Dateline: Rio de Janeiro, December 30

Flyings into Rio is a traveler’s treat. We circle around cone-shaped hills, lush palm trees spiking out at every angle, as we brush clouds, coming too close to the hills. We can see the faces of the hang gliders fluttering off the peaks of São Conrado like butterflies as we curl around the shimmering loops of long sinuous beaches. The sea sparkles beneath us as we approach Rio, heading toward the Santos Dumont airstrip in the middle of the city.