Back in São Paulo

So we made it on our flight, made a single stop (yay!) in Brazilia and landed in São Paulo, Congonhas air port. Our flight back to Dallas is out of São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport which is at the other end of the city. No problem, we checked into a connecting shuttle and for R$14 we can get to the other airport. However, the next available shuttle was at 9 A.M. and my watch says it´s only a quarter till 8. There was no way we´d be waiting for over an hour for a shuttle (and how come those Brazilians can´t provide sufficient space!?!). I call our hotel (we are having a very long lay over and planned to take a nap) and they don´t have shuttle service to Congonhas. I check at the shuttle desk again and ask how much a taxi would be and, not looking forward to paying R$70 for the trip we head towards the taxi stands. Luckily we happen to glance at a clock (they are all over the place, even over the shuttle desk) and discover that it´s almost 9 A.M. Ah, right, time zones! So we head back to the shuttle desk, get our tickets and make the nine o clock bus (which has only four other passengers on it). The lesson here is to always check the clock when you land at an airport.

The bus ride took maybe half an hour and after we discovered that we can´t check our luggage until three hours before departure we found the free hotel shuttle (from Guarulhos) and checked into the airport Marriott. Aah, air conditioning, hot shower, a toilet where you can flush the paper, a king size bed, CNN, heaven on earth! And a fairly good lunch and a business center with a high speed connection (relatively speaking) to the Internet. Ever since Manaus we´ve been feeling like tourists again, so I don´t even feel guilty about embracing all things American again.

Still, after two weeks without news (nobody follows winter Olympics in the tropics) and lots of leisure, it´s going to be tough being back home. I only hope Homer still remembers us...