Exhaustion and eating: the typical way to start a trip.

After flying to Houston from Newark there was a long layover. Fortunately, the flight I was on from Houston to Rio de Janeiro was the first-ever non-stop flight flown by Continental on that route, so they had a little reception by the gate that included cupcakes. I had one (left).

The ten hour flight to Rio seemed to drag on and on. I slept quite a bit, but not enough. We landed, and the gate that the plane was pulled to was broken, naturally. There was some more taxiing and then finally departure. That final delay was just a little insult to injury at that point.

So then it was a taxi ride into Rio! We drove all through the city and saw a huge spectrum of quality of living in the different areas.

There was time for showering off airplane-stench and brief napping, which was followed by extensive eating. We went to a seafood restaurant where we had shrimp, crab, and lobster concoctions. My favorite were the shrimp wrapped in cheese, breaded, and fried. I also got dessert, which was an unidentifable fruit wrapped in a pastry shell. All of the waiters were old men who didn't seem to care that the only Portugese that we know is "thank you", which was a relief even though conversation was difficult.

We then checked in with the conference and walked along the beach. To the right is the view from Copacabana beach as the sun started to set. The water is warm and inviting. As a direct result, my pants got very wet.

Instead of going into the ocean at that point, I went swimming in the hotel's rooftop pool afterward.

I'm exhausted, and it's not even 8 p.m.