Our trip to Rio coincided with the worldīs biggest street party - Carnaval. By day the beaches were mobbed with gorgeous bodies wearing the skimpiest thongs (and thatīs just the guys!). By night exotic transvestites cruised the streets, dressed in wild feathered outfits. That was all great but even better, the family Tourney (Dale, Barbara and Leah) jetted in from Bakersfield to join us for sun, samba and shopping! Add in one of the worldīs shortest ever jungle treks, an incalculable number of caiparinhas and some endless card games of Hearts and a fantastic family holiday was had by all.

Despite its reputation for street crime, we managed to avoid the muggers (although our Carnavaling friends Tricky & Tasha did have a few problems and Dale was ineptly stalked through the streets by a weak team of robbers one afternoon) and came away feeling that Rioīs reputation is a little overblown.

Now itīs time to throw away our thongs (Magnusī was starting to chafe anyway...), cover ourselves in mosquito repellent and head to the Amazon, where we hope to catch a sighting of the lesser-spotted Cheistopherson.

Check our Latest Adventures section below for pictures and stories from Chile or Antarctica.