oh dear

I write from a Rio de Janeiro hostel at which I am trying to sort out the mess than ensues when you lose your debit card in a foreign country. I left Iracambi for good yesterday, hitching a ride at 9 AM with a fellow resident to the nearest city arriving 10:30 AM, making a few peaceful transactions (during which I lost the card) whilst making some literary progress, and leaving on the 1 PM bus to Rio with a friend whose stay at the NGO conveniently expired simultaneously. All is well, since I have two debit cards and my account is untouched, and since I have a mother at home to aid in such jams. I didn't lose any sleep over it.

It is March 1st. The first leg of my trip is done - no more Iracambi. I have much more to say about it than that...but now is not the time.

I will be staying in Rio again tonight, leaving tomorrow (Sunday) on an overnight bus to Florianópolis, a quite posh Brazilian city (can you tell I'm travelling with an Brit?) in the South. I'll arrive on Monday, sleep there most likely Monday and Tuesday night, and leave on Wednesday on a 25 hour bus to Buenos Aires, Argentina, my final destination, arriving there mid Thursday. Just so you have a general idea of where I am on the continent...

More to come. Aside from all that, happy 1.75 anniversary to A. Shah.