Farewell South America and VERY BAD TIMING!!!!

Saturday, the day before I left Rio, I found myself walking over 14kms along the famous beaches Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon.....all very beautiful and very hot! Even factor 40 wasn't enough to stop the relentless rays burn me just a bit! I did this with a girl I met there, Bianca. She comes from Sao Paulo and was in Rio for a public health conference. Very interesting really! I also saw another beautiful sunset....with the famous granite "hills" in Rio, it really made for a fantastic view!

That same day I also went on a favela tour. Favela is a name given to shanty towns close to cities in Brazil. In Rio, the favelas cling on to the steep sides of the granite "hills" right next door to the most effluent neighbourhoods...and I'm not exaggerating! Sometimes all that separates the rich from the poor is ONE road. Frist we went up to the top of the hill by mototaxi (a taxi but a motor which the locals use all the time) which was great fun! From the top we walked through the favela down to the bottom again. This favela does have electricity, water and sewage, but not enough for the 200 000 people that live there. A lot of the electricity meters which were put in in 1995 still read 000001 because the electricity is being taken from the lines illegally. Also, the favelas are run by drug lords. The police do not enter and only check at the perimeters through your stuff when you enter or leave the place. Most houses are now made from concrete...they used to be from wood but concrete is better for when the rain comes. As you come down the hill, the mess becomes more visible....burst water and sewage pipes, huge cable knots on the electricity poles and the litter that clogs up the drains....We also stopped at a studio of six artists where they live, make and sell their work....I had to get one....so now, because I didn't have a camera, I decided to get an oil on canvas piece of artwork....it's a landscape of Rio and actually quite good.

Last day in Rio just sat around reading my book and packed....It was VERY hot! Flight went ok, though when I transferred in Sao Paulo for the flight to Miami...I had to hand in all my handluggage...just my painting and my book was allowed on. A lot of purfume, shampoo, water bottles, toothpaste etc... was confiscated. Got pretty dehydrated...only got two drinks during the whole flight! You'd think they'd give more when they confiscate your water bottles!

You may be wondering, why the Bad Timing???? Well, I have just arrived here in time to experience my first hurricane! Tomorrow hurricane, Ernesto, will hit land...so I enjoyed Miami beach today, though the sea was warm and basically like a big swimming pool. I also joined all the people of Miami in the supermarket to get some food...I didn't get any water though people were buying it by the gallon...maybe I should have too....I suppose I'll just have to wait and see what happens...I'm supposed to fly to Orlando on Friday, but we'll see.

So, Greetings from a very hot and muggy Miami! (was over 104 degrees farenheit...no idea how much that is in celcius, but it's HOT alright!)