Back in America and Brazil by the Numbers

Hello from the frozen tundra of Los Angeles. Last Friday, in Rio de Janeiro we caught a 3:30 AM cab to the airport so that we could get there with plenty of time to spare for our 3 flights back to Los Angeles. Our first flight went from Rio to Lima, and left about 20 minutes late, only to arrive about 30 minutes early. We were about an hour delayed in boarding in Lima for our second flight to San Salvador, and after we were on the plane the pilot came on to let us know that Lima was having some problems with their radar and it would be another hour or so until we could depart. This would put us about 2 hours behind schedule and since we only had an hour layover in San Salvador, we started to discuss which beach we should go to should we need to spend an extra day or two in San Salvador. Luckily (or un-luckily) they held the third flight for us and about 20 other passengers on both flights and we made it all the way home. We were greeted by a plethora of loving family members who even made a funny sign for us. Despite my passport being completely destroyed and filled with stamps, they still let me into the country. Since our arrival we have already eaten at some of Sarah's favorite restaurants, including In-n-Out on the night of our arrival. We have been taking care of some errands we neglected to do while away, (car registration, etc) and are starting to plan a small trip around the continental US. Be sure to check back over the next few days for reviews of our gear, favorite places to visit and to live, etc.

Here are the bank account-emptying numbers from Brazil. Keep in mind that Brazil is possibly the most expensive country on our trip by most measures. In addition to that we did take some Portuguese classes, and Rio over Christmas and New Years was especially expensive. We entered the country on December 2nd with $111 and left on January 4th with $95, a total of 33 days in the country. We also withdrew $4172 from various ATMs. This comes out to $126.91 per day. This does not include the first class plane tickets to get us home. I felt it would be unfair to include that in the Brazil numbers. Generally bus transport in Brazil is more expensive than most other countries, rivaling Argentina in that respect. Even intra-city transport is normally over $1 just to get around town. Food prices aren't that much cheaper in restaurants although fruits and vegetables in markets are very affordable. Anyways, once my calculator stops overheating I will put together a by the numbers for the entire trip and I'm sure Sarah will have some thoughts to post as well. Thanks again for reading, and we will keep you posted!