After staying put in Colombia for a couple months, it was time to head back to Brazil. After the classic multi-leg redeye, I arrived at the Rio airport at 4am. I immediately took a taxi to meet Ekaterina, a girl I met four months ago in Bolivia.

After arriving in Ipanema at 5:30am, I went to the beach to see the sunrise. It felt good to be back.

We repeated many of my favorite activities from my first time here in May. We had to pay a visit to the botanical gardens. Absolutely beautiful. We lived life on the edge, touching a cactus with a “don’t touch the cactus” sign. We’re rebels.

We also walked along the famous beaches. During the first day, we rented an umbrella and beer was magically delivered to us.

A few days later we took a tram, ferry, and Uber to Niterói. We visited the Contemporary Art Museum, which has quite the unique shape.

The inside kind of reminded me of the Space Needle. But, unlike the Space Needle, there were no lines. And it was free!

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We had the opportunity to embellish the Mona Lisa. I think we have potential.

I have had limited success with my Portuguese, but it’s been pretty fun to try. Luckily, since we both speak Spanish, it hasn’t been too bad. More adventures to come before I head back to Colombia on the 13th.