The Samba Kings

Well after just under a week in Rio de Janiero we have farwelled the fine shores of Brasil. It is hard to sum up the hedonistic capital of the world in a just a few sentences but our time in Rio was perhaps some of the most amazing since we left Australia. On day 1 we walked the entire length of Copacabana and Ipanema beaches approx 11km in total- the beaches themselves are comparable with Bondi Beach- very chaotic and not the most asethetically beautiful, however, what they lack in beauty they more than make up for in atmosphere and character. The local life revolves around these beaches and the beaches are packed no matter what day of the week it is.
We hired bikes oneday and rode around the lake which was extremely pretty, this gave us our first real glimpses of sugar loaf mountain and christo redentor. As the afternoon set in we had a late lunch and went to a beutiful park which was at the base of christo redentor. We could have spent the whole day here but time didn't permit. In the evening we went to Lapa, a suburb of Rio, which was the location of a street party and a great samba club, Funidcao Progresso. The line up consisted of some well known samba groups that play new years and carnival each year. The atmosphere at the street party was sureal- very bohemian- you could literally find every interest group catered for. The samba groups didn't kick off to 12.00am so we had a late night getting in at 3.00am- Sahra represented when it came to the samba- me not so much.
On day 3 we did a tour of the city which involved visiting a national park, a beautiful waterfafall, christo redentor, Santa Teresa and Lapa- including the famous steps- as popularised by the snoop dog film clip- 'favourite girl'. Lunch was some salted meat from the north-east of Brasil.
Day 4 was the best sporting experience of my life- Brasil v Cot d'Ivore- on the big screen at Copacabana beach with 70,000 of my closest Brazillian friends- the atmosphere was insane- the goals were plentiful and the antarctic beers were cheap- the rest is a blur. Luis Fabiano's wonderful juggling act where he handballed twice in the one goal only served to increase the enjoyment of the day- 'Joga Bonito'.
Finally we ended our stay with the most informative and enjoyable cultural tour Brasil has to offer. There are over 920 favellas in Rio itself and we visited two of them including the biggest which is called Rochina. With a population of between 80,000 and 120,000 it is grand in scale and an impresive site. Despite the bad reputation favelas receive we felt completely comfortable and safe- even despite the fact we encountered civilians carrying uzis and assault rifles. Mick would be happy to know that one of the first songs I heard in Rochina was Charlie Brown Jr- tudo mudo.
Have arrived safely in Quito which is a wonderful city with an amazing outlook- and massive volcanoes- our trip to get here was a haul- Rio to Sao Paulo- Sao Paul to Caracas- Caracas to Bogota- Bogota to Quito. A measly 4 flights with 3 carriers- Our bags could only be checked in as far as Caracas and the longest lay over we had was 1hr- how we got here with our bags is anybodies guess.

Whats Three More Days

After arriving in Santiago and having a few days of sight seeing and rest, we started to get itchy feet and decided like forest to just keep on walking. Finistere (which means- end of the world) was only another 95km, or three days walking. We lightened our loads slighly and decided that day packs would be an easier option. The scenery was again stunning especially the last day as we finally glimpsed the coastline.

It was really nice to be walking again and to be away from the crowds. The last week before we arrived in Santiago things got quite busy. On the road to Finisterre we were lucky to see 4 other pilgrims a day. However, after our beautiful quiet hotel room it was very difficult to go back to the dorm with all the snoring, farting and sleep yelling! Communal bathrooms and bunk beds are things I will truly not miss and after our experiences I am much more appreciative of the fact that Aidan doesn't snore.

On our last day of walking we did an easy 34 kilometers. We arived in Finistere to streets laiden with flowers and we met up with a lovely English couple we had met previously and spent the afternoon looking at the sea drinking gin. Unfortunately the day had to be cut short as we had to get the bus back to Santiago to make our early morning bus the next day to Porto, Portugal.

Finishing the Camino

Finishing was quite a surreal experience, we got a little bit carried away on our second last day and instead of walking 23 kilometers we decided to just keep going. After walking 43 kilometers we could see the spire of the Cathedral! It was so exciting to arrive in Santiago but also a little bit sad as another chapter of our journey was ending.

I was very disappointed that there were no cheer squads as we entered the city, I was hoping for a street parade, maybe a marching band.... at least a line of people ready to hi-five us. But alas, we walked in, did a victory lap of the cathedral and took some photos, a bit of an anticlimax really. We were lucky however that a few Aussies we met along the way had arrived the previous day and were on hand to give us a slap on the back which was great.

I did get a little emotional, one- because I wasn't expecting to arrive the day we did and two- because it was finally over. We had been walking for 31 days and the whole time I was focused on getting to the end and when I finally arrived I was emotionally drained and physically exhaused.

We did go to the nearest pub and celebrate with the biggest beers we could find!! We found a great hotel which had opened only a few days earlier right next to the cathedral.