Palace of Goverment. After enjoying the fine, colonial architecture we caught a taxi to the old town of Olinda, which translates as oh beautiful.

We soon discovered that our taxi driver also wished to take on the role of our enthusiastic tour guide. Humouring him, we politely looked interested as he pointed out what he considered to be the important sites of the police station and the supermarket! On arriving into the historic, downtown area, our taxi driver / tour guide insisted on waiting for us and escorting us to our next destination. Reluctantly, we agreed and enjoyed a beer looking out over one of the best-preserved colonial cities in Brazil.

After a pleasant meal and a drink we thought we'd successfully lost the taxi driver, but then spotted him sitting two tables behind, watching us with a large bottle of beer!

After a stroll around the market stores, our over friendly driver took us back to Boa Viagem beach. On arrving, he tried to claim the whole trip was 30 quid! Sam disputed this, gave him just less than half and we both jumped out, sharpish! The late afternoon was spent enjoying a few beers on the beach before heading back to the hostel for a well needed early night.

We awoke early the next morning and enjoyed a brief stroll along the beach reluctant to go for a swim with so many signs warning us of shark attacks. After E-J had sat with the lady sharing our room and been made to go through all her wedding and family photos, we said goodbye to her and the friendly staff at our hostel. As we walked away they called out "have a great trip Becks and Lady Di"!!

We then took a long bus to Maceio, the capital of the state of Alagoas. We arrived just as the tourist board was closing and luckily caught the lady at the desk as she had missed her bus. She gave us some useful information and we managed to find accommodation relatively quickly in the beach area of Jatiúca.

The next day we checked out of our room early and headed for the bus station to leave our bags in left luggage. We jumped on a local bus to a recommended, beautiful beach called Praia do Frances. After forty minutes on two buses, we finally arrived and took in the beautiful white sands and warm water, which varied from a clear green to an intense blue colour.

Taking another bus journey back, we spent a few hours, drinking Caipiroskas on a beach bar, in Jatiúca. As the sun came down, feeling quite relaxed we headed back to the bus station and collected our luggage to begin our ten hour bus journey back to Salvador.

The bus trip to Salvador was not as relaxing as we hoped. The sweatbox of a bus, with stiff upright seats was driven like a go-cart for the entire journey and we barely slept a wink. This possibly explained why we arrived into Salvador an hour and half early! The bus driver was probably feeling pleased to have broken the journey record! This was not good news for us as it was coming up to 5am and our hostel wasn´t answering the phone. We spent the next two hours enjoying the delights of the grotty bus station before we finally arrived at our hostel at 7am.

After a few desperately needed hours of sleep, we took in the impressive old town of Salvador. The former colonial capital of Brazil really looked stunning with its cobbled streets, glamourous churches and detailed architecture.

We looked around the area of Pelourinho and visited the ornate San Fransisco church. Throughout the streets we could hear the constant sounds of samba bands playing, and could appreciate that this is where all the traditional Brazilian dance and music stems from. As the day roled on, constant samba bands walked up and down the streets, with almost 100 people following, dancing away, loving the sounds with a beer in hand!

The evening was spent enjoying a typical Bahian meal along with a couple of Caips. Tired, we went to bed only to be awoken in the middle of the night by a torch flashing through our window into our room. The almost ever calm E-J, jumped out of bed and sprinted for the door, whilst Sam stood by the lockless window. Worried that we were about to be attacked, E-J, fumbling for the key, eventually made it downstairs and alerted the owner. She raced up only to let us know it was the workman turning off the water!

In the morning, after another poor hostel breakfast, we headed back into the old town, Pelourinho and watched the Capoeira martial arts dance. Sam was quick to join in!

We ended our time in Salvador listening to a live band before heading to the airport. Our taxi ride to the airport was driven by another maniac who got us there in plenty of time. This was probably helped by the way he constantly skipped lanes or took slip roads to beat the traffic lights!

When we arrived into Sao Paulo, we were greeted with torrential rain. We headed to Sacha´s flat in town and enjoyed a boozy evening, catching up until the early hours of the morning as it was Julia's last night. The next day we visited a local market near Cotia and said our goodbyes and farewells to Julia.

Our last few days in Sao Paulo where spent relaxing with Chris and Sacha as the rest of the family were still in Bahia. As the girls sat around enjoying a few drinks, Chris and Sam found time to hit a few more golf balls and play some more tennis.

Suddenly in no time at all, it was the 16th of January and it was time for our flight to Buenos Aires.

Sams Comments: The North of Brazil was really interesting. Maceio was somewhere I wished we had stayed long. As for the Samba, amazing, and the Capoeira dance was easy for me to master!!

E-J´s Comments: It was a real shock to return to roughing it, backpacking, especially when it came to the return of the cold showers, blocked loos and sharing a room with a rather eccentric woman! In the last 5 weeks, I am really pleased I got to see so much of Brazil, but I still find that we have only just scratched the surface and there is so much more to this place. I will definitely be returning, as I truly love Brazil.

Having got up at 5 am (Julia managing to oversleep her alarm), we made it to the aiport in plenty of time.

Three and half hours later we arrived at Costa do Sauipe, and met up with the Matias family. Instantly, we were all mesmerised by the beauty of the place and the rustic look of the house we would be staying in for the next 10 days. This place looked close to paradise.

We dropped our bags, caught up with the family and then decided to take a walk on the beach, which was about 200 from the house. We crossed a bridge over a small laguna and climbed the sand dune before we found a completely deserted and simply beautiful beach.

Sam, Julia and Nick immediately ran straight into the sea, while the rest of us enjoyed the view from the beach and also wanted to avoid the fatal 'portuguese man of war' jellfish.

After a brief stroll along the beach, we headed back to the house. We had a few delicious proseca drinks before heading to Praia do Forte, another beach resort twenty minutes away.

We had a few drinks and an unfortunate situation with a lack of service from the restaurant we had planned to eat in, ending the evening in a great bar with live singers and a couple of Caipiroskas. This left us all rather over refreshed by the end of the night.

Waking up to a great breakfast we relaxed by the pool. The usual indulgent 12 a clock caipiroska, made by the Caip runner himself, was then followed by a delicious, plentiful lunch. In the evening we headed to the village of Costa do Sauipe, which situates the three main luxury five star hotels. In this area there are also a few boutiques and restaurants. We all had a bite to eat and then watched an impressive samba band perform in the street.

After this, we watched a Brazilian live band perform on a stage in the middle of the village. Julia and E-J tried to get into the swing of the Brazilian dancing, but didn't feel they had quite the right technique when it came to shaking their bundas! (bottoms)

The next day was New Year's Eve and it continued in the same indulgent style as the previous two as we were treated by the Matias' extreme generosity.

When it came to the evening, the traditional Brazilian style of New Year, began to happen. Firstly, we all got dressed into white, which is what all the Brazilians do to bring peace and good luck to the New Year. We then had a big meal, with lots of delicious proseca and by 11am we headed to the small port where we caught a boat over the laguna to a part of the beach further down from the Matias' place. Armed with bottles of champagne, we all made our way down the beach to the waters edge and watched the waves glistering in the moonlight as we waited for midnight. All very excited, the Matias explained to us that at midnight, we would all go into the sea, ankle length and jump seven waves, making seven wishes. Also it is traditional to throw white flowers into the sea as an offering to the sea Goddess, Iemanjá.

When it was midnight an array of firelights lit up the sky and reflected in the sea, making it look so special and we all wished each other a Happy New Year before all running into the sea, hand in hand and jumping the waves.

We then returned to the beach (E-J, a bit more soaked than most, thanks to Sam´s over excitable leaps...)

We spent the next half hour drinking champagne and toasting to the New Year, then we headed to a bar, which looked more like a palm leaf, deserted shack (the only bar found on this stretch of beach for a good 300m) on the top of the dunes and had our first (of many) of the New Year's caipiroskas.

As we headed back to the house through the condominium, we passed a house that was covered in white balloons, blarring music with a load of people having a partying and celebrating the New Year. Before we knew it we were invited to join them and told to help ourselves to the open bar, overflowing with champagne and caipiroskas. Within minutes we were in the middle of the swell of people on the dance floor. E-J, Julia and Sach proceeded to spend the next three hours on the dance floor, taking over the place and letting the rest of the party know they had arrived!

At 4 am it was time to go. We said our goodbyes and thank yous and headed back to the Matias' place. When we got there, daylight was beginning to dawn. Sam and Nick had the great idea of watching the sunrise from the beach, so ran down, with beers in hand. E-J, Julia and Sach, slowly and more unsteadily followed. Young Chris, at this point had passed out on the outside bench.

When we got to the beach we all sat together on the steps at the top watching the sun slowly rise. We then walked down to the waters edge and sat on the sand, just by the sea. There wasn't another person in site.

All the colours of the morning light looked so crisp and so vibrant. It was such a magical feeling to be sitting there at 6:30 am in the morning and already feeling the heat of the morning sun on our faces.

We slowly stumbled back to the house, finding the walk along the bridge to be more of a challenge than normal. Julia and Sam also took great pleasure in repeating what they found to be a hysterical phrase of 'needing a night caip'. Sach and E-J just tried to humour them and stop them from shouting these words as we made our way back to the condominium.

When we finally reached the house, it was now 7:30 am and the sun was high in the sky. Chris was still passed out on the outside bench, with little chance of being awoken from his deep sleep. We all headed to bed, to wake up a few hours later to enjoy the day.

New Year´s day was a day of recovery and we spent most of the time on the terrace by the pool. E-J and Julia managed to go for a walk along the beach, but everyone else remained homebound. That evening, too exhausted to even talk we watched a movie before going to bed.

The following day we went to the Mango Tree for lunch, which was this wonderful restaurant underneath the most gigantic mango tree. The meal was delicious and after this we spent the rest of the day basking in the sun.

On the 3rd of January we headed past the North of Bahia into Sergipe and to another beach resort called Mange Seco (which means dried swamp).

To actually get to the beach it was a two hour drive from Costa do Sauipe, followed by a boat over a river, which took 40 mins and then a sand dune buggy ride over the dunes, which was brilliant fun. We were surrounded by palm trees, which made it look very tropical and beautiful. We were also told by the driver that the dunes are constantly moving due to the winds, changing the buggy's paths each day.

When we reached the beach, it stretched as far as the eye could see and the sand was so white and the sea, crystal blue. We felt so spoilt to see another absolutely, beautiful beach in Brazil. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the beach. To get back to our car we did the same journey as before. By the end, we were all exhausted (especially the two drivers who have to deal with all the maniacs on the road and believe us, there are alot!!!). The evening was spent enjoying a few games of poker with an abundance of alcohol. Sam proudly won, despite being called Chicken shit for never taking any risks.

The next few days followed in the same pattern as before, enjoying the beautiful house and the pool. The night before Nick and his girlfirend Jo left, the girls decided to dress up and have a few cocktails at one of the big, plush hotels in the village before the boys joined them for a meal.

By the time the boys arrived, the girls were absolutely flying. The meal was fun, though we were the last to leave the village and the girls needed extra support as they were practically carried back.

The following day was our last day with the Matias´so we decided to go to Praia de Forte and see the turtle sanctuary. This place helps to protect the sea turtles and rescues any that are found close to death on the beach. It was fascniating to see all the different species and sizes, in particular, the leatherback which has an average length of 2 metres. After this, we enjoyed a lovely meal in Prais de Forte before heading back. That evening we enjoyed another game of heated poker before retiring to bed.

The final day we spent on the beach and by the pool, before Sach and Chris kindly drove us into Salvador for our night bus. As much as we were excited to see a new part of Brazil we were also sad to leave the good company and kind comfort of our hosts.

Sam's comments: What a great place. A complete luxury. Totally indepted to the Matia's. Will miss the Caips!

E-J's Comments: The last few weeks have been like paradise and we have been spoilt rotten by the generosity of the Matias'. This has definitely been a far stretch away from backpacking. It's going to be quite a shock to the system roughing it again!

When we arrived, we caught the metro to where we had agreed to meet our friend Sach and her brother Nick. We headed back to their flat in Sao Paulo, tired but relieved to be in the company of good friends who spoke the language and understood the culture of the country and for the first time felt we could properly relax. After a few drinks and a bite to eat we returned to bed to sleep in the most comfortable, luxurious bed we had slept in for months!

The next day we did some last minute Christmas shopping in one of the Sao Paulo impressive shopping malls and then headed back to the Matias´house in Cotia, just outside Sao Paulo.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing around the pool, followed by drinks on the patio and a lovely meal with all the family. We greatfully realised that our backpacking days would be on hold until we left the generous Matias´after New Year.

The next day we went to a drinks party of family friends, celebrating in the traditional Christmas spirit, but also in the boiling heat. It was so strange to be almost back to normality, having normal conversations about anything other than where we were heading next and without any other backpackers around.

The run up to Christmas was spent relaxing by the pool in the morning and the afternoon usually started with a Caipiroska around Midday. The youngest son, Chris (or Capi Runner as he became known!) always ensured that we had the finest Brazilian Caipiroska's. For anyone who is unfamiliar with the drink, this is made from the fresh fruit of your choice, crushed into a juice and then cocktail shaken with vodka and ice and a spoonful of sugar. It is simply delicious!

Fantastic, late afternoon lunches with the family were always enjoyed with plenty of laughter and between these and the evenings were either spent returning to relax by the pool or enjoying a lazy siesta.

By the evening the ever generous chief barman, Paulo (or The Capi Father as he became know) would open bottles of Proseca, beer or wine for us to enjoy before a lovely evening meal, which on occasion was a massive, sumptuous barbeque, cooked by the creative head chief, Nick. Then, after a long and always entertaining evening meal, we would relax into a film or roll into bed. We felt as though we were in heaven!

On Christmas eve we both thought of are family and friends, but the hospìtality of Paulo, Jackie, Diane, Sacha, Nick and Chris kept are spirits high. This could have easily been changed when Sam offered to reverse Sacha´s car out of the drive, managing to scrape the paint off one car and indenting another. This produced not his finest hour!

In the evening the Matias´s neighbours and family friends, the Pallins, kindly invited us around for drinks. We enjoyed champagne with them, looking out of their garden onto the magnificent golf course of the condominim. Sam felt pleased not to see any of the divots he had left on the course earlier that day!

After another lovely evening meal and a few drinks we all played the traditional Matias' Christmas eve game of charades, which had us all in hysterics and ensured that we were all in the spirit of Christmas looking forward to the next day.

Awoken early, we met the rest of the family and opened our overflowing stockings, which were laidened with beautiful gifts and chocolate! After this, we all passed gifts to each other from around the tree. Sam then had time for a quick Christmas day swim before getting ready for Christmas lunch. As we carried our many presents up to our room we both felt completely indebted to the Matias`s for providing us with so many lovely and amazing gifts.

Dressed in red, to ensure that we kept with the tradition of the Matias household, we sat down for a fantastic treat of traditional, English Christmas lunch. Our plates, full of turkey, potatos and vegtables, washed down with fine, red wine ensured the day felt like Christmas at home.

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The remaining part of the day was spent indulging in more drinks and chatting into the evening. After a light supper, we took part in the Matias´ family poker game. Trying our best at bluffing and imitating each other with crys of chicken or as Paulo put it, Chicken Shit, Sam finally took the title of champion. This completed an amazing Christmas day, which will never be forgotten!

As Boxing day passed with the same incredible hospitality, we said our goodbyes to Paulo, Jackie, Nick and Chris, who headed up to Bahia before we would join them a few days later.

On the 27th December, our great friends, Julia and Paul joined us and we had a lovely evening catching up and exchanging even more gifts!

The 28th saw Sam reach the grand old age of 27. He again felt completely spoilt by the wonderful gifts he recieved, his only worry being how he would fit them all in his rucksack!

Lunch was another memorable moment. Sacha´s, lovely Granna, Diana took us all to one of Sao Paulo´s finest restaurants, Fogo De Chao. Once sat down, we quickly realised that by turning our small, round table mats from red to green, a throng of waiters would surround us with skewers of different cuts of the most delicious meat! We all ate like kings. After a coffee, Sam was beginning to feel a little tired and then a surprise birthday cake arrived.

After the meal, we enjoyed a tour of the restaurant and saw how they cooked the meat before heading home all feeling incredibly fat! The afternoon was spent relaxing by the pool and in the evening we enjoyed a few drinks, before packing and getting ready for our early flight to Bahia the next day.

Sam´s Comments: The hospitality of the whole family was unbelievable. I will never forget the experiance. Although I am glad that not too many people were on the golf course the day I played!

E-J´s Comments: Staying with the Matias' has made our Christmas so special and we feel totally overindulged by their amazing hospitality.