Leaving the gorgeous Iguazu falls behind me I make my way into Brazil heading for the city of Curitiba. Curitiba is a nice and well-maintained city in southern Brazil and well-known for its exceptionally well-developed public transportation system. My main reason for going there is the famous train ride to the coastal town of Paranagua.

The train ride is spectacular passing through marvellous landscapes and cliffs. It brings me to the colonial town of Morretes where I have lunch. It's my first experience with the typical Brazilian 'per/kg' restaurant. What you do is fill up your plate with whatever you'd like to eat. At the checkout they put it on a balance and you pay for the amount of kilograms. I like the concept and it's a good way of economizing a bit on food expenses.

People in Brazil speak Portuguese. For this reason during my first days in Brazil I feel a little lost. Lost because I cannot talk to anyone anymore like I used to do in Spanish. Lost because it seems to be Spanish but sounds like Russian. Lost because all of a sudden I feel like being a stranger. It's kind of frustrating but interesting: a language so close to Spanish, but so differently pronounced. Brazil is very different from previous countries in other aspects as well: cities are well-developed, transportation and accommodation are expensive, even compared to European standards.

My journey continues into São Paulo. With 22 million inhabitants, São Paulo is the largest city on the southern hemisphere. It's a huge metropolitan jungle and I'm planning to stay only two days here. On my first day, I walk around the city center and from one of the highest buildings I have a nice overview of all the mushrooming skyscrapers. The next day it's raining so I spend most of my day in the hostel. In the afternoon I make a short excursion to the Ibirapuera city park, the largest park designed by the famous architect Oscar Niemeyer. From São Paulo I take a night bus to Rio de Janeiro, the final destination of my journey! Arriving there gives me mixed feelings. I'm feeling a bit nervous because the end of my trip is near! My final destination: this is it! I've been looking forward to this for so long. Is this it?

It's 5:30 in the morning. I wake up and I'm on an empty bus in a dodgy terminal. The driver friendly requests me to get off the bus and to collect my baggage. At least, that's what I assume what his words mean. Even at this early hour the terminal seems crowded with people. I buy myself a coffee and still half asleep try to find a bus that will bring me to my hostel. The weather is bad: it's pouring down. Is this the famous awesome Rio? Despite the bad weather I spend a good couple of days in my hostel in the neighborhood of Botafogo. During these days I check out the city. On my third day I embarkon a city tour to see the famous statue of Cristo Redentor that overlooks the city and welcomes everyone with open arms. Of course this is a huge tourist trap, but inevitable when visiting Rio. The view from here over the city is just incredible! I also see the famous bohemien neighborhood of Santa Teresa where many artists live and work. It's the only part of Rio that is still connected to the center by a tram. The slums or favelas' can now be visited as many are controlled by the police. This offers me another view on Brazil where not everything is glitter and glamour. Going up the Sugar Loaf mountain on the first sunny day gives me another stunning city view from the seaside. Counting down the days I'm enjoying Rio de Janeiro spending my final days in South America on the beach. While enjoying it in all its glory I'm spending time to reflect upon my eight-month journey that's about to come to an end here!