The 2023 Brazil Journals, Chapter One

 (To see photos full screen, click on one and then scroll through them.)

Chapter One

Is Getting there is Half the Fun?

Please be a traveler, not a tourist.Try new things, meet new people, 

and look beyond what's right in front of you. --Unk.

 

I’d like to have a word with the advertising executive who coined the line “Getting There is Half the Fun” for the old Cunard Steamship lines posters.   Better yet, I’d like for him to have experienced the “getting there” part of my trip to Brazil in mid-September.

 

I like to write these journals in present tense as it makes them seem more current and relevant, however, it’s no secret that the trip is over and I’m already home —complete with a cold, saddle sores, and many new insect bites.

Early September and everything was set.   The trip was paid for in advance, the itinerary printed and read, and airline and hotel reservations in place.   My travel buddies and I were in touch via Facebook Messenger which is a handy computer/iPad/cell phone platform.

 

Then, one of them threw a monkey wrench into the works.   She set up a WhatsApp group for us to connect with our guide.   I’d heard of WhatsApp, but never used it nor thought of any reason why I would.

 

To explain, I call myself a cell phone Luddite.  In today’s world, a Luddite is someone who is opposed to technology, particularly in the field of IT.

My checked bag weighed 40 lbs.  
This is the heaviest bag I've
traveled with in decades.

I hate phones.   I hate the thought of being tethered to a phone 24 hours a day.   I hate having to think about where it is, if it needs charging, and/or listening to all the dings, whistles, and other notes that tell me the phone demands my immediate attention.

 

I figure the phone is there for my convenience, not the opposite.   I agree that for some people  it is a valuable tool, a great convenience, a hand-held computer.   I am not one of those people so when this WhatsApp thing popped up I was clueless.

My camera bag was also the heaviest
it's ever been.   I blame it on the 
computer in it.

I got lots of instructions (all through Facebook Messenger) and eventually I had WhatsApp on my cell.  I will confess, it was convenient for this trip, but I can’t see any reason to use it in the future.

Then, disaster.   Our friend Marg Wood, who organized this trip, and had to postpone because of COVID, had to drop out because of a serious medical emergency in her family.   We were crushed.  We were awash.   We rely on Marg for so much like the inevitable problem solving and such things that arise on any trip.

 She is my photography mentor.   She willingly offers computer software advice after we download our photos.   Plus, she's a darned fun travel companion.   We love her.

So, we set out on our own without Mama Hen.

Inset into the floor of the SEA-Tac terminal.

 

I stayed in Anchorage the night before my Alaska Airlines flight to Seattle because I didn’t want to chance the only highway between my home and Anchorage being closed due to an accident or such.

Flying past Malapina Glacier in the Gulf of Alaska, the largest Piedmont glacier* in the world.  

"If a valley glacier spills out of the mountains, onto the flat foreland, the ice often spreads to form a lobe. Then it is called a Piedmont glacier.)

Feb 9, 2018

  

I stayed overnight in Seattle at the modest Coast Gateway hotel.  The next day, I was to fly on American Airlines (4-1/2 hrs) to Dallas-Ft. Worth (DFW) and this is where the trouble started.

Coast Gateway hotel.   I've stayed here several times.   Unpretentious, welcoming, and moderate rates.   Plus a nice breakfast and very close to SEA-Tac

 

The flight was about an hour late leaving Seattle and I have no idea why.   This created a big problem with my connection in DFW, which was tight to begin with.   To make matters worse, we landed on the Ft. Worth side of this vast airport and had to get to the Dallas side for the next leg.   The airport encompasses 27 square miles, second largest in the US.

 

Long story short, I made the DFW flight.   I think I was the last person to board.  Totally stressed-out, I fidgeted during the overnight flight in my itsy-bitsy steerage seat.   The plane was full so there was no relief from being a sardine.

Shortly after takeoff.   I enjoy watching the travel maps.

 

Finally, the plane landed in Sáo Paulo, Brazil, the next morning and we found the spot to catch the hotel shuttle to our hotel, the Pullman.  We had all reserved rooms for two nights though we would be staying only one night.   Why?  We arrived mid-morning after a ten-hour flight and wanted our rooms ready for us, not wanting to wait until afternoon check in time.

 

So, escorted to my room on the fifth floor I looked out the window and, for the first time in my life, say capybara through the window!   Capybara are the largest rodent on earth, two feet high at the shoulder and adults can weight 150 lbs.

 

Capys are herbivores, eating pounds of grass and water vegetation.   

 

“They are intensely social, herd animals. They are very complex and sophisticated emotionally. They are also highly intelligent, at least as intelligent as the most intelligent dogs,” according to data on the Internet.

 

And they are cute. I want one.

Looking surprisingly like the gray herons of Eastern Africa, I also photographed this cocoi heron through the window of my 5th floor hotel room.

Gathering for dinner snacks that first night, Laura gave each of us a small bundle containing the most thoughtful gifts.   Benedryl anti-itch spray for insect bites, a sunglass band, electrolytes, A&W drink mix, and Dove chocolates.   The "gift wrapping" was a neck buff.   Not included in the photo was a small container of insect repellant.

Shelly produced a gift from Marg.   It's a cooling towel--
soak it in water and it provides relief from hot temps. You 
will see more photos of this towel later.

Pullman hotel breakfast buffet.

Giant economy sized Nutella.

My breakfast. includes Portuguese sausage.

Pullman hotel lobby.  There is no reservation/reception desk as in other hotels.   Instead, there are several computer terminal stations.

I try to take photos of my rooms before I mess them up.   I crashed for a nap right after check-in this time.

My room.