First Impression: Rio de Janeiro

With our time in Foz do Iguacu now complete, it was time to head to our second city in Brazil and the one I was looking forward to the most. It was the city I was hell bent on getting to by my birthday, and now it was practically within arm’s reach. Catching an early morning flight from Foz do Iguacu, we landed in Rio de Janeiro around 9 am. Between the overcast skies that welcomed us, rush hour traffic, and having to wait four hours to check into our AirBnB (we arrived too early) I was afraid the day was getting started on the wrong foot. But once we settled into our accommodations, looking out the window, I realized I was in Rio de Janeiro. There was no wrong foot. With the clearing of the skies and no real agenda, we headed down to the beach and with shoes in hand walked along the sand allowing the waves to lap at our feet. As the waves got stronger, and the maxi dress I was wearing got wetter, I wished we had dressed for the beach, but with ease my friend simply suggested I tie my dress up, and I did. I walked further into the ocean looking down at my feet through some of the clearest water I had ever seen. I couldn’t have been happier. Or at least, that’s what I thought until I saw the sunset and I realized Rio de Janeiro is the reason sunsets exist.