all's well that ends with chocolate

we met up with fabiola and diogo that evening and hopped on a bus to head to fabiola's hometown - san jose dos campos. it's an hour outside sao paulo. at the bus station fabiola gave me this special chocolate bar that she loved from her childhood. fabiola's just like that. always doing the little things for people that make them happy. i wish i was more like that. i wish i just gave in general. gave anything. except chocolate. i can't do that. she is indifferent to the stuff. bless her soul. the bar is 'sunflair' by nestle. has little air pockets all over in it. that was my first chocolate on the trip. and not my last.

definitely worth it

a dude at the bottom sold us these crappy ponchos and we headed up the elevator and escalator. i laughed my lungs out when i discovered we couldn't see a thing. and we were nearly blown off the hilltop. but it was definitely one of the most memorable parts of our trip. the ghetto watch i had bought on the street [street watch] claimed water resistance but it was a goner after that kind of exposure. and my camera was surely on the verge of ruin because i insisted on capturing everything i could possibly see...and the batteries died halfway thru and i had to switch those. adam and i had to yell at each other to communicate.

"HERE! HOLD THESE BATTERIES! HELP ME DANG IT. I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING."

"MARTHA. PUT YOUR CAMERA AWAY. IT'S GOING TO GET RUINED."

"MY PONCHO'S RIPPED. I HATE THAT MAN!"

my poncho did not survive. it ripped all over and i complained to the seller. he gave me another one. but i still had soaked hair and a wet camera. and i was freezing. and we bought ham/cheese sandwiches to eat on the ride home.

Cristo Redentor

that afternoon at 2pm we decided to catch d and f later [they were hung up in tv interviews] and head to the famous cristo redentor [christ] statue that overlooks rio. i didn't care how many hotel concierges advised against going on such a crappy day. i was going and there was no stopping me. we grabbed a taxi driver whom adam was able to communicate with somewhat in italian and headed to the top of the city. up a very windy, steep road. this is what we saw. zero visibility 10 feet in front of us. and absolutely no view of the city.

day 3: raining cats and dogs

we woke up wednesday morning to the sound of pouring rain [except we thought it was a dysfunctioning air conditioner] and that turned out to be weather for the rest of the day. adam and i spent the morning waiting to hear from d and f, so we played phone tag a lot...here's adam at the pay phone. they call them "big ears"

back at the hotel

here's a little snapshot of our hotel room in rio. the beds in brazil reach their full capacity at 'full size'. no fatties allowed in this country.

still enjoying the view

sergio let us pile in his car while he rode his motorbike.

hooray for scenery

rafael, diogo, fabiola, adam, sergio

beach fishing

did i love this little building whatever it was? yes.

a scenic drive

after the beach we took a drive to see some scenery. one of my favorite parts about brazil was the layered, misted over hills. and the immense care put into their roads and sidewalks. just like those sidewalks in rio, this brick road was hand laid. again, i truly appreciate the work that goes into making utility into art. little things like sidewalks and roads that i usually never have a reason to look at really had a history.

view from the restaurant

we devoured this blackened fish at this little beachside restaurant. too much shade in the top pic, but still, what a great view. i wanted to put that fish in my carry on to take home. will there ever be another like it? i hope so.