24th February – Tuesday

That was long and hard work, and I am not sure what energy I am currently running on, but running I am. The Uber turned up early and what a weird guy he was, so weird that I checked his credentials, he had passed all the ‘nice guy’ certifications, so I relaxed and tried not to fall asleep.

I got tp the airport far too early but I am glad I did as it was easier to stay awake there than on that awful sofa bed. Eventually we were called through to gate 3, but after that I was at a total loss and could not understand any of the tannoy announcements. And to top it all off from the moment I put on my trousers my gut started playing up, all I wanted to do was fart – lol – and it was churning – obviously I drank far too much beer over the last few days.

Luckily, in the departure lounge, after 2 false toilet visits, I found myself sitting next to a lovely young lady who was not only on the same flight as me but also had the same boarding number. So I sat tight feeling very pleased with myself and told her I would follow her, She was so delighted to help and, not only did we jump the queue, she walked with me outside and into the plane, where we departed company. All she had was smiles, some people are just so lovely – I hope I am one of those people.

I couldn’t sleep on the plane, my stomach kept churning and I was sitting between two people so felt very paranoid about the fact that all I wanted to do was fart – lol. It was hard work holding everything in place and I was over the moon when the pilot announced that we were arriving 20 minutes early – thank you Mr Pilot for thinking of me! I will not begin to tell you what I did in the luggage hall toilets, but believe me it was such a relief.

I got an Uber from Rio International Airport to the bus station and, even after drinking coffee and eating a sandwich, I had had over 3 hours to wait for my bus. It was so hard, I could feel myself falling into trance like states and then sleep. There was a very chatty couple sitting behind me in the waiting area where I was sitting, on several occasions I asked them to keep an eye on my bags just so I could walk and keep awake.

I had hoped to sleep on the bus, but I was so restless, to the point that I think I annoyed the lady next to me, but such is life. The bus from Rio to here, Arraial do Cabo, took 3 hours and 45 minutes but it felt so much longer. I walked the 14 minutes form the arrival bus station to my apartment where Marcia, the owner, had also just arrived, Don’t you just love it when plans and timings all coordinate perfectly.

The apartment is fine, it is a little tatty and could do with a make over and deep clean, but this seems to be the norm in Brazil. Anyway I am very happy with it, especially as the bed, although very soft, is a proper bed, After Marcia left I went to the supermarket and bought enough provisions to cook dinner and make breakfast. I was going to sleep after that, but once again sleep was not my friend and I ended up going to the beach.

WoW, it is a beautiful beach and it is more like desert sand dunes than a typical beach. it is very hard to walk on and I was sad to have to take off my new sandals, but I did and completed the walk, sinking into the sand, to the sea. Why I did not take a towel, or wear my costume. Is beyond me, perhaps I was too tired to think? Anyway it was lovely just sitting there watching the waves and, one of my favs, people watching, it was actually really quite busy and it wasn’t long before I was chatting with the Ar gentian couple sitting next to me, They were so lovely, especially her, we chatted for ages about all sorts of stuff as we drank caipirinhas and watched th world and three very hunky life guards go by – lol.

I have now cooked and eaten and am actually really looking forward to getting into that soft bed and, fingers crossed, getting a good nights sleep – I certainly deserve one!