Day 1: Getting there

Friday, 27 April 2007. After an overnight flight to Sao Paulo, Brazil, I can barely keep my eyes open. Luckily, me and my advisor at JPL, Dr. Nathan Bridges, were met at the airport by our colleagues Dr. Jim Crowley and his wife Dr. Beatriz Ribeiro da Luz. The plan was to spend the night at Jim & Beatriz's house in Sao Paulo before flying on the next day. So Jim & Beatriz picked us up in their car and wisked us off to their place across the city. Beatriz, a native Brazilian, drove. And is a damn good thing she did. Traffic in Brazil makes LA traffic look like a cakewalk; it makes Massholes from Boston seem like Mother Theresa. In addition to the regular traffic, madmen on motorcycles are constantly darting between lanes of cars and trucks. If owning a motorcycle in the US decreases your lifespan by an average of seven years, in Brazil it must decrease by at least 50 years. Yikes.

After a brief nap, we headed out for an early dinner. Early, that is, by Brazilian standards, where the typical evening meal starts no earlier than 9 pm. Most restaurants don't even open before 8 pm. After a hearty meal, we headed home early to get a jump on tomorrow. Onward to the Amazon!