Calling Hik, Lucille, Chillemundo and Qwerty_x! (ARG-BRA)

Hola Hik, Lucille, Chillemundo and Qwerty_x!

¿Que tal?

Na het lezen van verschillende topics in "Travel" ben ik ervan overtuigd dat jullie me verder kunnen helpen.

Het is eind juli en ik heb de grootste moeite om een betaalbare en beschikbare vlucht van London, Amsterdam of Brussel naar Buenos Aires te boeken voor 22-24 Dec om vandaar naar Foratleza (29-31 Dec) te vliegen en dan weer terug naar het liefst London op de 7de of 8ste. Ik zat eraan te denken om dan maar misschien een retourtje LON-BUE en een retourtje BUE-FOR te boeken ipv LON-BUE-FOR-LON..

Hebben jullie ideeen voor het boeken van vluchten tussen Argentina en Brazil? Vanaf welk vliegveld (niet te ver van London) het beste van te boeken is (availability, prijs, etc)? En hoe je het beste/snelste van BUE naar Patagonia kan komen?

Ik heb van een Braziliaanse collega een lijst van reisbureaus gekregen, dus die ga ik ook maar eens raadplegen.

Alle informatie is welkom!

¡Muchas gracias!

Dankjewel allemaal!

De redden voor mijn om naar BA te gaan is een ex-vriendin en Fotaleza om een vriendin van m’n broer te zien en omdat we een stad met de letter F nodig hebben voor Oud & Nieuw. (Volgend jaar Goa voor de G) Kerst en Oud & Nieuw in m’n korte broek!!! Oh, en we gaan natuurlijk dat Nederlandse fort zien in Fortaleza!

Gisteren heb ik de hele middag naar vluchten gezocht op Internet, luchvaartmaatschappijen en reisbureau’s. Het is eind Juli en ik heb de grootste moeite gehad om vluchten te vinden. Het werd zelfs zo erg dat op het laatst naar Varig Brasil belde om te vragen of in December er nog vluchten van Europa (waar dan ook) naar Zuid-Amerika (waar dan ook) beschikbaar waren.. Frankfurt-Sao Paolo op 16 Dec en terug op 11 Jan voor GBP 1350.. Daar heb ik niets aan! Bijna alle vluchten zijn nu al uitverkocht!! Ik kan je vertellen dat ik niet blij was!

Op weg terug naar huis (de eerste keer op de fiets) werd ik gebeld door Journey Latin America en die bood me het volgende aan voor GBP 899:

AF1971 21DEC LHR CDG 1655 1905
JJ8097 21DEC CDG GRU 2100 0550+1
JJ8640 22DEC GRU EZE 0745 1025
JJ8641 29DEC EZE GRU 1810 2030
JJ2372 29DEC GRU FOR 2200 0030+1
JJ2375 07JAN FOR GRU 1405 1835
JJ8096 07JAN GRU CDG 2355 1425+1
AF1970 08JAN CDG LHR 1600 1610

AF = AIR FRANCE
JJ = TAM BRAZILIAN AIRLINES

LHR = LONDON / HEATHROW
CDG = PARIS / CHARLES DE GAULLE
GRU = SAO PAULO / GUARULHOS
EZE = BUENOS AIRES / EZEIZA
FOR = FORTALEZA

+1 = FOLLOWING DAY ARRIVAL.



Meteen maar gereserveerd dus!! Nu nog even m’n ex bellen van het weekend en m’n broer om Fortaleza met em te plannen. En dan boeken!!!

Thanks guys n dolls!

quote:

Op vrijdag 30 juli 2004 09:55 schreef Hik het volgende:
Mijn god, jij bent echt dóód als je weer terugkomt!

Doe Buenos Aires de groeten van me en vergeet niet een straatkrant te kopen!

Tenslotte nog wel m'n complimenten voor jullie O&N-alfabet-actie... érg origineel!

Haha echt wel! Vliegen is een noodzakelijk kwaad! Of er nog een kort reisje Patagonia in zit weet ik nog niet, maar we zullen zien..

Over die alfabet actie; mijn broer en ik zijn in 2000 begonnen in Albuquerque, USA. We hebben daar allebei gewoond en vandaar is het eigenlijk begonnen.. 2001 Berlijn, 2002 Catalunya, 2003 Den Haag (we wilden naar Dublin..) en 2004 Edinburgh. Ik hoop dat we het kunnen blijven doen tot de Z!

Waarom een straatkrant kopen?

quote:

Op vrijdag 30 juli 2004 09:13 schreef Liejannuh het volgende:
Hebben we daar niet dit topic voor???
Het grote "waar-vind-ik-goedkope-tickets" topic

Ehh.. dat ligt net iets gecompliceerder voor deze bestemmingen en de tijden waarop ik wil vliegen.

Het zou eigenlijk het "waar-vind-ik-beschikbare-tickets" moeten zijn!

Wat is je nationaliteit Hik? Nederlandse, gemixed of buitenlandse? Te gek dat je daar heb gewerkt. Ik zou wel willen, maar... misschien.... je weet maar nooit!

Patagonia lijkt me helemaal te gek om te zien, maar ik weet nog niet hoe makkelijk, goedkoop etc dat gaat worden.. Ook weet ik niet wat ik van Patagonia wil zien, maar die dingen laat ik over aan m'n ex.

De afstanden zijn idd groot, maar ik heb het er voor over! Het is meer dan 6 uur vliegen van EZE naar FOR. Het is wel eens meer gebeurd, dat ik go-go-go was.. Eigenlijk altijd.

Gracias y tu tambien qwerty_x!

quote:

Op vrijdag 30 juli 2004 17:08 schreef qwerty_x het volgende:

[..]


foute taal

maar geen dank en veel plezier

Tja, mijn Portugees is niet zo goed... Maar gelukkig ga ik ook naar Argentina en m'n Spaans wordt met de dag beter!

Heb trouwens meer vragen nu dat ik de tickets betaald heb!

Heb je een visum nodig? (volgens mij niet maar..)

Inentingen? (volgens mij ook niet maar..)

Kan ik met m'n Maestro bankpas pinnen?

Wat is de beschikbaarheid van pin automaten?

Wat moet ik absoluut nog meer weten?

HSBC? Dat is handig, da's mijn bank! En er staat idd ook Cirrus op m'n pas. Daarnaast accepteren ze MasterCard zelfs in afgelegen bergdorpjes.. Het zal wel goed komen!

Denk niet dat ik veel van de kustlijn afkom, misschien even om Patagonia te bekijken, maar dat is het. Heb ook veel te weinig tijd om een ziekte op te lopen!

Volgens mij heb ik nu alles wel in orde!

Gracias Amigos

Minder dan twee maanden te gaan en dit is mijn voorlopige programma;

Dec 22 - Land 's ochtends op EZE waar ik door het hotel Dandi Royal wordt ontvangen. Nadat de bagage in het hotel heb afgezet, ga ik met een vriend van een vriend in Nederland de stad bekijken. 's Avonds ontmoet ik mijn ex en gaan we uit eten.
Dec 23 - De hele dag BsAs bekijken.
Dec 24 - Vertrek naar Benevidez om Kerst met m'n ex en haar familie te vieren.
Dec 25 - De extended familie ontvangen en 's middags of 's avonds richting Iguazu vliegen en inchecken in het Esturion Hotel
Dec 26 - Iguazu bekijken
Dec 27 - Iguazu bekijken
Dec 28 - terug vliegen naar BsAs en 's avonds naar een Argentijnse Ranch om de world famous steak te eten.
Dec 29 - De laatste dingetjes van BsAs bekijken, afscheid nemen, richting Fortaleza vliegen en daar m'n broer ontmoeten.
Dec 30 - Jan 7 Fortaleza is m'n broer aan het plannen.

Whaddayathink?

quote:

Op zaterdag 30 oktober 2004 12:55 schreef Hik het volgende:

I think...veel te veel tijd in Fortaleza ( ) en veel te weinig in Bs.As.
Maar ik val in herhaling...

Que te diviertas!

Gracias

Eigenlijk is er veel te weinig tijd voor de hele vakantie, maar ik moet het er mee doen. Later als ik groot ben wil ik wereldreiziger worden!

Het ligt ook een beetje aan de weekenden en dat ik met Nieuwjaar in Fortaleza moet zijn!

Het ziet er nu naar uit dat ik naast die 8 originele vluchten nog 2 en misschien 4 extra ga maken.. Nou ja, ik vermom het op het moment als orientatie voor als ik tijd en geld genoeg heb om langer rond te reizen. Dan weet ik iig al waar ik heen wil!

quote:

Op zaterdag 30 oktober 2004 13:44 schreef CherrymoonTraxx het volgende:
Q International vliegt heel goedkoop naar Fortaleza.

Dank je, maar die vluchten zijn al geboekt.

De volgende vluchten moeten nog geboekt worden;

BsAs - Iguazu (is al gereserveerd) en

Fortaleza - Recife

Morgen is het zover! Bijna alle kadootjes zijn ingepakt, foto's gesorteerd, muziek geselecteerd en boeken uitgezocht.

Het programma is zo goed als hetzelfde gebleven.

Met een grote tas vol kadootjes heen en met een tas vol muziek, kleren, souvenirs, sigaretten en kadootjes weer terug!

Please check again in 3 weeks!

Nog maar een aantal dagen te gaan...

Hoe kan ik hier blijven???

Heb niet veel tijd, dus hou het kort, maar als ik terug kom en m´n examens heb gehad, zal ik m´n verhalen bloggen.

Heb al meer dan 400 foto´s gemaakt!

ECHT HELEMAAL TE GEK HIER!!!

Hallo allemaal!

Niet te geloven wat ik allemaal in die 2.5 weken heb kunnen proppen! Nu dat ik weer 'thuis' ben gaat m'n leventje met de zelfde noodgang weer vooruit... Na mijn examens van volgende week zal ik me eens gaan concentreren op het reisverslag.

Hier een aantal stats;

18 dagen
10 vluchten
2 landen
4 steden/dorpjes
2 'familie' bezoeken
2 voetbal stadions (ja Diego, ook die van Boca Juniors)
3 begraafplaatsen
1 vrienden bezoek
1 sail cruise
1 buggy ride
1 speed boat ride
500+ fotos
3 steaks per dag (nou ja, een paar dagen )

En nog veel meer, maar werk begin nu weer!

Adios y gracias!

ARGENTINA!!!

Eindelijk is het dan af!

Na m'n examens en tijdens de chaos op werk heb ik toch een paar uurtjes gevonden. Ik moest me echt inhouden met schrijven van dit verslag, want anders had het nog veel langer geduurd en was het veel langer geworden.

18 paginas voor wie teveel tijd heeft!

Disclaimer: De namen zijn veranderd om de identiteit van onschuldigen te beschermen!

My Latin American 2004-2005 Adventures


Every journey starts with a first step and this journey was built on inspirations dating as far back as New Year 2000.

My brother Ben and I had decided to celebrate the year 2000 in style and traveled to Albuquerque, New Mexico to do so. We had both lived there before and love it to bits. A new millennium brings new ideas and so we boldly reasoned that since we were in a city starting with the letter ‘A’ we should turn it into the first new tradition of the new millennium and go to a city starting with the letter ‘B’ the year after, then “C” and so on. Come New Year 2001 we found ourselves making our way to Berlin, Germany. The tradition had started. The following 3 years we continued by being in Catalonia, Barcelona to be precise for 2002, Den Haag, Holland (The Hague for all you non-Dutchies) for 2003 and Edinburgh, Scotland for 2004. OK, we did cheat a bit on Barcelona, but hey it’s so hard to create yet so easy to criticize!

All we needed to continue the tradition was to find a city starting with the letter “F”. It just happened to be that Ben stayed in touch with Elis, a girl from Fortaleza, Brazil who he had met in Albuquerque nine years before. It was as if it was meant to be and so the next choice was easily made. Fortaleza for 2005!

The other big inspiration for this journey is my dear friend Macarena, who I had met in the summer of 2003 in Reading, England. Macarena lived in England, but unfortunately only for a short time as she moved back to her home country Argentina. I missed her very much and wanted to see her again. Now that I was going to be in the neighbourhood (sort of), I felt I had to take advantage and another week had soon been added to my Latin American 2004-2005 journey.


After counting the days for weeks and months, the journey had begun;

December 21st, 2004.

In the early afternoon I set off to the airport for 23 grueling hours of air transportation. That’s how long it takes to fly to Buenos Aires from London via Paris and Sao Paulo… A bit of a detour but what can I say? It was ‘Christmas busy’ in the skies. Fortunately in Paris I got to sit next to an Argentinean lady, got talking and the flight flew past in a flash. We even managed to sit next to each other again on the flight to Buenos Aires!

December 22nd, 2004.

It was the day I first set foot on what is now one of my very favourite countries. My arrival already made a great impact on me and I had to remind myself; “You are in Argentina now!!!” It didn’t feel real yet. Reality abruptly kicked in when my ride almost crashed into another car on the way to the hotel. My introduction to the Buenos Aires road wars!

The hotel, The Mansion Dandi Royal on Piedras in San Telmo… Ayayayyy! Usually a hotel is a place from where you start your adventures, but this hotel was an adventure in itself! The mansion had an in-house Tango Academy and a volume button in the room for 24/7 Tango! It had been recommended by Macarena and I can tell you; she’s got style! Even the reception was in full style; a Tango musician was playing his tunes and I sipped my drink whilst being checked in. Exquisite!

After resting my eyes for a minute it was an hour later and had to get ready to go and explore. Armed with my pocket translator and some knowledge of Spanish I was set the task of picking up my tickets for Iguazu at a travel agency somewhere downtown for my trip after Christmas. So with a target in vision I stepped outside and… It is HOT!!! Woohoo!!! What a pleasant change from the north European winter! On my way, the tourist way, by walking through the city I already got to see all these sights I only saw on pictures before; Avenida 9 de Julio, el Obelisco, Florida and all these other places I needed to know more about. On a first impression it felt like a mix of Barcelona and New York. And there I was wondering; “Any apartments for sale around?”

Back at the hotel but by then moving into a state of starting insomnia I had just missed Macarena’s call, but she and two friends picked me up for dinner and drinks not too much after. We headed, on the scenic tour past Plaza del Mayo to Puerto Madero where we had some local specialties and a few pints of Quilmes.

The end of day 1. What an eventful day it has been! It’s late, I’m ready for bed. Long overdue actually…


December 23rd, 2004.

Despite the sleep deprivation of the previous 2 days I woke up early. As I watched the news, I got a call from my friend Carlos, a friend of a friend in Holland with whom I only exchanged a couple of emails before.

He and his brother were going to show me the best Buenos Aires has to offer! First we walked pretty much the same route as I had done by car the night before, but this time having much more time to soak in the atmosphere and being educated by Carlos who proved to be an excellent guide. Plaza del Mayo is amazing and as I had been told before, but before never taking it too serious, it does remind me of southern Europe. What a pleasant surprise! After a drink in Puerto Madero we took a taxi to Recoletta to visit the famous cemetery; the cemetery of the rich and famous; the cemetery where Evita lies; the cemetery where graves look like small churches. Walking through it felt like walking through a mini Manhattan of churches.

Next on the list: Caminito in Boca. It was a bit outside the city centre, (it didn’t fit on the Buenos Aires Golden Map) but even if you’re underway to different places you get to see so much of a city. This neighbourhood was built by European immigrants coming in oversea in the early 20th century, using materials from the ships they came on, making it an all together a very colourful picture; a great setting for its rich Tango history. Boca is also the home of the Boca Juniors football club, whose colours funnily have its roots in the Swedish flag. Just another sign of Argentina’s European heritage. And since Carlos and his brother are Juniors supporters of course we had to have a look inside the stadium before we left.

And then, taking advantage of having an excellent guide with me, we crossed town again and went shopping at the Abasto Shopping Mall. It looked very much like an American Mall, but much less expensive! I didn’t take many things on holiday, so I had a good excuse to do something about it. In less than two hours I had a new outfit and multiplied my Tango collection! Lucky that half of my luggage were Christmas presents to be replaced by Latin American merchandise.

Satisfied and loaded with merchandise I thanked Carlos and his brother for a great tour and took a taxi back to the hotel.

Only the second day is ending and the images flash through my mind, as if I had been here for a week already.

Exhausted again…


December 24th, 2004

Christmas Eve is coming up; Macarena will pick you up late afternoon, so you have got a few hours to kill. What to do? Public transport! I believe it’s a good way to experience real city life. On the tourist map I had worked out the underground stations to transfer and to get out for the Botanical Gardens and the Zoo in Palermo. It was a good excuse to use the underground really. And when I actually got there both parks were closed, most probably something to do with Christmas. With the parks closed and a great unexplored city around I started walking. Now, if the parks were not closed I might have never seen the Spanish monument or the Planetarium. Walk in any direction thou shall find!

When Macarena picked me up and I checked out from the hotel, I booked the last night in Buenos Aires before traveling on to Brazil 5 days later too. On the way to Benavidez, where Macarena lives, some 40 kilometers to the north of Buenos Aires we took the scenic route along the Rio la Plata. Everything there was closed for Christmas too, but from what I could see I have to go back there and do some kiting and dirt-surfing!

We had to hurry a bit when we arrived to get to the church for mass, but I got to meet Macarena’s family briefly who were all very friendly and welcoming. My first Christmas on the southern hemisphere: pleasantly warm and sunny. The mass was set outside, the atmosphere very casual and very involved. I understand now why religion is so much stronger in the Americas.

Back at home I got to meet the family properly. They truly are great people. We had Christmas dinner together and were submerged in local traditions. Well, not entirely; the Christmas crackers were imported… just a touch of back home. After wining and dining and being completely stuffed we shared some more stories, showed some pictures, ate some more and of course find what Santa had left us. Best Christmas ever!

Great day again! Third in a row; I’m starting to like this place!


December 25th, 2004

It is Christmas Day and what are you going to do? Well, traveling of course, traveling to yet another place not to be left unseen. And it would’ve been an easy ride too if I wouldn’t have forgotten my tickets on our way to the airport. Not that it made that much difference though, because the plane was delayed and they let me skip the lines. The flight to Iguazu itself is pretty interesting; you get to see the grounds that lead up to one of the most impressive waterfalls in the world.

What a change! In just a few hours you fly from the lively city to the calm remote sub-tropics. All of a sudden the sun had increased strength by twofold! Luckily the hotel had a nice swimming pool and served chilled Quilmes. This is where I actually had time to sit down in the blasting sun to start working on these stories up to here. It didn’t take much more than a drink, a sun stroke and a steak dinner to knock me out. I do remember hearing the bugs outside make a lot of noise at sundown. The sound of the jungle, the air conditioner off and the door open; the way it should be.


December 26th, 2004

All excursions were included in the package deal I had only picked up 4 days before, so I was expected at the front desk at 8.30 in the morning. A shiny big bus showed up and the guide asked for my tickets which were taken by another man of the organization the day before. He didn’t really know what to do with the situation, decide it was too difficult and took me onboard anyway. Can I really be too stupid for organized traveling?

The jungle on the way to the falls reminded me of what I had seen in Yucatan, Mexico before; sub-tropic and very dense. For this excursion we had to cross into Brazil, even though my passport didn’t get stamped when crossing the border.

Sitting next to me in bus were a Danish couple who spoke English very well, they read up about the falls and telling me all about it too. When we actually arrived at the falls, the first view was amazing! We were dropped off at a panoramic viewing point on the opposite site of the waterfalls, on the Brazilian side. From that point we walked all the way along the side of the gorge to the end where the biggest falls are. A picture says more than a thousand words, so at this part of the story you should really look at the pictures. You gotto see it to believe it!

On the way back the Danes told me about a special excursion to the falls because of the full moon that night and invited me to come along. What a great mixture of luck and timing! That night I left the hotel at about 8 in the evening to get into a van, but no Danes. Instead there were 5 Americans from all over the west coast and we instantly got along. I was going to the falls on the Argentinean side at night before seeing it in the day. At the entrance of the park I also met the Danes again and the group grew bigger.

Standing near such big moonlit waterfalls in the middle of the night sent the shivers through my spine. I had been so lucky to be there that night. On the way back, well after midnight, we were hungry and started looking for restaurants in the town centre. It doesn’t matter what time it is in Argentina, someone, somewhere near will grill you a steak and serve you drinks. Only when I got back to the hotel I realized how late is was and was very much looking forward to my 3 hours of sleep.


December 27th, 2004

I was a little tired when I forced myself to wake up. Today’s excursion would be to the same place I had been the night before. Waking up took a while and as I did I got together with a big Canadian family with two newlyweds. The excursion lasted pretty much the whole day; walking around, seeing different falls from different angles, steak lunch and a speedboat ride into the falls! Again you gotto see it to believe it. People had taken different options, so we had to meet in different places where our guide would pick us up and get us all together again.

Now this is where it all changes. I told the guide I was going to get a drink and that I’d be back in 5 minutes. 5 minutes later I get outside and my guide was gone. He was nowhere to be seen and not at any of the meeting points either, so I walked back to the place where I had lost him and waited for about half an hour. As the day was ending anyway it seemed best to go to the exit and wait for the group there. When I asked around they told me that he had already gone. I was fuming. How could he not have waited, doesn’t he do a headcount? The people of the park were very friendly and advised me to take the city bus. I didn’t like it at first, but when I actually sat there in that noisy old open window city bus I started to like it.

No idea where my hotel was but when most people got off the bus I did too. There was no taxi in sight, so I started walking down into the valley because I knew my hotel was near the river. All the time in Iguazu I never had the time on me, but I realized there were definitely a few sun-hours left to get lost at that point, turned around and walked uphill to get a better view of the town, find a supermarket and have something to eat. Dusk had begun to set in when I finally got back to the hotel. Judging time by the position of the sun is a sure way of life!

Considering the 3 hours of sleep the night before and the outlook of traveling back to the city in the morning I gave in and closed my eyes…


December 28th, 2004

With a few hours to spare the following morning I walked into the American couple from the group who I had met two days before. Their flight would leave at almost the same time as mine and they were on their way to the three country point where Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay join. People had told me about it, but I didn’t realize that it was only half a mile away from the hotel! If I would have walked past the hotel the evening before I would’ve been there in no time. We couldn’t really stand on the borders considering it being in the middle of a big piranha invested river. Pretty impressive border control I’d call that.

Later that day back in Buenos Aires at the Mansion Dandi Royal I switched on the news and saw the terrible tragedy of the Tsunami of two days before. I had been completely cut off from all news for 3 days, so it came as a bit of a shock to me, especially because I knew two very close friends were traveling in Sri Lanka at the time. To everybody’s relief they sent an email to say they survived the Tsunami not too long after. They had run into the mountains and had seen the tragedy upon their return. And so a plea inspired by Simon and Louise to all you readers; please donate!

That night I would meet Macarena again for my last steak dinner in Buenos Aires. It felt like I’d been traveling for weeks already, but that at the same time it had gone too fast! It’s a re-occurring holiday paradox. I got to ask Macarena where we ate, because it is outside the Buenos Aires Golden Map. I remember seeing the planetarium again and a mosque. We must have been going east. That last night was excellent; a farewell to a world class country!

One thing is for sure, I will get back to this place.


December 29th, 2004

A new day, a new country, but not before using the few available hours before the flight to pick up my refund from the travel agency and see a little more of the city. Because the underground had proven successful before, I traveled it to the end of the line and walked from there back to the travel agency. I got lost again, and distracted, but by then I had gotten good at asking directions in Spanish and soon found my way again.

The next too many hours were spent in air transportation, not my favourite activity during a holiday, but often essential.

Argentina had been warm, but this place… wow! I didn’t see any problem to celebrate the New Year over here! The tradition had moved to a higher level. My flight arrived 1 at night and I was to be picked up by Elis. I had no idea about what she looked like, but she did have my picture.

As the airport emptied I stood around for a while until I heard someone behind me; “Are you Ben’s brother?” Elis and her fiancée Tom had been waiting in a different place, so we were all relieved we had found each other. They even asked the airline if I was actually on the passengers list. After the meet and greet and before going my new home for the following 9 days, we headed for an open pizza place on a scenic night tour through Fortaleza. I love being a tourist!

The house where Elis with her mother and step dad lived had something I wanted very much; …a bed! I never had a problem falling asleep this holiday!


December 30th, 2004

The first morning in Brazil I woke up, snoozed a little until I heard some voices and people walking around. Going for the sound I found Elis’s mom in the kitchen and greeted her friendly. She didn’t speak any English and my Portuguese is pretty much non-existent so we didn’t get very far. She did get the breakfast table ready, so I could have my breakfast, but then took off again. There was another girl in the room too, but she didn’t pay me much attention either. Then another woman came out and greeted me very friendly. I got a little confused and even though this woman didn’t speak English or Spanish either I understood from her that she was Elis’s mom.

Elis had woken up too while I still had breakfast and laughed at my early morning experience and explained to me that I had mistaken the cook for Elis’s mom. The other girl was the maid. The penny had dropped.

Ben would arrive in the evening so before that Elis took me to the ticket office to pick up the tickets for our New Year celebration. From there to her and Tom’s brand new apartment. They had just bought it and there was still work to be finished before moving in. The view was amazing; a panorama of Fortaleza from where we could see the mall we were going next. The line at the cash machine was so long that Elis proposed to get cash at the university campus she worked at. The campus was great. It reminded me of an American campus but with a fine Brazilian edge. In one morning I had almost seen half of Fortaleza!

Back on our way to the mall, Ben called to say he took an earlier flight and was already at the airport. Knowing Ben he’d be outside in the heat and that’s exactly where we found him. It had been 9 nine years since they had seen each other and that was in Albuquerque, the first city of our tradition. It’s a small world sometimes.

After the meeting and greeting and dropping off the luggage we got to the mall. Third time lucky! The rest of the evening we took it easy; some shopping, wining, dining and catching up.

It had been a long day, especially for Ben who had come in from Miami via Sao Paolo.


December 31st, 2004

December 31st 2004; the last day of 2004. We were in Fortaleza and all set for our tradition. But before midnight we had some time to kill. The tickets for the celebration party were booked, the sun was burning and all fingers were pointing in the same direction; the beach! Elis took us to Praya do Futuro, a local beach and left us there to sun, swim, eat and drink. You don’t need much on a tropical beach! Fortaleza is a very popular Dutch holiday destination and has adapted to it so much that I ordered French fries with mayonnaise from a Dutch menu! After all, the Dutch have founded Fortaleza.

It seemed right to have a bit of a siesta when we came back home to process all that beach action. We had a long night ahead of us. The sun had gone down when we left for the Mucuripe night club to celebrate New Year 2005 in Fortaleza and carry on the tradition. The tickets we had allowed us access to the vip area where we were assigned a table and served to all our needs. Caipirinha was the drink of choice that night.

Before midnight and before Ara Ketu would perform cover bands were playing their tunes, some Brazilian, some local and some English. The English covers were sometimes quite funny because we weren’t always sure whether they sang in English and we knew it wasn’t Portuguese either.

The big moment had almost come. It was almost midnight; we stood in the open air and were completely comfortable wearing short sleeved shirts. What a welcome change from previous experiences! The end of 2004, a very good year, had come. Last 10 seconds… 10..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1..


January 1st , 2005

Happy New Year! Happy 2005! Like Ben said; “2005 sounds like the future.” We have done it; the F has been added to the list! 6 years and going strong! Not too long after the fireworks show Ara Ketu got on stage. I had never heard of them, but they are actually quite famous in Brazil. The music was so energizing that we had to leave the vip area and get into the crowd and pretty much party until early!

We only had to wait an hour or so till sunrise when we got back so we sat near the pool to see the sun come up. After the sun had risen, it was ready time for bed. Needless to say we slept for more than the recommended 8 hours.

The rest of the day, still feeling rough from the night before, we took it easy. In Holland there are people that go for a New Year’s dip in the freezing cold North Sea. Not an activity I’d ever participate in, but now being in a tropical paradise I didn’t mind so much dipping in the Atlantic Ocean. Brazilian tradition goes that if on New Year’s Day you jump over 7 waves, dressed in white (the colour of peace), you get to make 7 wishes. I had to carefully think that one over first. So we headed for the beach and we jumped the waves, dressed in white and made our 7 wishes. I am a believer!

By the time evening set in we were taken to the New Year’s mass. Even though I could only make out the odd word by listening, it was much easier to follow when I started reading along. It does help if you’ve read the Bible before. Most of the songs too I had already heard in Argentina, but now they were in Portuguese instead of Spanish. Many things reminded me of the mass in Argentina actually, but there was one big difference; the venue. In Argentina mass was set outside in the open air, this mass was set inside the church and that gave it a somewhat more formal atmosphere. In three weeks I had been to 3 masses in three different countries!

At the cinema that night it was very easy to follow what was going on because all English/American films are English spoken and Portuguese sub-titled. A very good idea. Oceans Twelve was just out and since we had seen Oceans Eleven and loved it, it seemed the right choice even though we had missed the first few minutes already. A large part of the film is set in Amsterdam, and we considered ourselves fortunate not to be there. We were good in the place in the tropics for the moment.

It must have been midnight when we set off back home again. 2005 had been a very good so far!


January 2nd, 2005

Elis tried to make us get up early to beat the rush and organized as she is she managed to do it. She had us under a tight schedule so that we would see the most we could see. Elis takes care of things and makes them work!

Ceara, the province Fortaleza is in has a lot of very big sand dunes and we were heading for the dunes in Cumbuco. In Cumbuco, some 40kms north west of Fortaleza, we got into our buggies and onto the dunes. The first stop was on top of the biggest dune leading down to a lake. Here we rented some sandboards to go down the sandy slopes. The sandboards were really snowboards but I couldn’t imagine it ever snowing in this place. Sandboarding is much harder than snowboarding because you really dig onto the sand when you try to carve. It was a very demanding past-time, but when adrenaline and the sun mix it’s hard to stop. When I did stop I was covered in a sand and sun cream mix. A chilled beer after was my hard earned reward!

From we took the buggies over the steepest dunes and to a fresh water lake designated for water sports nearby. We took the banana ride option which was welcoming refreshing and washed off all the sand I had accumulated earlier. All fresh and cooled down again the trip continued to a lookout point in the dunes to see the sea, dunes, lake and mountains in a 360 degree panorama. It had only just gone past noon when we took the buggies to the beach and back to the village.

On our way back to Fortaleza we passed the rush Elis had prevented us from being stuck in. An hour or so later we got back home where we all agreed to commit to a long siesta.

We got active again after the sun had gone down. That night Elis’s parents took us to the English Bridge and surroundings. The bridge was in fact a pier but the old foundations were indeed English. We had briefly seen that part of the city during the day and it looked quite calm but it really became an open playground full of amusement, food and drink after sundown! We even ran into a carnival crowd supporting a football team from somewhere else in the country. Brazil is full of surprises!

Not too much later we stopped at a market just off the beach. We felt so much energy in that place, everything happened everywhere in a semi-organized chaos. This market only started after sundown and catered mostly for national tourists. Most stall keepers didn’t speak English and the ones that did charged “Not Portuguese speaking tax”. Luckily Elis’s mom was a top class negotiator and knew her way around. We just had to tell her what we wanted and she’d negotiate for us. We had the best bargains of the whole holiday that night!

Because of the long siesta it felt like we had done two days in one. Not a bad way of life I’d say.


January 3rd, 2005

All the time we took longer to get up was to be taken off the time we had to shop so we made it out in reasonable time. The shopping district where Elis took us that morning very strongly reminded me of something you would see in California; lots of small bright coloured shops along a parade of palm trees.

Fortaleza has been founded by the Dutch and we could not leave Brazil without seeing where we had started this city long time ago. We had to go to Fort Schoonenburg. The fort had been built by the Dutch and it laid foundation to the thriving city it is today.
The museum was closed, but the fort itself is pretty impressing too. We settled on coming back later and take a short walk to the cathedral instead. The architecture of the cathedral was very neo-gothic, the style of the time in the 1920’s when they started building to finish it in the 1960’s. It even had a bit of an industrial feel to it.

Just another short walk further we got to the Mercado Central, the biggest indoor crafts market in South America we were told. Inside this big oval market we saw hundreds of small shops on 4 rings all around a huge central atrium. There were quite a few tourists, but it may have been a wholesale market for the merchants in the city and on the beach. We pretty much saw the same crafts as they sold in downtown, but just much, much more of it.

We picked up the car at the fort and drove back to the beach downtown to board a cruise Elis had set up for us that afternoon. From the ocean you really get to appreciate the size of Fortaleza. The shoreline is a few miles of strip of 20+ story buildings. There aren’t any skyscrapers that stand out but the density and the sheer number of the buildings made it very impressive. On the boat we took it easy, very easy. The sun was shining and drinks were served. The sun had already gone down when we got back to the beach where Elis was waiting to pick us up to take us to the airport.

In three days time we would both leave on the same day, both to Sao Paolo, but different airlines and different times. At the ticket desk at the airport they changed the flight, so that we would fly back on the same flight in the late afternoon. That gave Ben a whole morning and afternoon in Brazil too because he would have to fly at 7 in the morning otherwise. Result!


January 4th, 2005

No sleep-in today either. It was early morning and we were in a car with the family underway to the new Cachaca museum out in the countryside. Underway we stopped at the Fortaleza football stadium which was bigger than most European stadiums. It didn’t look that big from the outside, but it had been dug into the ground. I was surprised that Fortaleza which is not such a big team in Brazil had such a large capacity. Football is religion in Brazil!

At the end of a long unpaved road we got to the state of art Cachaca museum of Ypioca. The museum was based at the old family estate from where it had all started just over 150 years ago. Cachaca is a brandy made of sugar cane which has been aged for years in big wooden barrels. The biggest barrel in the world according to Guinness is one of many. The guided tour of the museum ended with free samples of which we had to take advantage. They are very smart to do that just before you have to walk through the museum shop to get out. We couldn’t leave without securing some 150 year jubilee Cachaca which had been aged for 6 years in two different wooden barrels. Great timing once again!

Later that day, back in the city and after the siesta, we tried our luck at the Fort Schoonenburg museum again. The museum was open this time and the man at the reception gave us a tour. From the reception area we were taken into the museum which was not much bigger than the reception. It must have been the smallest museum I’d ever seen. Fortunately the tour continued outside and we got educated about the history of the fort and its surrounding area.

Cachaca was still on our mind that night and we felt like celebrating our newfound knowledge of the phenomenon in a downtown bar. We can’t really remember what time it was when the place closed, but we made sure to be out last. Everyone had already gone and we were still being served drinks for a while until the staff really couldn’t stretch it anymore and called us a taxi. We can’t remember the tip we gave at the end, but the staff seemed very happy about it! So were we!

We had been truly introduced to the world of Cachaca that day!


January 5th, 2005

Waking up was a slow process. The Cachaca we had drunk the night before had gone to our heads. We had to pay the price, but it had been worth it. Gradually we gathered strength and made it all the way to the siesta in one piece. It was quite an achievement considering the previous night.

The siesta was a long one too. We took it easy and tried to organize all our stuff that was scattered all through the house. Considering the previous days, this day was a very inactive one. What can I say? Once in a while you need some rest too!

The sun had gone down and we left the house for the first time that day. The market we had been before only opened after sunset, so we didn’t miss too much of the action when we got there. Not that we stayed very long because we knew what we wanted, where to find it and how much it should cost. Fortunately Elis was there too to make sure we got charged fair prices and kept us from getting too distracted.

By the end of the day were feeling top fit again, ready for the last day of the holiday.


January 6th, 2005

The last day. Before going back to the winter in Europe we had to get as much out of the sun as possible. Elis took us to meet Tom and his cousins at a paradise-like beach near a water park, completely free of beach merchants and fully catered for.

That whole afternoon and beginning of the evening we spent on the beach eating, drinking, swimming and sunbathing. The thought of being back in Europe in 2 days made me appreciate the little time we had left in the heat even more. We had been sitting in the sun until the sun disappeared behind the palm trees. Little sun burned, sun stroked and under the influence of the local delicacies we headed back home to get ready for the last dinner with the family.

Ben and I had invited the family to the fanciest steakhouse in town for a last dinner to thank them for their hospitality. You get so much more out of a holiday if you are visiting friends that know the area well. And with them we celebrated a very good holiday and looked back at all the things we had seen and done.

We toasted to our very successful trip and thanked Elis, Tom and Elis’s mom and dad again for allowing us to make the best of our time in Brazil. During our stay they had gone out of their way to make us taste all different foods and drinks, showed us as much of the area as possible, taught us about the country and had taken us into their home. This was the least we could do back for them.

Before we had our dinner served a blackout hit town. The restaurant had to switch to candlelight only and that instantly gave it a much closer atmosphere. All other service was business as usual; even the jazz band continued playing in the dark.

I had ordered the biggest steak in the house, the last steak I would have below the equator for a while. Every day for the weeks before I had had at least 3 warm meals a day and so I had built a big appetite to provide for. We got served very big portions but by the end my plate was clean and my appetite more than satisfied. I could not have fitted in another crumb even if I wanted to.

As we left the restaurant, Elis and Tom suggested taking us on our last tour through the city to see some last bits; an offer not to miss out on. We headed in a big circle through the old city, downtown and downtown to see the last things we hadn’t seen yet and many of the places we had been the days before. It felt like a flashback episode of the holiday, but with some new footage.


January 7th, 2005

The last hours… Reality kicked in again when we were packing our bags. In not too much time all scenery would change dramatically. It’d be good to have a nice cup of tea though.

Only then I realized how much my luggage had gained in weight. All the heaviest things I packed in my carry-on luggage because they never check the weight on it. It nearly became as heavy as my check in luggage and I had to get that all the way home too.

At the airport early afternoon Ben and I had to wait in different lines because our tickets were issued by different airlines. I got lucky and was allowed to jump the queue. When Ben was checked in we said goodbye to Elis with mom and dad and Tom and thanked them once again for their generous hospitality.

Even though we departed at exactly the same time we were sent to different gates, but when there was nobody at my gate I was soon sent to where Ben was waiting to board. We managed to switch places and traveled to Sao Paolo sitting next to each other. It had been a year and 28 flights earlier since I had flown with someone I knew and that was also Ben coming back from our E; Edinburgh.

In Sao Paolo we didn’t have enough time to go out and hit the city, but we did have a couple of hours to kill. We would leave at almost the same time, but Ben was flying to Miami-Atlanta-Amsterdam and I was on my way to Paris and London. We said goodbye and thereby officially closing off one of the best holidays in a long time!

January 8th, 2005

It was early evening and I came home after traveling for more than 25 hours and had a cup of tea. The end.

quote:

Op maandag 14 februari 2005 16:47 schreef DiegoArmandoMaradona het volgende:
Why in English?

Because most of my friends don't speak Dutch.