With Alan, Mike and Big Eddy off to Paraty, we put Liat into a car with a crazy Argentinian from the hostel and waved her goodbye...Sad times! Made all the better following our trek to Dominoes Pizza where we were joined by our favourite Mexican. With a grotesque quantity of pizza consumed, the girls took a cab home whilst Roddy and I walked back in the rain. Bin day and rain do not mix well in Rio, it stank! Back at the hostel it was Rodrigo's turn to say his goodbyes. It was a pretty glum day!

The 23rd didn't herald a much happier day, we woke up early to catch the England match in the drizzle - lucky we didn't lose! Back at the hostel boredom reared it's ugly head, the weather was crap and Becky was set to leave that day. A spot of UNO, a little read to draw a close to my latest book; "The Book Thief", watching "The Notebook" and saying goodbye to Bucky were all super emotional! With dinner and a capirinha it was off to bed.

The days really began to drag as the end of my travels loomed ever closer (granted exacerbated by me changing my flights on account of dwindling funds), it was quite sad. With another early start, the remaining HK girls, Jack, Paul and myself spent the day on the beach. Ruth, Jack and Paul left that day...and then there were 3! Jess, Alice and I had some capirinhas. chatted and head for bed.

Before this blog turns into drivelling, monotonous, moaning, the boys were back from Paraty and just like that our spirits were up again! A dangerously early start followed by a power walk to the 'Copacabana Palace' to collect Alan, Mike and Eddy only to find them still in bed was infuriating! It was nice to see clean rooms without ridiculous numbers of beds, bags and hungover people in them. The reason for our early escapades was to catch the Brazil vs. Portugal match in the fanfest. Despite our early-bird attitude, the boys made us late so there was no way we were getting in! Thankfully there was a backup screen on the reverse of the main one! We found a spot amid the seething hordes of Brazillians and by 11AM we were all equipped with Capirinha No. 1! The match was tedious but the atmosphere was electric. We were thoroughly entertained by the sky writing stunt planes that whizzed overhead!

We head to 'Mud Bugs' for some lunch and disturbingly drunk considering the time we head home where I got my grump on despite a mammoth nap! Despite my mood, we got ready, had some cocktails and head once more to the Palace. We wandered the streets looking for a bar and ended up in 'Balcony' with a 3.5 litre tower of beer. It gradually dawned on us that it was in fact a prostitute bar, when one 'lady of the night' realised I was gay she decided to do a trade off - one of her 'friends' for one of mine...NO DEAL!

Despite our amusement and the mediocre guitarist, we head on to a club. 'Ouro Verde' was a swanky affair and far beyond my financial means - Big Eddy bless him stepped up and insisted on paying! Total legend! The inside, whilst very nice was odd, almost a cross between a Spanish villa and a gay club! Waiters roamed through the rooms with pasta for everyone and it was all you could drink...let's just leave that there, we had a wicked time!

The final HK's and Big Eddy in a Spaniard's living room?!

My final day with my beloved and already diminished HK Girls was a sombre one indeed, England bombed out of the World Cup so to avoid being surrounded by jeering Germans, Alice, Jess, Sarah, Karalyn and I sulked on the beach. As the temperatures fell, we went in search of food, delivered by 'Bob's Burgers', along with a nice bird poo in Sarah's hair! Alice, Jess and I later returned to the hostel where I made the decision that my last night of travelling was going to end with a night out! With a text dropped to Karalyn and a failed attempt to lure my remaining Hong Kong girls out, we head for dinner at what can only be described as Italy's answer to 'Subway'! Returning to the hostel, the girls joined me for some cocktails but come 10:45pm, I head out alone. Alice prepared me with two slips of paper; the clubs address and our home address (lifesaver!). Taxi to 'Le Boy' where I met Sarah, Karalyn and Rita, we had some street beers accompanied by an extremely political chat. When we finally went to the club we had an absolute ball, the girls loved it and it was a perfect final night. As the night drew to a close, I whipped out Alice's note and the taxi driver delivered me home safe and sound. 'Le Boy' is officially my favourite club in the world!

Still heavily intoxicated, I glumly waved goodbye to my final HK Girls and skulked back off to bed until 10:30AM. I showered, checked out and rounded up some people from the hostel to make a stop at the Havaiana store to get some presents! 7 pairs later, it was time for my final visit to the Fifa Fan Fest where after much sweltering in the sun, I found Rita, Karalyn, Sarah and miscellaneous Dutchie. Karalyn and Dutchie didn't enjoy the heat, Rita, Sarah and I couldn't get enough (especially seeing as it was my last day!) so we stayed put for the atmosphere.

I was disappointed I didn't have more time with the girls, after the Brazil vs Chile match, they walked me back to the hostel with a final churro en route. With a frantic re-pack, final farewells and I was in the car with Argentina...playing bongos as he drove with his knees! I left Rio de Janeiro at 10:45PM, the end of a fantastic experience.