Rio

1st day in Rio. Actually I'm writing on the second day. Wow. What a shock. Way different culture, etc. here. Not a lot of 'rules' here but it works. Life is "like, whatever". No worry, be happy. Oh, there are traffic rules but at times some lane lines and traffic lights are merely suggestions. The taxi ride from the airport to the hotel in morning rush hour traffic was crazy. It's a mad house. My friend Luci met me at the airport and interpreted for me. I'd never made it very well without her. Most cars are small 4-door sedans so they will squeeze in between lanes when the chance comes. You stick the nose of the car in front of someone and they let you in that lane. They miss each other by inches but there rarely is any accidents or much horn honking. It's the way they drive. And the small motorcycles and scooters swerving in and out are everywhere. Again, never saw an accident and they miss cars by inches. I know how to ride cycles but it'd take a lot of courage and quick decision-making skills to ride here. And the people. OMG what a lot of people. It's a BIG city. And they walk like they drive...left, right, down the middle of the sidewalk, slow, fast - it doesn't matter. You look ahead and find your place to avoid walking into someone. Pedestrians have no rights until the light changes. Even then you have to watch. And their language - Portuguese. Wow. Not like anything I've heard. Not close to Spanish. Sounds at times like German, Spanish, and French mixed. I was a total loss at first but after a day I just spoke English and pointed to what I wanted. They don't care and we seem to work it out. Very few signs, menus, etc. are in English. They just don't seem to cater to Americans. I suppose as I get more confident it will get better. My hotel for the first 2 nights was fine. Great location - 6th floor, corner room, super view of Copacabana Beach. Very old hotel needing some cosmetics but they have everything a person needs. Moving to my timeshare-trade tomorrow at Rio Othon Palace, just a couple blocks up the beach. Looks like a very nice place. I guess this is day two also, but, more later. Walked probably 7-8 miles today. Tired.....more later.