5 things I’ll miss the most about Rio (plus a few that I won’t)

I love large cities by the sea and, in my humble experience, Rio is the most beautiful one that I have visited (followed closely by Sydney and Cape Town). It lived up to my expectations in every way and despite many people telling me that I was crazy to go there, ‘Rio is so dangerous’, ‘You’ll get Zika’, ‘The country is broke and the government is corrupt, it will be depressing’,  I could not have asked for a better experience. It certainly has a bit of an edge about it but use common sense and leave your valuables at home and you’ll be fine.

There are many things that I’ll miss about Rio but here my top 5.

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Laid back and leaner – lessons from Rio

I came to Rio for six weeks as part of a volunteer programme to mentor young entrepreneurs, but as I get ready to leave, I am very aware of just how much I have learned during my stay here. It’s fair to say that when I arrived I was more than a little wound-up (as my lovely, straight-talking teammate pointed out to me, as only a South African with Dutch, German and Greek influences can).  I hadn’t thought it was that obvious but it was time to relax and go with the flow.

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A weekend in Buzios

Buzios is a beautiful fishing town set on an ocean peninsula 105 miles east of Rio de Janeiro. My flat mate had spent a weekend there and recommended that I go check it out and so last Friday afternoon I set off with my overnight bag to Rio’s enormous bus station, Novo Rio, to get the air-conditioned coach for the three hour journey out of the city.

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