After a VERY good night's sleep, and another hot shower (the second within 12 hours!), we had breakfast then left on a coach for a visit to the Unicef project in Rio. This was to show how the money that we had all raised would be invested to help local children, and to actually meet some of the children and see what they do at the centres.
It was a very informative and sometimes moving visit. Following an introduction from the centre Manager and local Unicef rep, we split into groups to chat informally (via interpreters) with some of the children. The children then gave us each a present that they had made followed by a demonstration of their "expression through dance" skills. The boys then challenged some of the trekkers to four-a-side football. At the end we re-grouped to present some gifts that we had purchased - footballs, volleyballs, sports nets, board games, etc - and then headed back to our hotel.
The afternoon was freetime - some of the graduates that were staying on in Rio went to an internet cafe to plan and book their next few days, some of the group went to visit the statue of Christ high up on the hill (a four hour round trip, but apparently well worth it) - I went to Ipanema beach with two fellow trekkers (Andrew B and Silvia) for lunch in the sun. Silvia left us after lunch to go meet her sister who was joining her from Canada, and Andrew and I went for a walk followed by a coffee so that we could update our diary/blog notes.
In the evening, we all met up for a celebratory meal at a local meat restaurant where we exchanged stories and received our certificates. I also found out that I had been the third highest fundraiser out of all the trekkers - not bad for a first-timer! After returning to the UK we were to learn that in total we raised over £40,200 in aid of Unicef, which is a tremendous achievement in itself.
Back to the hotel for another good night's sleep - our last night in Rio. In the morning we found out that some had decided to stay out all night and had been dancing in the streets! Oooh - the youth of today!
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