The Miangar Family in Rio (April ´11)

The 25th April 2011 was a great day for two reasons......

Reason one - finally after six whole months of waiting, our furniture shipment came....what do we play with first?

Reason two - my lovely sister and her handsome boys came to stay ....

Our home was in chaos, with boxes, wrapping, toys EVERYWHERE, thankfully some help was at hand. With the rental furniture gone, making up the beds was a priority for all, including our jet-lagged guests.

Time for a break....so off we went for a short walk to Parque Lage....you´re never too old...

With the sunshine coming through, there was only one option for a day out.....Ipamema beach!

The two brothers...
(coincidentally that´s the name of the twin-mountain at the end of the beach)

Blue skies, sunshine and a lovely pair of coconuts....

What can teenage boys (and adventurous Mums) do on a cloudy day in Rio?

....no, not bake...!

... visit ´CATACUMBA!´

A place where you can tree-top walk, rock climb, abseil and zip-wire....

Sue was relieved that the zip was over, but also that she passed the height test...

Team Catacumba!

After a morning of adrenalin-fuelled activities, a dip in the pool was needed (where's Jasmine?)...

Much time was spent ...

chilling ...

painting...

playing a bit of competitive pool volleyball...

eating ....

working out on the Wii....

trekking up Morro de Urca ...

meeting primates ...

enjoying spectacular views ...

partying in Lapa ...

and visiting places of beauty ....

Copacabana ...

Buzios...

 

Foz do Iguacu...

 and the Christ Redeemer

.... they certainly made the most of their time in Rio and took home some fond memories xxxx

Easter surprise (April '11)

We were not sure that the Easter bunny knew his way to Rio, maybe it was just too hot for him (and the chocolate)?

Luckily when we woke up on Easter Sunday it was apparent we had been visited by someone special, who had left an easter-hunt trail...

There were clues hidden around the apartment and terrace...

With chocolate as the prize for solving each one...

Now all that was left to do was to enjoy it...

Happy Easter xxxx

Mountain Retreat - Paraiso Pousada, Petropolis (April ´11)

A three hour drive from Rio, through mountains and rainforest, took us on our first mini-break away with some of our new friends. In a very steep sided valley the Pousado encompasses 160 acres of rainforest, a natural pool fed by seven waterfalls and all of this above 1,000m altitude...

In total 6 families decided to go, which consisted of 13 children ranging from 2 to 10 years of age and 10 adults, a fair size party I would say. Luckily we had this amazing poussada all to ourselves. It provided all the activities needed to keep both adults and children occupied for days. So once the cars were parked, that is where they stayed,  as the next 3 days were spent endulging in our surroundings...

Our cosy accomodation was suited to its surroundings. The log burning stove in the bedroom was a bit of a give away to the night-time temperatures...

Being in this wonderful natural environment clearly brought out the tribal instincts...

Follow the leader down to the creek... 

umm looks inviting but cold...  Rob definiately took to chilling in this rather cool natural pool..... notice that he is alone!

The rest of us looked on whilst on a gentle bicycle ride to nowhere....

It wasn´t long before Rob was joined by a few more of those that dared...

The natural pool made a perfect landing point for those who abseiled ...

There was time to stretch our legs and enjoy a trek into the Mata Atlanica rainforest on our doorstep, where a variety of species were waiting be spotted. So with binoculars in hand and walking shoes laced up, we set off on our trail. 

After a short climb the sight of Maria Comprida (in Araras) was revealed - a local fertility symbol - can you spot it?

This beautiful scenic walk lead us to a small waterfall... looks like Rory has spotted something...

.... native plants and flowers

Other activities that we enjoyed were archery, mini golf, paddle (cross between ourdoor squash and tennis), volleyball, table tennis, tree planting and art and craft.

Our friends Milena and Alex brought a balance bike for Rory to ride on, he absolutely loved it ...

 Of course time was found for a bit of fishing in the pools of the creek.....

 it was pretty successful ...

 

We had great weather, fresh air of the highest quality, plenty of opportunities to exercise, delicious food, and best of all - super company xxxx