“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!