Annalise Murphy prepares to brave the polluted water of Rio

A carpet of debris and untreated sewage continues to cloud the area’s waters.

Home for Annalise Murphy is something of a movable feast given the nature of her job, but the Dubliner has spent much of the last two years in the city of Niteroi which sits just a 15-minute ferry ride across Guanabara Bay from Rio de Janeiro, writes Brendan O'Brien.

Known as ‘Smile City’, it offers a panoramic view of Rio that takes in both Christ the Redeemer and the Sugarloaf though it is a smaller, more elegant spot than its near neighbour.