Raquel and I have been in Brazil for the last two weeks to arrange some things for our wedding and visit her mom in the northeast. It's been good to be back in Brazil after more than a year and this trip has been a good one, with the exception of our airfare. Let me tell you a bit about that:
Until recently, I had a couple of misperceptions about airfare. Like many people, I viewed airfare as a bit of a commodity where price was the only really meaningful differentiator. To me, better service meant more attentive staff on the plane and perhaps fresher peanuts, certainly not worth an extra $100 even on an international flight. I have discovered that better service may actually mean that the airline is more likely to get you where you are going and get you there more or less on time.
Raquel and I bought our tickets from Delta more or less a month ago at the airport. We bought it there because she had to change her departure date, which is only possible at the airport, and because I wanted to fly with her. The woman sold us a flight plan with a tight connection in New York, but we assumed it was ok. We did not get a seat assignment.
Of course, the flight to New York was late and arrived at the wrong terminal. We ran like lunatics trying to make our connection, changing terminals and passing through security a second time. There were several other passengers making the same connection but we were the first to make it to the gate. The last of the passengers were boarding the flight and we gave the staff our boarding pass.
The staff let the others onto the plane but left us standing there. Finally, he closed the gate in our face. We did not get on the flight despite being at the gate on time because we did not have seat assignments, and Delta had simply sold more tickets than they had seats. For our trouble we got some money and a night in a hotel by the airport, but we spent much of the money to change our flight in Sao Paulo, which we of course missed.
I've heard from others that Delta puts their clients in these sorts of situations, as does American sometimes, but that Continental is generally better. In the future I plan to fly with them when possible for international travel.
The last problem is with connections and buying airfare from different companies. We lost a connection in Sao Paulo when traveling to the northeast because of fog. Instead of a single connection, we went from Porto Alegre to Sao Paulo, then changed airports traveling by bus, then went to Rio de Janeiro, then to Salvador, then finally to Macio. Anyway, the lesson is that its worth leaving a few hours between connections, especially in Brazil.
The good news is that we've arranged many things for our wedding, the place for the reception is very nice, our food will be excellent, and we finally had a chance to relax on the beach in the beautiful northeast.
quinta-feira, 25 de junho de 2009
domingo, 31 de maio de 2009
Places to go
I don't expect anyone to go all the way to Porto Alegre, go to our wedding, and then fly back. It takes a full day to travel and tickets are expensive, so it's certainly worth taking the time to visit other places in South America. It's obviously impossible to describe all the places you could go, but here are a few suggestions.
São Paulo
São Paulo is one of the largest cities in the world, with about 11 million people living in the city itself and about 20 million in the greater area. Like most big cities, São Paulo has a vibrant cultural life and has many museum's, art galleries, and places of cultural significance. It has several neighborhoods with very interesting nightlife, excellent restaurants, and pretty much anything you might want to find in a big city. The city is also a frequent contender of the worst traffic in the world, so it is probably not worth venturing far away from the subway system. Most international flights connect through the Guarulhos airport, so stopping here won't add so much time to your trip. This is a good option if you expect that 25 hours of continuous travel will simply be too much.
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro is the most famous city in Brazil because of its beaches, mountains, music, culture, and famous carnival in February. It is also an enormous city of nearly 8 million people. Raquel and I have not been there but very much would like to go. The city can be expensive but there are certainly ways to economize. The picture shows a view of the city from Pão de Açucar (Sugarloaf). Many international flights connect to Rio de Janeiro. Stopping here is a good option if you expect that 25 hours of continuous travel will simply be too much.
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is another big city and the capital of Argentina. It is famous for its architecture, tangos, and culture and food derived from its many Italian immigrants. I recommend the Hotel Viamonte, where we stayed in 2006. Flying between Porto Alegre and Buenos Aires takes about an hour and a half, and may be welcome relief from Portunhol for those of you who speak Spanish.
Florianópolis & Santa Catarina
Santa Catarina has many very beautiful beaches and is a popular destination for both family vacations and students on break. Raquel, my dad, and I once stayed at bombinhas, which is a beach resort on the peninsula. Ingleses is also quite famous. Florianópolis is a beautiful city spread between an island and the mainland and is also worth a visit.
Torres
Torres is a nice place to visit the beach if you don't want to leave Rio Grande do Sul. You can easily catch a bus between Porto Alegre and Torres.
Gramado
Gramado is a small Bavarian themed town that is located about three hours drive from Porto Alegre. There is a regular bus service between the two cities. Gramadu sits high in the hills of southern Brazil and is generally cooler than Porto Alegre, so it may make for a good overnight trip for those wishing to escape the heat. It features many good restaurants and hotels, a park worth visiting, and a festival for Christmas. It is strangely similar to Leavenworth in Washington, only everyone speaks Portuguese.
Uruguay
Uruguay borders Rio Grade do Sul to the South and is a popular destination for Brazilians on vacation. In general, it is quite inexpensive. Its soccer teams generally lose to those from Porto Alegre. People there speak Spanish and are very familiar with Portunhol.
Santiago
Santiago is the capital of Chile and has a population of about 5.6 million people. It is a bit cooler than Brazil during the summer (December) because it sits at 1700 ft. I have never been there but it looks nice and I would like to go someday. The deserts on the Chilean cost also look interesting, and if you go to Chile, be sure to visit the Andes and enjoy the local wine.
Salvador
Salvador was the first capital of Brazil and the capital of Bahia state. It contains some of the remnants of the colonial period, including old cathedrals and a historic district. Salvador sits in a beautiful bay and there are several nice beaches nearby.
Fortaleza
Fortaleza is a big city in the Northeast of Brazil, with about 3.7 million inhabitants. It was, for a time, occupied by the Dutch, and you can still see it occasionally from the architecture. It has sandy beaches, a beach park, and is near many other tropical beaches that are popular with both Brazilians and tourists.
Recife
This city is warm because it is near the equator, and shows the colonial influence of the Dutch. It has beautiful sandy beaches, a historic cathedral and theater, and a modern subway system.
Maceío
Raquel's mother moved to Maceío recently for a university job. It is a very popular tourist destination because it is near some of the best white sand beaches you can find anywhere. There are daily flights from São Paulo, though they can be expensive. Hotels and restaurants in Maceío are fairly cheap, and it's a very nice place to go if you want to swim in the ocean and sit on the beach with a cold caipirinha and a little fried shrimp.
Rio Grande do Norte
Rio Grande do Norte is also famous for its beaches and from what I hear very very beautiful. I have never been there. Flights to Natal (one of the biggest cities in the state) can be expensive. There are many places to scuba dive in Rio Grade do Norte.
Foz de Iguaçu
Foz de Iguaçu is by most measures either the largest or second largest waterfall in the world (Victoria falls in South Africa is the other contender). I have never been there but it looks spectacular, and it's on the short list of places I feel I must visit sometime in my life.
I hope this list is enough to get you thinking. If you feel like going a bit further away, you might consider going to Peru, the Amazon Rainforest, exploring other parts of Argentina or Chile, or spending a bit of time in the Andes.
segunda-feira, 18 de maio de 2009
What to do in Porto Alegre – part one
Porto Alegre has over 1,400,000 inhabitants and it is the capital of the Rio Grande do Sul state. Argentina and Uruguay border Rio Grande do Sul, and perhaps that’s why people say that gauchos (people from this state) can speak and understand “portunhol”, a mix of Portuguese and Spanish. I encourage the Spanish speakers to use their second language skills in Porto Alegre.
I lived in Porto Alegre for about five years. I used to live in Pelotas, another little city in Rio Grande do Sul, but I moved to Porto Alegre for a job at an oil company located in Triunfo called Companhia Petroquímica do Sul (today is called Braskem). After working and not enjoying chemistry labs very much I decided to apply for Social Communication at UFRGS, which stands for Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. When visiting Porto Alegre you will see that UFRGS campuses are located in different neighborhoods (all scars of the Military Dictatorship that Brazil unfortunately experienced between 1964 and 1985 - the campuses were spread out to impede student protests and riots).
Porto Alegre and Rio Grande do Sul are great cultural centers in Brazil. One reason is because this particular Brazilian state has generations of immigrants from many parts of Europe, including Portugal, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland. On our wedding day you may hear my mother’s family speaking German or Pomeranian, a German/Polish dialect.
There are many interesting things to do in the city, so I will publish several posts about that. I will start with culture. In my opinion, two great places to go for fine arts are the Museu de Arte do Rio Grande do Sul -MARGS (Art Museum of Rio Grande do Sul) and the Fundação Iberê Camargo (Iberê Camargo Foundation). However, there is a huge list of other options on the Tourism Secretary website. At MARGS you can encounter art works from Brazilian and foreign artists (you can find a complete list here). The second location is an art foundation and it has exclusively works of Brazilian artists, especially of Iberê Camargo, a famous gaucho artist. The new building of the foundation was recently constructed and it was designed by the Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza, one of the most important contemporary architects in the world.
Another site I would definitely recommend visiting is the Centro de Tradições Gaúchas –CTGs (Gaucho’s Traditions Center). These places show the traditional music and dance of gauchos, and they usually have delicious barbecues to enjoy while watching the shows. There are several CTGs in Porto Alegre, and I believe Bryson and I went to CTG 35 last time. It can be very pretty, but also very scary!
domingo, 17 de maio de 2009
Hotels
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Our wedding reception will be at Villa 305 in the Boa Vista (scroll up and left on map) neighborhood in Porto Alegre. It's a nice neighborhood and has several hotel options.
First, there is the Sheraton, which is 2.3 km from the place of the reception. It runs about US $120 a night for a room for 2 adults. The website is in English.
Next, there is the Holiday Inn, which is 1.7 km from the reception. It runs around R$180 (~US $90). There is a promotion on their website in Portuguesee for R$165.
There is also the Blue Tree towers, which is located 1.5 km from the reception and will cost at minimum R$ 139.
There are of course places to stay outside of Boa Vista. We can recommend the Master Hotel
in Cidade Baixa, located on the Av. Lima e Silva where Raquel used to live. The neighborhood is full of students and has cafes, and nightlife, but is slightly less safe- it's worth exercising caution when out at night. It starts at R$100.
There are many other options ranging from very cheap to expensive so feel free to have a look on the web. When you have an idea of where you would like to stay, please or leave a comment on this blog or send me an email - We plan to try to book several rooms at once at the same place to receive a discount.
quarta-feira, 6 de maio de 2009
Problems buying airfare
Raquel and I bought airfare for our trip to Brazil this weekend and had a difficult time.
The only site that accepted my visa card was www.voegol.com. Wells Fargo locked my check card after my purchase. I was able to unlock it the next day after calling them and verifying that I had in fact purchased airfare within Brazil, and no, I did not want to sign up for their extra special new credit card.
Tam has an international site: www.tamairlines.com.
For reason's I can't fathom, you can't select the United States as your country- the choices are limited to other countries in South America and Europe. You might be able to select United Kingdom and use your credit card anyway. It is, however, possible to book flights on TAM through Expedia.
Webjet unfortunately does not accept international credit cards over the web, and requires a CPF (Brazil's equivalent of a Social Security Number) to buy airfare, limiting the service to Brazilian citizens. This is unfortunate because they have some of the best prices available, provided you are willing to deal with their terribly made website.
sábado, 2 de maio de 2009
Getting a Visa
It is necessary for American Citizens to get a visa to enter Brazil. Fortunately, obtaining a visa is easy. You can get a visa from a consulate, or you can send your passport, a passport photo (2x2), a completed visa application form, and copy of your travel itinerary to a visa agency and they can obtain a visa for you for a fee. It usually takes about four weeks to get a visa, and you must travel within 90 days of obtaining your visa.
I have obtained my visas for previous visits using visa express, but there are other agencies that provide the same service (e.g. travisa).
It is necessary to book your flight before applying for a visa. A tourist visa for Brazil will take up an entire page of your passport, and the entry stamp will take part of another page, so be sure you have space in your passport before applying. If necessary, you can add additional pages to your passport.
There are Brazilian consulates in the following American cities:
Atlanta
Chicago
Additional Resources
segunda-feira, 13 de abril de 2009
Getting to Porto Alegre, Brazil
Porto Alegre is a city in the south of Brazil where Raquel lived for several years. It is a long way away and getting there from Seattle generally takes about 24 total hours of travel time, including two connections. Porto Alegre's airport code is POA.
In general, international airfare is much cheaper if you buy it earlier. Getting the best deal on airfare can require some work- sometimes travel agencies have the best deals, and sometimes it is cheaper to buy your trip in pieces than to buy it all at once. Connecting flights from Seattle and other cities go through San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, New York, Miami, Atlanta, and Orlando. The connections to Porto Alegre in South America are generally in São Paulo (Guarulhos), though there are flights that go through Rio de Janeiro and Lima, Peru.
I generally buy airfare from Seattle to São Paulo and then buy the ticket to Porto Alegre separately.
Some websites to search for international airfare:
For travel within Brazil (US and international credit cards accepted):
For travel within Brazil - payment more complicated:
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