The rest of the trip
Halloween in San Ramon: Duck (J) and Cat (C)
Brazil 2023 Observations
·
Other
than eyestrain during blogging, THB’s health held up: no overheating
(did not take blood pressure meds during the trip so the offset was shakier
hands…can I have a spoon, please)
·
Overall,
the food was unremarkable. The exceptions were lunch at Mani and Jun
Sakamoto for a sushi dinner, both in Sao Paulo. It was hard to get our drinks
served before food started arriving
·
Not
as many studio visits nor was the local art particularly memorable. The
museums were generally very interesting and Inhotim unbelievable. THB and DB
did not buy any art on the trip, which was never a goal anyway.
·
The
tour group was generally very pleasant and easy to talk to. We knew
about half the members, they had also been on our Colombia trip last year.
·
The
snorkeling extension was a great idea even when it turned out there
wasn’t a lot to see under the water. The fact that THB’s mask leaked was easily
overcome when our guide pulled out a mask that worked fine.
·
We
got a great tip from one of the tour members: we could renew our Global
Entry cards in Houston, one of the five US airports that held you didn’t
need an appointment for an interview. What we learned: the issuing agency is
way overloaded and it could be another two years before we can renew. Not a
problem, per the agent in Houston, since our cards are good even without being
renewed. You don’t even have to show your card, your face scan is sufficient.
·
Masks
to prevent Covid were pretty much nonexistent. THB and DB wore our masks
when in elevators with other non-tour members and in airports (Sao Paulo
extremely crowded). So far, no symptoms upon return.
·
Brazilians
for the most part do not speak Spanish, many in tourist industry spoke some
English, and THB and DB rarely had problems with language. It is a lot
easier to read Portuguese than to speak it. We found out on day 2 of our
extension that our snorkeling guide spoke some Spanish and he and DB used their
phones for translation when all else failed.
·
In
each of our three large city stops, the traffic was horrendous. That
just allowed the tour to appreciate how pretty the cities we visited were.
Lush, leafy, some wide streets, the beaches, the lagoons, the small lakes.
·
Scariest moment
on the trip: on Ilha Grande at our second dinner (last night of trip), our
request for water was very slow in coming (that was the absolute norm) and when
it arrived it was a large pitcher with ice. Every single other time we
ordered water (pretty much at every meal), it came in plastic bottles. We
stared at the pitcher in horror! Terrifying…
·
Overall: Very
glad we came and definitely would sign up for another adventure with ArtQuest.
Unfortunately, THB is fully booked for 2024. Maybe 2025. Maybe. When THB
visited his rheumatologist just before the trip, THB told her he felt that he
was slowing down a bit (a major symptom of Necrotizing Myositis 7 years ago).
She replied: you are strong! Your labs are great! You are just getting old. And
she ain’t THB’s primary physician, the retina doc, the audiologist, the
cardiologist, the neurologist, the dermatologist, or any of the others docs
waiting in line to give THB the health report…he’s old, this is what being old
is like.
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