Fishnet Explore 97 - Diary - Friday July 25, 1997

[William Vannerson <William_Vannerson@ama-assn.org>]

Diary - Friday July 25, 1997
 
 I arrived in Sao Paulo at around 6:30 am.  It was a
comfortable 65 degress outside.  My first impression naturally
was that no one was speaking English.  This was an
immediate problem when I checked the airline for my flight to
Manaus.  I learned there that my luggage was not checked
through to Manaus, instead it was downstairs in Brazilian
customs.  The "learning" part was the lesson that you can
not go backwards through customs and immigration.
 
 I finally found a representative of SwissAir, thank goodness
for their neutrality, and they escorted me back to the Delta
baggage area.  I picked up my two pieces and went through
the whole immigration process again.  (I told the customs guy
that my twin brother was flying with me).
 
 The flight to Manaus was a real puzzler.  It was on a 747 that
was converted to mostly haul cargo.  I learned that Manaus is
a "free zone" and as such a lot of Brazilians travel here to buy
large appliances and other such items and take them back to
Sao Paulo.  This certainly brings new meaning to the term
"carry on" luggage.
 
 The whole experience reminds me of the junkets to Las
Vegas or Atlantic City.  First class rides only to spend all
your money when you get to the destination.
 
 As a converted 747 most all seats were first class.  This was
a most comfortable ride.  Leaving Sao Paulo I noted the
landscape as being much like the mid-west.  There was lots
of farming and cattle ranching. Slowyly this turned into the
rainforest.
 
 I tried to grab a few shots from the plane clearly showing
where there was burning of the rain forest taking place.  While
I did not see many of these places, where I did it involved
large areas.

 About a hour away from Manaus you can see the topography
change. When it did, everything was a dense green.  I saw
quite a few tributaries and small river systems as we got
closer.
 
 As an American with major rivers such as the Mississippi
and Tennessee, I was not prepared for the size of the
Amazon.  It was huge.
 
 I attempted a picture that showed a standard size cargo
freighter (ocean class) on the Amazon.  It was dwarfed by the
size of the river.  It would easily take putting 10-15 Tennessee
Rivers together side by side to match the Amazon at
Manaus.  Hopefully, on Saturday I'll get some better pictures.
 
 My hosts from Tec Toy met me at the Manaus Airport. 
Geraldo speaks a little English so we did communicate.  We
went directly to Tec Toy where I meet Mr. Eudes the Director
and most of his senior staff.  They have graciously set aside
a small conference room for my use. (I'm using it now to
prepare this document).
 
 Together we came up with a  list of things I need to do before
Monday. One of the first was to try to connect to CSi.  We
were not successful and instead decided to try again in the
morning.
 
 My main goal was a shower and some bed rest.  Before I left
for the hotel I toured the Tec Toy plant.  This company makes
electronic games for Sega.  I saw lots of them.  I even
wrangled out a few expert hints at how to win at the games. 
Perhaps now I can beat my son.
 
 At about 4 pm Geraldo took me to the hotel.  A cold shower
(they don't seem to believe in "hot" water) and I am ready for
bed.  I've still got to do a live conference tonight and go over
my plans for Saturday.
 
 In case I forget to mention it, the temperate was a humid 92
degrees. So far I've swallowed four (4) tall glasses of cold
water.  In the midst of this I learned that "Antartica" is the
most famous beer in Brazil. Somehow thinking of Antartica
while drinking the beer seems most inviting right now.
 
 == John ==