Rio in August

The flight to Rio was delayed for three hours. We boarded at Newark after 1 AM. The upside was that we only had to fly about 5 hours (half the flight) to reach daylight. I find it easier to travel by plane, at this time of my life, during the day. Perhaps because, over the past 20 years, I am 20% larger (belt size 32 to 38), the seats are seeming to be that much smaller; they also do not lean far back enough to be able to sleep comfortably. Luckily, I also had a thousand mp3s which kept me in an adequate trance state until day broke. Flying toward Sao Paulo, I was able to enjoy patterns such as the one above, in the ample farmland that makes up most of the rich state to which that big city belongs. The connecting flight was waiting for us, and after I got on, I must have promptly conked out, because when I regained consciousness (I wasn't aware, really, that I had lost it), we were already approaching the beaches to the west of Rio de Janeiro. A clear day, apart from the smog, I was also able to get a grand view of the Zona Norte, where most of Rio's population is concentrated.

It is always nice to be back in Rio, but especially in the "winter" months--June, July, and August. Although there is always a possibility of rain and chill (I've experience 55 F / 13 C), my usual experience has been a very Mediterranean 78F / 24C and beautiful, relatively dry, warm, and clear days.

Other than reading the headlines (mostly having to do with the current political problems of president Lula and the governing PT Workers' Party), my stay has been uneventful. Recuperating from the long trip in Europe and Africa, the more recent jet lag, and spending time with my kids. M (my 11-year old daughter) devoured Harry Potter No. 6 in one day (I brought her the English edition, purchased in London); T (my 9-year old son) was happy with the new, large National Geographic Atlas, and books on Minerals and Shells he had asked for; and O (my 4-year old son and everyone's sweetie pie) hasn't had enough of the puzzles I brought--T predicts that he'll be an expert puzzler. That's enough for my first blog entry ever. Thanks to my long lost brother "The Other" for leading me to this intriguing distraction.