Flights

The flight was pretty long, but we just slept most of the time so it made it go by quicker. The plane tickets were $573.40 per person. This totaled to $2,867. We were able to get the Ramada Hotel shuttle for free since the hotel is just 11km from the airport! Traveling to Dalian
Sat 29-Oct-11
Nairobi (NBO) Depart 3:20 pm	to	Dubai (DXB) Arrive 9:35 pm Terminal 1	2,204 mi (3,547 km) Duration: 5hr 15mn	KQ Flight: 318
3Economy/Coach Class , Boeing 737-800
Sun 30-Oct-11
Dubai (DXB) Depart 1:40 am Terminal 1	to	Guangzhou (CAN) Arrive 12:30 pm	3,629 mi (5,840 km) Duration: 6hr 50mn	CZ Flight: 384
3Economy/Coach Class , 772 - BOEING 777/200
Guangzhou (CAN) Depart 4:40 pm	to	Dalian (DLC) Arrive 8:05 pm	1,191 mi (1,917 km) Duration: 3hr 25mn	CZ Flight: 6262
3Economy/Coach Class , Airbus A320
Total distance: 7,024 mi (11,300km) Total duration: 15hr 30mn (23hr 45mn with connections)

Wrap Up

We are now on our way to Kenya! Our flight was so long. We were flying for 17 hours and 31 minutes, but the whole trip took 35 hours and 36 minutes because of layovers and waiting for connecting flights. We got to fly buisness class though, so it awsn't too terrible. We had delicious food that was turkey and macaroni and cheese, and a variety of movies and American on demand channels to watch. We finally arrived in Kenya a little before 3 pm Monday afternoon. We got a van to take us to our hotel, which cost us 100 dollars. Our hotel was the Safari Park Hotel and Casino. We were are extremely tired after checking into the hotel so we all decided to take a nap. Well, except for Alex who decided to wander because he was too restless to sleep. After everyone woke up, we decided to catch a shuttle to the Uhuru Gardens Memorial Park. We saw a lot of monuments, and everything was so pretty and relaxing. After we looked at all the monuments, we decided to take a walk around the lake and just talk about our trip so far. After we felt completely refershed, we got back on the shuttle and went back to the hotel. We were still tired from the previous days flights so we decided to eat and go to bed so that we would be well rested for an early day the next morning. We ate in the hotel. I had a chicken pasta dish, Kristen had steak, Alex and Noah had hamburgers, and Mark had a salad. We all took showers and got ready for bed and went to sleep. The next morning, we woke up at like 3 am to get ready to go to our natural site, the safari. We went to the Tsavo East National Park. Out hotel had a shuttle service that went straight to the park, but we had to beg them to take us at 3 in the morning. They eventually gave in and took us for 25 USD. Noah surprised us with a hot air balloon trip because he didn't want to disturb the natural environment of the safari. We arrived at around 5 am and had to take a safety course. Because we paid for an all day tour, they gave us a champagne breakfast that was delicious. After we completed the safety course, we went up in the hot air balloon for the first part of our tour. We stayed up there for around 4 hours. At first Kristen and I were scared of the height and the small basket that we were in, but after a while we relaxed and started to enjoy the scenery and the ride. We got to see "The Big 5" of the safari which were the buffalo, leopard, lion, rhino, and elephant. It was amazing to see things so big in their natural environment. After the 4 hours we went back down to stretch and use the bathroom But, we quickly went back up to enjoy the safari. We ended at around 7 pm, and because it was already dark, we got a candle lit dinner. It was so delicious. We all got chicken and mashed potatoes and ice cream. We all got a t-shirt and a souvenir photo included. I can't wait to show everyone my picture because it is so cool. We headed back to the hotel and showered and went to bed. On wednesday, we went to Lamu so that we could see something cultural in Kenya. We were all too excited to eat breakfast, so we decided we would just stop somewhere on the way. Once we were in the taxi, everybody decided that KFC was a good choice. We all got the chicken platter to go, and quickly got back in the taxi. Once we got to Lamu, we ate our food on benches in front of a beautiful stone building. We also people watched, which was pretty funny to me. The food was good, but everybody agreed that the chicken tasted different than our KFC at home. Somehow, Kristen talked a group of guys into giving us free donkey rides to the beach. It was so pretty. It was so cool to see all the dolphins and they kids paying on the beaches. We joined them with their games and just took in the beautfil scenery. We wanted to climb up the dunes, but decided we didn't want to mess them up. The water was warm and one of the prettiest blues I had ever seen. We stayed so lte tht we got to watch the sunset. Our new friends let us drink with them and we joined their cook out for dinner. After dinner, it was dark, so we thanked our new friends and caught a taxi back to the hotel. We all got ready for bed and fell asleep fast because of the long day we had. Thursday we went to Moi International Sports Centre to watch the local Mathare United football game vs. Nigeria. I don't really enjoy soccer every much but it was so cool to see everybody so intense and into the game. The game was in the afternoon, so we got to sleep in for the first time in a long time! It felt nice to just sleep all morning. Once again, we skipped breakfast because we didn't want to get out of bed. Once we got to the game, we decided to eat. Kristen has cheese pizza and Noah had meat lvoesr pizza. Alex, Mark, and I all ate fried chicken again. We thought it was weird that they served fried chicken at the concession stand. The opened a KFC which was the first American Food chain in South Africa. The stadium had just reopend after being renovated, so it was very nice. Even though they lost 3-0, it was still very fun to experience the excitement of a soccer game. It was also exciting to ride a Matatu, which are privately owned mini buses. They blasted African music which was new to all of us. After the game, we went back to the hotel. The hotel was having a celebration for one of its employees, so we got dinner for free. There were so many cool new foods to try. Kristen and I were kind of picky, but everybody else tried everything, even the tuff that looked nasty. I couldn't pronounce any of the foods' names, but it was still fun to look at and try some of them. After the celebration, we went back to our rooms and got ready for bed.

MONEY

Flight:

Total price for plane ride: $13,187.50
Average price per passenger: $2,637.50
Total cost of an airport van in Kenya to hotel:100 dollars.
Total flight and transportation: $13,287.50

Accommadations:

$123 (per person/night) x 5 (adults) = $615 USD
$615 x 5 (nights) = $3,075 USD
$3,075 + $20 (taxi) + $500 (meals/food) = $3,595 USD
$3,595 USD = 365,180 Kenyan Shilling

Safari Adventure:

$500 flat rate + $25 tip for shuttle = $525
252379.90 total kenyan shillings total w/ tip

Lamu Adventure:

Transportation (Taxi): 25 US Dollar = 2,528.89 Kenyan Shilling
Food (KFC): 19 US Dollar = 1,921.95 Kenyan Shilling
Total: 44 US Dollar = 4,450.84 Kenyan Shilling

Soccer Game:

Ticket price: 812.317 Kenyan Shilling per person which is 8USD
Tickets Total: 4,061.585 Kenyan Shilling = 40USD
Transportation: 2,550KsH = $25.64805USD.
Food: Lunch (2 slices of pizza, 3 fried chicken plates, 5 drinks) came out to a total of 2,843.11 Kenyan Shilling = 28USD.
Total : Transportation: $26 + Ticket :$40 + Food: $28 = $94 USD

Total For Kenya: 17, 545.50 USD = 1,750,157.12 Kenyan Shilling

$84,094.01-$17,545.50=$66,548.51 after trip

Thursday- Recreation/Sports

On Thursday we went to Moi International Sports Centre to watch the local Mathare United football game vs. Nigeria. It was an afternoon game, so we were able to sleep in a little bit since we all know sleep is something we have been lacking on all of these adventures. We grabbed lunch at the game. Me and Noah had pizza and it was very good. It tasted just like regular pizza, I had cheese and he had meat pizza. MaryBeth, Alex, and Mark all had fried chicken. It was very weird that the concession stand served fried chicken but that is a very popular food there. They actually just had a KFC open in Nairobi, which is the first American food chain in South Africa. The stadium was just newly renovated and opened back up in July so it was really nice to get to see the brand new stadium. The Mathare United team ended up loosing 3-0 but it was still really fun to watch. The weather was beautiful and we got to see all kinds of people (the fans are very intense). Lunch (2 slices of pizza, 3 fried chicken plates, 5 drinks) came out to a total of 2,843.11 Kenyan Shilling which was 28USD. The ticket price was 812.317 per person which is 8USD, the total therefore was 4,061.585 which is 40USD. I really enjoyed the game, one of my favorite parts of the day was getting to ride the Matatu which is privately owned mini-buses. It was decorated really cool, and also very crowded but I really enjoyed the uniqueness of it. It had a really powerful stereo that was blaring African music and also had a TV in the front. The driver was really nice and was able to tell us all about the stadium we were going to. The ride back was so much fun because even though they lost everyone was still going crazy on the bus, and we got to ride and a different one so we got to see the uniqueness of each Matatu. The total for the trip there (from the hotel to the stadium) was 250KsH per person which is 1250KsH total. The total for the trip back (from the stadium to the hotel) was 260KsH per person which is 1,300 total. The total for the transportation for the day was 2,550KsH which equals $25.64805USD.

Transportation: $26 + Ticket :$40 + Food: $28 = $94 USD

Wednesday- Cultural/ Historical

On Wednesday we went to Lamu, we took a taxi to the small muslim town. We stopped on the way and had KFC. We all five got the original recipe chicken platter. It was delicious, it tasted slightly different then KFC food that we have from home but it was still really good. Since we were in a taxi cab we just got the food to go and continued our ride to Lamu. We sat on benches where the taxi dropped us off in front of beautiful stone building in Lamu. We ate our food and people watched for a while. We then started walking and took in the intriguing culture Lamu offered. We ended up getting a free donkey ride to the beaches and walked along them playing games with the locals and just taking in the beauty. We saw dolphins and alot of beautiful dunes. The water was pleasantly warm and a very beautiful blue color. The day was extremely relaxing and it was wonderful to walk around the small town and get to take in the culture. We watched the sunset on the beach and drank with new friends we met. They introduced us to a drink called Changaa, it was very potent. It was not my favorite drink but I did not mind it. It was alot of fun drinking and hanging out with our new friends. Once it got dark out we decided to head back to the hotel. We took a taxi back to the hotel.

Transportation (Taxi): 25 US Dollar = 2,528.89 Kenyan Shilling
Food (KFC): 19 US Dollar = 1,921.95 Kenyan Shilling
Total: 44 US Dollar

Tuesday: Natural Site

On Tuesday we woke up super early at like 3am to go to the safari. But i didn't want to do anything that would upset the animals in their natural habitat, So i felt it necessary for us to take a hot air balloon up into the sky and take a Arial look at the worlds greatest safari . We went to the Tsavo East National Park Were we were able to see the "BIG 5" (Buffalo ,Leopard, Lions ,Rhinos, elephants) ,and we even got caught up in a swarm of African pelicans flying at our eye level. I booked us all on a all day trip . were arrived at the station at 5am and had to go through a safety course, they treated us to a champagne breakfast and sent us up in the balloon. we stayed up for 4 hours and came back down to stretch and bathroom break, but we went back out for a long period of time , just soaring through the safari going as high as we could go and then also lowering the balloon when we saw different game. This was the first time i had ever seen a lion, the king of the jungle. when we got off the hot air balloon it was around 7pm and it was dark already but they treated us to a candle light dinner under a tree out in the middle of nowhere. (i have no idea how they got our food there)

Our hotel service has a shuttle that went directly to Tsavo East National Park, it was a little difficult to get them to drive us at 3am but with a small tip anythings possible(- 25 USD). We had to let the shuttle know what time to pick us up , but the shuttle arrived 30 minutes late, we didnt get back to our hotel till 11ish. - 25 USD


for this guided tour there was a flat rate of :500 $USD
the guided tour included
-5 T-shirts
-5 champagne breakfasts & dinners
-souvenir photo for everyone

252379.90 total kenyan shillings total w/ tip

Monday Night: Built monuments

After the long weekend of our travels and a quick nap at our amazing hotel, I began getting restless and mention to everyone that there is a park around our hotel and we should go check it out. We caught a shuttle from our hotel that runs every half hour to Uhuru Gardens Memorial Park. It was a beautiful park, with people relaxing everywhere. We saw a few different monuments: I didn’t know their names but they were beautiful .

After seeing these monuments we went and walked around the lake and talked about our experiences so far. We all sat down and told jokes and stories about our trip so far. We got a great chance to just enjoy our surroundings and the company of my 4 other mates.

We didn’t spend any money on this quick excursion , it was more just to enjoy the park and lake with company.

Accommodations

Upon landing in Nairobi we grabbed our luggage as quickly as possible and grabbed a taxi. We consulted our taxi driver on places to stay and he brought us to his suggested hotel. After paying the tax fare we found ourselves at the Safari Park Hotel and Casino, located on Thika road (Kasarani). Thankfully there was just enough vacancy for our group and we checked in as quickly as possible. Everyone was pretty tired and decided to take a nap, but I was restless and decided to adventure around the hotel and check out the casino. As it turns out, the hotel also offers a plethora of ethnic dining options including a great Japanese cuisine restaurant that has gotten highly reviewed. I checked out the prices and found them to be reasonable and as a group we later decided to eat our meals in the hotel. I also found myself standing in front of the beautiful 2,000 sq foot swimming pool after adventuring for some time. Apparently a new addition was recently done, as there was a rather large stretch of shopping boutiques on the back-side of the hotel. I finally ended up at the casino, and as luck would have it, left my money in the room! I decided to still walk around and I’m glad that I did. The place was beautiful and I couldn’t help but marvel at the architecture. In the end, we were all very pleased with the hotel and were glad that the taxi driver suggested it.

$123 (per person/night) x 5 (adults) = $615 USD

$615 x 5 (nights) = $3,075 USD

$3,075 + $20 (taxi) + $500 (meals/food) = $3,595 USD

$3,595 USD = 365,180 Kenyan Shilling

Flight to Kenya!

Sat 22-Oct-11
Rio de Janeiro (SDU) Depart 10:09 pm	to	Sao Paulo (GRU) Arrive 11:30 pm Terminal 1	214 mi (344 km) Duration: 1hr 21mn	JJ Flight: 3315
3Business Class , Airbus A319
Sun 23-Oct-11
Sao Paulo (GRU) Depart 10:40 am Terminal 1	to	Buenos Aires (EZE) Arrive 12:30 pm	1,069 mi (1,720 km) Duration: 2hr 50mn	LA Flight: 6462 Operated by: TAM LINHAS AEREAS FOR LAN ARGENTINA
3Business Class , Airbus A330
Buenos Aires (EZE) Depart 6:10 pm Terminal A	to	Johannesburg (JNB) Arrive 8:25 am +1 day Terminal A	5,051 mi (8,129 km) Duration: 9hr 15mn	SA Flight: 227
3Business Class , Airbus A340
Mon 24-Oct-11
Johannesburg (JNB) Depart 9:40 am Terminal B	to	Nairobi (NBO) Arrive 2:45 pm	1,801 mi (2,898 km) Duration: 4hr 5mn	SA Flight: 184
3Business Class , Boeing 737-800
Total distance: 8,135 mi (13,092 km) This flight was super long and late at night. We hailed a van from our hotel in Rio to the airport which cost us 100 dollars. We didn't arrive in Nairobi until 2:40pm Monday. Luckily we were upgraded from Economy to Business class for not much more of a fee. We had some awesome meals of turkey and macaroni and cheese and a 4 movies to watch and channels of American television on demand! Total price for plane ride: $13,187.50 Average price per passenger: $2,637.50 Total cost of an airport van in Kenya to hotel: 100 dollars. Total flight and transportation: $13,287.50 Total duration: 17hr 31mn (35hr 36mn with connections)

Wrap Up

Where now on our way to Rio De Janerio, Brazil. I have never been to Brazil or anywhere in South America before but i had learned a little bit about Rio from a Soccer. i knew of Club that’s hosted in Rio de Janeiro that’s called Flemengo. On our departure from Quito Ecuador was a long journey in itself; we had a handful of flights to catch over the next 2 days. From Quito we departed to Guayaquil where we arrived with 20 minutes of our next flight , you might not think that’s a small window but we all had to run through the airport to our next gate which was in a different terminal . we Just made it to our flight in time and were on our way to Santiago for the night. Where we had to spend our whole day in the airport. That doesn't sound like a good time but we made the best out of it. Our flight service gave us 5 free food vouchers that we used on breakfast at Gatsby's restaurant. Alex and mark both got cereal, Kristen got a egg white omelet and Marybeth and I got bacon omelets. We had wheel chair races, and played tag and hide in go seek in the air port during down times (we kept getting yelled at). Before we left Santiago we ate at Ruby Tuesdays, We all ordered steaks since we wouldn't be eating anything like this for while . We only spent 83 dollars at the airport. We ended up traveling the rest of that day before we got to Rio.

Our Hotel was very Nice and modernized, everything was very colorful in Rio. We went and checked in and ventured on to our room. When we opened the door it was kind of a shock to me, it was a fairly big living room(pictured right ) with 2 bedrooms with 2 comfy queen beds in them. There was a pull out couch that i slept on. We had Internet through out our place, which was kind of nice. Since we got to our hotel at in the morning we went to the pool and met some cool college kids that were on a vacation.

On Monday we ventured to a botanical garden, which was pretty interesting. We had to take a very bumpy taxi; I don’t care what anyone says this taxi was so bumpy I almost choked on my gum. We got to the Garden and Kristen made us go get a map, I just wanted to wing it and go where ever but they said it was better like this. We saw a ton of trees that i had never seen before and they were pretty neat. The best part of this whole trip definitely has to be that we saw a pesky little kid get sprayed by a skunk!! We saw a sloth that looked just like the sloth from ice age the movie and i thought that was pretty funny. Alex can do a great impression of Sid the sloth. We ended up having a picnic at the garden where we ate this yummy bread and pão de quejo (cheese)

Tuesday we had to wake up early and catch a bus to go to Fiscal Island. it was simply marvelous . It was a copper palace; the copper was green like the statue of liberty. We got a tour of the palace and Mark was flirting with our tour guide and got her number at the end of the tour.

On Wednesday we went to the Christ the Redeemer statue. This was AWESOME! We took another super bumpy cab to the statue and took a train ride tour. It was so crowded that Marybeth was straggling and we almost missed our train. We got off the train at the feet of the statue where you can look out and see the beautiful view of the Water, Mountains and the City. This is one of the new 7 wonders of the world and we got to see why. We went to a restaurant at the bottom of the hill, which was a Very simple restaurant, I got a chicken basket and it was pretty tasty.

The next day we decided to sleep in a bit and wake up and go shop a little bit. I got a nice pair of board shorts and then we walked to the beach. Laura (our tour guide from a few days ago) met up with us at the beach, her and her friends were there surfing. We rented some surfboards and headed out for the swell. IM going to be very serious. I SAW A SHARK, they don’t believe me but i watched shark week on television and I know what I saw. It looked like a 15-foot great white shark. Laura and her friends came back to our hotel and we made friends and hung out with some locals.

That Friday we Had nothing going on so we hung out at our pool for most of the day. Marybeth Kristen and Alex stayed at the hotel while Mark and I went and picked up a pizza from Wayra Restaurant and bar. We came back and had lunch together poolside. Laura called Mark and told us about a club that was a few blocks around the corner and that her and her friends were going and wanted us 5 to join them. Around 9 o' clock PM we went out to have a good night. The club was poppin there was people everywhere just going crazy having a good time.The club was called 00(zero zero) and was close to the beach, not to far from where we where staying. Since the legal Drinking age in Brazil is 18, Laura’s friends and us bought two bottles of Brazil liquor . You should of seen Kristen Fist Pumping in the club it was pretty funny and we all ended up having a great time at 00 . We ended up spending a little more money that planned but it was well worth it. Kristen and Marybeth went back to the hotel at 1am. Me mark and Alex stayed out and went back to the beach for a fire with Laura and her friends , we got back to the hotel at like 5am!

Flights - 3579.80 $ USD or 6,361.26 BRL

Hotel and food – 1025 $ USD or 1,821.41BRL

Natural site - 139.23 $ USD or 247.41 BRL

Cultural site - 71.06 $ USD or 126.27 BRL

Beach & shopping - 118.38 $ USD or 210.36 BRL

Built site - 54.87 $ USD or 97.50 BRL

Ruby Tuesdays 85 $ USD or 151.04 BRL

Wayra’s Pizza 11 $ USD or 19.55 BRL

Drinks 90 $ USD or 159.93 BRL

Total= 5174.34 or 9,194.75 Brazilian Real’s

Total from last week 89,268.35

We have 84094.01 left

Thursday: Beach Day: Copacabana

Here we are heading to the beach again! We are lucky to have a great day with a 85 degree high! The boys bought new board shorts for riding the waves in! So, pair of shorts is $35 Real * 3 = 105 real total. The girls got new suits too! each of theirs was $30 real a piece, totaling 60 real. We walked to the beach and once we got there, we rented boards for the day to go out on the water. The total for the 5 of us was 150 real. We had so much fun riding the waves. Most of us knew how to ride the boards, but Alex and Kristen had a bit of trouble. Noah thought he saw a shark, but was probably just joking. For lunch, we had sandwich baskets. Each basket had either a turkey or roast beef sandwich and chips and a drink. The baskets cost 9 real a piece * 5 = 45 real. It was a pretty bright day, but we all had our sunscreen on in light of the sunburn MaryBeth got last time in Costa Rica. We turned back in the boards at the end of the day and walked back to hotel. Fun day had! Total for the day: 210 real = $118.38 USD

Wednesday: Cultural Site: Christ the Redeemer

Wednesday we went to see the famous Christ the Redeemer statue! It's huge! The cab ride up to the statue from the hotel was $16 Reals. The cab driver asked us if we wanted to have a ride up to the top of the statue. The lines for the train up to the top was really long, but we decided to get the full experience. The tickets were $30 reals a person *5 = 150 reals. The tickets for the train were timed and since it was so busy there, we almost missed our time slot. It was a clear nice crisp day for us to see the full extent of the statue. Self touring the statue, we learned we could stand at the feet of the Christ, and be able to pick out other city landmarks such as Copacabana beach and the world-famous Maracana football stadium. Looking at the statue, he is standing with outstretched arms, embracing the stunning cityscape below, the statue of Christ the Redeemer also known as Christo Redentor is one of the most famous landmarks in the world. The statue stands atop the 2,300 ft Corcovado "hunchback" mountain, and to come to Rio without visiting 'the big guy' would be simply unthinkable. Indeed, in 2007 the "Christo Redentor " was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World by the New Open World Corporation. Weighing 700 tons, the Christ statue is an impressive sight in itself, but it is the views from his mountain-top home, high amid the trees of the Tjuca Forest, that really make the trip a must do. We were so excited to have such a breath taking site seeing day. We had lunch at the bottom of the hill restaurant. Mark had the pork loin plate, 15 real, Noah had the chicken basket, 11 real, Alex had the Arroz Carreteiro-beef and rice, 12 real, MaryBeth had the Lasagna 12 real, and Kristen had the Vatapa- the coconut, rice, and shrimp plate, for 16 real. The cab ride back was cheaper-15 real!

Total spent for the day: 247 real = $139.23 USD

Tuesday- Built Site- Fiscal Island

On Tuesday we woke up bright and early and caught the bus that was about 4 blocks from our hotel to the port. We docked onto a little ferry boat and rode out to Fiscal Island. Ilha Fiscal is a ceramic castle that is afloat on its own island (Fiscal Island). It was absolutely beautiful, I have never seen anything like it. It was this green palace, with a back drop of the city. It did not look like it belonged since it is this beautiful little castle right by downtown Rio, but it was absolutely beautiful. The architecture of the place was amazing. The details all throughout it just amazed me. We got to go on a tour and our tour guide was really sweet and she seemed to know everything about the castle, she also spoke really good English. The ferry ride and tour were included in the ticket which was R$10 per person. The bus ride to the ferry was R$4.5 per person. We also stopped at a meat stand on the street and got meat on a stick. Each stick was R$2.5 we all had two. Mark was risky and tried the “mystery meat” that we could not tell what it was (he said it tasted like chicken-but it definitely was not) the rest of us had one steak and one chicken. The total for the day was R$97.5 which is $54.87 in USD. I really enjoyed our adventure. Noah and Alex got in trouble for trying to go in a room that was apparently off limits but to their defense the sign was in Portuguese so they could not read what the sign said. Other than that it was not to eventful just a fun day that we got to take a lot of pictures of.

http://www.riodejaneiro.com/v/attractions/
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/riodejaneiro/A30979.html

Monday- Natural Site- Jardim Botanico

I did not enjoy the flight this week. The airport was very congested and no one was very willing to help us and overall it just was not a pleasant airport. Not to mention it was a LONG three days of flying. However, the beginning of the week has been wonderful, on Monday we had our natural site planned. We did not land until Monday morning early so we went to the hotel and checked in real quick and then got a taxi right away. We decided to go to Jardim Botanico which is a botanical garden. In Rio there are two types of taxi’s, personal special service cars which are significantly nicer and more expensive than the other type which are typical yellow taxis. We took a regular yellow taxi to save money. It was quiet a bumpy ride but it was not any worse than a taxi ride in the other places we were in. On the way we stopped at a local bakery market and got salami and ham and baguette. One of the locals in the restaurant that spoke a little English convinced us that we had to try a Brazilian specialty a cheese bread called pão de quejo he also helped us order everything else, I do not know what we would of done without him. The two baguettes, half pound of salami, half pound of ham and loaf cheese bread totaled R$ 36.9 which was $21.11 USD.

The cab fare started at R$4.3 and once we got to the park it read R$28.5 which converts to $16.31. When we first got there we went straight to the visitors center and got a map for R$.52 which converts to .30 cents in USD. The map was a wonderful investment even though it was in Portuguese the pictures on it helped us to get around. The garden was huge we did not even get to see all of it and we were there all day. The tickets for the day were R$6 which is $3.43 per person which totals $17.15 total for the tickets. There were so many tropical plants and trees that I have never seen. I filled up my camera chip within the first hour because there were so many new things I had to take pictures of. The animals were wonderful too there were sloths, and monkeys, birds, and fish in the mini-lakes. The funniest thing of all though was while we were walking we watched this little kid (who was about 150 yards from us and could not have been more than 5 or 6) chase a skunk and get sprayed. It was funny but also very sad because that poor kid smelled horrible we were far away and ran the opposite direction once we realized what was going to happen and could still smell the awful smell. They closed down that part of the park and the poor kid was crying his eyes out as the put a plastic suit around him and escorted him to the bathroom to rinse off. The weather was wonderful and we had a great time just walking around. We sat in a nice fenced off area that is reserved for picnics. They have blankets set out and plates and forks and knives. They also had big coolers where you could serve yourself water. We ate our cheese bread and baguettes with deli meat that we brought earlier in the day. After lunch we went to the “green house” they have there which was absolutely beautiful. It had a bunch of plants of different varieties. We got a taxi ride back from a similar taxi we rode in on the way there. The total for the taxi was R$28.3 which converts to $16.19.

The total in USD for the trip to Jardim Botanico was $71.06.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jardim_Bot%C3%A2nico,_Rio_de_Janeiro

http://ipanema.com/botanico/

http://coinmill.com/BRL_USD.html#BRL=28.3

HOTEL !

We are staying at the Windsor Martinique Hotel which is located in Rua Sa Ferreira, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The hotel is 8 stories with 117 rooms. Each room has cable television, high-speed internet, and complimentary newspaper delivery. It is a short walk away from the Copacabana Beach and a mile away from samba nightclubs. It is also 5 kilometers away from Sugar Loaf mountain views that offer sensational views of Rio. The hotel is great. It has a delicious buffet for breakfast every morning that is complimentary. There is wireless internet everywhere! My favorite part was the rooftop pool and fitness equipment. It was amazing to go swimming on the roof and see all of Brazil.

When we got off the airplane, we thought there would be an easy way to rent a car or pay for a taxi. But, there was so much traffic and people that we decided to just hitchhike our way to the hotel because it was within close distance. A friendly native let all 5 of us ride in the back of his truck to the hotel, because he was passing it anyway. We were so lucky! At the hotel, we got checked in quickly. We spent little time unpacking, and rushed to the rooftop pool. It was so incredible. We got a deal with the hotel when I called ahead that we could get out meals there, through room service for a discount. Each meal costs us $5 a person. So with 2 meals a day, times 5 people, it was $50 for food for each day. We ended up spending $350 on food that week, which seemed like a lot, but the food was so good that we decided it was worth it. Overall, the hotel made our Brazil experience even better. The service was so friendly, and the food was amazing. Most things were within walking distance, so the location was great.

Food = 350 USD or 620 Real*

Hotel = 135 per night 675 in total or 239 Real’s per night and 1,196 Real’s total.

totals = 1025 usd or 1,816 Brl

Flight Schedule

Fare Summary:

5 Adult Tickets one-way = $2,965.00
Taxes & Fees = $614.80
Total = $3,579.80

Operated by: LanEcuador

*Baggage fees included in price*