"We got on the wrong plane", I mutter as we shuffle towards our seats 8AB which are occupied, in fact the plane is almost full.

CGH Congonhas, pronounced "Con gone? Yass", is a queer airport where you can just walk on the planes without a boarding-pass. With no connect-time left, we rush aboard. Not a GA in sight and no visible FA on the plane. But a helpful Portuguese businessman in an aisle seat assures us yes this is our flight number, and it's "Free" seating. So we squeeze into the last two free (middle) seats 9B and 11E.

Ah, they do have FA's and we are offered a quick drink during the 40 minute Airbus shuttle to Rio.

The Nitteroy Bridge passes alarmingly close again as we approach SDU for the second time, after a go-around when the airport disappeared under a squall. Santos Dumont is Rio's second airport, in the centre of the city. Thankfully the approach is over water, not between the buildings, but that pretty church on the water's edge has been lucky to survive.

De-planing is a slow process as each passenger is handed an umbrella for the walk across the tarmac through the driving rain.

Convinced our baggage will be on the next flight, we take time to examine the three taxi booths which are marked red, green and blue. We randomly choose the green booth to buy a coupon and later hit the jackpot when we find a line of green cabs waiting outside, while a crowd of people waving red and blue vouchers are stumbling around in the rain outside the terminal. Best of all, our baggage has made the 5-minute connection and is delivered promptly.

Our dream has come true, we are here in Rio de Janiero , which will live up to all our expectations.