I left São Luiz at night and had the most terrible time. My throat was closing in on me it was so painful I couldn't sleep. The seat I was in was so cold so I moved to the back of the bus where it was warmer. That helped and I slept on and off until the morning, when something gross was stuck in my throat and I almost puked in the bus bathroom trying to get it out. TMI whatever, it was really awful.

I arrived at least an hour late and had a difficult time trying to find my host's house . I almost cried actually because I had the wrong address for the small neighbourhood they lived in.

When I got there only the maid was around. She told me to take a shower and they will be back.

By the time I was done my shower Gabriel and his girlfriend Michelle were home and they were sooooo nice. They had been waiting for me at the park! I didn't get the message so I just went straight to their house.

They took me on a tour downtown and then we went out with their friends for sushi and tacaca soup. It was a gluey mixture of manioc and Amazonian herbs. So delicious.