Transfer of ownership, Florianopolis, Brazil map the location
South America 2018: Month 1 in Review
Visa in advance?!
Christmas eve, I arrived at the airport where much to my horror, I learned that I apparently needed a visa in advance. Unable to get one on the spot and learning that it would take week to process following an appointment, I realized that I would not get to meet my Parisian friends Julie and Elo in time for New Years. Further complicating things, I later learned the first appointment I could book was 3 weeks out, which then devastatingly meant that I would not get to Brazil in time before my friends would return to Paris altogether.
Response
Hunkered down in bit of a depressive paralysis at a friend's house in SF for a couple of days, conveniently 5 minutes from the Brazilian consulate, I decided to go to the consulate on the first day after the Christmas closure. When the front desk asked for proof of my appointment day and time, I said that I was "a little early" and somehow got them to overlook that I was early by weeks, not minutes. A polite plea before the consulate to expedite (since there was not option to pay for expedition) was successful! Twenty-four hours later, I got a call my passport was ready to pick up.
A series of fortunate events
Weighted with my baggage, I scuttled to the consulate, snatched my passport and headed straight for BART. I got to the airport just before the cut-off time for the last flight out (and the nice lady neither charged a change fee or the $500 fare difference!) Catching that flight resulted in me getting to Rio and over to Julie and Elo's hostel 10 minutes before a bus they had booked to take us a few hours down the coast to the island where she had organized us to spend New Years. Had I missed any part in the series of connections, I would have not been able to get to them in time for New Years.
Change of course.
Ironically, I found myself despondent about being on an island and transitioning into travel mode. I decided to split off from my French friends, who continued onto other points of interests, after 5 days and stayed put in a cozy guesthouse Rio for 2 weeks. Home to a few long term guests, there was more a sense of consistency and community, something I realizing I was more hungry for than going hitting destinations. I mostly used it as an opportunity to get as much work done before embarking on my motorcycle trip.
New heights and freights
I also tracked down local community of rock climbers that invited me into their circle. They helped me to push my limits, leaving me with an uplifting sense of accomplishment which has been a turning point in my trip thus far and attitude going forward.
Currently:
Florianopolis, Brazil: a tropical hybrid of Santa Cruz and Stinson Beach, where I've avoided the beach and instead hunkered down to do bike stuff, finally start planning my trip (a month after the trip has already started), and work. I may leave Friday morning, but probably Saturday, south or west, after I decided how to start connecting the dots I've mapped.
