We arrived on Thursday in Toronto after close to 12-hours of flying time from Rio. Two new airlines under our belt - GOL and COPA - both pretty good, particularly the fact that all the alcohol and food was free - unlike our Air Canada programs. We were welcomed with snow. Having not had to cope with this **** for the last 9 years, I was a little tentative in my driving but thankfully we rented a big truck rather than the Challenger that was offered at the count...

We're here in Panama to catch our flight to Toronto. Can't wait to see my little Princess.

We had a very active day today. There were a couple of things that we wanted to accomplish before heading out on Sunday. First and foremost we wanted to get out to Christo Redentor. Originally I thought this was something we could do on our own, but now I know different. There was quite a bit of logistics to get up top. It included one bus, through the favella's and then switching over to another bus to get up to the top of the mountain. I guess that this is th...

Well we've made it 24-hours here in Rio without a mugging. As was the case in Buenos Aires, I suspect that the stories of robberies and assaults maybe a thing of the past. I can understand if you like to walk through the Favella's at the north part of town, then you're likely asking for something to happen. Here on Copacobana I think things are good. I took my Nikon out with me today and walked the Malecon from one end to the other - simple, no issue - not even...

Well after 61 years I finally made it to Rio. Ever since I was a small child I've wanted to come to Rio and now I'm here. It was no small deal getting here, with visas, airfare and the like but how can you be in South America and not come to Rio. We arrived after dark, touching down just after 8:00 p.m. Sure enough - no driver. This is the second such failure since we left the ship. Knowing that were in a new country, a new city, arriving after dark, and a hotel...