March 1st
How excited was I when I was waiting
behind the barriers at “Arrivals” at Rio's airport for my sister
to come around the corner. I haven't seen any family for going on 8
months. I was looking forward to hearing all the news from home and
sharing my experiences with her. We both let out a little yelp when
we spotted each other and I joyfully tried to put my arms around both
her and her rucksack.
We were both exhausted and extremely
hot and sweaty by the time we got to our hostel in the Ipanema
district of Rio but couldn't possibly go to bed so showered and
dragged our bodies out to take a look around. We bought ourselves
coconut juices at the beach and then went for a snack at a
lanchonete. Helen was eager
to try some local food so not understanding most of the menu, we both
just picked out anything. We had to laugh when Hel's dish arrived ...
a bowl of chips. Appallingly, I had failed to comprehend batata
frita despite it being so
similar to Spanish (patatas fritas). Then again, it was around
midnight, Helen had been up some 40 hours and I'd only had 3 hours
sleep the night before. We both fell into bed around 1am in our 9
bedded dorm. It was a good thing I was so tired as lights were turned
on, bags were rustled and a conversation started up at about 3am but
I just turned over and thought about how lucky I was to have my
sister to travel with for one month.
