Brasil!

Well, its been a few days, but after narrowly missing another $500 flight-credit bump, I arrived in Rio.
The streets smell of a bizarre concotion of flowers, warm wet tropical air, some strange scents of vague foodstuffs and meats, and the subtlty of a guava. Its hard to describe, but it is unforgettable.
Rio is certainly a more modern city than any Ive yet seen in South America, with bustling shoreline skyscrapers and modern supermarkets and storefronts, a far cry from the ragtag copious amounts of street vendors clamoring for your attention in La Paz, and to a lesser degree, Peru. Walking down the streets of Copacabana, you are in a first-world country, and the money reeks everywhere.
Life here is far too expensive for me to stay long, a room in a hostel bunkbed with 6 others costs about $20 US a night, much more than the $4-5 in Lima and Cuzco, and the $2-3 in Bolivia. Needless to say, I wont be here much longer...for now.
Strolling the beaches of Ipanema, you can suckle the tender kisses of a fresh coconut, hacked open with a machete with a straw inside. You can attack the waves, the warm water will tease your senses and the surf will toss you around playfully, but rigorously. It is certain, you could easily fall in love with this place, until the ticking reminders of your wallet come back to the forefront of your consciousness.
Palm trees and sharp cliffy mountains are the scenery, Samba and funk is the soundtrack, and the food is barbecue and fresh juice, a recipe for well-being in a city that swallows you up into the warm tropic belly of a dangerous beast.