Rio and beyond...

So we are still alive and kicking....here is what we have been doing...

In rio...we met Brazilian friends that taught us how to play a brazilian version of kings cup...now we know how to say one duck in a lake in portuguese...we played a lot of spades as well due to the rainy weather....nicole and mr. clean kicked some major ass....while B and katie held their own as well....the game is to be continued....with 'mooseknuckle' atttempting the greatest comeback to 'the great white hope'. The rainy days allowed for wild and beautiful nights...esp. in LApa...which was in the center of rio and was THE PLACE to be on a friday...literally it felt like everyone and their mom was getting down at lapa. we went to a mambo/samba club called democratica....which was absolutely amazing. they had a live 8 piece band playing. it felt like we were in a scene in dirty dancing havana nights [kathryn...]. katie had to fend off several suitors because of her amazing skills....the next day we all took a city tour...starting with JESUS THE REDEEMER. which was breathtaking, huge and had amazing panoramic views of the city. not to mention THE BEST chicken and cheese pastels! (josh...u know what im talking about). we then saw the site of where carnival takes place....the soccer stadium and the cathedral. then we went to sugar loaf (the pictures we posted) and it started to get foggy when we were there ....it felt as if we were entering a mystical abyss....later that night we went to the sports bar next door and watched the argentica vs. brazil game... brazil won 3-1...and im glad for that because i think someone would have died that night in that bar if brazil didnt win. it was quite the experience. the next day it rained...so we kept the spades game going and decided to hit up this whore house at night....no not a real one!!! come on people!!! it was a club bbq place where we enjoyed feijoda...a brazilian bbq with rice, beans, kale, farro, and meat. it was DELICIous. we think we might have eaten an ear as well....we played count the gringos in the club and we counted four...katie,,,nicole...brie and josh...josh was a hit with this one cougar who was about to pounce on him if brie had not have been so cute. once again...suitors were afoot for the looks and the personality and many hearts were broken that night...none of them being ours...lets just say there were some ugos...the night was amazing....samba...samba rock...funk.....lots of sweat...dirty ass feet...and good times. by the way./..when you want to buy a drink from the bar you have to first buy a ticket at a seperate window to get a ticket to give to the bartender...just f.y.i. we then decided to enjoy the beach one last time. which was amazing. more butt and mooseknuckles then needed in a lifetime...we did better with fending off vendors. josh however did not make his sand chair this time....but we befriended a brazilian child...we miss rio but it was time to leave it and josh and brie....

after nearly missing our bus to angra...thanks to a shady taxi driver....we were on our way and to ilha grande....a large island on the coast of southern brazil. as we were waiting for our taxi to the ferry it started to downpour....but we still made it to the ferry on time and to our new hostel which we had the room to ourselves....quite the luxury after being with 10 people/. the hostel sits on the waters edge and we have a view of the bay from our window.....though the mosquitos are vicious as shit and love our feet....the island is a biological reserve [michelle you need to work here] and it has gorgeous white sand beaches. we went to a secluded beach called lopes mendes....which a boat dropped us off and we hiked 20min to the beach which is a mile long and gorgeous. we played in the waves...made a sandcastle in memory of josh and walked along the beach. nicole hoped on the nearby rocks while katie napped. there were also some nice swings nearby that we thoroughly enjoyed... later that night we had a meal at the hostel....coupled with live bob marley band and befriended a south african and english dude...hahah. today we went kayaking bitches!!!! katie had never been...and nicole....well she had been before....but you would never have known....we got a tandem boat which started off problematic...but we found our rhythm and soon were complete pros/.///we conquered that island////well the eastern side.... and stopped off at a couple beaches and enjoyed a suco (juice). we also have been endulging in acai gelato + granola + banana delicious treat thingy. definetly will be missing those when we get back to the US.

we are off to paraty tomorrow///small colonial town...hopefully the weather will improve...it has been cloudy.

hope all is well. miss you!
-Nicole and Katie (the personality and the looks)

p.s.... brie and josh...recharged the pen...works great...katie is even using it!!!
our health is improving minus the bug bites and nicole;s possible pink eye

one liner~ you were right it works better when i put my stick all the way in!!! [in reference to kayak paddle...and nicoles issues using it]

PSS ... We saw demontic flying monkeys...scared the crap out of nicole. the environmental scientist 0, business student 1.