Well we said goodbye to our Ozzy friends who gave us a few tips on where not to stay in Rio. Toby went off to change some money whilst i stayed with the bags, the weather was really very hot now and finding it hard to adjust again. When Toby got back we had to jump on another bus which took us to the major terminal where we would catch our 22hr coach ride to Rio. This bus was a bastard as we had to stand for the 30min journey with our backpack on and the sweat pouring off of the both of us whilst being thrown around the bus thanks to the shite driver - ah this is real traveling. We finally made it to the terminal thank goodness and had 30mins to spare before our coach was supposed to leave. So we sat down and stocked up on water then went out to board our coach which was supposed to leave at 12pm but when we got to stand 1, you could hardly see the coach for all the boxes that were still being loaded into the hold. I couldn't believe how much stuff this group of people were fitting into the bottom - had to be smugglers. it was then i noticed the coach and my heart sank as it was a really naff looking thing - certainly nothing compared to the luxurious coaches we had been lucky enough to get just lately, not such a good thing on a long journey but at least it had a loo. We sat down and waited to get our backpacks loaded and were still waiting at 12.30 as they were still loading the boxes. I just got on the coach and claimed our seat and tried to see the funny side of it all but the thought of sitting in that seat for that amount of time was daunting. At last the bus finally started up and Toby hopped on along with everyone else and we started our long journey. Toby came up with an ingenious idea of playing battleships something i have never done before, so he drew out a couple of pages of dots and explained the rules. We ended up passing 2 hrs with that stupid game and i won! ok i did put too many ships on my grid and forgot to put on a couple of crosses here and there but Toby accused me of cheating!! he didn't want to play again - bad loser.

We didn't stop for a rest bite until 8pm for a 30min grab some grub time and a cuppa, luckily we had eaten our rolls earlier on in the afternoon as we soon found out the food wasn't included in our trip, whereas the woman Toby had bought the tickets from, said it was.......she also said the journey was 22 hrs but we also found out it was 24hr.......lying sod. We both weren't hungry so just had a cuppa, oh forgot to mention that the group of smugglers were incredibly fat men who sat at the back of the bus with there t-shirts pulled up to expose the huge fat bellies hanging down over shorts - horrible. Anyway this group were the first of the bus on our short stop and went straight into the restaurant for an all you can eat buffet, the only people who did. Back on the bus again and i was surprised to find i dosed off for an hour or two and found the bus stopping again at about 2am for more coffee, more food for the big boys. This time Toby had something to eat whilst i stuck to coffee. unfortunately the coffee comes with Sugar a bit like Nepalese tea. so couldn't drink it. I had a strange night of dozing on and off but couldn't get much sleep thanks to the bus driving going so fast around the corners you ended up gripping onto the arm rest.

Did get a few hours of sleep better than my other bus journeys, in fact this journey seemed to be going very quickly and much more entertaining. The smugglers were up and down the bus all the time going to chat to the bus driver who they were trying to butter up for something or other. We went through a few police control stations where we were boarded by some coppers who did a huge search of the hold and the interior of the coach. We later found out they were looking for drugs which get packed up with all the other stuff smuggler people try and get across with. The group were very jumpy and a few piles of dosh were passed onto some coppers along the journey to keep them sweet. When we finally came into the outskirts of Rio the fat boys were getting all there stuff ready from the back of the coach and bringing it all up to the front ready for collection. It was then we saw some of the stuff they had. Loads and loads of play station 1 which they had bought for $5 U.S dollars from Paraguay and then flogged in Brazil. The reason they were bribing the coach driver and police is that they don't pay tax on any of the stuff therefore it was illegal....... aaaaah getting the picture now. Anyway it wasn't long and we had pulled into an old car park where 3 combi vans were sat waiting, as soon as the coach stopped the fat boys were on fire. They were hauling as much stuff out of the hold and the front into the vans along with some other guys who had come in the combi vans. It was like something out of a film and i couldn't believe how fast they were doing it! The vans roared off as soon as they were full and then the coach was off again to make another 2 stops to unload into waiting combi vans - all very TV. The coach driver was paid off, and then the gang disappeared along with the last load, We were now an hour late getting into the bus station. It was sweltering when we got off so didn't want to mess around too much with getting somewhere to stay, walked into the terminal and found a stand giving info on hostels in the area. Toby had been advised to go to one in Santa Tereza but the Ozzy girls had said they found the area to be dodgy so said not to bother. We found one in Copacabana which looked ok so hopped on another bus into the main town catching a quick glimpse of the huge JC statue up on the hill. We found the hostel but weren't happy about it at all, very small and dark. So went off to find another one up the road. This place seemed a lot more popular and had a big common room and a bar so thought we should stay there. Had different rooms which wasn't a problem but my room was really very hot and stuffy so just dumped my bags and went out for something to eat as we both hadn't eaten anything properly in 25hr now. We advised of a place in town which ended up being miles away and found out it was an all you can eat buffet again - oh dear very fatal...... and yes i ate my own body weight in food, Toby didn't do so bad either, thought it would be a good idea to go for a walk along the beach before going back so headed for the sea. The beach was fascinating, just like how you see it on TV with all the muscley men playing volley ball and scantly clad women walking around in thongs and little else- definitely a posers paradise! i felt quite the tourist with my day pack and sandals so didn't stay too long before heading back to the hostel and to sit in the common room for a couple of beers. My roomies all turned out to be a nice bunch so ended up sitting and chatting and playing pool with them for a few hours before they headed out for something to eat. The hostel also had a gang of 20 German kids staying who all seemed to play drums so were constantly drumming out beats of the table with their drum sticks, 2hrs later i couldn't stand it anymore so growled very loudly at them and they soon shut up, i went to bed.

Woke up early after a good nights sleep and found Toby waiting out in the corridor reading his book. We had b'fast then thought it would be a good idea to go to Santa Tereza to drop a package off. The hostel in Iguazu had given Toby a wad of info on their hostel and asked us to drop it off to this other hostel in Rio which of course he said he would. We went for a walk about town to find a metro station which turns out didn't run on a sunday.... so caught a taxi instead up into the hills and into the most beautiful and most picturesque part of the world you could wish to imagine. Just a maze of cobbled roads which still used a tram, steep roads lined with huge mansions and old houses crowded together higgledy piggledy all with amazing views of the City down below. We finally found the hostel after a few wrong turns but then i couldn't find my way around this place it's like a maze. The hostel turned out to be on a steep hill so was a bit of a climb to get to the front door but once in, it turned out to be one of the nicest hostels we had visited. The lady owner - Corina who spoke brilliant English was amazed we had gone so far out of our way to bring the package for her and gave us a tour of the place. It was built in 4layers up the hill and even had it's own small swimming pool and the facilities were fantastic and really new, the atmosphere was lovely and Corina was very friendly. She told us how the hostel we were currently staying in was illegal and didn't pay the current hostel tax - naughty. We had decided to move to this place anyway as it was the same price but sooooooooo much nicer. We aren't beach fans anyway and certainly didn't seem to go out much clubbing so didn't bother us not being in town, Santa Tereza suited us much more, very bohemian with little bars and restaurants and crafty places. Corina arranged a taxi for us to take us to the JC statue on the hill. The taxi would wait for an hour then bring us back again which we thought was a grand idea as there was no way we were going to walk up in the heat. The Drive up was amazing and the view breathtaking, we passed through loads of trees that had huge fruits up in the branches which people seemed to be eating on the road side. We finally made it up to the top where there were loads of tourists as we expected, by now the heat was really bad and i was sweating my bits off. The statue was huge and pretty awesome so after a billion photos of JC and of the huge view we went and sat in the shade to eat some fruit i had bought with me. The taxi collected us an hour later and took us back down to a restaurant that had been advised by Corina and turned out to be a real treat. Packed full of atmosphere and fantastic food, we shared a pizza and soaked up all the surroundings for an hour before we headed back down to the main road and caught a bus back to Copacabana. Toby had pre booked a group tour to see a football match so had to be back for 4pm and made it just in time, mind you they all didn't leave until 4.30 anyway. So they buggered off and i went to buy some dinner for later on, knowing Toby wouldn't eat anything when he got back at 9pm. I had a pleasant evening chatting to a beautiful Ozzy girl who really should have been a model - bitch.... she was really very nice though but wish i could put a bag over her head! and her whole perfectly formed body - double bitch.... Well it seems she had had her whole backpack stolen a while ago so a lovely American girl who had left earlier in the day, had left me some clothes and bits to give her as she was going home. I bunged in a couple of my clothes and gave the Ozzy girl the bag of stuff which she was thrilled about, must admit i was tempted to keep the Clinique anti aging cream that was in the bag seeing as i needed it more than she did but i couldn't bring myself to be such a rat and left it in the bag.......... yes i will go to heaven. Toby came back about 8.40pm and seemed to be very grateful for the dinner i had prepared for him. Didn't seem too impressed with the football match but pleased he had gone, just had a couple of drinks then went to bed. Toby had now moved into my room and we were the only ones in it so could put the noisy aircon all night.

forgot to mention that my towel had been taken earlier on in the day - don't know if nicked or accidental but very pissed off.

Slept really well again and woke up for some B'fast then packed up and waited for the cleaner lady to turn up so i could ask if she had seen my travel towel. She didn't turn up so just left the place and caught the metro then taxi up to the lovely hostel on the hill. We didn't do much for the rest of the day apart from some washing using a thing called a washing machine, an amazing contraption you put you clothes in then 30mins later it all comes out clean!!!!! wow. Our poor clothes all went into shock..... Were going to sit out in the hammocks on the chill out floor but just couldn't move off of the couch for a good couple of hours. Toby went out for a walk whilst i read in our room with the fan full on. When he got back i did my diary and met up with another couple who were also staying in the hostel, Chris and Kate and with Corina who had also turned up. I took a few picture of the amazing view from our room then joined the others for a couple of drinkies and didn't end up going out but just going to bed as it had started to rain.

Terrific thunder storm all evening so had the window wide open and sat and watched for a long while. It was great looking over the City, the weather was still really humid so very dramatic. Woke up at some point in the early hours with a start as if someone had shaken me awake, couldn't hear a thing because of my earplugs but when i took them out i could hear hundreds of dogs all over the City barking, i sat at the window for ages and it was really weird as if something was going to happen.

Anyway nothing happened but did have the strangest dreams, got up and had b'fast which is laid on by the hostel. They had a sand which toaster which got full use from us but Toby ended up using all the cheese in his one sarny so he got a telling off........ Weather was still a bit drizzly but not at all cold, still muggy,. so Toby came up with the bright idea of visiting a huge American shopping mall on the other side of town. This place was supposed to be one of the biggest in the Latin America, now bare in mind Toby HATES shopping and gives me nothing but grief if i should even step into any kind of shop. He turns into a stroppy 3 yr old who has tantrums in the middle of the street - very very sad. So it did come of a bit of a surprise when he came up with this idea as i wanted to look for a new travel towel and maybe a new little bag as we were told not to look like travelers when out on the street. My day pack is the only thing that gives me away so thought i should just get a cheapy bag and hopefully less chance of getting robbed. So off we went on the bus which took us miles away, 1hr later we arrived at this huge monster of a tacky shopping centre with a big fake statue of Liberty in the front - mmmmmm nice. First thing we did was find out the time of a film to go and watch, deciding on the Pirate film which i wanted to see again anyway. We then walked around the shopping part of the Mall and was filled with hundreds and hundreds of shops and food areas, so had a quick lunch then split up (my idea) to do our own thing for the next hour and a half. I bought a couple of cheap tops and found a little bag, Toby purchased his bits that he was after as well. We went and watched the movie which we both thought was great then caught the bus home. It was now pouring outside so had to run around to find the bus which took 1hr 30mins of standing and packed in like sardines. Must have caught the wrong bus as it stopped off and we all had to get off in the middle of somewhere so had to run around in the rain again to find a taxi which finally took us back to the hostel. We popped out to get some food from a supermarket as we both fancied a curry but couldn't get all the stuff i wanted so had to make do. Went back and cooked up a fantastic meal, not really a curry but very hot! I sat on my own watching TV until 1am

Still raining so spent the day watching TV, reading and writing postcards which actually was quite nice. Kate and Chris stayed in for most of the day as well so had a bit of a laugh. Also had a new house guest, Nick from NZ. Watched on the box that Arnie Shwartsanieger won the elections - god they are a bunch of goons.

Went out in the evening to a bar in town which was having drink promo on, thought it was just up the road but ended up walking for quite a way through some dodgy and some normal places. Kate seemed really unhappy about walking about and was extremely nervous having never been anywhere remotely threatening before. They have only been traveling for a couple of day though so i'm sure she will get a little used to it, i wonder if i was like that when i started? Not that i'm not unaware now and i'm still just as careful, just not so uncomfortable - strange.

Found the bar which had a deal going of paying a certain set price each for the evening and drinking as much beer as possible between 6.30 -9.30. The worst thing was that the door girl who took us into the club etc was absolutely stunning - looked like a centre fold girl. Gabriel (Toby told me her name) was about 6ft tall and stunning in a hugging black number and long dark hair, which seemed to transfix us all for the evening. Conversation was mostly about all the soap gossip from back home - still shocked to find Dirty Den is back on the box!

We left early so we could cook some dinner before 9pm back at the hostel but none of the taxis would take us back for some reason so found a bus that dropped us off outside the door.

After B'fast we got our shit together and headed off to the Post Office to send some camera films and a few bits home. We then caught a taxi to Sugar Loaf Mountain which was extremely high and just had a cable car dangling over a huge drop to take us to the top. I was a little unhappy at the ride up but it was very fast, thankgoodness.The first cable car takes us to the first and lower peak which we had a look around and took pictures, also had some cheeky little monkeys who were clustered around all the bins and very sweet. You then have to get in another cable car which takes you up to the higher Sugar Loaf peak for some more photo taking and looking at some horrible Parrots made out of Quartz and Amethyst etc - all very tacky and very large. There was a really expensive jewellery shop at the top that were selling the sculptures and when the English speaking assistant came out to ask if i wanted help, i was looking at the birds at the time, aghast. I just told her they were tacky and a waste of some beautiful stone - she didn't seem impressed. The views were stunning though and much better than from JC, a lot less crowded as well which helped to the overall effect.

Hopped in a taxi afterwards to take us to Copacabana, the driver tried to scam us by saying he would do it for set price without using the meter. Completely trying to rip us off so demanded him to put the meter on or we would get another taxi ( i was already out of the door) got to our destination and turned out to be the price Toby said it should be (half the price the driver quoted) but Toby still gave the thieving sod a tip!!!!!!!!!! why why why why why why why!!!!

Toby went and called his mum then we had some lunch before finding a travel agency and booking up a flight to the Amazon - cool. I then found my own way back to the hostel whilst Toby went to Ipanema beach. My journey home was going great until i got off of the metro and couldn't find the road i needed to get to, to find my bearings. Ended up getting completely lost but recognised some of the buildings which was frustrating. The City is very much like London, so a little confusing! I found a supermarket and bought us some dinner for the evening which wasn't a good idea as i then had to traipse around carrying that for ages....by now it was starting to get dimpsy so i jumped into a taxi who drove around a bit until i could recognise where i was then walked the rest of the way back.

The weather is still wet so didn't do much all day apart from read and lay around. I did go for a dip in the pool in the afternoon, even though it wasn't sunny it was still warm.

Kate and Chris came back a little later on with an invite to a local party in one of the Artsy peoples house. For 3 days a year Santa Tereza opens up all the houses and craft shops so that people can walk around and look at all the local hand made art and music creativity that people have set up in their houses.

Went to the party at about 9.30pm and found the huge house which was devoid of furniture but had so pictures on the wall of all the local drug dealers....... the host put on a but of a show for the crowd which entailed a girl walking around with a microphone reading some poetry and a bloke waving a torch around. This was done to some pretty weird soundtrack. The bloke stood on a chair and shone the torch down at the girl who was still yapping on about something and then they did a few other weird things which the whole crowd thought fantastic and applauded enthusiastically whilst we just sat outside and thought how pretentious the whole thing was.

I started feeling pretty rotten for some reason and wanted to go back, so everyone joined me as they had had enough anyway, i went straight to bed.

got up and took another malaria tablet and then felt very ill again so realised it was the tablets doing the deed, don't think i will bother taking any if they make me feel this bad.

We went out later in the day to have a look around all the artsy houses and little streets, so pretty and full of character. The whole place is built on a big hill so there are little passages ways of steps leading down to other interesting streets, wonderful houses and great views. Unfortunately it started raining again and as my Pac a mac had died a death i ended up getting very very wet so went back to the hostel to dry off and wait for the taxi to take us to the airport at 5.30pm. Said our goodbyes to Kate and Chris wishing them well on the rest of their travels! On the way to the airport in the taxi i remembered i had left my bikini so had to go back - oops

Arrived in time thank goodness and went straight on to the plane for the 2hr flight to the Capital of Brazil at 9pm to change planes. Unfortunately we had a 3hr wait but then the the plane was delayed and we didn't get on till 2am.

Flight was fine and landed in Manaus for about 4.45am so spent the next few hours trying to get some sleep on the floor at the airport. I went outside at 6.30am for some fresh air and realised how darn hot and humid it was. There was a bit pond just outside which was full of huge fish and turtles so i stood there for a few mins having a look when a little scruffy stray dog came up and befriended me - very happy little dog. So i went back in the airport and took Toby's sandwich to feed the dog, turtles and fish.

We decided to go and catch a bus into town as we couldn't sleep anyway. Found a hotel that was more expensive than usual but supposed to be nice (so the lonely planet say) Bartered them down on the price thanks to my tactics which Toby never catches onto and always agrees to the first price given. After 2yrs and he still just don't get it.........

Found the room to be very comfy but best of all had air con, as i don't think we would get any sleep without it. We then went and got some b'fast from upstairs -top b'fast. I put my head down for a couple of hours whilst Toby went out to find out about trips along the Amazon.

We decided on one we both liked which was a tricky decision between 2 really good looking treks into the jungle. The trek was for the following day so we went to a shopping mall so i could find a new towel and rain mac and found both. Went out for pizza for dinner.

Well today is the day of the jungle today - very exciting!

got up early for some B'fast and were picked up at 8.45am by a little mini van which took us to the docks and our awaiting boat. Turns out we are the only ones on this trip so had the whole boat to ourselves.

Set of at 9am and headed straight to the 'meeting of the river which is where the Rio Negro which is jet black meets with the Rio Solmoes which is a milky coffee colour - this forms the Rio Amazon and is quite remarkable to see. There is a definite line between the 2 colours and they don't seem to mix which is the strange thing...

The boat then turned around and took us to our jungle floating lodge which wa another 3 hrs up stream on one of the rivers outlets. The lodge looked really cool and as soon as we docked we dumped our bags and introduced to our fantastic guide, Ruben. He then explained our activities and hung up our hammocks then we had a lovely lunch which included cat fish, i loved it as it tasted just like chicken. We then we all got on a little motor boat for our afternoon of piranha fishing.

Ruben took us up river just a little way where we then settled ourselves near a bank and baited our fishing wires with small bits of beef. It was then a case of just throwing the wire as far as possible then when you get a bite you pull the wire up as quick as possible. Toby (of course) got the first fish which was to small to keep so he had to try and pull the hook out of the piranhas mouth - not as easy as it sounds! These little buggers, quite obviously have a nasty set of teeth on them so Ruben had to show him how. Toby was being to gentle with getting out the hook and when Ruben got hold of the poor thing he just ripped the hook straight through his lip....... argh

The Piranha make a strange grunting noise when captured which came as a surprise, didn't think fish made any noises? Anyway i didn't so well and got all excited when the fish caught the bate but wasn't very quick at pulling the wire out the water quick enough........ my bate was always eaten.

Toby caught another one but in his haste in yanking out the line he through the fish straight over the top of the boat and back into the water on the other side - lucky fish. It was very funny but not as funny as when the young boat driver who was now fishing from on the roof of the boat had a bad dose of wind so kept ripping out large ones and then laughing hysterically - in the end all 4 of us were laughing.

Ruben caught the most fish but none were big enough to keep so after a couple of hours we went back to the lodge for some dinner of spaghetti. We got chatting to a couple of Italian girls, Luissa and Sara one of whom could speak English and was really funny. When the girls were in their hammocks she said they were like 2 beans - it was funny at the time.

Had a cold shower from the river water, it is sooooo hot and humid that the cold shower is a god send, but within minutes of getting out you are sweating again. Later on in the evening we went out alligator spotting which was quite good but i had trouble spotting the red eyes reflected in the torch light, whereas Toby had no problem. The young guy who was with us went off in his canoe to try and catch one but only ended up catching a baby which Ruben then demonstrated the art of sending them to sleep by putting them on there backs and rubbing the bellies which is really weird seeing an alligator flat on his back with legs in the air snoozing like a baby! We found out later in the trip that this poor bugger gets caught every time to show us tourists.

What was good though was the lightning storm, absolutely fantastic. Sat out in a boat in pitch black on the river whilst the sky lit up all around you with sheet and fork lighting, not a rumble of thunder which was weird.

All went to bed early as the place didn't have electricity, just some candles so not a lot to do when the sun goes down.

Didn't sleep so well but didn't get bitten by any mosquito's as they don't seem to have any which is odd seeing as we are on the river, seems the water is quite acidic and they don't like it - good job really.

Went for the jungle walk first thing with Ruben as our guide, he showed us all the different trees and their medicinal uses and all the other things the Indian tribes use them for, very very interesting. Can't believe how many amazing uses the bark, leaves, sap,.roots etc can be used for! He then showed us a tarantulas lair and coaxed the female out with poking a stick in the nest. A huge brown and black spider came running out and just stood there waiting for the pray to walk past so she could leap on it. She was the most poisonous out of all the Tarantulas. she was absolutely beautiful! Ruben managed to pick her up using a special method and luck, he turned her over and showed us her fangs which were really big then let her go on her way. Toby and Ruben then swung from some huge vines and then showed us how the indians climb trees using the bark twisted into a rope then wrapped around the feet. Toby and I both had a go and failed miserably. We saw a humming bird which i thought was a large bee at first, it was so small an saw some huge beautiful butterfly's and some birds, also the biggest ant i have ever seen in my life - this thing wa a monster! As we walked around he picked some long leaves which he made into some complicated weaving constructions - 2 crowns and 2 long things that were very intricate

The walk lasted for about 3hr which was quite long enough in that humidity but well worth the trip. Caught the little motor boat back to the lodge for some lodge of more cat fish and rice the had a shower and a lie down in the hammock for an hour. The 2 Italian girls who were the only other people at the lodge with us suggested we all do the jungle camping together that night, which sounded like a plan. We were supposed to be doing the canoeing but swapped it for the next day.

We all set off with supplies and hammocks up down river to a landing spot 30mins away. It was then a 10 min walk to a spot where the 2 guides suggested we camp for the night. I thought we would find an open spot but apparently not.... We were next to a little river which again i thought was a bad idea due to the mosquitoes but there didn't seem to be any (until later ...)

Ruben and the other guide then set about hacking down small trees with their machetes and making a wonderful camp out of all the things around them. They constructed a frame which we could tie all the hammocks to then added the mossy nets using sticks and bits of cord. In the mean time us 4 were trying to start a fire (unsuccessfully) so we could cook our dinner but Toby came up with the bright idea of using the Mossy Jungle repellent which when applied to the skin would take all the colour out of anything you touched - very strong, 80% deet! Anyway he stuck a bit on a stick and, bingo we had a roaring fire within minutes -very flammable and a handy hint to all those campers out there.

Toby set about to make a spit out of some wood and when done, Ruben skewered a huge chicken and put over the fire for our dinner. He then made us a table out of some more chopped down branches. When the chicken was cooked they layed out a big pot of pre-cooked rice and we had that with the tastiest chicken i have ever tasted. Didn't have any plates so just used the leaves from the trees - my idea of course, hey i think i could survive in the jungle!

All went to bed at 6.45pm - the earliest i have been to bed since i was 5 yrs old! but once dark there is nothing else to do...... All very comfortable and fine until the lightening started an hour later and i new we were in for some rain. Ruben said we wouldn't - hey he might be able to build a 3bedroomed house with pool out of 2branches and a leaf but a weather man he is not! needless to say at 9pm when i woke up again and thought it must be at least 3am in the morning, it started to sputter with rain. Ruben and the other guy hastily constructed a tarpaulin roof which by theory was a fab idea but the edges didn't quite reach either ends of the hammocks leaving the ropes out in the open. When it did start raining the ropes soaked up all the water and then into the hammock. After an hour of raining my bed was like laying in a shallow bath and not very comfortable. The night seemed to go on and on and on and on, and i just prayed for light so i could get up. I did however need a wee 4 times in the night which is something you really don't want to do in the jungle in the rain and the dark - yes my arse got bitten to death, like a big white target. At one point in the endless night Luisella lent me her full length poncho to sleep in as her hammock was the only one not getting wet. I was fully dressed which was a mistake as now my clothes were all wet so stripped out of them - not an easy job in a hammock which with the nets were like little blue pods. I ended up sleeping in the poncho with the hood up and trying not to move as the water started to warm up when lying in a prone position but not nice when moving. The other Italian girl ended up sharing Luisellsas hammock with her at one point as hers was getting damp - Toby seemed to sleep through most of this

Didn't sleep a wink and at the fist sight of light leaped out of the hammock in my sandles and poncho...... soaking from hair to feet. The ants were having a field day biting my feet so had a quick wee before putting my boots which luckily were dry - had the bright idea of bringing big plastic bags to put all our stuff in incase it rained.......

We were all up and about by 6am and after hammock testing we found mine to be the wettest - no surprise. Toby said his was wet but it was only damp. I think he just didn't want to share his hammock with me.......

Had a very quick B'fast then dried my trousers over the fire then packed up camp and went for a walk to pass the time before the boat to pick us up. All trudged off in the jungle seeing some monkeys and scratch marks of a Jaguar on a tree and some giant snail shells which i took back with me. after an hour of walking around we went back to the pick up point to find the boat waiting for us. We all trudged over the small beach area to get to the boat only to find the beach was of a clay/glue substance which stuck to the bottom of your walking boots so had to spend another 20mins trying to scrape the darn stuff off.

Went back to the lodge and had a lovely cold shower and got leapt on by a frog which really made me jump! i picked him up and took him outside then carried on with my shower... By lunch time we were all really hungry so stuffed ourselves on fish once again, same food everyday but good. Had a lay down in the hammock for a couple of hours after lunch then went out canoeing in the afternoon for 3hrs which was really good but hard work. It was Toby me and Ruben in the canoe and i was say in the middle with the biggest paddle i have every seen which was made of wood and weighed a ton and got heavier the wetter it got. My arms were going to drop off after just 30mins! It was lovely and quiet out of the river and saw a variety of birds an da couple of small alligators. At one point we paddled up a narrow estuary but the canoe got stuck on a log in the water so toby went to the very front to try and push us off with the paddle. Bearing in mind only minutes before Toby had spotted a couple of very large alligators moving around on the bank.......... The canoe started taking in a lot of water and we started to sink due to Toby's weight at the front of the boat! Ruben shouted for him to get back whilst i bailed madly and Ruben tried getting us off the log. I was worried about getting my camera wet rather than the alligators and piranhas for some reason....

We made it out alive thank goodness and made tracks up the main river and another few inlets before heading back to the lodge for some dinner and joined the big crowd which had turned up in the day for story swapping and then had game of cards with the 2 Irish guys, i went to bed not long after.

woke up at 5.30 and headed out in the little boat to the open part of the river to watch the sunrise which wasn't that good because it was so cloudy but still nice just the same. We then went back for b'fast and sat around until 8.30 when me, toby and the 2 Irish guys and their guide went out in the little boat to visit a local village. The boat couldn't get through some of the dense bush in the river due to the river being so low. So Ruben told us we were to visit another village another 20mins away. We turned up at a wonderful white beach where the village was set and went for a walk about. It was very quiet but a really pretty place with just a few scattered wooden huts with a variety of trees. The guide showed us all the weird and wonderful fruits growing in the trees and the use of leaves and nuts also growing. We tried the pecan nut fruit and a strange seed that tasted like melon. pineapple plants, citrus plants that had lemon smelling leaves, mango, coco, coffee, and loads more. It was really interesting to see where some of the produce we eat and drink actually come from. Ruben showed us the seed of one of the trees that had seeds used for dying clothes and other things. He put some of it on our faces like war paint and we then headed of to see the field of the highly important vegetable (can't remember the name) that is used everyday in the staple diet of the locals. We were also shown how it is grated and juiced then cooked to make a substance like flour which is used for bread etc. The only people that seemed to be around were a family consisting of 3 kids and granny, mum and dad who showed us some locally made crafts which i bought a load of (Xmas is coming.....) They had a pool table outside which we all then had a couple of games on and a lovely cold coke. The family showed us their water turtle which is currently a pet but will probably be eaten some time in the future as turtle and their eggs are also part of the diet, as well as monkeys and anything else that moves basically.

After an hour we got back on the boat and headed back to the lodge for some lodge and then Toby had a sleep in his hammock whist i watched some monkeys in the trees just behind the lodge. the boat arrived at 2.30 and were told we were leaving at about 3.30ish as they had to take a Japanese bloke for a fishing trip for an hour.. Packed up our stuff and said thanks to Ruben and at 3.30 we got on the boat and headed back to Manaus. Only took 2hrs to get back due to being down river but when the group of us got off the boat, none of us new if the Green Planet van was supposed to pick us up. Toby and I couldn't be arsed to hang around and wait so hopped on a bus which we thought was going to take us into town but only took us out of the dock area. Toby recognised where we were though so walked back to the hotel which turned out to be only around the corner - good old Tobes.

We dumped our bags and went straight back out to find an internet place but they were all shut so went out for some dinner instead and had a lovely pasta meal then back to watch a film and bed.

Back in Manaus which i have to say is a bit of a dive but had to get some things done so after b'fast we both went down to the internet cafe to check up on the goss and to find out about traveling in Bolivia seeing as its full of problems at the mo. Found out it's really not a good idea to even bother flying into due to the riots, the people (and rightly so) are hitting the streets full of anger about the president selling the only natural resource that Bolivia has, gas, to North America. Some travelers have been stuck in La Paz for some time and can't get out until it has quietened down, which by the sounds of it, won't happen soon. Both disappointed about not going as it is supposed to be wonderful. Toby did find a wonderful game though........ there was a power hose thing next to the toilet and found he could fire at his none flushable and very floaty poos to try and get them to go down, this amused him for quite a while and i haven't seen him so animated in ages.

Toby stayed to reply to his emails whilst i went off to but a new comb to a couple of other things then went back to the hotel to write my diary. Toby stayed in the room all afternoon to do some work for Liquid and i went out to get a takeaway. Have to mention when coming back up the marble steps in the hotel with a big bottle of coke, i tripped and went arse over tit landing full pelt on my face. The whole bottle of coke exploded and sprayed everything within a mile radius! the porter bloke came running up to see what the noise was, luckily i had picked myself up by then to save on embarrassment! he ended up mopping all the walls and floor whilst i hobbled back to our room with soaking trousers and a large lump coming up on my chin, even gave myself whiplash! I was more relieved i hadn't knocked out any teeth......Had a nasty headache by now so after a quick shower i went to bed. We had to get up at 3am to get to the airport and try and get a flight to Tabatinga. Toby had been told the flight was full but if we went down early and put our names down on the waiting list we might have a chance.

Up at 3am and caught a taxi straight to the airport only to be told the desk didn't open until 5am - mmmmmmm duff info once again. Sat on the floor doing our dairies and waiting for the desk to open. A couple started queuing early and got there names down on the list before us which was really annoying and i bet they had just walked in the airport whilst we had been sat there for 2 hrs! Toby did get our names down though and by 6am the check-in lady said we could get on the flight - yippeee. Luckily my chin had not decided to look like i'd been in a fight but did find some more sore points over my body which i hadn't even known i had hurt when i fell over.

Boarded the plane at 8am, no seats allocated on this flight so it was a free for all, luckily we found a window seat for us. The flight only took an hour before a dreadful landing at Tefe to unload and load some more passengers. I say the landing was bad cause i happened to see how short the runway was before coming down, and when we did touch down the noise of braking was horrendous, soooo loud. As i was clinging to the chair i happened to look us and see the roof crimpling like a concertina - the nose of the plane came within half a metre to the end of the runway....................

We sat on the plane for 40mins waiting for them to do there business then had the pleasure of taking off again and flying for another hour and having the same landing as before in Tabatinga and i was very relieved to get off the plane. That was the second plane we had been on just lately that didn't have life jackets but used the floating seat cushions incase of emergency...........

As soon as we got off we had a bloke come up and give us some info on boats and accommodation, seems the boat for that day to take us over the boarder was booked up already so couldn't leave until Tuesday, same story with a flight. We jumped in a taxi with the guy and first went to the boat booking company who told us the same story but they were full also so ended up booking with another boat place just up the road. We then got taken to a hotel kind of hostel place where we got a double room with a little fan thank godas the weather was extremely hot and humid. The town is really very rural and how you imagine a South American little port village to be, all shanty wooden houses and tiny vendors and alleyways with dogs and naked children everywhere. Fruit was of abundance on every stall but most other things seemed pretty far and few between. This was the real SA as far as i was concerned, even had the chicken picking and killing on the side of the road which sort of put you off your b'fast first thing in the morning.

We didn't do much for the rest of the day due to the heat but did go out for some dinner at a restaurant on the main road which was recommended by a German guy who seemed to be living at the hostel, strange guy who liked the ladies.

Dinner was quite nice and very cheap, did try to find a bar to go afterwards but nothing was around so just went back to bed.

Didn't sleep very well thanks to the heat and the mattress which had 2 big dips in it. I popped out first thing to get some B'fast but found most things to be shut being Sunday an all. Came back with some bread and nanners and after our feast we spent the rest of the day just laying around the room as once again the weather was intolerable and i did have a bit of an eppy in the room at one point because i was so claustrophobic and had to take my inhaler. I went to use the internet in the afternoon and to my delight found the place to have air conditioning so ended up staying in there for ages. We both went out for a little walk in the evening just to have a look around and found everyone to be down by the river unloading huge bunches of bananas and all sorts of things, got lost in the maze of alleyways with the poorest of houses and people sitting around trying to sell everything and anything with babies running around and scabby dogs trying to get scraps.

We bought a couple of cold beers and took them back to the hostel. sat outside and drank them whilst waiting for a decent time to go out for dinner but after the beer neither of us were hungry so just went to bed, it was only 8pm.

Once again i didn't sleep well, between the heat and the rats in our room it was difficult. They were in our roof and making a right old noise, even got woken up by the sound of coins being thrown on the ground? I got up each time to investigate as it could have been anything, so i'm climbing up on top of cupboards with a torch in my mouth waiting for a snake or something to jump out at me, all the time Toby is just sleeping and couldn't be arsed to get out and help me look -my hero! all bloody night this was going on and still he slept though everything. Only the day before we were reading about the high crime rate in Peru and how they use every scam in the book from old ladies to children to just ripping your jewellery off as you walk past. The book was giving us helpful tips how not to get robbed and one of them was to be vigilant and look mean - both of which Toby is not, especially vigilant and aware of your surroundings, as last nights escapade with the noises only proves - sleep though it.

I got up and once again went hunting and gathering for b'fast and then came back to consume and drink coffee, it was only then we realised we were supposed to put our watches back an hour which mean we went to bed at 7pm last night!

Bit later on we both walked up to get our passports stamped so we could leave on Tuesday but duncy me forgot a really important little piece of paper so Toby caught a bike taxi back to retrieve. Once that was all done we both hopped onto the back of a couple of scooter taxis which took us over the border into Columbia. We didn't really do much but did have a walk around, didn't look any different to a Brazilian town funny enough. We did have some lunch at a very nice place then caught the taxi back again to Tabatinga. For an afternoon or sitting in front of a fan. I noticed a bloke mending shoes just outside the hostel so told Toby to get his mended as they couldn't get any worse than they were..... he was like an expectant father pacing up and down watching the man mend his precious boots. He actually did a really good job much to Toby's surprise.

I bought some pickles and crackers for dinner along with a couple of cold beers, Toby went to one of the local stalls and bought a kebab thing which went down nicely. Toby started getting guilt trips when a little boy came and stood near us peering into the hostel to watch TV. Toby felt guilty for eating in front of him so offered him some food which he didn't want anyway.

We had a power cut during the evening which was quite nice as you could see all the fire fly's dancing around the square.

Got up at 3.45am and quickly got dressed and packed up and were at the docks for 4.30am along with the owner of the hostel who had to go home as her mum was ill, Hans the German guy was along for a short while to make sure his boxes got across the border and about 15 others. At 5am a tiny little motor boat pulled up and we all clambered aboard loading our luggage onto the roof of the boat. Whilst Toby was handing his bag up someone tried to pickpocket him, luckily his pocket was empty, but toby never said a word or shouted or anything.......

The inside of the boat was like a sardine can and had no leg room what so ever, i couldn't believe this is what we paid $50 for!. There is no way the locals would have paid that much so we and a German guy called David had been completely diddled. In a few minutes we were on our way up river to the Peruvian border.