Hanging out in Brazil

Crazy bag theft debarcle dealt with and we continued with our travel plans.  Luckily, we had already planned to go to Petropolis, the mountain area outside of Rio for some calm and relaxation as it was exactly what I needed!  It is a beautiful and peaceful area, perfect for chilling out and for me to sort out insurance claims! 

We stayed in one of my favourite hostels so far, Hostel Samambaia, out of the town, with gorgeous views, lovely staff who cooked for us when we hadn't had time to go to the supermarket and who walked me to the supermarket so that I wouldn't be on my own!  There was a menagerie of animals, including black swans and an ostrich; a stream running through the gardens and an amazing swimming pool for admiring the views from.  It was the most idyllic place and what was even better was that we were the only ones there and had the entire place to ourselves for relaxation!

But, it wasn't all relaxation ... I did get out to explore the beautiful countryside and walked through a near by national park up one of their mountains where you can see Guanabara Bay from.

A stunning area and the best beginning to seeing Brazil!