There was only one destination to visit in Rio de Janeiro the second the sun came out - one of the most famous beaches in the world, of course. So like excited children we woke up to a sunny morning and headed straight for Copacabana Beach. I really had no idea what to expect as my idea of a busy beach is Piha on a Sunday.

I was gagging for a swim after drowning in the humidity and drizzle for three days and I was also excited about the idea of having my first caipirinha cocktail. So after we took a cable car up Sugar Loaf mountain (another Brazil must-do) we trekked to Copacabana beach to see what all the fuss is about.

It was my first glimpse of this enormous and cluttered beach that made me feel like I was really in Brazil. The g-string bikinis for the women and tiny James Bond-style swimming shorts for the men was so iconic, as were the huts all over the sidewalk selling whole coconuts, Skol beer and cocktails.

Tim opted to stay out of the water as the yellowy tinge wasn´t something he was keen on after growing up in New Zealand, but I had to give it a go, if only to get away from the constant yelling of the men trying to sell you everything but the kitchen sink.

Copacabana was sort of an epic experience. I was amazed at how women of all sizes get their bums out, but pretty impressed really. But it was very odd to be on a packed beach like that, with skyscrapers squished along the beachfront.

Later we walked to the other iconic Brazilian beach Ipanema, where we bought a beer and a caipirinha and watched as a Carnaval street party formed behind us. I was stunned at how strong the cocktail was and could only drink half of it, which I´m sure is probably a crime in Brazil, so I tipped the rest out surreptitiously, hoping everyone was too busy getting their groove on to notice.

Check out more photos from my trip in my Flickr album.