Days 13-14: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

We have now hit the two-week mark of our travels, which also marks the end of our time in Rio. Unfortunately, our final two days in this amazing city were dampened by stormy weather. We both suffered severe cases of the rainy day blues, and nursed our illnesses mostly indoors. That being said, we did run a couple of errands including going to the laundromat and the nails salon. The latter was a solo trip; I knew I was in trouble when Dan had the awareness to comment on the haggard appearance of my nails. 

The laundromat misspelled Dan's last name...I guess we weren't as inconspicuous as I had thought.

Day 14 marked the introductory day of our tour. We are going to be traveling with a company through parts of Brazil and Uruguay, and then finish in Buenos Aires. During our welcome meeting, we learned that our group is tiny; only 8 of us and a tour guide will be embarking on the 17-day journey. Of the group, there are three solo travelers from the UK, one from Holland, two sisters from Canada, and us. Everyone looks their part: the Brits are pale skinned and fair-haired, the Dutch girl is tall, blonde and pretty, and the Canadians, well they just dress like stereotypical tourists (I'm just waiting for the visors and fanny packs to make an appearance). Everyone seems to be using the tour as a planned program cushioned within loftier, less organized travels. Our trip leader is Peruvian, but now calls Argentina home, so he will probably be a great consultant for this part of our trip and beyond. 

After our initial introductions, we all went to a beachfront restaurant for dinner. There, I sat across from one of the Brits and learned a good deal about her. Her name is Suze and she is from a small farm town in Northern England. Small, as in her classes were made up of multiple age groups because there were only four people her year--that kind of small. She now lives in the city of Leeds, and for being from such a small town, has done a fair amount of traveling. Currently, she is on the front end of her longest journey yet: a seven-month trip through Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. 

We enjoyed a nice meal, and then parted ways with the group in order to spend one last night with our Mellow Yellow friends. Our crew had a fun night out at a club, but it felt strange saying goodbye to great people we knew we would probably never see again. 

Here's to looking forward to the next phase of our adventure...

Last night in Rio

Met this little guy while on line for the club. It took all of my will power not to keep him.