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This is who greeted me at the airport. I almost didn't recognize Al. Luckily, the tattoos are fake!

Day 11 -- Goodbye Rio

We have to check out in a couple of hours. The internet in the hotel is barely working so I'm not sure if I'll be able to upload pictures.

For now some general observations about Rio/Copacabana: It’s probably one of the most beautifully located big cities in the world. It’s a dog city – you see lots of people walking with happy-looking dogs large and small, and not just one dog -- often 3 or more, and they clean up after them too! Our guide told us that many older Brazilians when they retire, they move to Copacabana so you see a lot of older people here. Beautiful Brazilian girls – on Copacabana beach you can see some great looking young girls in scant bikinis, but you also see a lot of not so young women, not so slim either, also in scant bikinis. Actually, you can see quite a few half-naked people (only in swim suits) walking on the streets. Rio has a good public transportation system – metro and buses. Buses are nice, but they do get stuck in traffic. Another interesting thing is that buses going one way have a different number than buses going the other way, e.g. the bus from Copacabana to the botanical garden was #570 and the bus back was # 569. The routes are a bit different too because a lot of the streets are one way streets. Both Rio and Sao Paulo look prosperous, at least as prosperous as American cities and the costs of meals are similar to the US. Clothes, shoes and other goods may be a bit more expensive here. You don’t see beggars at all, but there are a few homeless people here and there. Not very many and not bothersome.

Day 10 Still in Rio --

A visit to a IBFMC university campus revealed a Polish connection. The young man in charge of international relations had a Polish grandmother and he could even speak some Polish. He established a partnership with Kaminski University in Gdynia (of which I haven’t heard until now) with faculty and student exchanges. Maybe something to follow up on. I did get to the botanical Garden today – this time by bus. I got very lucky because as I was walking there and stopped to look at the map, a woman approached me and asked me what I was looking for (in Portuguese). I responded in Spanish, but she asked if I spoke English. She told me she lives in Rio and walks in the garden every day, and then she took me on a tour. She showed me some amazing places and plants I would never have found by myself – a blooming tree from the Amazon that was Margaret Mead’s favorite, an avenue of huge mango trees, a favorite place of Antonio Carlos Jobim, and many more. She seemed to be a very educated woman and knew a lot about the plants. She said she used to bring her granddaughter to the garden and make up stories about plants. Her name was Sylvia and she was an absolutely delightful guide. She showed me where to catch a bus back to Copacabana and we kissed goodbye. On the bus, a woman sat next to me and started talking to me in Portuguese and when I said I didn’t understand she switched into English. She was a high school English teacher. She said she used to live in Sao Paulo, but she’s been living in Rio for 28 years. She says that Sao Paulo works and Rio enjoys. In the afternoon I went to the fort. I don’t know why I thought that there will be a little train or something that will take us up to the top of the mountain. Wrong. I had to climb there. It was worth it, though. The views were spectacular and the fort, even though it isn’t very old (1930s), was also interesting. On the long way back, it was getting dark and the promenade was full of street musicians playing the guitars and big, tubular drums. Good walking music.

Day 9 -- Rio Again

Today I must have walked for at least 8 hours. My friend wasn’t feeling well so early in the morning I went for a walk on the beach by myself. Actually there were people walking and jogging there already. After an hour walk, I went to breakfast (I forgot to say that I’ve been eating passion fruit for breakfast every day both here and in Bogota, as well as drinking passion fruit juice and eating passion fruit yogurt). After breakfast, I decided to walk to the tourist information office which was supposed to be near the Copacabana Palace hotel, the oldest hotel in Copacabana, but I actually had to walk much further to Princessa Isabel street. I got a lot of good info there and sightseeing tips. From there I walked to the end of Copacabana, which is a big hill with a scenic walkway around it and an old fort on top. Unfortunately the fort was closed today, but I will probably come back to see it tomorrow. From there I walked back to the hotel, mostly on the beach. When it got too hot, I crossed the street and saw a store with interesting looking bags. It turned out to be a store of a (supposedly) well known Brazilian designer Gilson Martins who makes things only from recycled materials and employs people who live in favelas. The guy there spoke good English and told me the story of the company and also treated me to passion fruit juice with some Brazilian alcohol, which was very nice. Of course, I had to buy something… In the afternoon, following the tourist info guy’s recommendation I walked along the beach through Ipanema and Leblan. They are totally different than Copa – lower buildings, mostly residential with very few low-key hotels. Then I cut through to the lagoon and I was supposed to follow it to the left to go to the botanical garden. But by the time I got to the lagoon I’ve already been walking for 3 hours and it was already 4 pm and the botanical garden is only open till 5 pm. So instead I followed the lagoon to the right and eventually ended up in downtown Ipanema. Wow. It was like Beverly Hills. Posh stores, bars and restaurants, well dressed people and there I was in my tourist attire. I sat down in one of the cafes to rest and have some ice cream and coffee and then continued walking along this long commercial street called Visconde de Piraja until I got back to Copacabana.

Day 8 Rio de Janeiro

Today is Sunday and on Sundays only there is a big street market in Ipanema so we walked from our hotel in Copacabana along the beach to the market. It was quite big – lots of stalls with leather goods, jewelry, wooden stuff, T-shirts, clothes, etc. We bought a few things and then walked back. It’s a gorgeous walk because the coastline is spectacular. In the afternoon we took a tour of Corcovado (Christ Redeemer), old town, a stadium where the carnival takes place and Tijuca forest. We were lucky because the visibility was good at Christ and it wasn’t terribly crowded. The views were great. The Rio cathedral is a relatively new building that looks like a pyramid and is pretty ugly from the outside, but inside it’s quite beautiful. Like the carnival stadium, it was designed by Brazil's most famous architect Oscar Niemeyer who is still alive and 104 years old now. There were 12 people on our tour – from Argentina, Russia, Switzerland and Czech Republic. Luckily it was a disciplined group and we didn’t have to wait for anybody.

Day 7 -- Iguacu - Rio de Janeiro

In the morning, I took one last walk along the waterfall trail. This time with lots of people and grey skies. The strike was still on so the hotel told us that if we want to get to the airport, they will take us to the park gate and from there we have to take a private taxi/limo to the airport for 90 reales ($45). This was highway robbery because a taxi from the airport to the gate is 20 reales (5 minute ride). We opted to just get to the gate for free and then look for a taxi there. The shuttle driver was nice enough to take us a bit further to the protesters’ blockade where we found a whole bunch of cabs. The flight to Rio was easy – 2 hours. From the airport it was a 30 minute cab ride to Copacabana where our hotel is located -- across the street from the beach. It was dark when we arrived, but we walked along the ocean and then had dinner in an Italian restaurant. Rio definitely has a totally different vibe from Sao Paulo. Unfortunately, unlike in other places, this hotel doesn't have free wifi and the paid one is so slow that it's almost impossible to upload pictures.

Day 6 -- Foz do Iguacu

Today was a gorgeous sunny day and the park was again open to visitors. We did the trail again – this time with lots of other people and with the sun. The views are amazing and I must have taken close to a hundred pictures of the falls, including some of quati who came up to us several times begging for food. One even stood on his hind legs and begged like a dog. They are so cute. We spent the afternoon by the pool and even took a dip. It’s winter in Brazil, but the temperatures are around 25-26 C. Very pleasant. Evenings at the hotel are very quiet. The only entertainment is the bar with live piano music, and the restaurant where last night they only had buffet dinner. We opted for a smaller meal at the bar. We’ll probably do the same tonight. The guests at the hotel are mostly Brazilians, and a group of very obnoxious Chinese who spend money like there is no tomorrow. It’s no longer the rich Americans in the world. It’s the rich Chinese.