It’s odd, with Brazil being Portuguese speaking I can’t stop saying Gracias, thankfully Hola is the same but the next go to is Kia Ora. I can confirm that has not got me far. We noted that apart from one small interaction at the border of Peru and Bolivia we have not come across any other New Zealanders. Not expecting many in Nebraska so I guess we will just have to wait until we board our flight home.

When we checked out of our hotel in Foz De Iguazú , our driver Robertino decided to use the time we had to do a quick trip over the border into Paraguay. 🇵🇾. Why not indeed? It’s an open border so very relaxed and almost no passport checks so over the bridge we went into Ciudad Del Este , the pragmatically called city of the East. It’s large, with a few hundred thousand people and a huge shopping spot with its tax free status. It is, I suspect a bit like the Shenzen of South America. Huge amounts of Chinese imports.

We went to the largest shopping mall and checked it out, picked up a few small things and could have easily spent a lot more. Unlike Shenzen all fixed prices, high quality and good value. Interestingly brands like Benneton, Lacoste still very popular.., anyway spot of shopping, lunch and then back into Brazil. This still definitely in my books counts towards the 60 countries by 60 goal I’ve set for myself.

We arrived in a very wet and stormy Rio De Janeiro. Found a beach bar restaurant with some interesting characters.. the wiry , not an ounce of fat 60 year olds who looked like they arrived 40 years ago and never quite left types. Along with some amused locals. everyone seemed to be having fun so it was a good pre dinner activity, and we are on Copacabana beach !

Next day , I walked and walked and walked. We are at the far end of Copacabana, the beach is 4km long and then Ipanema is another 2.5km so it was a long “stroll” … just as you’d expect lots of people, working out , relaxing, sunning etc , quite beautiful and very hot and humid!

Still very much taking it easy, this is the holiday leg of the trip after all, so back to the pool for a soak and lunch before an afternoon nap.

Today was tour day. So we had booked a guide for Sugar load observatory and of course Christ the Redeemer. That iconic monument!

Truth is we had never really planned to come to Rio but when our travel agent was able to get us some points flights back to Houston, we decided to add a few days. Glad we did. There is a definite vibe here.

Like so many things getting up to this heavy tourists sites can be a bit of a schlep. We have resigned ourselves to wherever possible using and paying for experience in the way of a good guide especially when they can skip the queues. Readers there were queues.. but we cut them.

Apparently it’s been named one of the seven man made wonders of the world. And yes given its age and location it’s impressive, but the religious triggering is not easy to overcome or get excited about. And really compare this to Angkor Watt or Machu Picchu ?? Cynic that I am , we got in amongst it and here are some pics

Back to the hotel for some lunch and more poolside action on the 21st floor. Very conscious that it may be the last sun we see in a while. Because next stop the US will be a bit chilly.

You’ll all be pleased to know that this trip is finally coming to a conclusion, we check out tomorrow, have a day of activity ( carnivale behind the scenes very excited ) and a late night overnight flight back to Houston. So tonight is our last night in South America… boy it’s beaten expectations and been an absolute blast. But there will no doubt be a few more posts before we get home. And boy do I need a haircut