My flight to Miami was uneventful. There was a more than generous layover in Miami thanks to some sort of mechanical trouble with the airplane in the city it came from. About 30 minutes before the plane actually arrived (2 hours late!) they served us drinks after a near-rebellion took place because the vending machines weren't working properly. Like the seasoned traveler that I am, I snapped up about six cans of diet coke as I didn't know when my next one would be coming. Like the idiot that I am, I drank two of them waiting for the plane and had to pee a lot during the flight.

They served us dinner at around 3:30 AM. I think they could have skipped it and did a better breakfast and they wouldn't have heard a peep. My kosher meal, having been prepared two weeks earlier, was about as chewy as a Goodyear. That didn't bother me much though as I had long since lost interest in food. I watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the new one) while everyone else ate their dinner. After relieving myself for the third time in 2 hours, I drifted off to sleep. That's right.. I slept on an airplane!

Now Cecilia was supposed to arrive in Rio an hour ahead of me. Thanks to the aforementioned mechanical problems, our plane arrived about 2 hours late. I picked up my bags from a conveyor that moves so slow that you'd think a donkey was pulling it and worked my way through immigration & customs. I was green-lighted through customs which is good because if they'd have asked me to explain some of the things I was carrying, I might be in some Brazilian prison right now. Knowing that she'd be waiting for me, I skipped the Duty Free shop (you can buy there going into the country!) and went out to meet her.

My theory on flying on one airline was immediately validated as she explained to me that her luggage was lost and neither airline she had flown had a clue where her bag was. It showed up three days later.