Arrival in Porto Alegre

After five weeks of tropical Rio de Janeiro - which lies roughly at the latitude of Havana - I arrived safely in temperate Porto Alegre - which lies roughly at the latitude of Tijuana San Antonio.

And it is FREEZING here!

On a good note, the cost of living outside of Rio de Janeiro seems to be much lower.

I also bring luck, though whether good or bad depends on your perspective: today, Gremio (of Porto Alegre) thrashed Fluminense (of Rio de Janeiro), 5-1. Fluminense is almost certainly being relegated to the second division next season.

I can recommend webjet. The seat wasn't the most comfortable, but we did get sandwiches and dessert both times on a 1:15 and a 55 minute flight. I don't know if that was ever the case in the US.