Bye Bye Brazil

It's been short & sweet but I'm jetting off to Argentina in a few short hours. Rio has been great - so much better than expected & there are plenty of reasons to come back annually for the next few years - copa america, the world cup, pan-american games & the Olympics. Only a cynic could wonder how so many premium events were won in a short space of time, so I won't.

So today started with a car (14) ride, & before any objections are raised, how many taxis have blacked out windows? Then onto moto taxi (15) for a ride to the top of Rocinha favela a place apparently transformed since the police (aided by the army & navy) moved in 6 months ago. Overnight house prices more than doubled, the satellite tv men moved in with wire cutters to stop the illegal sharing, followed swiftly by the satellite tv salesmen & there is now a sea of dishes. An amazing place to visit & you can only wonder how the face of rio will change over the coming years.

Unfortunately all my pictures are on my proper camera & as this blog is sponsored by the I-phone & i forgot until the afternoon, today's offering comes from the botanical gardens. It's dedicated to Dave as the person most likely to identify it, although it was taken in the orchid house so I'm fairly confident on the species. Some may wonder why having lived in sight of kew gardens wall & not gone in for 2 years I went there today, but I'm on holiday now so all bets are off.