07:48 The (what is it now?) forty-fifth day of the trip is here. Today is the last trip by bus between cities. The sun is shining and the birds are singing here in Paraty, Brazil.

09.06 The sun and the birds will continue with their daily chores. In fact, so will we. Soon it's time to strap on the backpacks and walk the short distance over to the bus station. Our host Pablo was not too positive about the city we are going to, Sao Paulo. He claimed that there was nothing to see there, that you can easily get lost driving, etc.

Peter is leaving our hostel in Paraty.

09.39 We left Backpacker House after we said goodbye to Pablo. In front of us in the bus queue there was a lady with a Kånken backpack. Imagine that a backpack originating from my home area can be seen here (http://www.kanken.se). Now we are sitting on the last long-distance bus in Brazil for a while. On the other side of the aisle there are some Norwegian tourists in their 60´s. Today we travel with the company Reunidas Paulista (http://www.reunidaspaulista.com.br).

10.29 The bus drives through a beautiful forest and coastal area. However, I am jaded. I'm so stuffed and full of impressions. It is perhaps a sign that it is time to go home. Or is it perhaps the case that knowing about the impending trip home have made the impression receiving department in my brain to close down?

10.58 The wind fans the hair, the sun is shining on me and I stretch my legs. It is a short stop at a Ipiranga gas station. We are at the stop Kamome in Ubatuba.

12.35 We have reached Caraguatatuba and then swung up towards the mountains. A winding road takes us up through a lush forest. The sun glistens through the trees. A Norwegian man at the left window has a camera in his hand. Next to him he has a detailed map.

13.11 Karujão, that´s what it says on a house at the place we stopped at. We have made a stop before reaching the town of Paraibuna. I've just been drinking an espresso. In a large pot of flowers, there is an injured blue bird. I wonder if I should take and finish the bird's suffering. But what would the other passengers think about that? I will leave it in peace.

Our Reunidas bus stopped for lunch.

Christer leaves the bus for a few minutes.

14.12 We entered the highway and reached the city of São José dos Campos. The bus has stopped at the bus station. At least one of the passengers got off. On the bus there are many nationalities. Here are people from France, Spain and Norway. In addition, there are at least two Swedes here.

15.39 Circle one is now closed. We are back at the bus station Tietê in São Paulo. Now we will have a short bench break here and something else before we take the metro to the last Brazilian home before our departure home.

16.40 We boarded the metro train and went away. Our station Ana Rosa was called out from the speakers, the train stopped and we got off. Everything went smoothly and painlessly besides the fact that we were on another station, Paraíso. It's the station before our station. Did the voice fool us or had we misunderstood him? Had he instead shouted out the next station? It was just to wait for the next train, hop on and get off on the right station, Ana Rosa.

16.56 There was a short walk along the hilly streets from the station but we finally came to Olah Hostel (http://www.olahostel.com). We are staying in room 2. The Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt (or his look alike) registered us. Here it is neat, clean and orderly. We are now planning this evening and tomorrow morning.

Olah Hostel is located behind the blue-painted wall.

Avenida Paulista, São Paulo.

17.53 We are heading out to see some more of the city before nightfall. We went by metro, switched line and stepped off. We made our way above ground and looked at São Paulo's busiest avenue, Avenida Paulista. It is the heart and arteries of the finer more affluent part of the city south of the centre. Now we're in one of the biggest bookstores I've been to, Livraria Cultura. It consists of three floors. There are a lot of books. It is more like a library.

18.27 Here we are sitting on a stone bench. Behind us is a small glass wall where the water flows. It says Marcuto Cursos Juridica on the glass wall. We are reflecting about tonight's continuing plans, particularly regarding where to have our dinner.

Livraria Cultura.

19.40 Some metro trips with changes and a walk took us back to the restaurant (churrascaria) Prazeres do Sul. It is the place where we had dinner on the second and third last night we were in the city. Here, we are doing our best to eat.

20.04 After a filling meal we finally ordered a Pinga based caipirinha. Pinga is a form of cachaça, sugar cane liquor which is an essential part of a real caipirinha.

21.10 Caipirinha is great, sweet and strong. We got really big glasses. One glass costs 10 real, US$ 5.50. The drink felt in the body and it was probably lucky that we turned down a filler. It is strong stuff and it's not a good idea to be tipsy in downtown São Paulo on a late evening. Now we and many of us have waited for about 10 minutes on the metro train. We're travelling from República.

Finally we tasted a real caipirinha.

Christer has a taste of Brazil.

21.16 Irritation grows and the platform has as many people as a small town. Where's the train? What has happened?

21.24 The train came at last, stopped and filled in a flash. We await the next train that is already here now.

21.32 We let that train go as well and took the next one to the main station Sé. There we changed to the blue line that we are going with now.

22.33 We got home and we will come home. We have just printed out the boarding pass for the next flights. This was done down at the reception. Now it's time to sleep in our very comfortable beds. The room is really terrific and so is the whole hostel, typical when we'll be here for such a short time.

Friday 13th of August

07.44 We hear birds and aircrafts outside. For the last time, for this time, we´re waking up in Brazil. Today we will once more cross the Atlantic on wings of steel. For some strange reason, we are always out flying on Friday the 13th. So far, so good.

09.07 The last bite of the last Brazilian breakfast is swallowed. Our host is the man who checked us in, he who looks like Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. Now we are about to take one last look at the city.

09.39 The metro and our feet took us to the station São Bento and the city's third highest building, the 161-meter high bank house Banespa. The lookout at the top opens at 10:00. We take the opportunity to do some other things until then. We work at a tight schedule because we should be back at the hostel checking out at 11.00.

We are standing in the mall "Galleria do Rock" looking at the church with the anything but short
name "Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosario dos Homens Preto de São Paulo".

09.52 We have made a quick stop at a mall, the Galleria do Rock, which mostly contained music stores, tattoo studios and skating stuff. We tried to make some final purchases such as gifts or souvenirs, but there is nothing interesting here.

10.03 We're back inside the tall house. Here we have registered at a reception, given our phone number to the ladies and been photographed. We had to leave the small backpacks and soon we will go up with the lift. The whole adventure is for free. On the way here from the mall, we saw a cat trying to catch a pigeon. It's funny with the pigeons, small children are chasing them, adults are talking bad about them, and old people have resigned themselves to feed them. But what is it really in the bread that the pigeons get from the old people? From the ceiling here an amazing mighty chandelier is hanging.

Decoration inside the Banespa building.

São Paulo, a huge city.

Christer enjoying the views of São Paulo.

10.12 We are on top of the building's lookout point and are just enjoying the view. São Paulo is a city that is more than that. It is a city away to all horizons. It does not look like a city, rather a large forest of tall buildings.

10.25 Now the backpacks are back with us. We are back at the ground floor. This was clearly a highlight of the visit to this great city. From ground level it is hard to believe how big it is. It is now time to go to the metro for a quick return trip to the hostel.

10.50 We are into the last room for the last time. Now the last things must be arranged before the final metro trip.

11.37 Everything went smoothly to get to the station and the airport bus stop at República. It got a little chaotic when we got there. There was no one who sold the tickets. We went straight to the bus, the luggage was added, receipts to us, inside to buy a ticket, would the bus leave without us?, The tickets had to be signed by us but before I had time to do so the ticket was already tared apart. We got on the bus and are now on our way to the airport.

12.10 We are back at the airport Guarulhos. I am possession guard. Christer is a possible name tag fetcher. In front of me there are two water fountains. Over one there is a symbol of a man and over the other one a symbol of a woman. Is it an issue of gender segregation? No, they only show the way to the men's and ladies' rooms which are right here.

12.39 We arranged with name tags for the backpacks and they are soon attached to them. It is good to have it just in case ....

13.06 It's time for yet another check in queue. It is just great. Now, however, we change the queue. We, who are already checked in, will just drop off our luggage.

Buffet food at Guarulhos airport.

13.57 On this last day it has been time for one last Brazilian buffet meal. It has been consumed at Viena Express. It was not exactly cheap but it never is at airports. It was good with a last meal, including good Brazilian meat and good Brazilian sausages.

14.30 We have had a completely painless passing through security and passport control. The last page of my passport is fully stamped and it was supposed to last until May 30th 2011. Now we are thinking about having a coffee break.

14.56 Almost all the coins are returned to the country's monetary system. I got myself an espresso and Christer has ordered a guaraná beverage. We are sitting on a bench waiting for the fluids to pass through us.

15.22 Our last Sanitário-visits are made, and our last coins are donated to a fundraiser for children with cancer. Now we wait for the boarding at gate number 10.

We´re saying goodbye to São Paulo and Brazil.

16.00 Well, we are sitting on a plane from British Airways again. This will be the last entry with Brazilian time. It's time to switch to British time. We want to bring us directly to the time zone we're going to. Everything has gone so well today. Is it luck, habit or what? The sandals are off and we are ready to go, take off will happen within fifteen minutes.

17.18 There will be another entry with Brazilian time. The pilot and the others in the cockpit were stuck in traffic on their way here. We are now, over an hour late, plane number two in the rotation to start. This gives us less time to kill at Heathrow. Time to set the watches.

The sun goes down and we make ourselves ready for a night over the Atlantic.

Saturday 14th of August

CHANGING TIME ZONE

00.07 My fellow passengers have started to doze off. Some wear a sleep mask. Does it really work? Everything goes black as I close my eyes anyway. There are around eight hours of flying time left and we just flew right out over the Atlantic. Soon we will cross the equator.

06.45 It is, after a few hours of sleep, time for a simple breakfast here on the plane. Christer has seen the horror movie "Shutter Island" from the plane's movie selection.

07.49 We are on the way down to terra firma. It will be nice to walk again. The passengers have been asked to wait to turn on their cell phones until they arrived at the terminal. Will this be obeyed?

08.14 We have landed. We can not drive up to the gate. There is another plane there. The passengers seem to respect the ban on mobile use. In five minutes everything should be ready at the gate.

08.26 The five minutes passed and then seven minutes more. The other plane is gone but everything is not clear. We are waiting.

UNITED KINGDOM

08.58 We left the plane and walked down the aisle to the terminal building. Here we showed our passports and now we´re going with a connecting train to get to Terminal 5 for onward travel. The phones then, well at least one was turned on before they should. The second circle is closed. We are back at Heathrow Airport.

09.29 After using the escalators and displaying the boarding pass, security check followed before we were in the right area of the airport. Now it´s two hours left.

Coffee break at Starbucks, Heathrow Airport.

10.31 Well, we have made a visit to the coffee chain from Seattle on this trip too. We've been drinking black coffee, yes it is still available. We do not want coffee with milk, cream or other oddities. We also had a cheese and ham sandwich. Now we are waiting for the flight. The coffee and sandwich was of course consumed at Starbucks.

11.14 Classical music is flowing out from the speakers and we have set ourselves down. We are ready for another flight. This time it is for the homeland. Before we boarded the plane I managed to buy two books by the author Ian Rankin. They can come in handy on future trips. In addition, we saw some Swedish national team girls. I wonder what they had done. They sure looked happy.

It´s soon time for this summer´s last flight.

13.09 We have taken off and I have switched to Swedish time. We may have been away for a long time and had some hardships and adventures. But we are nothing compared to the British adventurer Ed Stafford. He has walked along the Amazon River from its source to its mouth. He carried on for 860 days. He ran into more adventures than us. Christer just read about Ed in the newspaper that was distributed at the boarding process. We might not have any but we still lift our hats in awe for this travel master (http://www.walkingtheamazon.com).

14.09 We are about to fly in over the homeland again. It feels good to come home to return to everyday life. How long will our daily lives to feel good? It remains to be seen.

SWEDEN

16.10 We're back at Arlanda airport. Now we are near the end of the end. It's time to get some rest before we move on. It is time for some reflections. During the flight Christer saw the accommodation we had in Västerås last year. At passport control there was a quiet Asian guy who told a border official that his passport had been forgotten on the plane or at a toilet. Could he, if possible return? One of the evening papers from yesterday had a big headline how to take care of sore feet. Exciting news in Sweden as usual.

17.02 Now it's time for dinner. It is good to quickly get into the right procedures and times. I wonder if the Asian guy got his passport.

17.41 Another dinner at Alfredo's restaurant is finished. It's very hot here inside the airport. Why is there no air conditioning?

18.11 We have, in the absence of modern air conditioning, taken on the oldest form. We have walked outdoors. There we discovered the cause of the heat. There is even warmer outdoors, close to 30 degrees, pooh!

Christer is wondering why it´s so hot, we´re in Sweden, aren´t we?

18.54 We are no longer out there. Instead outside is rushing past our window. We have entered the train to the north. I've been polite and informed a German/German-speaking lady that this train stops in Hudiksvall. I wonder what makes this lady go there. She has a lot of bags too. The girls we saw at Heathrow had, according to the purchased evening papers, won the U18 World Championships in handball.

21.15 The German speaking lady and her luggage is in Hudiksvall. We and the train are heading for Sundsvall. It is dusk. Daylight after 21:00, we haven’t had that for a while!

22.32 We have walked to Christer´s apartment, the apartment we left on June 29th. Now the fun has come to an end. The serious things begin on Monday. Or is it the other way around?