Night 6 - The Midnight Bus to Foz - March 4, 2013

No pictures for this one.  Mauro helped to load our luggage into the car.  We had considered a few places to eat, but most were closed on Monday.  We ended up going to the Madero again, this time located in a nice shopping mall near the bus terminal.  After an excellent meal of filet mignon and caipirinhas (vegetarian sandwich and iced tea for Mauro), he took us to the bus company, where we quickly boarded an enormous bus.  This was a "leito" or luxury bus, and each seat was very large and wide with tons of legroom.  The inside was very dark, so I did not take any photos.  They looked at our luggage curiously, offering to put them in the bottom compartment.  Mauro, always helpful, stepped in and asked them to allow us to try to fit it on board.  This was greeted with a shrug, and as it turns out our luggage easily fit in the overhead rack - even the bigger satchel.  We settled in for a long, 10 hour ride.  They showed the cartoon "Brave" in Portuguese, but some earplugs and eyeshades took care of that.  The seats recline pretty far, supposedly 80 degrees, but the seat still was not flat, and the foot rests were also angled down.  It was pretty uncomfortable, but we got some fitful sleep.  The bus stopped 3 times on the way.  The first time was at a large, deserted terminal, and we de-boarded to use the restroom.  Again we must thank Mauro, who warned us that you will receive a folio at these places to record if you buy anything, and you must take it even if only to use the restroom (no charge).  Being prepared, though groggy, we were able to negotiate in and out easily without surprises.  About 6AM I noticed that the weather was very heavy rain, and at 7AM the bus stopped and the final destination was announced.  We were half an hour early!  It took us a few minutes to get organized and off the bus, so we were the last ones off.  It was still dark-ish, overcast, and raining heavily. And the bus disappeared seconds after we debarked.  So no photos.  The station was moderately crowded, and we found the restroom which had a nominal charge.  Then we walked out into the thick humidity and rain to greet the day!