Getting to South America


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South America » Brazil
March 3rd 2016
Published: June 29th 2017
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Geo: -22.9035, -43.2096

We woke in Auckland at 9am on Thursday the 3rd of March. We arrived, in Rio, eventually at around 12.15am on the 'morning' of Friday the 4th. Between the hellish flights, incidents, negativity, transfers and overall deflating and morale sapping experiences between, we'd been 'awake' (excluding fatigue microsleeps) for around 35-40 hours. Now generally speaking, the whole point of this blog is to be positive and record and share fond and memorable experiences. This particular entry I expect, will be the one exception to this rule. For the most part, Ill look back fondly over this blog, likely make dozens jealous of the locations, sights and experiences detailed within, and hopefully encourage others to follow suit and embark on travel adventures of their own. Not based on this entry.

In short, the last 36 hours sucked. We woke in Auckland at our leisure, well rested and cautiously excited about the big trip ahead. A few flight cancellations and alterations in recent weeks meant the trip from Auckland to Rio was a bit longer and later on arrival than Id initially planned, with an extra stopover, but still bearable. Itd be a long haul, but no issue, we got this. Our positive outlook and resolve would be about to go under seige. We checked out from Barclay Suites, leaving our bags at reception for a few hours. We had a friendly chat to the concierge there about his South America experiences. He advised; everything theres a scam, money is only available through mail-slot dungeons, and everyone will rob you. Cheers buddy, be back soon for our things. We wandered Auckland a while in the sun, stopping into a pub for breakfast to watch Arsenal vs Swansea. Well Arsenal lost, at home, in infuriating fashion. I got chatting to a local Arsenal fan, an elderly fellow, about his South America experiences. Hed had his bag slashed open, and warned against scams and waves of pickpockets. Uplifting!We gathered our things and set off by Skybus back to the airport. We waited a while before check in was available.

Our flightplan was Auckland->Santiago, Chile (11.5 hours), Santiago-> Sao Paolo, Brazil (4 hours), Sao Paolo -> Rio de Janiero, Brazil (1 hour) with 2-3 hours between each flight. Check in came with a complementary quadruple heart attack for poor Natalie, courtesy of the check in staff. "Ah wheres your visa? Shouldnt this be used within 90 days of issue? Im not sure about this". Ultimately there was NO issue, the staff member was just reading it wrong. No issues for me with Dutch passport/ nationality visa free for all South America. I was still relieved they didnt show any doubts or question me.On to the flight then, LAN flight to Santiago. First up, we were shocked at the jet size. It looked smaller than a 747. Hardly bigger than a domestic jet? Would this even make it over the Pacific?

Ultimately the 12 hour flight to follow was the worst of my life, and Ive been on a lot. The seats were tiny. Natalie was squished for space. After 30 minutes, Id lost all feeling in the left side of my body and suffered 4 leg spasms. Not really, but it was extremely tight. My entertainment system needed repair before working, and of course the small person in front of my insisted on having her seat back to the max for the entire duration. At the back, in an aisle, there was a constant stream of people smashing into me to use the nearby restroom. One neighboring passenger had the bladder of a hamster, needing to pee every 12 minutes. Also, staff and passengers chatted and enjoyed wee little chat parties in the space behind us all flight long. It was hell. Overall, the staff were friendly (very little English) and food was decent. We crossed the dateline on this flight and saw the sun set and rise.

After an eternity we arrived in Santaigo at 2.10pm. No bag collection, no checkout, just an international transfer. No problem right? Wrong. Waiting for our flight to Sao Paolo I checked our prebooked 'car pickup transfer' in Rio (given we were scheduled to arrive around midnight). Whilst wed booked the right dates and times confirmed by our online account booking receipt, the drivers receipt was wrong, stating hed arrive the FOLLOWING midnight. Uh oh. No way to know for sure if hed arrive, no reliable wifi here, or phone service options. Something else to worry about. The flight to Sao Paolo was heading on to Milan, so a bigger jet than before. The flight was comfier except for the massive storm over Sao Paolo which included severe lightning, turbulence and delays in landing. Sao Paolo was spectacular from the air at night. A huge sprawling metropolis.We had 2.5 hours from landing in Sao Paolo to clear passport control, collect bags, clear customs, check in for a domestic flight to Rio and change terminals to board it.

On landing, a video announcement advised the latter part alone could take upto 90 minutes. Passport control, OK, but where.. oh where are our bags!? We waited at the luggage pickup belts for what felt like a life time. Clock ticking, the crowd thinning out, our blood pressure increased. I eventually found some staff assistance we directed us to 'oversized luggage'. With our bags, it was now a race to clear customs, get to Terminal 2, find our gate, board a shuttle through sheets of rain downpour and take off through an intense and nervewrecking lightning storm.We were relieved to touchdown in Rio around midnight and eventually see our bags made it with us. Tragically, as half expected, our transfer pickup was NOT there to get us.. prebooked for $40AUD. In lieu, we managed to organise a prepaid "radio" taxi for 92Brazilian Real. 1AUD = 2.7 BRL. So it cost us around 32AUD for a half hour ride to our hotel... and what a ride it was. Our taximan drove like a rally driver. Not sure he ever got below 15km/hr over the limit or braked on any turns. Full of adrenaline and soaked in an elegant mixture of terror and travel sweat, we finally checked into our 5 star hotel, Windsor Atlantica overlooking Copacabana beach. We received our standard honeymoon upgrade on arrival and even got treated to a complementary delivery of Chandon Reserve sparkling and strawberries. We fell into bed exhausted and relieved around 2am. What a day. Wouldnt do that again in a hurry, but excited at the prospect of good times and relaxation ahead.


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4th March 2016

In years to come, you will laugh at this experience!

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