Day 1: Arrival and Copacabana

Our South America backpacking trip started on March 15, 2024, by arrival at the Rio de Janeiro Airport. We decided to take an Uber from the airport for 69 BRL because our only other option was a bus for 50 BRL that would still drop us about 2km from our accommodation. We stayed at the Secreto Quartos hostel in a private room.

We chose Rio de Janeiro as our starting point because we needed to get further south to Argentina and Chile before the end of April to do some hiking. 
Also, the tickets were cheap...

After settling in, we headed out to explore Copacabana and change money. When we got some cash (4.8 BRL for 1 USD), we bought cans of local beer and went to the Copacabana beach. We got one can of Antarctica and one of Brahma (Chopp) beer, and Chopp became very quickly our favorite. Later, we went for food and got two more Chopps on draft. While on the beach, we were asked about 5 times if we wanted any weed or cocaine.

Day 2: Jesus Christ the Redeemer that was a hill!

On our first full day in Rio, we went to see the main sight of the town and possibly the whole of Brazil, the statue of Christ the Redeemer on the top of the Corcovado mountain. We decided to hike it up, so we first walked about 3 km from our hostel to Parque Lago. This was a surprisingly nice park with an old mansion that’s nowadays used as a café. From here we started a 4.1 km hike up the mountain Corcovado. The elevation gain is almost 700 m so it’s a very steep hike. Since it was our first day back to hiking after a while and in warm conditions (it was 33° C), we messed up and only carried 1 liter of water each…definitely not enough. We were counting every drop and were pretty exhausted at the end. After about an hour, we reached the train track and the road and followed them to the peak. The entrance cost 55 BRL each. Before we went to take any photos, we headed straight to the bar to get some water and beer to celebrate. The place was busy and people were fighting for the best spots to take a photo imitating the statue but it wasn’t that bad. We definitely found our visit worth it, but I can see why some people may be disappointed. Personally, we wouldn’t put it on a list of the modern wonders of the world, but the hike up the mountain made the trip special for us.

We ended up walking down the road and only walked an extra 2 km since I can’t read a map! We wanted to cross from the peak of Morro Dona Marta to Santa Marta district, but the path wasn’t there. We ended up continuing on the road and walked to the nearest bus terminal. The way took us through a small favela and Clare was shitting her pants, but the only thing that happened was that we got served ice-cold Coca-Cola for a better price than in a supermarket. We stopped for lunch at the bus terminal where we, unfortunately, saw a car hit a delivery driver on a motorbike (everyone survived…yay!).

For dinner, we ended up making avocado toast with eggs. We forgot to buy salt so they were very disappointing (later found it in the fridge…ach!), but hunger is hunger. We were exhausted from the hiking and the heat but the weather in the evening was pleasant so we went for a walk along the Copacabana beach to finish off the day.

Day 3: And I thought yesterday was hard…

Before we set off to Rio, we read about a hike to Pedra de Gávea, marked as the most challenging hike in the Rio de Janeiro area. We said that we definitely had to do it, and so we did.

We started by getting the bus 557 to Barrinha. We followed the map to the beginning of the trail and from the start the path was just going up and up. In the beginning, we were on a steep path but it slowly turned into stairs made out of stones. At one point, we had to climb a rock wall fitted with chains and then rocks along a small waterfall. But the best was still ahead of us. After about two hours, exhausted from the heat (a heatwave was announced on the news) and about 700 m elevation gain in 3 km (Clare had to drag me up because I was dead), we arrived at the ~35 m rock wall that we needed to climb. We had a small break to get our energy back and went for the wall. There are two ways how to get up: 1) go on your own and risk that you will fall, or 2) there are people with ropes and harnesses that will help you up safely. We conquered the first half of the wall successfully but the upper part was too difficult for us, so we decided to play it safe and climbed down and used the ropes. The fellas operating the ropes were supper friendly and were charging 60 rials for up and down or 40 one way. In the end, it took us almost an hour to get up the wall since we had to wait. The last part of the hike wasn’t any harder than the parts before and it only took about 20 minutes but it was 1 pm and the heat was killing us! But it was all well worth it because the views from the top of Pedra de Gávea were amazing. We were even lucky to see a cloud going through the valley below.

We were technically at the summit point since that doesn’t offer the best views and based on reading it requires some more climbing and we didn’t have the strength to do that.

The way down took some time because we had to wait at the wall to climb down and I was so exhausted that we needed one longer break at the waterfall to refill our water. Surprisingly, my knee did pretty well on the way down considering the slope and all the stairs. At the bottom, we stopped at the first wee kiosk to get juice and then headed to the town to find our bus back. Luckily, the bus stop was right next to a bar so we got a beer and something small to eat (this was the first fried thing we got in Brazil and it was like heaven!) before we hopped on and drove back to the town.

We were planning to go downtown in the evening but we were so tired that we went to the beach instead and went to cool ourselves down in the sea. After dinner, we went for a walk along the beach and stopped for some well-deserved drinks.

Day 4: Rio downtown and bus to Paraty

We left the sightseeing in downtown for the last day. We used bus # 100 to get to the center and then walked around. The downtown is walkable but there are no signs for any of the sights so a map is recommended. The city center has some rough streets that are covered in piss and shit (yes, human piss and shit), but we were actually nicely surprised with what you can see there. The Catedral Metropolitana looks weird but worth visiting and we got a good stretch on the Escadaria Selaron.

We then went back to our hostel to pick up our bags and headed to the bus terminal  Novo Rio to catch a bus to Paraty. We were supposed to take the bus 473 but it didn’t come and we couldn’t waste more time waiting so we had to get an Uber.

The bus to Paraty cost 105 BRL and took about 6 hours to get there (they advertise 4.5 hours but no chance). After a swift 3 km walk we were in our accommodation.

Day 5: Waiting for the rain

The weather forecast for our stay in Paraty was just rain, thunderstorms, and more rain, but when we woke up the sky was completely blue. Nevertheless, we decide to play it safe, explore the town, and spend some time at the pool.

The town of Paraty was lovely and the old quarters were really nice to walk around. There is also a pier where you can find all the boat tours. They were offering them for 110 rials per person and they will show you their food and drinks menu.

We walked around the old town and also went to buy our bus ticket for the next day to Saõ Paulo. We spend the rest of the afternoon at the pool at our pousada (inn/lodging/pension). The rain only came for about an hour. We went for dinner later in the evening back to the old town.

Day 6: Trilha Saco de Mamanguã

We were considering the boat tour since the weather forecast was bad also for our next day in Paraty. However, since the rain didn’t really come the day before, we decided to risk it and go for a hike.

At the main bus terminal in Paraty, we caught a bus to Paraty Mirim (All buses to local villages/towns depart from the bus terminal and are operated by Colitur. They have schedules online or at the bus stop and cost 5 BRL per ride.) The bus ride took about 40 minutes. We then headed straight uphill following the trail on Mapy.cz called Saco de Mamanguã (there was even one sign on the way, yeah!). The beginning of the hike was kind of hidden and was pretty steep since we had to do about 215 m in elevation in 0.5 km. After that, the trail gradually went down to the beaches and we got some nice views of the Mamanguã cove. We walked through a few pousadas/refugios and stopped for a beer…it was another hot hot day in Brazil which is always a good excuse. That’s where we “adopted” a dog who decided to follow us for the rest of our hike. We named him Chopp. It took about 2.5 hours to get to the bottom of the cove where we joined another path to get us back across the hill to the road to Paraty Mirim (It is possible to continue further along the cove and finish at Vila Oratório). This was another steep hill and the path didn’t seem to be walked much. When we got back to the road, we jumped in the nearby river to wash some sweat off us. We had a wee snack and gave Chopp some sardines and biscuits. After, we continued along the road toward the main road to catch any bus going toward Paraty. That’s where we had to say goodbye to our buddy Chopp. We hope that he is still being an amazing guide to hikers in the Paraty jungle!

We finished the nice day with cans of beer and some chocolate on the bench in the old town and then headed to our accommodation where we left our rucksacks. We used their outside shower to wash even more and change before we had to go for the bus to Saõ Paulo. We stopped for dinner near the bus terminal.

Day 7: A wee bit scary Saõ Paulo

The bus took about 6 hours to get us to the terminal in Saõ Paulo and when we arrived it was 5 am. We read that the city is not the safest so walking in the dark in the morning is not the best idea. Well, we went anyway. I was shitting myself the whole 1.5 km journey. At one point some fella stepped towards me and I almost jumped, at another, some guys started talking to me, and the park we passed was full of homeless shelters. We just continued walking and smiling at everyone. Then we reach our accommodation in this dodgy area. Our hotel name online is literally “Hotel Yes (Adults Only)”. In the whole time spent there, we haven’t seen the receptionist once since they are hidden behind one-way glass and communicate via microphone and through a small hole in the wall. Nevertheless, they were very nice to us, got us a room at 6 am, and helped us with everything we asked for (we had to ask for towels, toilet paper, soaps,…). The room looked exactly as advertised, somewhere where you would bring a prostitute (there was even a menu to purchase sex toys and a free porn channel on TV!). But we found the room very clean, everything worked, and it helped us loads that we could stay somewhere before it got bright outside.

After we slept for a bit and got a shower, we used the nearby metro to get around town and first went to visit the Museum of Football. But unfortunately, it was closed due to construction. We then continued using the metro to the Parque Ibirapuera and stopped for a small breakfast on the way. We also stopped at the free Art Museum next to the park which has a viewing deck. However, the rooftop was closed and we explained in detail that it was because of too many people throwing stuff or jumping off the roof! We then hopped on basically a random bus (it had a similar number as what we were looking for) and luckily it brought us right into the downtown, right next to the Catedral da Sé de São Paulo. We explored nearby streets and some other buildings, such as the College Pateo, but we had a weird feeling about the whole area and headed back to our hotel. It was time for dinner anyway. Since it was a long day, I went for a takeaway (Popeyes!) and we spent the night watching Netflix.

Day 8: Long long bus to Iguazu Falls

Since the room was paid hourly, we had to pay an additional 60 BRL to stay until noon. We didn’t want to hang around the town in the morning since it didn’t feel like the safest option. We used the time to pack and headed for a quick walk to the Mercado Municipal de São Paulo. There we had a coffee and bought nuts for the bus journey.

We left our hotel at noon and headed to the bus terminal by metro. It was easy with just one line change. We had a simple lunch at the bus terminal and at 2 pm we were on our bus to Foz de Iguazu. The bus seats were fully reclinable but neither of us found them very comfortable. When the person in front lowered his seat I couldn’t move and had to swap for another seat. We had dinner at a self-service buffet at a gas station when the bus stopped. It took us so long to figure out how it worked that we almost missed the bus.

Day 9: Rain on me Iguazu Falls

The bus ride took 16 hours and luckily both of us got some sleep even though it made us sore. We waited for a bit at the bus terminal for the sun to rise and headed towards our hotel. It was a 3 km easy walk along the main road. The reviews for this place weren’t the best but when we arrived the guy at the reception was very friendly, let us leave our bags there for free (he had a sign that he wanted 50 rials for it), and later didn’t even charge us 5% credit card fee.

Since it was 8 am, we didn’t hesitate and went straight for the public transport bus terminal that was conveniently located just behind the corner. We bought water and found that bus #120 should take us to the falls. The bus took about 40 minutes to get there and cost 5 rials. We used the self-service kiosk to buy our tickets to the falls and were charged 200 BRL for 2 people. You have to select a boarding time (for the shuttle bus) but since it was still early there was barely any queue. We only did the Brazilian side of the Iguazu Falls but we really really enjoyed it! The trail is not too long but you have great views of the falls from the front and they were amazing! We stopped often, taking photos, or just staring at the huge amount of water carving into the stones. When we thought that the trail was coming to an end, we were discussing if the Argentinian side would be better because you get closer to the falls. At that point, the whole other part of the falls opened up in front of us and those falls were even bigger than what we had seen so far. Moreover, there was a boardwalk going into the middle of the falls where you get fully splashed by the mist. This was truly amazing and something I didn’t expect at all. After all our reading, I had no clue that there was this massive part of the falls hidden behind and that we could get so close.

When we had enough photos, we got on another shuttle bus on the other side of the trail and headed back to the town. We got off the 120 bus earlier and first went to a shop to buy some lunch (ham + yogurt + beer…the lunch of champions). We walked through the town towards our hotel and were looking for a place that would show football. After check-in, we rested for a bit and then went to a slightly posh restaurant on the main street, but it had a big screen showing the Brazil – England game (friendly before Euro 2024) and actually great deals on beer. We ended up drinking two towers of beer and had nachos. On the way home, we stopped for some more cheap food right by our place and ice cream.

Our room smelled horrible and we thought that it all must be our clothes from the hiking in Rio and Paraty when were sweating like pigs. But then Clare was looking for something sweet to eat and found two boiled eggs that we completely forgot about. The heat of Brazil, plus the fact that they were like a week old, made them turn green and worms were crawling all around them. I very quickly ran with them out of the hotel and across the street to dump them. Our clothes still smelled of sweat but definitely better than the rotten eggs!

Day 10: Itaipu Dam and Paraguay

We had one more whole day in Foz de Iguazu, so we went to explore what else the town had to offer. Our original plan was to go to the Itaipu Dam first (north) but it was Sunday and the bus service wasn’t great (I mean fewer buses were going, otherwise, the bus service in Foz was actually very good) and we just missed a bus going that direction. So we went to the Marco das Três Fronteiras, the meeting point of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay borders. The meeting point of 3 countries is as ordinary as it gets but we believe they treat it specially here since all the borders are made by rivers. There is maybe more to it since there is a small park at the location but it was closed when we got there because it opens at 13:30 on Sundays and were there around 10. But never mind, since there was a bridge to cross to Paraguay, and we had in plan to cross and walk through the town on the other side and there should even be some waterfalls…but the bridge was closed. We don’t know why, it was just closed. It’s actually a nice bridge, looks pretty new, and there are reviews online from people who crossed.

Our exploring then had to turn north. We got back on the road and walked and walked and wanted to catch a bus to the terminal. In the end, we did get on the bus, but we were almost back in the town and walked around 5 km on the road with no shade in 35° heat. Luckily, we just made the bus 101 to the Itaipu dam. When you read about Foz de Iguazu, 99% of articles are about the Iguazu Falls (well deserved, it definitely is one of the natural wonders of the world), but actually even closer to the town you can find one of the engineering wonders of the world, the second largest hydro-electric power plant in the world. The Itaipu Dam is just north of the town and sits on the Parana River that separates Paraguay and Brazil. You can’t see the dam just from the road, but you can hop on a panoramic tour for 56 BRL/pp or even on a more detailed visit of the power plant (I believe it was 168 BRL). The panoramic tour takes you on a bus and has two stops along the way. It took a wee bit over an hour, the guide will give you additional information, and you can see the dam from all the possible angles (the bus will even cross it there and back).

Since we still had some time after the dam, we headed back to the town on bus 101 and jumped off earlier near the main border crossing to Paraguay. Clare read online that you can just cross the bridge, don’t even talk to anyone, just go. I was skeptical, thinking about getting passport stamps, or at least getting checked on the Paraguayan side. We went on both sides to ask immigration, but since we only went there for about 3 hours and were going back they all told us “No problem, free pass.” So that’s how it works, just walk across (I assume this doesn’t work for people who need visas to Paraguay but how will they find out, right?). We walked through the town of Ciudad del Este which looked completely different to Foz and was very dead on Sunday afternoon. There is a park with a big lake and a nice walk all around it so we headed there and found probably all the people missing from the other part of the town. The walk was busy, there was music playing in a small amphitheater, there were street markets, and bars along the park were getting ready to open. We were planning on stopping in one of the bars for Paraguayan beer, but the bars were opening at 6 pm, our watches showed 5:30 pm (we can wait), but the time changed crossing the border, so it was only 4:30 pm. The walk home was long and we were tired so we only ended up getting 3 cans of local beer for $1.5 and drank them in the park.

On the way back we just walked through the borders, stopped for a pastry, luckily caught a bus, and bought some food in a grocery store nearby.