Arriving in Rio

Monday, 15 April, 2013

Today was a very long Monday but not as arduous as I had imagined thanks to Jess taking me to the airport very early, before she flew out for a gig in Houston a couple of hours after me (I  hope you found your way back to the hotel in the dark!), and the extra comfy flatbed seats on the Qantas long haul flight. So lucky, had a single seat by the window (J5 for future reference) and a gigantic storage compartment for my stuff - hope I get the same seat on the way back. Food disgusting, crew good fun and very helpful - I cannot think why Neil Perry (famous chef) lends his name to the Qantas menu!  Our flight path goes a long way south, over the Antarctic ice and then up along the Andes into Santiago.  Fantastic view on a brilliantly sunny day from my seat on the right side of the plane.

Andes Mountains, approaching Santiago

So, Santiago. From the air dry, arid, hazy but what a setting! The city nestles at the foot of some pretty towering mountains which at this time of year are also brown and arid.  It will be interesting to see the place at ground level in a couple of weeks.

Coming in to land, Santiago

The highlight of the trip was flying, firstly parallel with, and then over the Andes. Jagged ridges, soaring peaks, some with snow, deep valleys with mostly dry river beds - wild and majestic and soooo high. Imagine what it must be like in the Spring when the snow is melting.

Flying out of Santiago

Heading north from Santiago 

Crossing the Andes

East of the Andes there is a lot of arid looking land which seems to be sparsely inhabited but nearer the coast and into southern Brazil the landscape is a patchwork of fields, forests, lakes and rivers.  There are numerous towns as well, so a lot more people living in this part of the continent.
LAN was very Spanish but an enjoyable experience. I was pleased to be able to communicate at a basic level with the flight attendants - not a lot of English going on - South American Spanish is easier for me to understand.  Yummy grilled beef for lunch so my first Latin food experience was positive one.
And at last into Rio.  Quite cloudy this evening and dark by the time we got out of the terminal.  Apparently sunshine tomorrow.  Rodrigo drove me to the hotel through mildly chaotic peak hour traffic, giving me lots of run down on the city.  By coincidence he was an exchange student in Iowa, but in recent years, unlike me. I have a nice room on the 16th floor with a scary balcony that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and the hotel pool below.  I can see along the coast to the far end of Ipanema Beach as well as into the hills that rise above the coast immediately behind the Sheraton. Can't wait to see the view in the morning.