LAST DAY: RIO DE JANEIRO
I had to take one last jog along the copacabana beach...the view is too amazing to miss.
I revisited Ipanema--this time by bike. I took a leap of faith and got on the roads with the crazy busses and other drivers. My ´bike´ as the saleslady promised was anything but...
The right pedal was near to falling off and would have had I not kept pushing it back onto its peg while navigating one way traffic and the ocassional side walk. However, I finally was able to locate an access point to the bike trail at the lagoa and for 8km I was hope free and able to enjoy some spectacular views. The botanical gardens in Rio are supposed to be famous and while taking an excursion off of the path, not only did I find the gardens, but also found out that today, they are closed. My guidebook says "open all year except Christmas" and some other holiday...I guess I chose the other holiday to attempt to visit. Next time.
Wednesday is my travel day to Buenos Aires. I have to admit that I was fortunate to arrive in Rio at the national airport instead of the international airport...Rio looses much of its splendor about 1 km north of the centro area and the int. airport was a good thirty minutes beyond that. Not so pretty and I would have hated for that to be my first view of the city. The national airport is directly across a major artery of the city and the views of the surrounding city and landscape are amazing.
No problems getting settled into B.A. The flight was longer than I had expected--3.5 hours. I went from mild, sunny, but increasingly hazier days in Rio, to a much cooler and foggier Buenos Aires. It took 4 days in B.A. before I saw the sun.
The first night was spent exploring the neighborhood around the hotel. Fortunately, I am in tourist central--the equivalent of times square--so I have my McDonalds, Burger Kings, and other delights to remind me of home and of globalization.
I chose to pass on these options and found a nice little café to watch the porteños (persons from B.A.) pass by. As additional part of my location´s charms, I did get to see a pretty amazing tango performance in the street.
(I am having a difficult time locating a computer that will allow me to upload photos...I will share all of these as soon as I can.)
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