Day 7: Rio de Janeiro to Buenos Aires

This morning, we got to sleep in just a tad extra because we didn't have to be packed and ready to go until 10:00. After breakfast, we loaded the bus for the drive to the airport. Upon our arrival, we bid adieu to our bus driver, Stefan, with a relyricized (yes, I just made that word up) version of "Bring Me a Little Water, Sylvie." Likewise, the adult staff performed their own song for our tour guide, Fernando. They will be sorely missed as we leave them behind in our venture to Argentina.

At the airport, we checked our luggage and then had plenty of time for lunch. Unlike the Atlanta airport, most of the shops and restaurants are outside of security. After we passed through security, there were only a few duty-free shops to keep us entertained.

The flight was quick and smooth. Although the flight was only three hours long, we got a full meal (despite just having had lunch). To top things off, we had nice views of Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires during takeoff and landing.


At the Buenos Aires airport, we met our new bus driver (nicknamed "Gato") and our new tour guide, Hernan, a very eccentric man to say the least. We checked into our new hotel, a very beautiful and historic building just off Buenos Aires's main avenue.

After about an hour to settle in, we met in the lobby so that we could walk to dinner. Though we had copious amounts of pizza again tonight, the experience was completely different. We munched on several different types of Argentinian specialties, notably a ham/bell pepper/olive combination.

After dinner, we returned to the hotel for a relatively early night to bed.

Buenos Aires seems like it's going to be entirely different that Rio. The people seem a bit more reserved with their emotions and more adherent to stricter etiquette than the people of Rio. The city also has a far more European flavor, with architecture reminiscent of Paris or Washington (which was designed by a Frenchman).