My Brother's Journey-Part Two
May 4th, 2011
This is where we left off this past week on my recent blog
about my brother Bruce's flying adventure to Brazil and back. And what
an adventure it has been!
Thursday April 28th, 2011
10:25am-
River Monsters? Boa Vista river fishing today..... Brazilian authorities still being wankers, so I'm hopping on a charter boat. Can't attempt the Amazon without a super early start, so it's fishing time!
6:36pm-
(Facebook post)
We now have to buy Brazilian insurance for the plane to continue it's journey. Hopefully completed by tomorrow 11am. If no papers by 11, we desert the plane and commercial out of here to San Paulo...let the owner handle it! Boa Vista is so-so, but it certainly isn't home. A320 out of here looking pretty comfortable right now, but I would prefer to see the Arrow finish her journey.
11:15pm-
Still here, and yes....Boa Vista growing old now. Still at the Aipana Plaza Hotel, 2nd night. Insurance crap keeping us grounded, and it sucks! On the bright side, just got back from dinner at a really cool place along the river. All was good until I found myself alone like an idiot. Not the best place for a guy who is wearing flip flops, white polo and blue shorts, especially when I can't communicate. I totally stand out like an American, just can't figure out why. It's also about 900 degrees here with 3000% humidity....something to do with the Equator running through the middle of town. Me running back to the hotel full speed for 5 blocks probably didn't help.
I posted to my Facebook account earlier today, but then was locked out when I couldn't remember the street I lived on when I was eight years old. I remember now, but it's too late. I didn't like that street anyway. All good, I just really wish I had a new laptop to post some pics. The Veterinarian's lately have ate up my IPAD savings, so my first purchase when I get back home will definitely be a new IPAD. Keep the fam informed for me, hopefully halfway across the Amazon tomorrow by this time. Might be all the way across on an Airbus A320 if we can't straighten this out, we'll see.
Love you, and really starting to miss you guys....
Bruce XO
Friday April 29th, 2011
11:19am-
Hey Net,
That's it. Done. Paulo in tow or not, I'm out of here. Sweating like a hostage constantly, looking over my shoulder every five seconds for the guys I ran from last night, getting screwed every time I pay for something...forget it. I'm done. Heading back to the airport now to buy a ticket the hell out of here, this town sucks! Boa Vista and it's local group of local political thugs can kiss my Royal Vista! I'll email you when I get somewhere.....let the fam know all is ok. Don't tell Mom any of this!
4:47pm-
Hi Net,
I'm at the airport in Manaus now, and let me tell you, even though it's just an airport, it is heaven compared to where I was this morning, both mentally and physically. We circled the airport for about an hour and a half before landing, Mother Nature was screaming at the top of her lungs below us. I've never seen cumulus clouds so high before in my life, and to think we were going to try to do that in our little Arrow.... wow. We would have never made it. I felt extremely sad leaving the plane with the authorities back in Boa Vista. They let us access her for just a minute or so to grab our last possessions, and I had a knot in my stomach driving away. That plane did a great job getting me to where I was at, nearly 3000 miles from home now, and to just desert her like this made me feel very guilty. It's a beautiful plane, inside and out. The whole vacuum pump thing back in Anguilla was just a couple of instruments, thankfully, her engine never let us down. Yes I know, it's only a plane, but to a pilot, it's something different, hard to explain.
Paulo ended up coming with me, but in his native tongue and his frustration with the authorities, he ended up purchasing us two tickets to the wrong city. He bought two tickets to Campinas San Paulo, which is NOT San Paulo, but instead a city within the STATE of San Paulo. When we landed here in Manaus, we stayed on the plane because we thought we were going to San Paulo. As the door is about to close, thankfully the crew announced that all passengers going to Brazilia would have to deplane, because the weather delay would not allow them to make the Campinas connection. Campinas???? What???? Did she say Campinas???? It was then that Paulo told me we were heading to the wrong city. Since the announcement was first in Portuguese, then in English, I was fully aware that AGAIN, something is not right. We were standing in the back galley of a completely loaded airplane, and as I followed Paulo down the aisle and out of the plane, I honestly wanted to trip him... but the way this trip was going, my flip flop would have somehow got caught on his shoe and both of us would have tumbled. They have pulled our luggage now, and re-booked us to San Paulo. They are being extremely kind to us and putting us up in a hotel for the next 10 hours. So....I'm out of here now to the hotel. And yes....the adventure continues. At least I'm out of Boa Vista!
Saturday April 30th, 2011
11:21 AM-
Hi Net,
I'm in Santos right now. We finally landed in San Paulo, way beyond our booked flights to get us home. HA!!! There's a surprise!!!!! Weather again kept us up in the air coming in there this morning, but I'm so over it now, it's not really a big deal anymore. You know me.... can't worry about something I have no control over. Just really looking forward to coming home now. We are both exhausted, flying the red eye all night, then luckily ( or so I thought ) loading a bus to Santos soon after our arrival in San Paulo. Problem there was Paulo slept the entire 3 hour trip on the bus, and it was only a 1 hour trip to Santos. I didn't know it was a 1 hour trip to Santos! I was simply enjoying the ride, very scenic, the bus stopping all the time....yes there were announcements, but not in a language I understood....I was simply humming away to Pink Floyd on my IPOD. We ended up WAY WAY past Santos, then had to hop in a taxi for well over an hour to finish the trip to his parents place in Santos. Unbelievable. Par for the course though.......really.
The Manaus experience yesterday was incredible. The airline put us up in this place called the Tropical Resort Manaus, and let me tell you, we have both worked for the Ritz, so you know when I say, it is a beautiful resort. We each had our own room, and I was lucky enough to be booked into a suite, so I was loving life. I had a jacuzzi and a bidet to boot! I have never tried a bidet, and still haven't....but I did take a nice long jacuzzi and look at it for a very long time. I thought about it, but but never built up the courage to go through with it. We got to the hotel about 20 minutes to sunset, and wow, I will never forget that sunset. Wait till I show you the pics..... The Amazon is a HUGE river Net. It looks like Lake Petenwell back in Wisconsin.
Love You, say hi to the fam... XO
Sunday May 1st, 2011
9:30 AM-
Hi Net, hope you are feeling better after your crash....that sucks. Thank God nobody was seriously hurt. Beautiful day down here in Santos, going to the beach and just relax, but really looking forward to coming home now...it's been quite the adventure so far. Don't get me wrong, the port city of Santos is nice....if you are on the beach looking at the condos (they are all very tall 1960 era) it's hilarious, many of them have a very noticeable lean to them....never seen anything like it. Cracks me up!
"Honey, can you roll the ketchup over here"?
Last night was a blast with Paulo and all his childhood friends, I really feel like they like me. I couldn't understand one word they were saying, but they smiled and laughed at me constantly! I just smiled back and cracked jokes in English. I was truly on a roll!
Bogota for 8 hours tomorrow...I think I'm going to find Joan Wilder and just hang with her. If you can remember who she is, I'll be impressed.
Take care of yourself and your kids. I have something special for all of you...
Love you, miss you, of course say Hi to the fam....
Bruce
Tuesday May 3rd, 2011
7:40PM-
Hi Net, Finally, I am home! I tried Mom & Dad earlier, but couldn't get a hold of them. Can't express how happy I am to be home, and of course, appreciative of the country I live in. Growing up here, I admit... I am spoiled to the way that things "should" work. I have explored many parts of this planet, but this was my first trip to South America. Even after everything I experienced, I would never speak badly of it. Once to a safe part of Brazil, the people were very friendly and curious about me and my mid-western accent. I think there are plenty of places to really enjoy yourself down there, unfortunately, I was on a different type of trip this time, with a completely different type of traveling companion. Paulo is still one of my good friends and always will be, I just need about 15 years before I see him again. :)
Up next is England this summer, and I can't wait. Trust me, I will not be delivering an aircraft this time! Unless of course they need me like they needed Kurt Russell in Executive Decision. You know I could do a better job than he did.....sheez!
Bruce XO
THE END
Thursday April 28th, 2011
10:25am-
River Monsters? Boa Vista river fishing today..... Brazilian authorities still being wankers, so I'm hopping on a charter boat. Can't attempt the Amazon without a super early start, so it's fishing time!
6:36pm-
(Facebook post)
We now have to buy Brazilian insurance for the plane to continue it's journey. Hopefully completed by tomorrow 11am. If no papers by 11, we desert the plane and commercial out of here to San Paulo...let the owner handle it! Boa Vista is so-so, but it certainly isn't home. A320 out of here looking pretty comfortable right now, but I would prefer to see the Arrow finish her journey.
11:15pm-
Still here, and yes....Boa Vista growing old now. Still at the Aipana Plaza Hotel, 2nd night. Insurance crap keeping us grounded, and it sucks! On the bright side, just got back from dinner at a really cool place along the river. All was good until I found myself alone like an idiot. Not the best place for a guy who is wearing flip flops, white polo and blue shorts, especially when I can't communicate. I totally stand out like an American, just can't figure out why. It's also about 900 degrees here with 3000% humidity....something to do with the Equator running through the middle of town. Me running back to the hotel full speed for 5 blocks probably didn't help.
I posted to my Facebook account earlier today, but then was locked out when I couldn't remember the street I lived on when I was eight years old. I remember now, but it's too late. I didn't like that street anyway. All good, I just really wish I had a new laptop to post some pics. The Veterinarian's lately have ate up my IPAD savings, so my first purchase when I get back home will definitely be a new IPAD. Keep the fam informed for me, hopefully halfway across the Amazon tomorrow by this time. Might be all the way across on an Airbus A320 if we can't straighten this out, we'll see.
Love you, and really starting to miss you guys....
Bruce XO
Friday April 29th, 2011
11:19am-
Hey Net,
That's it. Done. Paulo in tow or not, I'm out of here. Sweating like a hostage constantly, looking over my shoulder every five seconds for the guys I ran from last night, getting screwed every time I pay for something...forget it. I'm done. Heading back to the airport now to buy a ticket the hell out of here, this town sucks! Boa Vista and it's local group of local political thugs can kiss my Royal Vista! I'll email you when I get somewhere.....let the fam know all is ok. Don't tell Mom any of this!
4:47pm-
Hi Net,
I'm at the airport in Manaus now, and let me tell you, even though it's just an airport, it is heaven compared to where I was this morning, both mentally and physically. We circled the airport for about an hour and a half before landing, Mother Nature was screaming at the top of her lungs below us. I've never seen cumulus clouds so high before in my life, and to think we were going to try to do that in our little Arrow.... wow. We would have never made it. I felt extremely sad leaving the plane with the authorities back in Boa Vista. They let us access her for just a minute or so to grab our last possessions, and I had a knot in my stomach driving away. That plane did a great job getting me to where I was at, nearly 3000 miles from home now, and to just desert her like this made me feel very guilty. It's a beautiful plane, inside and out. The whole vacuum pump thing back in Anguilla was just a couple of instruments, thankfully, her engine never let us down. Yes I know, it's only a plane, but to a pilot, it's something different, hard to explain.
Paulo ended up coming with me, but in his native tongue and his frustration with the authorities, he ended up purchasing us two tickets to the wrong city. He bought two tickets to Campinas San Paulo, which is NOT San Paulo, but instead a city within the STATE of San Paulo. When we landed here in Manaus, we stayed on the plane because we thought we were going to San Paulo. As the door is about to close, thankfully the crew announced that all passengers going to Brazilia would have to deplane, because the weather delay would not allow them to make the Campinas connection. Campinas???? What???? Did she say Campinas???? It was then that Paulo told me we were heading to the wrong city. Since the announcement was first in Portuguese, then in English, I was fully aware that AGAIN, something is not right. We were standing in the back galley of a completely loaded airplane, and as I followed Paulo down the aisle and out of the plane, I honestly wanted to trip him... but the way this trip was going, my flip flop would have somehow got caught on his shoe and both of us would have tumbled. They have pulled our luggage now, and re-booked us to San Paulo. They are being extremely kind to us and putting us up in a hotel for the next 10 hours. So....I'm out of here now to the hotel. And yes....the adventure continues. At least I'm out of Boa Vista!
Saturday April 30th, 2011
11:21 AM-
Hi Net,
I'm in Santos right now. We finally landed in San Paulo, way beyond our booked flights to get us home. HA!!! There's a surprise!!!!! Weather again kept us up in the air coming in there this morning, but I'm so over it now, it's not really a big deal anymore. You know me.... can't worry about something I have no control over. Just really looking forward to coming home now. We are both exhausted, flying the red eye all night, then luckily ( or so I thought ) loading a bus to Santos soon after our arrival in San Paulo. Problem there was Paulo slept the entire 3 hour trip on the bus, and it was only a 1 hour trip to Santos. I didn't know it was a 1 hour trip to Santos! I was simply enjoying the ride, very scenic, the bus stopping all the time....yes there were announcements, but not in a language I understood....I was simply humming away to Pink Floyd on my IPOD. We ended up WAY WAY past Santos, then had to hop in a taxi for well over an hour to finish the trip to his parents place in Santos. Unbelievable. Par for the course though.......really.
The Manaus experience yesterday was incredible. The airline put us up in this place called the Tropical Resort Manaus, and let me tell you, we have both worked for the Ritz, so you know when I say, it is a beautiful resort. We each had our own room, and I was lucky enough to be booked into a suite, so I was loving life. I had a jacuzzi and a bidet to boot! I have never tried a bidet, and still haven't....but I did take a nice long jacuzzi and look at it for a very long time. I thought about it, but but never built up the courage to go through with it. We got to the hotel about 20 minutes to sunset, and wow, I will never forget that sunset. Wait till I show you the pics..... The Amazon is a HUGE river Net. It looks like Lake Petenwell back in Wisconsin.
Love You, say hi to the fam... XO
Sunday May 1st, 2011
9:30 AM-
Hi Net, hope you are feeling better after your crash....that sucks. Thank God nobody was seriously hurt. Beautiful day down here in Santos, going to the beach and just relax, but really looking forward to coming home now...it's been quite the adventure so far. Don't get me wrong, the port city of Santos is nice....if you are on the beach looking at the condos (they are all very tall 1960 era) it's hilarious, many of them have a very noticeable lean to them....never seen anything like it. Cracks me up!
"Honey, can you roll the ketchup over here"?
Last night was a blast with Paulo and all his childhood friends, I really feel like they like me. I couldn't understand one word they were saying, but they smiled and laughed at me constantly! I just smiled back and cracked jokes in English. I was truly on a roll!
Bogota for 8 hours tomorrow...I think I'm going to find Joan Wilder and just hang with her. If you can remember who she is, I'll be impressed.
Take care of yourself and your kids. I have something special for all of you...
Love you, miss you, of course say Hi to the fam....
Bruce
Tuesday May 3rd, 2011
7:40PM-
Hi Net, Finally, I am home! I tried Mom & Dad earlier, but couldn't get a hold of them. Can't express how happy I am to be home, and of course, appreciative of the country I live in. Growing up here, I admit... I am spoiled to the way that things "should" work. I have explored many parts of this planet, but this was my first trip to South America. Even after everything I experienced, I would never speak badly of it. Once to a safe part of Brazil, the people were very friendly and curious about me and my mid-western accent. I think there are plenty of places to really enjoy yourself down there, unfortunately, I was on a different type of trip this time, with a completely different type of traveling companion. Paulo is still one of my good friends and always will be, I just need about 15 years before I see him again. :)
Up next is England this summer, and I can't wait. Trust me, I will not be delivering an aircraft this time! Unless of course they need me like they needed Kurt Russell in Executive Decision. You know I could do a better job than he did.....sheez!
Bruce XO
THE END
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