Goodbye South America from Rio de Janeiro

We caught an early bus to Rio on the 25th of September, only 4 hours away. Spent a short afternoon and the following day (Saturday) cramming in a few sights. Watched the waves on a cloudy but warm Copacabana beach just down the road from our hostel, had 'all you can eat pizza', visited the towering Christ the Redeemer statue, took in the view of beautiful Rio with its dramatic coastline and forested mountains, and tried to get a tan on Ipanema beach on a sunny but late afternoon. We waited for more than the supposed 30 minute interval for the airport bus to arrive on Saturday night, becoming increasingly concerned that we were waiting in the wrong place, and that we'd be late for our flight...when a kind lady taxi driver offered to give us a ride there for half the normal hefty taxi fee, only just above what the bus would cost, as it was on her way home.

We arrived on time, had a rushed change out of our swimming costumes and repack in the airport bathrooms, resulting in a late check-in, and seats apart from each other :(, and before we knew it we were saying a sad goodbye to the continent of South America, our home for 3 and a half months...