Day 4, 11/27/2011:
So, wow. I finally get what they mean by jet lag lol. An hour time difference between Birmingham, AL and Atlanta and New York was no real biggie. Yet check this out. We got on the plane in New York and took off just after 3:30 pm right? It was a 6 hour flight, but we didn't arrive until almost 1 am Rio de Janiero time! Was muggy when we arrived (I'm writing this in the morning before we go to the Rio de Janeiro Zoo) and it's rainy now. Moving from Nov. to Dec. down here it is there wet time of year and being in the Southern Hemisphere it's summer. This place is HUGE, with over 11 million people living in or directly around the city. The place is lush green and mountainous. More later!
Later:
After negotiating with a bi-lingual driver (my wife loved it when he spoke Portuguese to us lol) that was recommended to us by the hotel staff, we drove around Rio for a bit, before arriving at the Rio de Janeiro Zoo. Of all the sights and sounds we saw at the zoo, the most shocking was in the bird wing where we first heard and then saw a pair of American Bald Eagles. Having come from the Pacific NW of the US, I have seen many of these beautiful birds int he wild and of course we've all seen them on wildlife documentaries. It was saddening to see this pair in a big cage and I had to remind myself that while the Eagle may mean something to us Americans, this isn't the US. The bird wing at the zoo though was beautiful and is world renown for their Aviary here. While at the zoo we had some Brazilian ice cream.
Coming back to the hotel, we enjoyed some time at one of the many carnivals taking place and I took a ton of photos. Since I'm trying to keep this blog brief and concise and not bore the average reader, I've only included one below. Tomorrow we hop on a small plane and make our way south to Montevideo, Uruguay.
Day 5, 11/28/2011:
How can I possibly describe how beautiful flying over these mountainous jungles are? Or how terrifying it is to do in a small prop airplane? The mountains eventually end though and we swept over grassland and some savanna before landing at the airport in Montevideo. Uruguay is still recovering from a banking crisis several years ago but Montevideo provides the highest level of quality of life in Latin America. Where Rio was humid and wet, Montevideo is dry and lushly warm. Moving further south of course landed us in deeper summertime climate.
The zoo itself (called Zoo Villa Dolores) is well maintained and while there isn't nearly the amount of tourist here, the locals make up for it coming to the zoo for sure. It was interesting hearing people talk all around you and in foreign languages you can't comprehend. Makes one feel humble for sure. All that said, I am looking forward to leaving here tomorrow for Europe and while I always enjoy my time at the zoo, this one wasn't as special as what I've already seen and know I'm about to except this adorable pic of a penguin and a dolphin taken at here! I was to find out later, the dolphin is a rescue.
The city itself is pretty and everywhere is signs of development as Uruguay tries to bring more people into the country and into Montevideo itself. The map above? From such a web site renting apartments here!
