Viagem e Chegada (Journey and Arrival)

Most of the team has now made it to Uberlândia, with the last few arriving in today, Saturday 7th. But let's recap briefly on the journey.

At the gate for the Santiago flight I met up with another person from the team and we had a brief time catching up before the flight was called.  Much to my surprise (and pleasure) on the way through the gate I was taken aside and given a complementary upgrade to LAN's business class seating.  Needless to say the service and food and wine was excellent but what was even better was a seat that converted to a lie flat bed, meaning I managed some serious sleep on the way.

The team member who travelled over with me was off on an earlier flight to Sao Paulo so I had a few hours wait in Santiago. After my heady flight over in LAN's business class I came back to earth with a bump, having the aisle seat in the last row at the back.  However the flight passed quickly enough - I suspect I dozed through most of it - and we were soon landing at Sao Paulo, where I found my room for the night at the Fast Sleep at the airport, conveniently just outside the arrivals area. It was very much a bed only and just enough room to stand up beside it.  The bed was obviously fine as I slept through from around midnight Brazil time when I arrived until 10 am.  When I got up and went to the shower block they were all in use or had been used but a cleaner came along and immediately cleaned one of the used ones for me, excellent service.  I had a good shower which helped to reinvigorate me, went and got some money (whilst learning the slightly different ways the ATM's work here from those in NZ), and then had a quick wander around the airport terminals. Sao Paulo Guarulh is a huge multi-terminal airport, so I had a good walk working out where to check in and where to have breakfast/lunch.  After I checked out I met up with my fellow team member again and we went and checked in then had lunch in one of the cafes, then back to the departure gates where we started meeting some of the others in Brazil 14, with a total of nine of us on the flight.

On arrival we were met by three taxis who  were rather overwhelmed by the quantity of luggage we all had - we all of course were carrying enough to see us through for a month - and taken to our hotel.  The initial drive left me with an impression of a dry landscape, very red earth, and a variety of areas, industrial, commercial and residential with a bit of mixing between the three. The hotel - the San Diego Suites - is a tall block with my room on the 10th and going up to a 17th floor. My room is quite spacious and comfortable, and on the corner with views in two directions (not quite sure which directions yet!). It'll do me well for the next four weeks.   Here are a couple of views from my two windows.

In the evening there was an informal dinner for all who had arrived across the road at a bar/restaurant - here's the bird's eye view of it from my room.

We had a series of small grills down the table which we cooked slivers of beef on to our own taste, along with salads - one component of the salad was palm shoots which I enjoyed - looked a bit like leek but tender with a slightly sour (but not unpleasant) taste. Many tried the caipirinhas and they were pronounced very good. I enjoyed the Brahma beer, which is served very cold in large bottles with small glasses, the idea being to share the bottle as Brazilians don't like warm beer, and if it is shared then it empties quicker and can then be replenished with another very cold bottle!

This morning I enjoyed a good breakfast of fresh fruit, fresh orange juice and rolls, cheese and sliced ham.  At 1 pm we will meet to go out for lunch and a walking tour of the area, and then this evening we are being collected and taken to a function which is to do with the local holiday today for the anniversary of the city.

Now to get ready...

#ibmcsc brazil