We were up at the crack of dawn, got ready to leave our cute little bed & breakfast & at 7 our ride to the airport was here ( this time they sent a truck so all our suitcases cld fit in). We cldve bought another ticket for the amount we had to pay for our food suitcase ( obergada 👍 Miri for putting almost 1/3 of my suitcase into ur carry on) but when we got on the plane & saw that our seats at the back were taken ( sit wherever u want policy ??) we found seats in the economy plus section so at least we got a bit of our $'s worth. We were met at the airport by our tour guide Luis holding a sign Rochel, Miri & Gella. He had a small car but BH he was a mover in his past life & was able to pack the car even though we just barley fit with all our luggage. Miri & I had an almost bullet proof mechitza between us from all the suitcases on the seat. ( see pics above) We decided to drop off our suitcases at our hotel which is rt off the beach & then headed to Corcovado which is 2100 ft from sea level where they have a statue there to celebrate 100 yrs of independence from Portugal. We went up up up up up in a minibus & after some very sharp turns we arrived. We were high up & were able to see the whole Rio from all sides. Beautiful view ! Luis had to lie down to take a pic of us with the statue in the background since it was towering so high. Gella did not want to leave so she seatbelted herself into the drivers latch !!!! ( by mistake) & we cldnt leave till she found her own belt. By the time we got back to the car, it was already dark so Luis dropped us off by a supermarket where we picked up some fresh vegetables & on the walk home we made sure to pass by the shul so we know where it is for tomorrow night ( we don't want a repeat of last Friday nite !!) then we headed to our hotel. It's really nice & spacious & we have an ocean view which we will hopefully be able to enjoy over the next two days. Until then, Have a gr8 Shabbos !! 😉, Ro