Posted by Seth on May 3, 2012 under Trip Reports | 
After spending my first several hours in Rio on the beach it was time to expand my horizons. Literally. There are two main attractions other than the beach – Sugarloaf and Christ the Redeemer. I didn’t have time to do both so I made the choice to go with easy and convenient. I hopped in a cab and headed to Sugarloaf to ride the tramway up to the top and look out over the beaches and skyline. Not nearly as high in elevation as Christ the Redeemer, but way more convenient to get to. And I managed to get a bit of both in anyways.
The cable-car ride up to the top of Sugarloaf is split into two sections. The views from the first base station are pretty impressive in their own right and there’s another bonus available. The lower station also happens to have a heliport built in allowing for tours of the area ranging from a 7 minute trip up to Christ the Redeemer and returning along the beach to hour long trips that cover the whole region. I had the conversion rate wrong in my head so I miscalculated the price of the short trip and thought it incredibly cheap (turns out it was just a fair deal) so I went in to ask about taking a ride.
A trip requires a minimum of three passengers and a maximum of four. I wasn’t going to be able to go just on my own. Fortunately for me, however, there were three women who had purchased a tour and there was an empty seat still on that trip. I was booked within moments and headed out to the helipad, hopeful that the clouds would clear and that we’d actually get up to Christ the Redeemer; it was iffy and no guarantees. Once again the timing worked in my favor and as we were loading up the helicopter the clouds cleared enough that we would be able to make the flight.
Moments later we were circling above the statue, looking down at the statue, the beaches, the city and the people of Rio. It was awesome.
Not surprisingly the 7 minute tour lasted exactly 7 minutes. And as we landed the next group was queued up and ready to go. I headed off to the next stage of the cable car and up to the top of Sugarloaf.
I was sold on Sugarloaf with the promise that every time you turn a corner the views are even better than the past ones. Ygor couldn’t have been more right about that. There was a small jungle at the top station and I wandered through, coming out at the edge of a cliff overlooking the downtown airport, with planes coming and going. Back out the other side were vistas of the beaches and the skyline, depending on which direction I turned (like the first photo in this post).
As I started to head down from the peak the weather quickly worsened. The wispy clouds that earlier threatened our flight up to Christ the Redeemer quickly switched to a full-on rain storm. I was soaked by the time I got in to the taxi at the bottom (the cable car is enclosed but there was some outdoor time between the rides) but I got a cab and made it to the airport without any trouble at all.
It was a tremendous finish to a wonderful day. Sure, the commute is a bit of a pain, but a day on the beaches and in the skies of Rio definitely didn’t suck. I’m quite happy I made the trip.
Posted by Seth on May 2, 2012 under Trip Reports |
It is quite easy to see why sitting on the beach in Rio is a compelling way to pass the day. Both the Ipanema and Copacabana beaches were bustling on the Saturday I visited, filled with locals and tourists alike. My day started, as I like to do in any destination, with a local malted beverage and pastry. In my case a reasonably light beer and cheesy-bread (pao do quiejo) fortified me for the bus ride in to town and my morning of beach time.
The bus from the airport into town takes 30-40 minutes and pulls up right on the beaches, providing easy access to living the local dream. Before long I was wandering on the sand, occasionally dipping my toes in the Atlantic Ocean and watching families and friends enjoy the sun.
I’ve spent a decent amount of time on beaches filled with hawkers. I cannot ever remember enjoying the experience. Both Ipanema and Copacabana had hawkers everywhere. Everything from snacks to drinks to a new bikini (and, yes, even those guys were actually selling their wares) was on offer and there was a decent amount of action for the vendors. Maybe because they were generally doing OK without harassing people things seemed easier. Or maybe because I didn’t speak a word of Portuguese I just didn’t notice the annoyances. Either way, watching the waves roll in and out as hawkers and pretty people strolled by was a great way to spend a few hours.
Ask anyone who has spent time in Rio which beach they prefer and you’ll most certainly get an answer. It is not a question about which many folks are indifferent. I spent about 2 hours on each beach. For my time and money, Copacabana is the place to be. I’m not entirely sure why I feel that way – both were fine – but Ipanema felt a bit more hectic and active to me, I think, and I generally want my beach time to be down time. Even within Copacabana the eastern end (closer to Ipanema) is more active, but by the middle of the beach things thin out pretty quickly, making it really easy to relax.
When the time comes to sit down and relax on the beach there are plenty of vendors with chairs and umbrellas available. Just a couple bucks for the day and way better than dealing with schlepping your own gear out to the beach. Most also offer bar and snack service, though that is also quite easily secured from the hawkers.
Of course, it is also important to partake of the local goods while enjoying the beach time. In addition to the hawkers selling bikinis on the beach there are plenty of options for buying gear, including a nearly endless variety of flip flops, surf boards and other goodies.
Oh, and local beverages, too. Walking the promenade, coconut in hand, is a an awesome way to cool off in the sun. Reasonably priced, too, around $1.50 each. The view alone is probably worth that, not to mention the cool sweet nectar.
And, as the afternoon rolls on and the happy hour spirit kicks in to gear there is arguably nothing better than an ice-cold caipirinha served up on the beach. I certainly had my share.
I also had lunch just off the beach at Devassa. It is both a brewery and a restaurant, with the different beers named for the women the represent – blondes, brunettes & redheads – and they were quite delicious. The food was decent, too. It is definitely a touristy place to eat, but the beers made it worth a visit for me.
Not a bad way to pass a few hours, soaking up rays. And this was only part of the day. With about 3 hours left before I had to head to the airport I shifted elevations, up into the sky to see more of the city.
Posted by Seth on May 1, 2012 under Flying, Review, Trip Reports |
My trip to Rio was pretty ridiculous. I was scheduled to be on the ground only about 12 hours in total, with a travel time of about 16 hours each way. Probably not the most rational trip, but that just means it makes more sense to me. Flying via Houston in both directions I was fortunate to be on one of the United Airlines 767-400s that has been retro-fit with the new lie-flat seats up front and AVOD and E+ in the back. I was seated in coach for the long-haul segments (the short-haul upgrades did clear, but nothing particularly remarkable there) and I was very much looking forward to giving the new seats a try.
For the southbound segment I was seated in the bulkhead window seat and I had an empty seat next to me. The bulkhead offers up plenty of legroom and I generally prefer the fixed arm-rest in between the seats. The main drawback of this seat, as seen in the photo, is that the window is missing. It is possible to lean forward an look out, but that isn’t particularly comfortable for very long.
The food was rather awful – long-haul coach meals have suffered greatly in my recent trips – but it was enough to hold me over until the movie was over and I was ready to sleep, something that I did reasonably well with the space I had available, along with the pillows and blankets from both my seat and my unoccupied neighbor.
Speaking of the movies, I was very impressed with the selections available on the system. There were roughly 150 titles listed. Filtering out the multiple language listings of the same films there were still around 100 to watch and the collection spanned a broad range, from true classics (e.g. Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Casablanca) to more recent classics (e.g. The Princess Bride & Ferris) to a decent smattering of recent releases. It isn’t the absolute broadest collection I’ve seen on a plane, but it was more than enough to keep me entertained. I was also quite happy to see that there is a USB plug attached to the video screen. Charging my phone from there while I slept meant waking up with a full battery, ready to attack the day.
The return flight was roughly the same. I was still in a window seat in the E+ section but not the bulkhead. To me it felt like about the same amount of space overall, with the obvious difference of having a seat reclining into me. The food was similarly awful and the sleep similarly coach-induced.
I had a bunch more photos to share of the in-flight experience. Alas, I left my laptop on the plane at the end of the trip and when I returned 3 hours later it was gone. If anyone sees a used red Asus eee 10" with a gouge in the top cover on sale somewhere please let me know. I’m in the market for one.
Also, keep an eye out for a couple more posts from this trip covering the time I spent on the ground in Brazil. I may have only been there for 12 hours but I packed a whole lot of fun into the trip.
Posted by Seth on December 31, 2011 under frequent flyer, points, Trip Reports |
As 2011 comes to a close it is time once again to look back at all the crazy I’ve managed to experience in such a short period of time. This was once again a banner year for me, with plenty of new experiences. It also had a number of repeats, however, and those were mostly good, too. And so, without further ado, some of the highlights of my 2011 travel numbers.
It was a personal best for me in terms of total miles flown at 217,781. That is more than eight times around the globe (though I only did that as an actual trip once) or 87% of the way to the moon. The miles were spread across 103 segments for an average of over 2100 miles/flight; apparently this was the year of long-haul for me. That said, I also managed to grab some really short flights, like a 93 mile hop from Carlsbad, CA to Los Angeles. Awesome views of sunrise on that one.
It was also the year of one million actual flight miles. I actually know there are many more from other trips as a kid that I cannot properly document so I’m not counting them, but I definitely became a millionaire this year.
Of the 104 segments there were 54 routes I had previously not flown. There were also 54 in coach. That’s right, more than half the flights (though only 47% of the total miles flown) were in coach. It isn’t always champagne and caviar for me, though there is plenty of that, too. Oh, and only 5 of those segments were work-related, making up less than 1% of the total mileage flown. Only 19 of the flights were on regional planes of fewer than 90 seats.
Speaking of airplanes, I flew on 33 different aircraft types, including 7 I had not previously flown on. I finally got to fly on an A380 (though I had been on one a few times prior) and I got to fly the 787 in its first week of commercial service. I also got the A345 and A342, a Dash8-100 and an E35, completing my collection of all the Embraer RJs. That’s something of an ignominious accomplishment, but there it is.
I flew on 17 different carriers, of which 5 were new to me. SriLankan, AirOne, South African, ANA, Austrian and Alaska Airlines were the new ones and all but AirOne were quite pleasant.
As for where I traveled, there weren’t as many new countries for me this year – only 7 – as last. Austria, South Africa, Mauritius, China, Brazil, Argentina and Sri Lanka are the new entries in that collection, bringing my total number over 50. I managed to enter a foreign country 20 times through the year, plus all the returns to the USA. No wonder I needed extra pages in my passport. Again. Two of the trips had 3 countries in them; I’ll best that mark early in 2012 with a six-crossing week in January.
Perhaps the most surprising number to me, however, was the total spend I had in consular fees. I paid for new pages for my passport and for my wife. There were also the visas required for India, China, Brazil and Argentina (though I ended up getting out of that last one). Overall I spent nearly $1,000 on consular fees alone. No regrets there at all, but the numbers can add up in a hurry.
I didn’t count how many nights were in hotels or on airplanes (something to add to my list next year, I suppose) but my best guess count based on my TripIt records is nearly 100 nights spent not at home.
There was a trip derailed by an earthquake (I ended up in Guam/Hong Kong instead of Tokyo) and then two more trips later in the year to Tokyo to make up for it. I had an airline try to charge me more while at the gate and I managed to take a VDB in a foreign language. I got to drive a jet bridge, load baggage, make boarding announcements and walk a plane out on pushback (all appropriately supervised, of course).
I got to join three different couples in celebrating their weddings all over the world and narrowly missed out on crashing a couple more wedding parties here in India towards the end. I got to relive a bit of history with TWA and a ride in a helicopter over the tip of South Africa.
I saw penguins, went diving in the Pacific and pet an elephant in India. There were also giraffes, cheetahs and antelopes. Plenty of wild in my life.
Indeed, it was a good year, maybe even a great year. And 2012 shows no signs of that letting up. Happy new year to all; may your upgrades clear and your flights on time.
Tags: 787, A380, Airbus, Alaska Airlines, ANA, Argentina, Austria, Boeing, Brazil, China, Dreamliner, Embraer, India, Mauritius, South Africa, South African Airways, Sri Lanka, SriLankan
Posted by Seth on September 24, 2011 under frequent flyer, News, points |
The proposed merger of South America’s two largest carriers, LAN and TAM, precipitated many questions. Perhaps the most significant from frequent fliers was the future of the loyalty program. LAN is a member of the oneworld alliance while TAM recently joined Star Alliance. A merged program will have to pick one of those with the decision having great significance in the South American travel market.
Thanks to the Chilean government it appears that the decision has been made and that the carrier will be remaining in oneworld.
The Chilean Tribunal de Defensa de la Libre Competencia (Court of Defense of Free Trade) handed down their approval for the two carriers to merge this week with a laundry list of conditions attached. Here are details on a few of the most significant conditions:
Numbers 1 & 4 require that LATAM give up 4 landing slots in Sao Paulo to allow another carrier to establish service on the Sao Paulo – Santiago route in order to maintain a competitive fare environment on that route. Additionally, LATAM is prohibited from dumping inventory onto that route within 15 minutes of the newly scheduled service once the new entrant has declared their interest in operating the service. Rule 13 also prohibits the new carrier from raising fares on the route versus their aggregate historical averages for one year.
Number 9 requires that LATAM not oppose any foreign carrier’s application to operate with additional freedoms on domestic Chilean routes or to provide service that would otherwise be seen as cabotage. This would effectively allow tag-on flights for long-haul carriers or regional flights within Chile for other airlines in South America. LATAM is required to endorse such requests without demanding reciprocity.
And then there is number 6:
Latam deberá renunciar, dentro de un plazo que no exceda 24 meses contados desde la fecha en que se materialice la Operación consultada, al menos a una de las dos alianzas globales en que a esa fecha participan sus partes, LAN y TAM. En ningún caso podrá pertenecer a aquélla en la que también el grupo Avianca/Taca sea miembro o asociado, o se encuentre en proceso de ingresar.
Within 24 months of realizing the merger the airline is required to resign from at least one of the two global alliances in which is currently participates. Moreover, the carrier must not be in the same alliance as Avianca/Taca, the other powerhouse merging carrier in South America. With Avianca/Taca moving rather quickly down the path of joining Star Alliance this clause leaves oneworld the only rational result.
The other options are to go independent, a tough move to make in that region, or to try for SkyTeam. But with Aerolineas Argentinas set to join SkyTeam it doesn’t seem likely that the competition courts would be too happy to see such a move. They could also try to thwart the entrance of TACA/Avianca from Star Alliance if they want to stay with the group. That would be a most interesting political move and a most unlikely one as well.
The court ruling lays out a pretty clear framework for the carriers to work within and a reasonable timeline through which the changes must be made. Unless the Brazilian government comes up with a major surprise on their conditions for the merger it looks like this one is ready to happen in early 2012 with all the details finally falling into place.
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Posted by Seth on April 28, 2011 under Mileage Run, Trip Reports |
The São Paulo Cathedral, also known as the Catedral da Sé de São Paulo is the largest in South America. With a capacity of 8,000 people and towers rising 92 meters it is rather impressive in size. Plus it has the bonus of being stunningly beautiful, too.
Along side of the park leading up to the cathedral there were lots of folks shouting and preaching. The guy in the yellow shirt just behind the statue above was definitely towards the crazy end of the spectrum; sadly my lack of Portuguese knowledge precluded me from understanding much of what he said.
The stained glass windows are impressive, particularly in the afternoon as they cast beautiful rays of light down into the pews.
Looking up from the dead center of the area where the nave and the transept cross using a fisheye lens. One of my favorite views of any church.
The Cathedral is not particularly old; it was begun in 1913 and completed in 1967, replacing the previous structure that was constructed in the mid-18th century. The current cathedral was built to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of Sao Paulo.
Like many of the other major landmarks of Sao Paulo, the Cathedral is a site not to be missed, particularly on a quick spin through town like the one I was on.
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Posted by Seth on April 27, 2011 under Mileage Run, Trip Reports |
The Virada Festival in Sao Paulo, Brazil offered up a tremendously broad range of performances. One of the most entertaining was the Mexican Wrestling matches that were staged. I certainly didn’t expect it but it turned in to a great way to pass an hour of time.
They were setting up the ring as I wandered past and, uncertain of exactly what was coming, I grabbed a ring-side space against the railing and waited for the show to start. Soon enough the crowd started to stir, chanting for their favorites. Out came the wrestlers, dressed in their uniforms/costumes and we were treated to quite the entertaining display.
Lest there is any doubt, the entire thing was scripted. It was clear as some of the moves missed and were repeated that these guys had worked out their script in advance, including who would win and lose each round. But that certainly didn’t take away from the entertainment. They were pretty impressive to watch as they lifted, flipped and tossed each other around the ring, all the while playing to the crowd and hamming it up.
There was plenty more going on all over town, and I was still delusional that I might be able to save my original itinerary, so it was time to move on. Next stop: The Mercado Municipal for some fantastic foodie scenes and a delicious lunch!
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Posted by Seth on April 26, 2011 under Mileage Run, Trip Reports |
The local markets are, in many ways, the heart and soul of any city. Sao Paulo is no exception, and the Mercado Municipal was alive and crowded with vendors and customers, locals and tourists alike. It had an energy and vibrancy that was simply phenomenal. The market is not incredibly old (it opened for business in 1933), but it is housed in a beautiful building along the Tamanduateí River and houses an incredible variety of culinary treats.
Fresh fruit was one of the best represented offerings in the market, with plenty of stalls, a tremendously broad selection and lots of vendors offering up samples to potential customers. The fruit was beautifully arrayed and, based both on the small sample I purchased and the looks on the faces of the other customers, quite delicious, too.
Showing the Portuguese and Italian heritage of the nation, the market had more bacalao (dried, salted cod) on offer than anywhere else I’ve ever seen it. Add in a number of shops selling pork products of various persuasions and it felt quite a bit like we were in El Boqueria in Barcelona rather than South America. Small world, huh?
The meats were particularly impressive in their variety and certainly fresh, too. At least one of the vendors was curing and drying meats right there in the market. It doesn’t get much better than that.
There were butchers (mostly pork on offer) and cheese shops. There’s a liquor store (they were having a beer tasting as I passed by) and flowers and sweets and spices and olives and fish and lots of other options, too. It was very much a foodie overload. And that’s even before you I got to the prepared food stalls.
Down on the main level of the market there are a few stalls that operate as restaurants. Seating comes at a premium – there isn’t a lot of space for tables and they can get quite crowded – but the food is delicious. I chose one of the shops and settled in for a Pernil sandwich and a Chopp (pronounced shop-ee), the local brew.
More food than I could handle and a deliciously refreshing, cold beer. I even managed to snag a seat thanks to one of the waiters. Truly nothing to complain about at all. And they had several other options available. Plus, there were several other restaurants available, both on the ground level and upstairs on the mezzanine.
Up on the mezzanine the shops were more like real restaurants than food stalls. Lots more seating space and a bit of variety in dining options. Plus waiters with plenty of Chopp to be had by all.
The views down onto the market floor were also rather spectacular.
The stained glass windows in the market are beautifully ornate. The artist, Russian Sorgenicht Conrad Filho, also produced the stained glass windows in the Sé Cathedral in Sao Paulo and hundreds of other churches across the country. Seeing the beauty of the windows, both in the market and later in the cathedral, I can understand why he was invited to produce so many. They are stunning.
The Mercado Municipal is definitely worth a stop as you pass through Sao Paulo. Have a snack and a beer and relax amidst the beautiful fresh produce and cured meats. Even with the hustle and bustle of the patrons and merchants it can be quite a pleasant break from the rest of Sao Paulo.
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Posted by Seth on April 25, 2011 under Mileage Run, Trip Reports |
I thought I had planned well for my 12 hour visit to Sao Paulo, Brazil. I asked a good friend for tips on things to see, mapped out the bus timetable and generally was ready to take in the city as best I could in the short time I was there. I even thought that I had a few words of Portuguese under my belt to help figure things out. Needless to say, the plans fell apart nearly from the get-go. Fortunately the end result was still a ton of fun.
The first stop was supposed to be the cafe in the arrivals area of the airport for Chopp (the local, unpasteurized beer; pronounced shop-ee) and some snacks for breakfast. Apparently their taps were broken so no fresh jetlag fighting beer for me, though I did end up with some Pao do Quiejo (cheesey bread) and a beer anyways.
Then the bus service wasn’t actually going where I wanted to go. Due to language barriers I had a bit of trouble understanding why, though it was quickly revealed when I did finally make it downtown on another bus an hour later to a nearby Metro station. It turns out that Sao Paulo was in the midst of the Virada Festival, a weekend-long celebration of music and culture and the plaza I was headed had been closed down to all vehicles and filled with stages for the various performances.
Actually, much of downtown was filled with stages. There were dozens scattered around with everything from a Beatles cover band playing every album, in order, to a rave at the Se Cathedral Park. There were street performers and roving drum corps and many, many other forms of entertainment. Including Mexican wrestling.
All of the street performers were entertaining. Having the city streets blocked off and filled with hundreds of thousands of Paulistas and other folks in for the festivities made it that much more enjoyable.
After taking in a couple performances I headed over to the Mercado Municipal for lunch and more beer. The market is gem in center of town and well worth the visit. Even if you aren’t hungry when you go in you will be by the time you walk amongst its stalls and navigate its merchants, offering everything from fresh produce to dried salt cod to meats and cheeses. All of it looked delicious and the bits I tried absolutely were.
The next stop on my whirlwind itinerary was the Se Cathedral. You can read more about it here but suffice it to say that, like most cathedrals, it was pretty impressive. So was the party going on in the park outside; the contact high I got walking through the crowd was particularly refreshing.
I also wanted to visit MASP, the art museum, but by this point I was running out of energy in a hurry and also having trouble navigating the Metro system to figure out how to get from where I was to where I wanted to be with minimal transfers. Alas, I conceded defeat and chose to head back to the airport an hour earlier than I’d originally planned. That said, the Metro station at the Cathedral was a work of art unto itself. Truly beautiful inside, especially with the passengers streaming to and fro.
I didn’t get to see everything I’d originally planned, but I also managed to discover several bits that I never could have imagined I’d experience thanks to the festival and just wandering around town a bit. Sure, I like to plan and know what I’m getting myself into but, once again, having a bit of flexibility and rolling with the punches proved to be the best approach to experiencing the city.
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Posted by Seth on March 27, 2008 under News |
As previously speculated, JetBlue founder David Neelman officially announced his new Brazilian airline today. The yet to be named carrier will start flying in “early 2009″ with 3 Embrear E195 planes and grow from there, with 36 more on order and options on another 20. In addition, Neelman is looking to step down from his role of Chairman at JetBlue, stating that “My attention needs to be here,” referring to Sao Paulo, where the new airline will be headquartered.
Also being covered here and discussed here and here.
Posted by Seth on March 24, 2008 under News |
OK…not really, but there is some movement in the Brazilian aviation market, and it is being driven by David Neelman, the founder of JetBlue, so that’s where the connection comes into play. I’m guessing it is just bad translation on some press releases.
There have been rumors swirling for a few months now that Neelman was working on getting a new carrier off the ground in Brazil, taking advantage of his dual-citizenship status to get things moving (Brazil has a citizen ownership limit, similar to the USA). The latest article suggests that he has raised $200MM in funding, has hired executives – including some from the now shuttered flag carrier Varig – and is poised to make an announcement regarding the new company as soon as this Thursday. The airline will operate using ~36 E190 planes, which happen to be made by Embrear, a Brazilian company. Stay tuned…
