Greetings!! When last I wrote carnival was in the offing and here it is a month later and it all seems so far away. Rio was excellent despite the weather that alternated between wet, humid and baking hot. I was staying at a fancy hotel (+++++) and the air-con. was a life saver. There was a real buzz about the place as carnival seemed to take off from the Friday onwards. The streets echoed to the samba drums and there always seemed to be someone (or some group) parading somewhere. Copacobana, Leblon, Ipanema, the Rua Branco all saw their fair share of parades and costumes, feathers and absent items of clothing. The transvestites were by far the most outrageously garbed but the theme everywhere was excess in all things – sequins, feathers, papier-mâché, bright colours and skimpiness. Sambadrome was the focus for the major samba schools to display their year’s work and the show was pretty spectacular. Music blared and repeated as each group took the maximum allowance of time to dance, sing, gyrate and party their way down the half mile long track.

It was a dazzling exhibition and went on from about 9pm to 6am on the Sunday and Monday nights of Carnival. I lasted til just after two am before I could not look at anymore glitter. There had been on and off rain all evening but that did not dim the party spirit or delight of the crowd and paraders. Some of my companions salvaged costume items on the night and I can only wonder whether (and how?) they will get them home. As we left the arena to try and find a taxi, huge piles of discarded costumes were on every corner awaiting collection by the garbage men. It seemed a little sad given that the whole thing takes a year to put together, 80 mins to show and about two mins to throw away.

The other highlights of Rio, for me, were the ´hippie market´ at Ipanema, the Cristo Redentor statue on Corcovado, catching up with Ana Amelia and having yummy Japanese food. And I saw ´Lord of the Rings´ one night too. There was much I did not get to see, or do, so I guess I will have to go back – but perhaps not for Carnival. It was great to have been there but there is so much more to Rio and when Carnival is on, everything else is shut. My only disappointment in Rio was not receiving mail I had hoped for. Only a card from Angela made it, so if any of you wrote to me at that mail drop, please understand that I did not get any letters so will not know to reply.

We bade farewell to Annie and Andy, and welcomed six new people into our group as we left Rio. This meant that our truck was filled to capacity and has 22 passengers. No more spare seats and extra room but it has not been a tough as expected either. And the new people are a nice mix of age, and interest (and a couple more Australians to boost our strength). From Rio we headed north to a town called Ouro Preto (Black Gold) that was really lovely. A colonial Portuguese town with a church on every hill, we spent the whole day there wandering around and taking gazillions of photos. A huge rainstorm obscured the views for about thirty minutes in the afternoon and showed up the many leaks in the tents some of us had bought from Martin. The other highlight of this part of the world was a visit to Conghonas – a town famous for its statues and churches, quite lovely and the connection with the Bom Jesus church in Braga (Portugal) was profound.

Back to the coast and time spent at lovely seaside places as we headed north to Salvador. My personal favourite was a tiny town called Caravellas-Barra. We stayed in a lovely guesthouse opposite the beach, with fresh coconuts served at the stall there, fish and chips to die for and long gentle sunsets. We went snorkelling one day at islands 50 kms off the coast and otherwise just enjoyed the relaxed pace of life there. Salvador was good fun. It is a vibrant and colourful city with strong influences from the slaves that were sent here centuries ago. Dark skins, white clothes, pastel houses, spicy food, and underlying it all the drum beats of their distinctive percussion music. I went to a concert one night and the atmosphere was electric. Very powerful!

Since then we have been heading west to get to here – Bonito. As the name implies, it is a very pretty place on the edge of the Pantanal, and not far from the Paraguay and Bolivian borders. It is also the action centre for the region, with ecotourism at its heart but plenty of thrills for the seekers of such things. We snorkelled to three hours down a river on Saturday. The water was so clear and the fish so plentiful pretty and unafraid, that three hours could easily have been ten minutes. It was great fun and we all looked a picture in our ill-fitting wet suits and goggles. There are birds a plenty here too and everything is green. It is near the end of the wet season so all is lush and hot and very humid. It is hard to keep up with the clothes washing as it takes only minutes for them to get sweaty and need another wash. I have also started sleeping in my hammock – outside! At first it was just a chance to check out how comfortable it would be for the river boat trip up the Amazon but with the hot weather, and being in dorms at the moment, I ended up sleeping there all night. It’s excellent and so much cooler than the dorm. Today was a visit to a Blue Grotto cave, very pretty and unusual, not to mention slippery getting in and out.

So that brings you up to date. Next we are headed north to Manaus (and hopefully some snail mail at the poste restante) and our jungle expedition, then further north and into Venezuela. I am not sure where my next update will come from but …. watch this space. It’s so hard to believe that I have been out here for five months already.

Thanks Jacqui and keep us posted! If anyone would like to contact Jacqui, her e-mail is: jacquitrotter@yahoo.com

What have you seen on your travels? Drop a line to the Beetle! the Beetle