Brasil - SP&Pantanal Day 13

Day 13 - Sunday, August 9, 2009 – Drive from Bonito and then flight from Campo Grande to São Paulo. Father’s Day in Brasil

We woke up at 5:30 and showered. We packed the remainder of our luggage, and had breakfast before Claudio picked us up at 7:00 to drive to the airport in Campo Grande.

The weather had changed drastically. It was cold with low clouds, and by the time we left the hotel there was a heavy mist, almost rain.

We were so lucky during our stay in the Pantanal with perfect weather, no one could complain about rain today.

The three hour trip to Campo Grande from Bonito went quickly. The highway was good; there was no construction and no gravel roads on this route.

We stopped at a truck stop at 9:30 and enjoyed a cafézinho and pâo de queijo while Gennie had an ice cream. We took the opportunity to talk with the ladies at the counter about their beautiful vegetable garden and I took a few photos of people working around the area.

We arrived at the airport at 11 and thanked Claudio for his great service and safe driving. As we unloaded the luggage we discovered that Tia’s bag was missing.

Evidently there was some confusion as she had asked Thomas to take the bags from the room to the lobby and he took his bag but not hers.

We checked in for the flight and received our seat assignments. We had plenty of time before our flight so we looked in the shops. Tia called the hotel and discovered that her bag had been found and was on its way with another driver.

At noon, the bag arrived and she checked in for our flight, all was back to normal. We had a small lunch and then checked the board to see that our flight was to leave at 1:20 as scheduled.

We went through security easily and found a place to sit while we waited for our flight to be called. Gennie typed the journal while I paced around and talked to a few people.

Flights were backed up coming into Campo Grande due to weather problems so we did not board the 1:20 flight to São Paulo until 2:55. Once we were seated and on our way, the flight was smooth and there was very little cloud cover.

We could see the many lakes and rivers below as well as the lush green of the Pantanal. The flight was only 90 minutes so it went quickly with a little shut eye along the way.

We arrived at Guarulhos because Bob had to fly back to the states on a United flight tonight. Renata, Dominic, and Patricia were there to meet us. Thomas was happy to see his family and tell them about his adventures.

We said goodbye to Bob who went on to connecting flights and hopefully a smooth trip back to Seattle. We had a coffee and snack and then took two cars back to the Aldeia for pizza with Lia, Oswaldo, Paula, and Luciana and to celebrate Father’s Day with the family.

After unpacking our bags we finished the journal, sorted the few photos we took today, and then took a shower and crawled into bed.

Day 18: Mediterranean Navigation

Malta

Tunisia

Algeria

Gibraltar

Spain

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Day 18 - Wednesday, March 19, 2025 – Disembark Ship & Return to USA

It was a dark and rainy morning when we put our luggage outside of our cabin door at 4:15. We met three of our fellow passengers also on the same flight...

Continue Reading Day 18