Well well well....I can't believe I haven't utilized this blog since 2007! I have renewed interest at the moment and want to keep everyone involved on my trip to Brazil!
We departed Knoxville on Friday morning excited to start our journey. My family and I left the house around 10 am EST. After nearly 3 flights, changing planes, 9 hours in layovers, and passing through Brazilian Customs (and some unexpected excess baggage fees). We arrived in Curitiba, Sao Paulo Brazil around 3pm Brazilian time (which is one hour ahead of eastern time) on Saturday afternoon. So let's see....3pm in Curitiba is 2pm EST. So we traveled for approximately 28 hours we finally arrived at our final destination!
Upon our arrival, we were greeted with open arms and expectant smiles by Pastor Oseias, whose church is hosting our visit. We divided the luggage on a small, shortbed truck and some in the bus. With the luggage, literally piled in the bed of the truck and everyone squeezed into the van, it was on to our hotel. Room being at a premium on the bus, I volunteered to sit atop a stack of luggage for the 'short ride' to the hotel. After traveling for so many hours without much rest, we were all ready to unload our luggage and lay down! Little did we know that we would spend nearly an hour on our 'short ride' to the hotel. If I had known it was going to be such a long trip, I would never have volunteered to nest upon the baggage!
Regardless, a few minutes later we were all in our rooms, thankful to have a place to lie down! After a quick survey of the room and despite my exhaustion, I know the best way to overcome jetlag is to power on through the day and then go to bed early in the evening! My grandmother and I walked around the beautiful public square that is just across our street. Simply taking in the scenery and in search of a good meal! Apparently in Brazil, most stores are closed during the midday on the weekend so there wasn't much to see.
When we finally headed back to the hotel, it was time to go in search of a real meal. The doorman Jose was extremely helpful and suggested a local pizza place that was very close. We walked the two blocks and found a gourmet pizza parlor. Ordering was a bit of a challenge in regards to the language barrier, but the waiter was extremely patient and helpful. The food was INCREDIBLE! We shared a large pizza and since it had finally grown dark....it was time for....AHHHH a night of much needed sleep!
We returned to the hotel and the bed was too inviting to pass up! After over 36 hours of being awake.......ZZZZZzzzzz
No comments:
Post a Comment