Our Last Day

We arranged for a late checkout and were able to relax over breakfast, shop a bit for souvenirs (Brazilian “flip-flops” – called “havaianas”) and to swim in the pool.

It was then time to start the tortuous journey home.  With late checkout, we were able to delay leaving for the airport until 4:00.  The unfortunate part was that our flight was not until 11:00 p.m.  Since we were homeless, and had all of our luggage, it sounded like the best thing to do.  We thought we could have a nice dinner at the Airport, relax, work on our blog, catch up on email and prepare for our flight.  We were not prepared for the Rio airport.  There are no nice restaurants, the electricity went out sporadically, internet service, when you could sign on, was slow and spotty (and when we did get on the power would go out), the temperature inside the terminal was 80 or above and it was not designed for people to flow freely or to hear any announcements. 

Finally, we boarded our overnight flight to Houston and proceeded to freeze – the entire 10 ½ hour flight.  Myra took both blankets and pillows and constructed a tent in an attempt to stay warm.  We survived, arrived in Houston on time and went to catch our second flight from Houston to Jacksonville.  We were in a rush to get home for Aunt Pat’s funeral on the Island at 2:00 p.m.  The flight was 25 minutes late but we were able to get home, clean ourselves up a little, change jackets and arrive at the church only 10 minutes late.