Today was my last day in Brazil & I left Rio de Janeiro to fly back to Madrid Spain.

Brazil to Spain.

After having breakfast at the hotel buffet I read my Kindle for a few hours before checking out of the hotel. I checked out & left my case & laptop with the doorman who locked it up in a hotel cupboard.

I was soon joined by Gail & we walked around to an Italian restaurant where I had my last meal in Rio de Janeiro. It was probably the best steak I had whilst there but it still wasn't brilliant. Gail had upgraded her flight home & had paid to go first class, this meant she would have use of the airport lounge when we got there so she didn't have anything to eat.

After we left the restaurant we walked back to the hotel & collected our bags from the doorman. He called us a taxi & we were soon picked up & driven to the airport. We were too early to check in & sat down to wait until we could. After a while I walked to the check-in & discovered it had opened, I sent Gail a message & she joined the first class queue to check-in. As I waited a man told me I didn't have to wait & took me through to a disabled queue & I was very quickly checked in.

I then made my way to the security gates, & as usual, I set all the alarms off. After security made me take off my belt & checked me for any other metal they then told me to take off my knee support & they ran it through security. I walked through the security again & it didn't go off. The security man told me that when they had looked at my knee support in the X-ray machine it had metal in it to give me more support & that is what set the alarms off. They returned my knee brace & I now know I can't wear it to go through the security machines.

I made my way through the airport shops & got myself a can of Sprite before going to the gate where my flight would leave from. I sat down & sat reading my Kindle to kill time before we left. When the gate opened I was again taken through a disabled entrance to save me from queuing & as I walked towards the plane door, Gail walked past me on her way to first class.

The Spanish people on the flight didn't seem to be able to follow simple instructions & they kept swapping seats. Even as we were backing out of the gate Spanish passengers near me were still trying to swap seats to sit with friends. The flight took off & I spent an uneventful night watching films on the small screen in the seatback in front of me. I have never been able to sleep on planes & this flight was no different, when I had watched any films I wanted to watch I spent the rest of the flight reading my Kindle.