Yo Yo Yobst !

Ipanema – as beautiful as the song

I arrived in Rio well rested, excited, and clutching my international text-worthy cell phone. I wandered around arrivals trying to figure out where exactly I was going and how I was going to get there. After circling arriving for a tenth time hoping to see a kind Brazilian with a little sign saying “Dana”, I found something better, my Irish friend Orla.

She arrived a day after she thought she was going to so we ventured to the hostel together excited to begin our journey. We quickly discovered that her ATM card didn’t work in any ATM and that there must be a lot of dangerous scams in Rio because everyone warns you about everything all the time.

Ipanema is gorgeous, just like the inspiring girl in the song. It’s is a lovely posh neighborhood on the beach full of gorgeous homes, highrises, stylish boutiques and amazing clothes, jewelry and leather handbags. People are uber-stylish and wear nearly nothing all the time – with havaianas flip flops, stilettos or platform sandals. The girls start wearing bikinis and dancing at age 1 and the men seem to have a permanent distaste for wearing shirts. On Sundays, the beachfront road is closed and everyone rollerblades, walks, plays music, sports, and hangs out on the beach. The beach path continues past Ipanema to the dodgier and more (in)famous Copacabana beach. Another brilliant song. There is so much to sing about in Brazil!

It’s easy to understand why Brazil, their neighborhoods and Brazilians themselves inspire so many songs. The country is a cacophony of sounds, sultry songs and beats accompanied by the and irresistible sway hips, fast moving feet, smiles and skin every shade of brown imaginable from cocoa to golden to ebony. According to the lonely planet, Brazil is 39% mixed race, but Rio seems much higher. A history of open immigration and intermingling has created one of the most beautiful and interesting populations I’ve ever seen. I imagine that America will one day have such a mix of cultures and skin tones.

Given my love of accents and diversity, I suppose I’ll eventually contribute to my own melting pot children.

Leaving for Brazil

Ready for Brazil! My “plans” are 5 weeks in Brazil with Orla, my Irish friend, 4 weeks in Bolivia with Stephanie, an old travel partner from Canada, and 4 weeks in Peru with Corey, my old CEO and his daughter Chelsea. These are more plans than I have ever had going traveling. Usually I have a ticket and a lonely planet and that’s it. It makes me mildly apprehensive to have appointments to meet different people in different places at specific times. I’m sure the fun of traveling with friends will outweigh the hassle of planning around it.

And the end of my trip will be complete freedom like I am used to. I’ll be free to move about the continent in any crazy manner I want.

“Packing” is a whirlwind. While everyone else is out celebrating political victories and warm weather, I’m delivering my car to treasure island, deciding which tank top to bring and searching for nylon pants that didn’t make my crotch look miles long. I think I need to start producing attractive women’s travel-hiking pants. There is a huge gap in the market waiting to be filled.

Rucksack on my back, cell phone in hand, i board BART for SFO and my flight to Rio. Orla and i have spoken a few times and we have loose plans. There might be a driver form the hostel waiting for me, or Orla might be there, or I might take a cab. I like loose plans. I’ll figure it out when I get there.

After the frenzy of good byes, shopping, and packing, I’m looking forward to a long relaxing plane journey. Whatever i forgot is forgotten. Whatever i have i have and will hopefully have for the next 6 months. I will soon forget stress and worries and sink into my alter ego – dana, the American traveler from sf. actually dana will be dropped and i will soon become ‘that tall American girl ‘. Travelers meet too many people to remember names. we generally don’t even bother to ask them. we simply label people by their country of origin and an easily recognized trait like hairstyle, height, or weight. The short funny Frenchman, the bald American, the Canadian with dark curly hair, the dutch girl with pink shirt on. Life on the road is complicated so we have to simplify whatever we can. eliminating names is a clear win in simplifying interactions with strangers.

“Planning” For South America

Planning is a loose term. I don’t really plan for trips. I buy a plane ticket and a Lonely Planet guidebook and go from there. I typically travel by land and sea, book everything last minute, and remain fluid and flexible at all costs. I skip flying in I can.
But my trip to South America is different, I have friends to meet along the way and dates to meet them, so I need a rough plan. The first stop will be Brazil and Brazil is massive, the fifth largest country in the world actually. Orla, an Irish friend who used to live in SF, is going to be my partner in crime and we have 5 weeks to explore Brazil. My top priorities are diving in Fernando de Noronha and kitesurfing in Jericoacoara http://www.ikiteboarding.com/kiteboarding/articles/kiteboarding-brazil-the-state-of-ceara.aspx#
Fernando is supposed to be the best diving in Brazil and will be about the only opportunity I have to dive until I reach the Galapogas in Ecuador months later. Since Fernanado is an island, we have to fly there. A flight to Fernando is normally 800$ from the city of Natal or Recife but with the TAM pass, which is 5 one ways flights cost the same.

Booking the TAM pass reiterated why I never plan. What a royal pain in the arse. I spent about 24 hours on the phone with TAM with no success. TAM was impossible to work with. In typical third world fashion they said NO when I asked for a certain route on a certain day instead of suggesting a slightly different day or route. The means I had to ask about every possible combination specifically to get to an answer.

Finally I was able to book tickets through our saviors the BROL travel agency. BROL was much more organized and finally we ended up with 5 tickets within Brazil. Our overall plan is to hit Rio, Jericoacoara, Fernando de Noronha, Natal, Salvador, Foz de Iguazu, and Pantanal. Almost time to go to Brazil!