Calmness is the best companion – part 1 ‘Brazilian trip’
 Blog 49 |
My ear plugs were in, the ionizer on, and I lay back while eyes closed eyes, as we take off. Tam airlines surprised me with the high standard of service given onboard before we departed; a cup a toffee, a glass of water, and personal kit of foldable comb, travel tooth brush set, a convenient pair of ear plugs, and socks. |
My beautiful wife had just two hours previously taken me to the airport at four in the morning, so she must have been as tired as me. On top of it she had to put up with my tantrums about too much baggage and my worry toward check-in and customs control. With my personal Toshiba laptop and another purchased a few days previously in a large hand luggage suitcase, it was pretty obvious why worry became something on the agenda. Certainly they would stop me from passing through customs control for sheer oversize! |
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I moaned and groaned and upset her while she drove airing my concern; leaving her frustrated and tense at my temperament. We ventured on and eventually stopped arguing, so I put my hand on her thigh and caressed it beckoning a truce. When we arrived things were calmer. She came to a halt outside J Gate and I ended up taking the two large suitcases to check-in. Both were overweight according to our bathroom scale: one around 33kg and the other maybe more. |
| One full of my daughters clothes from England who is studying at university in Brazil while the other to be sent off was full of presents my partner acquired days before departure for family members and a few dear old friends. In Brazil it is possible to get a good return on investment. She reminded me that we weren’t in England and they are not so strict regarding having two computers. I felt like a smuggler like in the 1978 film Midnight Express when a student wore hashish around his waste and tried to smuggle it out of Turkey. |
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At a glance the rotating digital electronic signal above the check-in read maximum 5kg hand baggage. Fortunately, mine was in the car awaiting my return: more like ten or twelve kilos just for the records. The stewardess loved my British accent, so I put her leniency down to allowing me to proceed without as much as a warning for the 33.5kg hard suitcase. The other weighed 0.5kg less than the permitted thirty two, so she must have had pity on me or something! |
| Manaus was an unexplored airport for me, but what a confusion; it took an hour and a half to queue up at passport control, pass through customs to be waivered into the red zone, and three forms to complete including one in case of a swine flu epidemic in sweltering temperatures. My bags were already out on the belt for pickup. Luckily the official respected my English sovereignty; finally proceeding with thirty minutes to spare before boarding. I love Casa de Pao de Queijo, which is a specialty cheese bread house franchise all over the country. |
Bottom line is it gave me time to be tempted into trying a cheese and ham Panini, cheese bread with doce de leite, a kind of condensed milk with toffee. So tasty it was worth the perspiration running down my face. All toped off with Brazilian coffee and whipped frothy milk to wash it down! |
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The moral of this blog is everything transpired without incident, so it just goes to show how calmness is the best companion. I’ll tell you more about my journey in part two! |
Categories: General
Tags: hand baggage Midnight Express cheese bread England
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