MIA - La Carreta

Well, MIA [Miami International Airport] is a piece of work. I have heard tales of no one speaking English; simply not true on any level. There are plenty of people speaking Spanish, many with a distinct Cuban accent, but they all speak English and well. The layout and signage here is an absolute nightmare… And the international flights are interspersed with the domestic which can be a good thing but it can also mean miles and miles of walking without any way to tell if you are going in the right direction. But there are helpful people everywhere so I eventually found my way to La Carreta! Oh, happy day! It is a large cafeteria–style restaurant which is always crowded. You first encounter the deserts… when you are most hungry. The selection is pie-heavy, followed by cheesecakes then regular cakes, tres leches, flan, rice pudding and on an on. The pie crust [probably lard-based is about a quarter inch thick; it makes the pie look like a cheesecake. Among the traditional pie choices I found guava pie… say no more. I write more about the menu later. I have to purchase a WiFi pass to upload this. The menu was extensive with all the regular Cuban fare, ropas viejas, moros y cristianos, platanos [virtually caramelized and decadent]. Next post Rio.

Itinerary

I have had a few requests for my itinerary... here it is.

On 1 Apr. at 3AM I drive to SFO and drop the car at Hertz rental return by 5AM.
I check in at American Airlines by 5:30AM. My flight departs SFO at 7AM and arrives in Miami [MIA] at 3:15PM [no cell phone until MIA]: it takes 5hrs. 15min. I'll have to kill time at MIA before checking in at 7:30PM [cell phone until 8:35]. The flight departs MIA at 8:35PM and arrives at GIG [Rio De Janeiro] the next morning at 6:05 AM. 8hrs. 30mins.

2 Apr. [I collect baggage then go to Customs/Passport Control]. The Othon Shuttle starts running at 8AM [I don’t know if I’ll wait or take a taxi].

2 Apr. I am staying at The Lancaster Othon Travel Hotel – Av. Atlantica, 1470, Copacabana, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Check in is at 3PM!!! I hope I can get in earlier.

2 Apr. I will have lunch and go sightseeing with a Brazilian friend and then off to the beach. He will be picking me up at 11:30AM

3 Apr. Sightseeing and Beach.

4 Apr. I pack and take a taxi to Port Maua and board the Rotterdam.
The cruise begins.

5 Apr. At sea.

6 Apr. We arrive at Salvador De Bahia at 9AM. We are ashore from 9AM to 6PM
The cruise continues.

7 Apr. We arrive Maceio at 10AM. we are ashore from 10AM to 7PM. I celebrate 61 years on the planet! Happy Birthday to Rick and Kathy! The cruise contines.

8 Apr. We arrive at Recife at 8AM. we are ashore 8AM to3PM [a short stay]. I hope to visit Olinda. The cruise continues.

9 Apr. to 12 Apr. at sea.

12 Apr. We arrive at Banjul, The Gambia at 10 AM. We are ashore 10AM to 6PM and i will go on a HAL excursion called "Banjul Highlights." The cruise continues.

13 Apr. We arrive at Dakar, Senegal at 8AM. we are ashore 8AM to 7PM. I plan visit the Isle De Goree, the sight of an old slave depot; now a museum. The cruise continues.

14 Apr. at sea.

15 Apr. We arrive at Santa Cruz de Tenerife on Tenerife in the Canary Islands at 12 noon. We are ashore 12 noon to 9PM. I am visiting the pyramids at Guimar. It's a HAL excursion. The cruise continues.

16 Apr. We arrive at Arrecife, Lanzarote in the Canary Islands at 8AM. We are ashore 8AM to 5PM. it's a barren islands so I think I'll just do the beach and shops.

17 Apr. At sea.

18 Apr. We arrive at Casablanca at 6AM. we are ashore 6AM to 7:30 PM.
The extended hours is to accomodate a couple of excursions [to Fez and to Marakesh]that take 8 to 12 hours. I will visit the great Mosque in Casablanca and then take the train to Rabat for the day. The cruise continues.

19 Apr. We arrive Cadiz at 8AM. we are ashore 8AM to 4:30PM.
I will try to visit Sevilla [or Jerez if Sevilla doesn’t work]. The cruise continues.

20 Apr. We arrive in Lisbon at 7AM and disembark around 10AM. I will take a taxi to the Borges Residencial [Hotel] on Rua Garrett 108, Lisboa, Portugal. Check in time is at 2PM.

24 Apr. I check out of Borges Residential at 2PM, then fly from Lisbon to GIG [Rio] arriving at 9:40PM on Air Portugal.

24 Apr. I will taxi to a late arrival at the Aeroporto Othon Travel Hotel in Centro.
Av. Beira-Mar 280, Centro, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. I have three days with nothing planned save for checking out Lapa, Niteroi [Oscar Niemeyer's wonderful Art Museum]and maybe Buzios.

28 Apr. I depart GIG [Rio] at 8:45PM on American Airlines to Miami arriving at
4:15 AM on 29 Apr. 8hrs. 30mins. I have a 3hr. 35min. layover at MIA [do breakfast].

29 Apr. I depart MIA at 7:50AM on American Airlines to SFO arriving at 10:50AM.

I will catch Airporter to Sonoma around 12 Noon arriving home by 2PM.

Bon Voyages

Perhaps the best part of leaving is the Bon Voyage party, the Bon Voyage dinner, the Bon Voyage breakfast. In one week I have gained back the weight it took me six months to lose. I don't care! It makes me look more formidable so I won't get bothered by the pickpockets and muggers. I think I'll wear a fake Rolex just to test my theory. It's a wonderful "Unintended Consequence." The latest "dust-up" on this trip is the outbreak of Dengue Fever in Rio de Janeiro. They have had quite a few cases of late and the recommendation is to wear long trousers and long sleeve shirts. Of course you can spray on your DEET as well. According to the container you can treat your clothes as well. I picked up an aerosol can and a container of DEET wipes for the face. I'll be there a total of 5 days and I intend to visit the urban jungle, Floresta da Tijuca, and the Botanical Gardens which are supposed to be spectacular. I now have a contact in Rio [a musician] who will show me the sights. That is the best! Well it's 56 hours and counting. The next post will be from Miami.
Ciao!

Traveler's Tip

Recently I was meeting two friends at SFO [San Francisco International Airport] who were returning from a fishing trip in Belize. They checked their bags through to SFO but had a few hours layover in Dallas. Their plane arrived and we waited as the luggage spit out of the conveyor onto the carousel. After several stops and restarts [and over an hour] it became apparent that their luggage was not on that flight. A line was forming at the luggage claim office and as we approached we saw their bags in a cordoned off area. They had made it on an earlier flight. So... if you have a layover and your bags are checked through you may want to do a cursory inspection of the holding area in baggage claim. It may save you some time.

Malarone

The VA is sending a new prescription of Malarone to my home, not my P.O. Box. Turns out they don't trust the USPS. A note on dosage: I will start taking the pills daily 2 days before I leave for Rio de Janeiro and will continue to take them until I am out of the risk zones, then I take it for 7 more days. It was recommended that I continue to take it after leaving Africa in that I will be in Rio again in a weeks time.

Computer Woes

A few months after booking this cruise I purchased a small "notebook" computer, a 6lb., thin, sexy job with a high-tech-looking "carbon-fiber-esque" cover. It was preloaded with Windows Vista and all the other "necessities." About two months ago it started to crash on a regular basis sporting an ominous blue screen with a cryptic "STOP" message with lots of letters and aughts. I was able to restore after the crashes but it did not stop them. After a bit of investigation I discovered that this was not an uncommon experience with this new Windows Vista. To be safe [I must blog!] I purchased a brand new Dell 5-pounder [not at all as sexy] at BestBuy and set about initializing it and preparing it for my trip. After the initial set-up and installation of the anti virus software and product registration the device informed me it would need to reboot to activate everything properly. Low and behold the evil blue screen made another appearance. This time I could not get it to restore. I phoned Dell and they told me it was most likely a software problem. I called Microsoft. "We can't even talk to you about it unless you pay." Of course this was accompanied by "We apologize for any inconvenience this may be causing you" and "We apologize for the difficulty you are having" "let me check with my supervisor" and so on. I appreciate courtesy in any situation but when these phrases are repeated between every sentence patience grows thin. Well, after supplying MS with my credit card I was told it wasn't their problem as the software came preloaded from Dell. It is Dell's problem. I finally convinced the technician to at least try to walk me through a reboot but he could not get past the blue screen either. I told him how upset this had made me and hung up. The next day I bought a MacBook. I immediately went to WiFi equipped cafe and set up my new notebook. I checked my e-mail and noticed 4 items from MS. I responded to each "apology" with my dismay about their seeming lack of concern for their customers and the the idea of beta-testing on an unsuspecting public and closed with "I am responding on my brand new MacBook which has yet to crash." Be forewarned. Vista is not yet ready for general consumption. There are many problems. They probably won't get solved until someone in the private sector discovers the solution. MS certainly can't handle it on their own. I was told that a new "service pack"was in the works that would address many of the "glitches" but it wasn't expected to be released for another couple of months. Don't buy a new computer pre-loaded with Vista. Stick it out with XP until you are sure that these problems are solved. There is a world of information about the problems with Vista on the web; just Google "Microsoft vista problems."
Now about the Mac. I have resisted buying a Mac for many years because I was generally satisfied with "other world" of PCs [are not Macs also PCs?]. I was also put off by the apparent cult-like advocacy of Mac users. I was aware that it was the tech-de-jour for artistic types and that it was so easy to learn [unless, of course, you grew up in the IBM environment]. I just didn't want to "drink the KoolAde." Well, Mac is now pretty much capable of handling more that the art world and I am going to give it a go. The fact that people don't hate Apple as much as they hate Microsoft eases the fear of viruses and hacking. I haven't found it that easy to use yet but I will get the hang of it and I can still use my home desktop [still equipped with XP] to handle QuickBooks and such. Remember, don't buy a Vista based computer, yet. Wait. Or try a Mac.

Malaria Meds and the USPS

It was decided a while ago that it would be prudent to take malaria medication for this trip. Malarone was recommended at the Public Health office in San Francisco. It was suggested that it is the most expensive but with the least side effects. I asked for it at the VA and was told I might have to pay extra but that it would be sent. Several alternatives are available one of which is now involved in litigation, one which requires a longer period/daily-dosing and one which has more pronounced side effects.
I waited for a couple of weeks after being told it was sent and finally called the pharmacy again and was told it was tracked to the post office in Healdsburg. When I inquired after it there and gave them my box number I got two, not one, "uh-ohs." My box is in a free-standing unit of some 50 boxes that is hinged to the wall and padlocked into place. two weeks before, someone came in, smashed the padlock and made off with the contents of the 50 boxes. Somewhere out there is a disappointed person trying to get high on malaria meds. The post office personnel decided to post a note on the out side of the box but it kept getting torn down [????]. I doubt that any one of the box-holders ever found out that they had been rifled. Of course it does not surprise me that they would be so cavalier about other peoples' property. I have requested a replacement prescription and hope it arrives and on time!