I've not blogged for a couple of days so I thought I'd catch up. So much has happened and it still seems an age when I'll hold Ali again in my arms.
Friday morning started early for me. I was keen not to get stuck on the M25 and so decided to head off early. The final bits and pieces were shoved into the ruck sack and Oggie's food was made ready in the garage. Bee from over the road is going to take care of feeding him while John and Julie are in Spain.
So, just before 6am I headed off - but then the most extraordinary thing happened! There was very little traffic and I was parked and in Terminal 5 by 7:30am!
As always the time taken waiting to board the flight soon passed. Cooked breakfast, a mooch around the shops, face-timing David and then the call that the gate was open and the flight ready for boarding.
But what a trek it was to get to the gate. 5 is the newest of Heatrow's terminals and it is still very shiny..... But it is also very big! So to get to gate C65 meant a 30 min hike via escalators and their own mini-underground.
I've only ever flown with BA on internal flights and didn't really know what to expect on this 12 hour long-haul. I had chosen my seat carefully - an aisle seat on a row of 3, directly behind a row of 2 - so I didn't have a seat in front of me, affording me unlimited leg room. The 2 passengers to the left of me were 2 Brazillian girls in their early 20s who just chatted to each other in Portugese ... And slept! They also went to the loo on a regular basis and so the Brazillian version of "excuse me" was played out several times! I've mentioned that they slept - and so the blinds were pulled down even before takeoff - and that went for the rows behind and in front of us. Shame really as it would have been nice to have seen what was going on outside!
As I've said, I've not flown with BA long haul - but I have heard the food is pretty good. And indeed it was. In fact it was too much! A 3 course lunch, with wine. A snack based tea and another finely appointed meal for dinner, again with wine. Sure, airline food but very good it was.
And so, weary and tired we arrived at Rio International. Body saying it was nearly 1am, but all the clocks around saying it was just 9pm. It was already dark and the Q for the taxis very long but being managed with great efficiently. The city's whole fleet must have been there. Standing in line, in the 27C heat there was a quick opportunity to look around - an airport, at night. Rio not giving too much away just yet. The taxi ride was prepaid at a kiosk, just inside the terminal. I booked the return trip at the same time, not really knowing if the B$239 (about £40) was reasonable or not. (My rip-off Britain head said it was, so that's all that mattered I guess.)
So 30 mins later, having hurtled through the streets of downtown Rio, I arrived at the Hotel Diamond. 30 mins more and I was ready to go to bed. The room was very nice - almost a mini-apartment with a large barthroom and separate dining room area. There was a large scenic window who's view was obscured by the darkness. And so, at about 10:30pm local time - 02:30BST, I collapsed into bed.
Saturday started bright - and hot! The a/c unit was too noisy to have on over night and the window catch was broken. The noise and heat had conspired to give me a poor night's sleep. To make matters worse, the scenic window's view wasn't just obscured by the darkness the night before. A far splattering of building rendering hadn't helped!
So here is a very condensed version of my conversation with reception and, in particular, Scary Sonia - the larger than life receptionist who is Eastern European I think.
Saturday morning - "My window is broken and the scenic window is is splattered with what likes mud! Can I please have a different room?
Reply from a very pleasant but unhelpful receptionist. Sorry, the hotel is completely full. You may want to try later in the day?" (Presumably when his shift was over and it was then someone else's problem!)
Now, I don't like racial stereotypes anymore than anyone else, but this very helpful receptionist was the spitting image of Gustavo "Gus" Fring from Breaking Bad. In fact I've seen lots of Breaking Bad characters while I've been in Rio!
Enter Scary Sonia - Saturday evening. Same question. But what's this? Disbelief on her face. How could this be true. I was prepared for this! - I had photos! 
"I will speak with the manager", says Sonia. She has an earnest telephone conversation with the unseen manager. With a large smile she announces that room 805 is free and gives me a new key card.
Off I trape to pack my cases and move to room 805.
But disaster! The room is still overlooking the tower block with its barrage of a/c units and it doesn't have a scenic window. Not only that, the safe isn't actually fixed to anything! Anyone could lift the safe from the wardrobe unit, put it under their jumper and walk off with my valuables.
Sonia's shock was absolute - so fantastic was my claim that photos were not necessary. Another hurried conversation with the unseen manager. Another large smile as she announces that room 1008 is free. In the same location as 808, but two floors higher. Still a splattered scenic window - although not as bad- but with a fully functioning window which did its best to shut out the noise and heat.
The rest of Saturday was spectacular. I discovered a beach, south of the marina. Not quite Copacabana but not far off.......
So after a long day exploring I retired to room #3 and freshened up for dinner in the hotel's restaurant. Well, it was the same area used for breakfast! And this was just the starter!........
Sunday was a completely different kind of day. Saturday had been quite quiet - the streets bustling with people who were obviously going about their work.
Sunday is obviously a family day with whole family groups strolling along the streets. To the front of the hotel, was a large, busy market, selling alsorts of fruit, veg, meat (some still alive!) fish, seafood (some still alive!) and non-food household items. Why no photos of this spectacle. Unless you want your iPhone snatched or to be spotted for a mugging later, you don't stand there like a tourist, snapping away!
After exploring the market I went for a walk around the neighbouring district of Lappa. Run down, busy and hot! - but still an amazing place. But still no real shopping areas. Just street after street of run down shops, cafes and bars. Again - few photos as you have to be careful not to stick out too much as a tourist!
As the heat started to die down, I decided to wander over to the marina.
Londonderry had been bobbing around the harbour with no wind. It had missed the finishing line and had had to go back to pass it correctly - something that cost it second place!
As I got there, Londonderry was just motoring towards the marina entrance having paid its penance.
The next boat due in was Garmin.
A small crowd had gathered - one chap called Martin, the partner of Suzzane, crewmember on Garmin. We got chatting, had a few beers and as Garmin came alongside said we'd meet up again.
So what was happening with Missi?
I'm updating this on Tuesday morning and can't remember where Missi was plotting on the tracker. Clipper was estimating the ETA as being early Thursday with me taking this to mean the early hours. Noreen is flying in today (Tues) and after a safety briefing from me (!!) we're going to see what options we have for welcoming Missi into Rio. (She's been messaging me, asking if there's a bar that we can both wait in, as Missi comes into Rio! Erm - not in Gloria or Lappa there isn't. )
So Monday arrived. Overcast, a few spits and spots of rain, but still hot! Sunday night saw an amazing thunder storm. The Lightning was almost continuous for a couple of hours. I thought about Ali, aboard Missi, wondering if she was seeing the Super Moon. Then realising just how much I'm missing her.
I had agreed to meet up with Martin to travel into Copacabana - to check out the shopping. He and Suzanne are spending the second week of their stay there and so he wanted to se what the area was like.
Because of the weather - occasional showers of heavy rain - we ended up spending a few hours at a beachside bar, fending off the souvenir sellers. (Some were openly offering "other" souvenirs too!) After lunch we headed off to look at the shops.
I topped up my supplies of electrical adapters and looked for jewellery shops. Successful on the first count - not so on the second!
Because the hotel doesn't have tea and coffee in the room, my mission was to find a mini-kettle. An alien concept to your average Brazillian!
Martin valiantly took on shop-keeper after shop-keeper, looking for a kettle! We found that if you put an "o" on the end of an English word, they would get our drift! So electrico kettleo seemed to work!
Rapidly losing the will to live we finally found a combined steamer/kettle in an electrical supermarket! Phew!
Not bad for B$79.99! (About £16)
We also learnt something about Brazillian queuing. If there are any elderly women in the queue, they are allowed to jump the queue and go to the next available till! Can you imagine that in the UK?!
So as rush hour started we headed back to the hotel on the Metro.
Later that evening I joined Martin and Suzanne and we headed on the tube to a Brizillian BBQ.
I won't describe it as I want to surprise Ali with its unique features! But I do have to mention the taxi driver.
As we emerged from the Metro we headed in the direction of the beach. We had a vague idea of where it was, but realised we would have to walk across dark parkland - a definite no-no, even with 3 of you. So we flagged down a yellow taxi. A very sick Renault Megane with an equally ancient driver. At one stage we thought we were going to get t-boned as we joined the main carriageway!
At one stage we could see the illuminated sign of the restaurant. But the driver couldn't see how to get to it! After asking a passing jogger, the coughing and spluttering Renault was coaxed off road and we headed off over the park, amongst the trees until we were at the restaurant! Only in Rio!
Bad news! We heard that two ladies attached to Clipper have been mugged in broad daylight on one of the footbridges that cross the main dual carriageways. Sir Robin said at dinner (he was at the same restaurant with lots of Clipper crew and staff) that the police had been excellent and had put the helicopter up. He seemed to think they had caught somebody.
And now it's Tuesday. Once I've finished this I'm going to wander over to the marina to see if I can meet up with Druv and Mike "the Thong" Tatham on GB. Then I'll probably join up with Martin on the beach......and probably another bar!
