Oi!
I have safely arrived in Vila Velha, after a rather lengthy and at some times frustrating flight. Can't say I can recommend Aerolineas Argentinas, they pride themselves on Comfort and Reliability, except their boeing was about 30 years old, the seats came off and the entertainment system didn't work at all.
Gee the day started with a buzz, my flight scheduled to leave lil' ol'Adelaide at 6:00am, and all the alarms failing to wake us, so we ended up leaving the house at 5:15am. What a start to an otherwise sublimely prepared trip... I ended up missing out on my flight as boarding had closed, but I could catch the next one to Sydney 40 mins later. This didn't end up affecting my flight to follow, Aerolineas Argentinas made sure they delayed by 50 mins... how nice of them. I met up with the other 5 Southern Cross people going to Brasil in Sydney. I was surprised to find out that 4 out of the 6 were going to Vitoria, or Vila Velha. The remaining two are now in Salvador, or so we hope. Very nice group, got to know them quite well over the 30 orso hours we spent in each others company.
Uziel and Daiana were waiting for me at the airport and they showed me Vitoria and then Vila Velha. The approach to Vitoria at night was incredible, you could see all the streets and praias lit up; sensaaaational. Vila Velha is the original settlement of Vitoria, it has the main business area and beaches. From my tiny first impressions, the rumours are confirmed, Brazilians are party animals. It was no coincidence that when we went for a quick walk and sorvete (ice-cream) along Praia de Costa that they were in the middle of packing up the day's dance festival. Rhubbish was sprawled on just about every inch of pavement, evidence that they really did party hard. When I mentioned it, Uziel just said; That's Brasil. The beach is otherwise lined with Quisqoues (kiosks) and little eateries, many with live music.
In just a 20 min drive and the small 12 hours I've been here, I have taken in so many impressions that my brain is having trouble processing it all, let alone summarise it in writing. I can tell life here will need some adjusting, but this was not unexpected. I will have to become much more independent as much of the time Uziel and Daiane will be teaching or occupied with the Church. I only have a small room (big enough for a double bed and wardrobe) and a little bathroom with a shower and toilet and sink, so I will live with less than I'm used to. I can see how it will be a challenge, especially the initial language barrier, but in overcoming it the rewards will be great.
There is too much to experience to be wasting my time on this computer, so até logo!
I will get some pictures up once I have some more of the area.
Tonight I get to taste traditional Brazilian barbeque meat. Yum
I'm sipping a tiny café, very sweet strong cofee shot, the way they like to drink it here, even a normal cappucino I ordered in Rio was the size of an espresso.
Gee the day started with a buzz, my flight scheduled to leave lil' ol'Adelaide at 6:00am, and all the alarms failing to wake us, so we ended up leaving the house at 5:15am. What a start to an otherwise sublimely prepared trip... I ended up missing out on my flight as boarding had closed, but I could catch the next one to Sydney 40 mins later. This didn't end up affecting my flight to follow, Aerolineas Argentinas made sure they delayed by 50 mins... how nice of them. I met up with the other 5 Southern Cross people going to Brasil in Sydney. I was surprised to find out that 4 out of the 6 were going to Vitoria, or Vila Velha. The remaining two are now in Salvador, or so we hope. Very nice group, got to know them quite well over the 30 orso hours we spent in each others company.
Uziel and Daiana were waiting for me at the airport and they showed me Vitoria and then Vila Velha. The approach to Vitoria at night was incredible, you could see all the streets and praias lit up; sensaaaational. Vila Velha is the original settlement of Vitoria, it has the main business area and beaches. From my tiny first impressions, the rumours are confirmed, Brazilians are party animals. It was no coincidence that when we went for a quick walk and sorvete (ice-cream) along Praia de Costa that they were in the middle of packing up the day's dance festival. Rhubbish was sprawled on just about every inch of pavement, evidence that they really did party hard. When I mentioned it, Uziel just said; That's Brasil. The beach is otherwise lined with Quisqoues (kiosks) and little eateries, many with live music.
In just a 20 min drive and the small 12 hours I've been here, I have taken in so many impressions that my brain is having trouble processing it all, let alone summarise it in writing. I can tell life here will need some adjusting, but this was not unexpected. I will have to become much more independent as much of the time Uziel and Daiane will be teaching or occupied with the Church. I only have a small room (big enough for a double bed and wardrobe) and a little bathroom with a shower and toilet and sink, so I will live with less than I'm used to. I can see how it will be a challenge, especially the initial language barrier, but in overcoming it the rewards will be great.
There is too much to experience to be wasting my time on this computer, so até logo!
I will get some pictures up once I have some more of the area.
Tonight I get to taste traditional Brazilian barbeque meat. Yum
I'm sipping a tiny café, very sweet strong cofee shot, the way they like to drink it here, even a normal cappucino I ordered in Rio was the size of an espresso.
