A Rainy Sail; End to this South America Chapter

 My last day in Rio and South America ended with a somewhat rainy boat tour around Rio’s harbor and a fog bound Christ the Redeemer visit. On my walk to take the train (2nd time, hoping for clearer views) up to Christ the Redeemer, I past by this pretty view of Sugarloaf Mtn and some of the harbor-

The weather for the boat tour started well enough, but it clouded and then rained some-

And apart from a stress filled taxi ride to the airport where most of the city’s 13 million residents seemed to headed that evening (with a good half dozen vehicles broken down at strategic spots just to make it interesting), that was it for my latest South American adventure.  It encompassed some beautiful, stunning and unique sights, from Northern Patagonia-

To the vineyards and high Andes of Mendoza-

To the Salta region of Northwestern Argentina

To the high road (4200 meters) over the Andes between Argentina and Chile-

To unique San Pedro de Atacama in Northern Chile-

To even more extraordinary Easter Island

And it was on Rapa Nui where I finally found a place that gave me a halo

And finally to what I think is probably the most magnificent natural setting of any city in the world, endlessly colorful Rio-

I also met and enjoyed the company of many people from around the world who were also touring, including, beyond the natives, people from the US, Canada, Britain, France, Ecuador, Columbia, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, Poland, Netherlands, South Korea, Italy and Slovakia (and maybe one or two others I have forgotten).  The people always add to making the journey special and memorable and it is so heartening to find people everywhere who are willing to go out of their way to help you, particularly natives.      

As some have requested, here are the final results of my uber scientific 'man on the street poll' of people’s view of Javier Mellei, the new Argentina President dedicated to free market principles:

    Young people in Argentina seemed to favor him heavily, particularly young men

    Many said they felt they had to take a chance on a significant change after so many decades of decline, though they didn't trust any politicians or have much faith in them 

    Older people seemed less inclined toward him and were more worried/scared of the change he is bringing

    Women, particularly older women (but some young ones too), did not seem to like him

And a single American women I met who was engaged in post graduate studies blamed him for the poor Argentina economic performance of the past 80 years, notwithstanding the fact he had only been in office a couple of months.    

Thanks for reading.