Brasil, Part I
This is the long-awaited post. I’ve been putting it off for many reasons. #1: laziness. #2: business. #3: I know the first two don’t go together. #4: I know that number three was not a reason. Here goes:
We left from the parking lot of SAU in the early afternoon, then we drove to Atlanta. We spent some time getting tickets and checking luggage, etc. Then we waited for our plane. Then we flew to Miami.
Not exciting yet, is it.
In Miami, we met with several other I Cantori members that live in Florida or flew in from elsewhere. A few of us guys decided to pass the time by bringing out some good quartet/quintet/sextet sheet music. I, of course, ended up being a bass 2, which is quite fun in a men’s quintet. We started learning some of the pieces over in a corner of the gate, trying to keep somewhat in tune. Michael (a tenor) brought his iPhone with a piano app, giving us a good pitch every time. We soon agreed that the idea was entirely a fantastic idea to be continued throughout the trip.
On the plane from Miami to Sau Paulo we each had a small LCD monitor on the seat to our front. On these TVs we could choose to watch a number of in-flight movies and shows. I ended up watching a couple of movies. I couldn’t go to sleep for hours. I had nobody in the two seats to my left, and I was on the aisle to the left. But I couldn’t sleep. I have problems trying to sleep on moving transportation. I kept looking around. At 3:00 a.m., I was one of maybe three people on the plane not asleep (including pilots). I think I fell asleep at 4:00.
We landed safely in Sau Paulo at 8 or 9 a.m. I had only a couple of hours of sleep to work on, and we had yet to go through customs. Which ended up taking all of ten minutes, the time to walk from one end to the other. I find that only the United States ever gives travellers trouble. Yes, I spelled “travellers” with two “Ls”. I’m Canadian. I hate that my blog’s spell-checker doesn’t realize that. I’m sure there’s a setting….
So, by that time I had finally received a stamp for Brasil on my passport. I had also realized that Portuguese is not like French.
We all went outside of the airport to await our bus. One of our members began puking. Great start, eh? Those of us guys that were not sick, rather, bored, decided to make good use of Jonathan’s (a tenor) hacky-sack. I guess we thought that, being in Brasil, we should at least have rudimentary footwork skills. We didn’t, so we had a long way to go.
Well, our tour guide, Peter Lombard, spoke Portuguese (he’s serious about his job, and seriously good at it) and had already made every arrangement in Brasil for us. So, the bus came, and we boarded the nicest bus upon which I have ever ridden. This bus was the most amazing bus ever. It was a double-decker coach with giant reclining seats. Downstairs there were even tables. Both levels had their own lavatories. I wish we had one at SAU.
Then we started driving. Forever. Almost. I was glad I had purchased my Sony Walkman mp3 player with 45 hours of battery just prior to the trip (same day, even). It kept me sane. Also, our quintet got in some practice. Those that had brought laptops (bad idea in Brasil, as I’ll explain later) had already used their batteries and had pulled out their iPods.
The scenery was interesting. Not spectacular, just interesting. It looked like a slightly more green version of Tennessee, except in the city. Then it looked like nothing I’d seen before. The entire city of Sau Paulo seems to be as poor as the slums of America’s poorest sections of the country. The houses are tiny and dilapidated. Clothes lines are everywhere, trash is strewn about, and everything is so crowded that even the most skilled American could not drive for two feet without crashing. Thank goodness the average Brasilian is 3925196 times more skilled at driving through tight squeezes than the average American.
The highway was pretty decent! In fact, the speed limit of 120 k.p.h. (73-ish m.p.h.) didn’t seem too fast. The highway was well-paved and seemed like an interstate to me. This only lasted for a couple hours. Then there was no main highway. Brasil doesn’t have an Eisenhower or Roosevelt in its past. There are no interstates. The roads are well kept, just not straight. In fact, I’m convinced we went in circles. Maybe that’s why we were ten hours late to our destination and missed a concert.
More on that tomorrow, when I post part II.
