Rio Day One

---

[youtube=3zawlo-oo3Y]

After my nine hour flight from Atlanta I landed at Galeão International Airport a little before 10:00 A.M. It was a warm and humid day in Rio. The middle of summer here in the southern hemisphere. The tour guide from Princess Cruises was there to greet me right on time after I had cleared customs. I was taking a 5 day pre-cruise land tour starting here in Rio de Janeiro. There were several of us coming in on this flight, but our group would have 90 people in total. It wasn't exactly a scenic drive to the hotel from the airport as the highway passed slum after slum. We stayed at the Sheraton Rio Hotel & Resort which is the city's only beach front resort and is located between trendy Barra da Tijuca and famed Ipanema Beach. I had a nice view of the beach from my room balcony. There were no planned activities for this first day. I took a short walk around the area adjacent to the hotel and then just relaxed around the hotel for the rest of the day. It wasn't a very restful sleep on the cramped airplane overnight.

---