Go Mike, Go!

Speaking of being connected to home, I've been closely following the progress of my friend, Mike DeFlavia back in Washington. Mike is competing to win a car at the Washington Auto Show. He won some sort of drawing to be one of a dozen or so people to compete for one of three cars. All he has to do it touch the car longer than anyone else.

You can see him here at the Auto Show. He's the guy in the white shorts and dark hair all the way to the right on the white car.

Of all my friends, I think Mike is probably the only one I know who is both crazy enough to attempt something like this and persistent enough to win. My friends and I have said all he needs to do is talk to the other folks non-stop. One by one they'll likely walk away.

Good luck, Mike!

UPDATE: After surviving I think 3 or 4 days standing, sitting, sleeping next to a car Mike made it all the way. Unfortunately, so did a bunch of other competitors. From what I can tell the prize was determined by a drawing or Bingo game and Mike lost.

Forty Pounds of Connectivity

It’s amazing how attached to technology I’ve become. I’m sitting in my hotel room in Sao Paulo waiting for the Hotel Engineer to figure out why the Internet access in my room isn’t working. I haven’t been online in almost 24 hours and (aside from the hassle of not being able to update my blog) I’m suffering withdrawal. Maybe that’s a good thing.

I can’t travel these days without my laptop, my digital SLR camera, three lenses, my pocket camera, a video camera and of course all the wires, transformers, adapters and everything else that goes along with them. I have an entire 40 lbs backpack that I’m lugging around Brazil just so I can have my electronics with me. So much for hitting the open road unencumbered.

Hopefully I’ll be back online soon so I can file this blog entry. ;-)

(Apparently, I am back online as I've been able to make this post.)

The First Day in Rio

Our flight landed around 8:00 this morning after a long night. I did manage to sleep through the night and was grateful that Delta hands our eyeshades throughout the cabin. (I told the flight attendant that she made my day.) I also had a neck pillow that my colleagues at AOL gave me as a going away gift. Boy did that come in handy. And, of course, I had the Ambien that my Doctor gave me. I think that helped the most of all. ;-)

Chris was kind enough to come to the airport to meet me. While I've traveled quite frequently to foreign lands, I was a bit anxious about this particular arrival knowing I was carrying bags for a month and that Chris had recommended I not take the standard tourist cab but go up the escalator to find a city cab. Suddenly this seemed like TOO MUCH WORK. Sensing this, he met me at the airport. Thankfully, Chris stands 6'7" tall with a head of blonde hair. He stood out well from a enormous crowd of Brazlians.

After getting us back to the apartment we quickly went down the street for some food and a walk to the beach. Here I am at my first Visit to Ipanema.




And, here is Chris and me on the beach.



The rest of the day was spent getting acclimated to the new surroundings. Both Chris and Anderson take language lessons in order to better speak each other's native tounge. They're doing well -- this coming from a guy who left poor Mrs. Moran hanging in High School Spanish Class after having had at least two years in her class! Not unlike high school, while Chris and Anderson studied, I slept.

But we did make it out to the beach. Lots of customs to learn. Where to get the beach chair from. Who to order the drinks from. Where's the restroom. (Answer: too far away). But, the most important custom I learned today was how to order the Caipirihnha on the beach. These guys walk the beach with two to four coolers over their shoulders w/ all the fixings for these sweet drink and sit down right in front of you to mix them. Hmmm, tasty!



The rest of the day included the Gym, some casual Portuguese lessons for me, another nap and a late, late dinner. As I type it is 12:01am on Thursday and time for me to officially bring this day to a close.

The Pack and Panic

It’s hard to believe it, but I’m sitting on a plane bound for Atlanta where I will connect with a flight to Rio de Janeiro. I have talked about this trip since early November when I first finalized plans to leave AOL. And, with very few exceptions, I sit on this plane with no other plans than to arrive in Rio tomorrow morning and depart on February 21. I don’t think I have ever been this casual about travel plans. I wonder what that says about how different this trip is for me.

I packed two suitcases… the larger with about a month’s worth of clothes. The smaller, with about a month’s worth of supplies for Chris and Anderson including protein bars, peanut butter, bed sheets and other things they can’t readily find in Rio. As for my own stuff, I just piled clothes into the suitcase until nothing else would fit and assumed I’d buy anything else I needed when I get there. As my good friend Jill reminded me, they do have stores in South America. ;-)

Rob drove me to the airport and stuck around for a bit to visit and say goodbye. It’s hard to believe we won’t see each other for a month. I don’t think I’ve been gone from home this long in one block since I lived in Rotterdam in 1996 while attending the Rotterdam School of Management. Hopefully, his studies at the University of Maryland will keep him so busy he won’t know I’m gone. ;-)

The First Leg

January 22, 2007: Time to get serious about this blogging thing. I just spent a great week in Florida starting with a visit with my parents and then a celebration of my friend’s 40th birthday.

My mother and step-dad became snowbirds last year when they purchased a condo at Jonathan’s Landing in Jupiter, Florida. It’s a great spot in a very nice golf community and I’m glad they have it. Many of their friends are in the area and they seem to enjoy their time there their days occupied with golf, shopping or work – and their evenings occupied with dinner dates. We had two very nice dinners – first with the Jeffers and then with my Uncle Jack DeKorte and his friend Cinny.


Paulette and Jack were kind enough to drag me out to the golf course – something I haven’t done with any regularity in years. And, I’m pleased to say my game wasn’t entirely unrespectable. Jack was having fun with his new oversized Driver – a present he received for Christmas. Paulette, unfortunately, was preoccupied with Franklin Lakes Borough Council business and was called to her mobile phone during the afternoon's outing.

On Friday I moved on to Fort Lauderdale where a group of us celebrated Jeff Sheweys’s 40th birthday. His partner, Ran, coordinated the weekend for about a half dozen of us at a local guesthouse where we spent much of the days relaxing and most of the evenings eating, drinking and dancing. It was a great weekend of catching up with old friends and topped off with meeting some new ones as well. I also had the pleasure of meeting up with Brenda Yester, a good friend from Carnival Cruise Lines who is always my partner in crime at the Travel Industry conferences. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and on Monday morning at 4:45am I woke to continue on to the next leg of my journey.

Oooh... I hope my Mom doesn't see that.

Sunday's New York Times Travel Section has an article about the safety of Rio de Janeiro. I have had a lot of people warn me about Rio in the past few months as I've discussed my travel plans. But, I have just as many friends who travel there often -- including my friend Chris who lives there and with whom I will be staying -- who tell me they have never felt unsafe in the city.

Frankly, as I think about it, there is enough crime in my home city of Washington that I'm probably as likely to be involved in an incident here at home as I am on the road.

The Itinerary

I found this neat tool on the blog of my friend Martin. From time to time I'll use it to plot out my 2007 travels. Here's where I plan to go in the next few months.



Jan 17 - Palm Beach
Jan 19 - Fort Lauderdale
Jan 23 - Rio de Janeiro

Maps generated by the
Great Circle Mapper -
copyright © Karl L. Swartz.