Back to Rio

After almost 7 years, I finally go back home.

Last time I was in Rio was in 2016. The city was preparing to be the focus of the world, which had not yet met Simone Biles. The most time I had been away from my hometown was no more than 2 years, but in between health issues, the pandemic and other factors, almost 7 years went by.

Getting there was not easy, as I synchronized my travel day with the worst storm the San Francisco Bay Area had seen in years. Planes were grounded at SFO for over 6 hours, triggering a domino effect of delays.

I missed my connection and was stuck in Houston for over 20 hours. United Airlines did what it is supposed to do in these situations, paying for a hotel, and giving me meal vouchers.

With my flight not leaving until after 9PM the next day, I stayed and worked from my hotel room until 5:30PM the next day. For lunch, the only option was a diner across the street. The idea of eating greasy food, just before a long international flight, was thankfully nothing more than just a scary thought.

The image above and all images below were shot on Kodak Portra 400 film

Fifty two hours were added to those almost 7 years away from my city, and the apartment I spent ¼ of my life in. Fifty two hours is a new record for longest travel-time between my house and my parents apartment.

Working from Rio, on California time, for 2 weeks, I managed to keep my mornings free to wander, take pictures, and reconnect with my city.

Gilberto Gil is right: O Rio de Janeiro continua lindo (T.N. Rio de Janeiro is still beautiful).

Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas

Praia de Ipanema

In closing…

I am just getting started with Substack, but I can already tell that reading my posts / newsletters on a computer screen is a much better experience, to see these images better. Try reading in the computer if you can.

Thanks for reading.