Two Melo Velos: BC

Looking back on the past week, it is difficult to say where to start. Here are some of the highlights:

Brazil

Noting that:

on buses, you not only have to give up your seat to elderly, disabled, women-with-child, but also to overweight people - it made for a funny sign which sadly we didn't get a picture of.
On Copacobana beach they have digitized displays every few hundred meters that appear to indicate what type of sunscreen you should wear based on what color you are. The day we left, it was 30SPF for white chocolate colored people, and 15SPF for milk chocolate colored people.

Copacobana Beach with Sugar Loaf in the background

Trying to reason with an Air Canada check-in agent after 44 hours of travel is a pointless exercise. Our plane leaving Sao Paulo had a problem that extended our total travel time from Rio to London to a total of 46 hours. The consolation being that the airline paid for a night in Sao Paulo and Toronto in rooms that were palatial compared to anything else we have stayed in - ever. And no dorm mates to blame the snoring on.

Ontario

Brr

Rushed, but great visit with family (sorry Nonni)
Snow
My first attempt at hanging xmas lights. Monica's mom commented: "Don't worry, I will fix them tomorrow!"

All I have to do is...

Masterpiece

Quick visits with friends
Packing
Packing

Someone on our flight being detained, and turned over to the police in Auckland for smoking in the toilet. Really?
Almost missing our connection through to Wellington having had our tent inspected for bio-hazards, and sprinting from International to Domestic terminals pushing two bike boxes.
Being amazed that our wonderful Warmshowers host (Gary) was actually at the airport to meet us, despite having been in such a mad rush to pack and get on the plane, that we forgot to email him to let him know we were on our way.

We were treated to a beautiful cycle in from the airport to Gary's house, and spent the morning learning a wealth of information about New Zealand, bike touring, Wellington and more.

Eager to get on our bikes, we set off into town to check things out, do a bit of shopping, and figure out how we were going to get up to the east coast.

The fresh breeze we encountered on our way into town soon turned into a 40+ knot gale. The video and pics don't really do it justice. Cycling into the wind was almost futile, and with the wind at your back, you didn't have to pedal at all to get blasted down the winding roads. Monica had to get off her bike at one stage, as her back tire was getting blown out from underneath her as she skidded sideways down the sidewalk.