Back home! The journey was long and tiring. All planes are not created equal. On the way down we were on an Airbus and even though it was packed I found that it was surprising comfortable for sleeping. On the way back it was a Boing 767 and the plane was only about 60% full. As a result I had the row to myself but I could not find a comfortable position so sleep was fitful and I arrived in Dallas tired and sore. American customs have taken red tape and in...

A couple of stories from my times here. One concerns a incident that my friends from Nova Scotia had in Rio. As they were walking down Rio 's main street one day someone tried to yank the watch right off the wife's hand. She was able to wrestle it back before he ran off but the strap was broken and her wrist was sore for quite awhile. It was not an expensive watch so the thief would have been disappointed. The second story occurred one day at my hotel in S...

August 8 It was off to the Airport at 9 AM to begin a long day of sitting. The cabbie was a young kid - couldn't have had a license very long. But he did have an iPhone with a translation program so he asked if I wanted the air conditioning on. It was fairly windy at the time and still early enough that the temperature was pleasant so I didn't need it. But I thought it was nice of him to take the trouble to ask. It has been an adventure. There have been chal...

August 7 I woke this morning to find that it had rained overnight. It was a very cool 22. I almost felt like I needed a jacket. I realized before I left that I would need to get some cash for taxis today. I think a sizeable percentage of my actual out of pocket expenses have been on cabs. I would not have had to prepurchase yesterday since the bus was not entirely full. On the other hand it probably gave me a better nights sleep knowing things were confirmed...

I had tried to come to Brasila with an open mind. No one that I talked with at the Convention, Brazilian and non-Brazilian alike, had anything nice to say about the place or the people. After a day, I pretty much agree about the place but to a lesser degree the people. Although they aren't generally as smiling and friendly as in other places, I did find some very nice and helpful people. In the '60's the government decided to build a new capital city from scra...