The last part of our adventures in Rio is about our last day in the city.
We almost left one day before we were supposed to!
Julie knew we were supposed to leave on the 27th of February to Foz do Iguaçu. She also knew that the 27th was on a Wednesday. WRONG!
So on Tuesday we both packed everything and went to visit the city center as it was our last day in beautiful Rio. It was extremely hot but the parties were still on the streets even at 1 pm. The rest of the city looked empty and the streets smelled like pee but it was a nice day. We had no cash left and it was difficult to find an ATM to withdraw some cash to get some water.
We also went to see the sunset on Arpoador Rock and it was magical.
However, we had a transfer to the airport scheduled at 4:30 AM. So we woke up at 4:00 AM, got dressed, and took the luggage down the 109 steps. We even encountered one of the security guards on the way who didn’t know who in the world would be up at that hour so he pointed his gun at us, but he quickly found we were no narcos, so he put it down.
And so we went down and were waiting for the taxi to arrive. And we waited. Then waited some more until we called them. We spoke to a lady who said she will call the driver but to rest assured that he will arrive. She then called us back, said the driver won’t pick up the call but that he should be there any minute.
We waited a bit longer. We were starting to worry that we will miss our flight, so Julie entered the chat of the transfer app and told them the driver is not coming. The chat attendant then told us our transfer is booked for the 27th, not the 26th! We didn’t know if we should laugh or cry for waking up that early on the 26th. I checked and the transfer and flights were both on the 27th – that was punctuality at its max!
Last day in Rio
As we woke up so early on Wednesday, Julie decided to go on the terrace of the pousada. She wanted to watch the sunrise, which was amazing. We then went back to sleep and then worked a bit on our projects. In the afternoon we took a stroll through Ipanema and ate one last Picanha Brasileira.
At night we woke up again at 4:00 AM and climbed down the 109 steps with our luggage. But again there was no driver waiting for us. Julie entered the chat again and to speak to one of the representatives. Luckily, she managed to speak to the same one as the previous night. However, he told us that our transfer was canceled – another adventure to handle! She got mad at them and told them we neither canceled our ride nor received a cancellation notification. Finally, we got an Uber and managed to get on time to the airport.
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