Why is it I always get a little nervous before a big trip? Not for my safety or anything like that. I seem to have an involuntary sense of unfinished business. That there is a lot to do and I haven’t or won’t get it done. I really don’t have too much left to deal with, yet there it sits, this odd feeling, a holdover from my more stressed out work life in the distant past. I haven’t had any kind of professional stress in a long time when I think about it.
Apart from all that, I am quite excited for my trip. It has been almost three years since I last set foot in Europe. It will be nice to reconnect with old friends and get reacquainted with them (and the food). I will spend a week in Paris, then two in Hamburg working on a project, then back to NYC. Things could surely be worse.
Josh and I are at the airport, awaiting our flight out to NYC. We spent the last day of our trip in Rio, enoying the beach and the gawking for one more day. The drive back was very easy (Gabe) and returning the car and checking in at the airport was a breeze (Gabe).
I have some mixed feelings about our trip back to NYC. On the one hand, I am excited to be moving to New York, and looking forward to the thrill and challenges that await. Not exactly in opposition to these feelings, I am also a little wistful about ending this part of the amazing journey I have been so fortunate to have been on these past 27 months. This is really the end of a particular chapter in my life and the beginning of another. It was especially nice sharing the last couple of weeks with my cousin Josh, acting as a kind of bridge between these two worlds.
At breakfast this morning I met a fascinating trio. An Argentine visiting from Barcelona, a Brazilian woman who lived many years in France and now runs a pousada in a small beach community south of Recife, and a French man from the Alps region. The French man spoke French and English, the Brazilian woman spoke French, English, Spanish and Portuguese, and the Argentine spoke Spanish and English, although he understood some French. So the conversation bounced between all of these languages and it was a lot of fun spending a little time with this group, evaluating how central the concept of saudade is to the identity of Brazilians, discussing music and travel, etc. I said my goodbyes and headed back to my room to pack, as I am headed back to Sao Paulo. I will meet my cousin Josh there in a few days and we will travel to Rio by rental car, stopping at several places along the way.
Here is a travel tip for you. If you are ever traveling by Buquebus from Buenos Aires to Uruguay, spend the extra 12 dollars on premier class, it is toally worth it. The line to check in is 2 people vs 95, you don’t have to pay the exit tax, there is a fancy waiting lounge with free food, and to top it all off, free wifi with which to blog about it. We haven’t even boarded the boat yet and I am happy. Juan Carlos, on the other hand, is worried. I talked him into going to Colonia with me for the day, and he is a bundle of nerves about getting to the airport on time when he gets back later this afternoon. He should be fine, but I promised him I would pay for the flight change should he miss his. Let’s hope I don’t have to keep that promise.
Well, after equal parts subterfuge, sweet talk, and dosh, I finally have my visa to go to Brazil. My (very rough) plan is to leave BsAs (alas) next week, head to Uruguay for a few days, then on to Brazil. My cousin Josh is going to meet me in São Paulo on the 16th and we will go to Rio from there, and I don’t want to retrace my steps more than necessary so I will probably head north to Salvador, stopping in some places along the way. But who really knows? Like most times, I will just play it by ear. Anyone in the know out there have any suggestions of things not to miss in Brazil?
One of the things a good Buddhist tries to accomplish is a sense of equanimity no matter the situation. Juliette and I have decided not to go to the island of Taquile for some trekking after all, since we are having quite a difficult time acclimatizing at 3900 M (12,800 ft). We don’t actually have bad headaches or muscle aches, but even the slightest activity leaves us gasping horribly for air. We will therefore take it easy today and try to see the floating islands tomorrow, and then head down to a more manageable altitude. I think it would be fine if we had a week or so to get used to the altitude, but pushing ourselves in such a short period is a no go. Yet peaceful we are in the moment, gulping the precious little oxygen there is.
Juliette and I were quite proud of how we handled ourselves getting off the train. With no hotel pre-booked, we step out of the station only to be accosted by numerous tour operators. One of them asked if we needed a hotel or taxi, so we told her we needed a taxi to our hotel (that we quickly picked from our guide book). She said it would be one dollar, and then flagged down a taxi and hopped into it with us. At this point we were a bit confused. She seemed to have no relation to the taxi guy, but assured us the ride would only be a dollar. Being the seasoned travelers that Juliette and I are, we reasoned that she was probably going to try (as they often do in India) to secure a commission from the hotel for bringing us there, even though we had already picked it ourselves. Moving at great speed as we approached the hotel, I took my bags and left Juliette to handle the operator while I bolted into the hotel to negotiate a room. I managed to get us a 20 percent cash discount on the room, Juliette was able to dispose of the tour operator, and no one got hurt.
Tomorrow we will head off to explore the island of Taquile on Lake Titicaca.
Satori, travel — Stephen on 3 September 2008 @ 8:40 AM — 2 comments
It was a bit of a long trip, but we finally got in late last night. I have yet to meet our host Ricardo, who seems very nice by telephone, but was unable to meet us here at our arrival due to a compromiso. He left the key with the security guard though, and we let ourselves into his fabulous apartment overlooking the sea in the Barranco neighborhood of Lima. I tried to wait up for his return, but having been awake for more than 20 hours, I gave up at about 2am and went to bed. I am hoping to catch a glimpse of him this morning. Today we will head into town and check out the historic center I believe, as well as take care of a few things that we forgot to do before leaving. The most egregious of which is that I somehow stupidly didn’t think (after the 8 I had for India) that I would need any special vaccinations for this part of the world. I was wrong, I will be needing a Yellow Fever vax (especially if I want to go anywhere near the jungle areas) and so we will get one in the city today. After that, we should be able to settle in nicely for ceviche, pisco and coca.
Juliette and I are in final preparation for our trip to Peru later today. We leave in a few short hours, and it is hard to believe that later tonight we will be in Lima. What an amazing visit I have had to New York. I have been energized by the city and its culture. I have been productive in both my writing and consulting endeavors. I have reconnected with old friends and made some new ones. And I have been surprised by a sweet and growing romance with Roland (who may meet me in Brazil in a few months). Although all such things are subject to unforeseen changes in my life, at this point I plan to move here after my travels at the end of the year. (If McCain should somehow win the presidency, however, I will be moving to Madrid.)
That is how long it took me door to door. It was a bit of an experiment, flying into White Plains. It was the cheapest way to get here from Indianapolis though. So let’s see Indianapolis to Atlanta for a 2.5 hour layover, Atlanta to White Plains, about an hour wait for the bus from the airport to the railway station (they only run once an hour and I just missed the previous one), express train to Grand Central, S and then A train to Penn Station, and a three (long) block walk here. Total cost: about 139 dollars and a splitting headache.