Public Transportation

           Feeling the toll of our lengthy walk, my parents halted beside me as well, bending over to press their legs. 

           As the seasons are reversed in the northern and southern hemispheres, we went to Rio in the winter in mid-June. It was even harder to wrap my head around this as it was always an average of a sweltering 88ºF (31º) C. Although there is no fleecy blanket of snow covering Rio's streets, the sun does not set at 8:00 PM, as I thought previously, but rather at  6:00 PM. 

         Thus, when I suddenly noticed that it was about 5:30 and that the sky was rapidly becoming  a faded pink,  I urged my parents to return to the hostel. "What's the need to hurry?"one may ask. "The night is still young."

        To answer that question, the grave warnings of several forums still rang in my ears. The haunting stories of various crime-ridden streets of Rio at night chilled my blood and quickened my pace. For several minutes, we fruitlessly strove to make our way to the hostel, before our weary feet remonstrated. Seeing no better way of a speedy transit, we hastily boarded a bus that flashed the words "Rua de Santa Clara" on the front. Now, I wasn't sure what Santa Clara had to do with the address of our hostel, but I would not miss any opportunity to sit down at that point.

        Afraid that we would miss the only transportation to our utter salvation, we climbed up the back end of the bus, flustered and out of breath. An old, pudgy driver examined us closely for a few seconds before muttering a blur of Portuguese.  Helpless, we frantically searched the bus for anyone who could possibly speak English

      And like a god-send, a kindly woman stepped up and translated for us. Subsequently, the bus driver nodded amiably in comprehension, had us pay for our trip, and allowed us to sit on the most comfortable chairs in the entire world. Or at least, they felt that way. 

        One cannot exaggerate the amount of relief one feels after sitting down. Although my legs initially screamed in pain once they finally settled, I began to feel a slow, and heavenly relief seep through them. All these thoughts rushed through my mind as we lounged on the bus, but our adventures of finding our way through the city were not over, for we still had little to no idea where our hostel was located and where the great bus was taking us.