bem-vindos ao brasil!

Rain, rain and clouds. Am I in Brazil or Britain? My weather curse sadly seems to have followed me for the time being so having wandered around for the past couple of days and attempting a few museums, I have resigned myself to booze and food for the time being (firmly putting the beach and bikini on hold until the sun shows its modest face).

Right, well, I will start at the beginning - the food. It's been non-stop, to none of your surprise I am sure! Even as you walk through the food markets the sellers are literally throwing it at you to taste for free. A quick gander around the stalls will leave you with an armful of watermelon, strawberries and all sorts of unrecognisable tropical fruits.

First night here I landed on my feet as such and got whisked away by Rhia and her father for some delicious sushi, wine and caipirinhas. Waking up with a pounding headache (the caipirinhas here certainly blow a few brain cells) we headed to the beach (there were a few hours of sun on Friday which believe me is now a distant memory). Sitting on the sand, I quickly learned that cariocas (dwellers of Rio) are lazy. As you sit on the beach everything is brought to you - food, drinks, suncream, bikinis, newspapers... who knew Ipanema beach was the first to master the art of sandy silver service?

The rain followed and since then I have been sitting in restaurants, food stalls and buffet canteens that charge your plate by the kilo. The best thing I have eaten so far is the steak - served sizzling at your table on a hotplate and nice and juicy. If the beef is this good here, I am going to grow black and white spots by the time I reach Argentina.
The cachaca has been keeping me company during the drizzle but I am looking forward to sitting on the beach again being offered freshly cooked prawns by a man with a cooker in his hand and a fridge on his back...