First impressions of Rio

* It seems pretty poor, or maybe it’s just really run down and dirty?

* People generally seem nice and helpful… and those that don’t appear that way are pretty obvious so you can easily steer clear of them.

* The public transportation system is really good.

*I’ve been surprised to see a Subway, a Gold’s Gym, and a McDonald’s within several blocks of each other.  One cannot escape.

* The hills are alive with the sound of music.  No no, wait, that’s not right.  At least not yet.  When I come back in three days for Carnival, I have a feeling that statement will be utterly and absolutely true.

My flight from Charlotte to Rio was fine… except for the near fist fight between the head flight attendant and an unruly passenger.  Not honestly, I heard the flight attendant say several times, “So do you want me to go talk to the captain and tell him to turn us around and go back to Charlotte?”  He was having none of it. 

Other than that, my friend Ambien and I had a lovely visit and I awoke after ten hours in the air to the plane descending into Rio.

It’s *warm* here.  As soon as I made it through customs, I caught a cab to the main bus station to secure my tickets out of Rio to Ouro Preto and back again to Rio in three days.  The bus station is posh.  Much like a renovated airport complete with high-end clothing stores, a food court, and a good bookstore (granted, all the books are in Portuguese).

Tickets secured, I checked my backpack and started my day long adventure in Rio.  I headed down to Copacabana and walked to the beach.  I sat with my feet dug into the sand and read my book and watched the people go by. It was cloudy and it rained a bit, but it was lovely. The waves were large and crashing and it felt good to have some natural force seeping into my psyche after 24 hours of machines and recycled air.

I sat in a café and had a glass of cheap beer, I walked to the grocery store and checked out just how they do it there (much smaller but still thorough), and then caught the bus back to the main bus station where I now sit writing this blog entry after ingesting a very greasy but still somehow grossly satisfying cheese-filled croissant.

All in all, a very good first day on the road.  In fact, I’m pretty surprised at how quickly my travel legs are under me and seem to be nice and strong despite a three-year rest. 

Oi!  I see that my bus is just half-an-hour from leaving.  Off to Ouro Preto, a promisingly beautiful colonial town, and new adventures.

BTW, just read “Just Kids” by Patti Smith today.  Highly recommended.  God, how I love having so much time to read and write!  So luxurious!