We arrived to Rio from Ilha Grande last Wednesday afternoon and were all pretty sad about leaving that gorgeous island. We were staying in an AirBnb between Ipanema and Copacabana beaches and after dropping our bags went for a wander down the Ipanema main street. It was already obvious that this city had a good feel to it. We popped into Kraft Cafe for almond milk coffees and vegan cheesecakes then I decided to go for a run.

The beach front was absolutely hopping! There’s a bike lane which runners are welcome in and the main (beautifully cobbled) footpath was full of people. It was 5pm so no one was sunbathing anymore but lots were still playing volleyball and some vendors playing music. I ran for an hour and when I stopped the sun had set and huge street lights lit up the beach where people were still hanging out. I’d already forgotten about Ilha Grande – Rio being my new crush. 
Ailbhe and Shane cooked a pretty amazing vegan curry that evening and we went to bed very happy! Thursday we did a free walking tour which was cool and then went up the Sugar Loaf by cable car and watched the sun go down from there. The views were pretty spectacular. 

Friday was hot so after an early morning run with Amy, an English girl we’d met on Ilha Grande,  we hit the beach. There are beach vendors every 20m or so which rent out chairs and sell drinks and food. Shane and Ailbhe had scoped out the one with the best looking male staff (Shane more so than Ailbhe) so this is exactly where we headed and set up camp for the afternoon. The atmosphere on the beach was just incredible. The place was jam packed and people were constantly coming through trying to sell food, bikinis, etc. They weren’t being pushy about it so it somehow only added to the buzz. 

Friday night we went to the Dutch Olympic House to watch the opening ceremony which was spine tingling as usual. Saturday we had tickets to the boxing out at the Olympic Park and watched a Brazilian heavyweight beat an Australian – the home crowd went wild! 

Saturday night we went out in Lapa which is the main party area in Rio, for good reason. I didn’t take my phone out with me so unfortunately so don’t have any photos but trust me when I say the vibe there is like nothing else. They put up loads of market stalls where you can buy food and drink and every vendor is playing music. You could stay out among the stalls all night but us girls needed access to a proper toilet so after a while we went into a club. As tourists we were the minority in Lapa which was great and we talked to and danced with locals. It was a very, very good night out. 

Sunday was overcast and windy when I got up but determined to get more of a tan I headed for the beach anyway as the forecast had promised sun which did make an appearance for a bit. The women’s road race started at midday and I saw them whizz by the beach at the start of their race headed straight into the wind! I managed to stay out on the beach until about 3pm when the clouds came back and I bailed to go for a run with Amy. We saw the women’s road race zoom by 3km out from the finish and stopped to scream anytime a cyclist passed us. We planned to go somewhere to watch the swimming that evening but the couch got the better of me at around 8pm….

Monday was our last day in Rio and Shane, Ailbhe and I got up early to hike to Christ the Redeemer – the big statue of Jesus on a mountain/hill. The hike was really nice and pretty tough so by the time we got to the top we were dripping with sweat. We were asked by security if we were athletes and we missed a trick by telling the truth and saying no! The top of the hill was in a cloud so we couldn’t see the city but we could just about make out our boy JC, got our mandatory snaps and hiked back down to get showered, dressed and fed in time to go to our next Olympic event. 

The beach volleyball arena has been built on Copacabana beach and one side is partially open so you can see the sea. The atmosphere in the arena was just amazing with loads of music and a boisterous home crowd. The first game was Brazil vs Austria, the Brazilian pair being ranked number 1 in the world and Austria beat them! We also watched the second ranked USA team get beaten by a different Austrian pair. Then we watched Dutch women beat Costa Ricans well and Dutch men barely beat a very determined German duo. The whole evening was electric and even though a lot of the Brazilian crowd left after their game, the rest of the fans moved down the stands so it still felt packed and loud. 

My only complaint about beach volleyball is the disparity between the men’s and the women’s outfits……surely the men should be in speedos?!

After that we went to Churrascaria Palace, an all you can eat Brazilian bbq. Vegetarians go half price and I had a decent plate of salad, veg and cheese. The other three had their fill of what seemed like a hundred different cuts of beef, chicken, fish and oysters. Oh and there was garlic bread so I was very happy with my meal altogether! 

Rio has been incredible. The people have been friendly and helpful, often stopping us in the street to see if we needed anything. The army and police presence is strong in the city now because of the Olympics and I would be interested to visit again to see if I would feel as safe as I did the past week. Today Ailbhe and Shane go back to Ireland and Peter and I fly to Bogota. I’m sad to leave Brazil but looking forward to the next 10 days in Colombia!