A few odds and ends that didn’t deserve their own post…

No sooner do we touch down in Rio does the guy in the seat across the aisle poke me and say… “You staying in Rio?”. Me: “Yeah”. Him: “Be careful where you go with the camera.” Referring to Jeff taking photos out of the window on the plane. We’d heard it was a dangerous place. Great way to start the trip.

Despite Jeff’s reports to the contrary, I did NOT wear my underwear for four days straight while waiting for American Airlines to find our luggage. A trip to buy new underwear did take place

If you ever travel internationally, strongly consider buying credits on Skype. $0.05 per min to US. $0.02 min on toll free calls. This was a life saver when we were trying to track down our bags in Rio.

Beer is readily available in most places in Rio. There is seemingly no open container law but there is a no tolerance policy when it comes to drinking & driving… any alcohol & you lose your license.

If you get a chance to visit Brazil, make sure you try a Caipirinha. It’s the national drink of Brazil. Sugar, Lime, Cachaça (liquor from fermented sugar cane). A lot like a mojito.

While waiting in line at Sugarloaf Mountain in the oppressive heat and sun, Jeff, a gentlemen from South Africa and I tried to huddle under a small piece of shade. The guy’s girlfriend (from Rio) laughed when she saw this and dubbed us the “Three White Men”.

Jeff and I are both fairly competitive. On the list of “Dumb Things Tourists Do”, add “seeing who can toss a half-full bottle of water the furthest in the air without dropping it”. We did this in the mostly deserted Pelourinho Square in Salvador at around midnight.

One of the funniest moments of the trip… As Jeff and I are waiting to check-in at the Salvador airport, we hear a guy behind us scream as loud as he possibly can. The relatively small terminal goes dead quiet. We turn to see the guy arguing with an airline employee in Portuguese over what I assume is some flight dispute. He kicks his suitcase before grabbing his girlfriend’s hand and heading to the exit. Before he leaves the building, he turns and gives the entire airport the middle finger. Jeff and I got a kick out of re-enacting this throughout the rest of the trip.

Most music we heard in cabs in Buenos Aires was American. But it was random, older stuff like Gloria Estefan.

Everyone in Buenos Aires smokes.

In Buenos Aires, traffic lights turn yellow AND red right before a red light is about to turn green. This basically signals to cab drivers that they don’t have to slow down since the light is about to turn green. Makes for some exciting cab rides.

Jeff does a great impersonation of Arnold Schwarzenegger. “Get to the chopper now!” “C’mon Cohagen. You got what you want. Give these people air!”

American Sports Team Jerseys Seen: Lakers, Yankees, Cowboys

You learn a lot about yourself while traveling internationally for 3 weeks.  I learned that I am not good at skipping stones.

The only thing besides friends and family that I truly missed during the trip was working out and playing soccer.

16,622 miles traveled, 1800 photos taken, 23 days of vacation, 13 flights, 5 countries seen (Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile in addition to Brazil & Argentina), 2 new FB friends, 1 crush

Great times.