Over the Atlantic Ocean, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 26 degrees, hot, Sunny but slightly overcast.
After all the confusion of yesterday, with two check-ins, paying extra for luggage twice, and instead of flying with KLM yesterday morning, I’m now flying with Lufthansa from yesterday evening.
However, I won’t be flying directly to Rio; I will first pass through São Paulo for a connecting flight. After taking off, we had drinks and then dinner. The dinner was quite good; the flight crew are extremely helpful, especially the Brazilian ones. This is something I have only now noticed: Brazilians, in general, are happy people, happier than maybe other nationalities.
On the back of the seat in front of me, there is an LED screen where I can watch a selection of films. They distributed electronic headphones after take-off. I remember in the past, there was one large projector for each section of the plane, and the headphones were hollow tubes that carried the sound to your ears.
Look how technology has changed and consequently improved so much over the last 30 or 40 years. Various generations have come and gone over time, from LPs and vinyl records to CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray, and now MP3 and streaming.
It never stops; it only evolves!
I think sometimes humans have halted their personal development; they have stopped at becoming better individuals, but technology, no, it keeps advancing. Because of this, perhaps we are unprepared for what it brings, or only a small portion of the population is ready, while the rest lack access or knowledge of how it works.
Once again, we’re discussing the haves and have-nots in the world. To be a have, you need money, and plenty of it; the have-not, on the other hand, has nothing and no prospects for the future. Coming from a have-not background and succeeding in life is extremely challenging, and those who do deserve respect, as only a few possess the resilience to do so.
I couldn’t sleep. I tried, changed positions, and tossed and turned, but it was impossible. My Google watch showed that I had slept for less than an hour throughout the entire night. Occasionally, I would glance at the monitor in front of me to see our location.
The first stage involves flying from Frankfurt, Germany, over France and Spain, with the second part crossing the Atlantic Ocean. The tip of Spain is relatively close to the tip of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, with Natal as the capital, followed by the third part, flying down the coast of Brazil to São Paulo.
The plane’s lights came on around 2:00 a.m. Brazilian time, signalling that breakfast would be served soon. It was a nice, small but wholesome continental breakfast that nobody could complain about. Having spent the last seven months in England, visiting cafes three or four times a week and sometimes going out with Julie for an English breakfast, I can’t directly compare the plane’s offerings to what I had been eating in England, but even so, it was still good.
The captain announced that the flight was approaching Sao Paulo, 20 minutes ahead of schedule, which I thought was quite impressive. The captain also informed us that for connecting flights in Brazil, we would need to collect our luggage, clear customs and immigration, then check in again and recheck our baggage for the connecting flight. In my case, heading to Rio, I might have to pay again for extra baggage. Imagine three times for one suitcase, how crazy is that?
Fortunately, passing through immigration, customs, and the check-in counter at Gol, the Brazilian domestic airline, went smoothly. Thank God for that!!!
My luggage was dispatched; now it was just another mile on foot to the boarding gate. The flight crew were waiting to receive the new passengers for the short 45-minute flight from São Paulo to Rio.
Boarding the plane, it was clear that it was old, a bit filthy, and perhaps not fully well-maintained. I had just come from an international flight with Lufthansa on an immaculate, well-organised aircraft, and now I was about to fly on something that looked like it couldn’t even leave the runway.
But it was also apparent to me that, upon arriving in Brazil, people seem happier. I was very warmly received, and the smiles from the flight crew were genuine and kind. It made me think that, despite all the issues and disappointments we face in Brazil, the people are cheerful and know how to enjoy life even in the face of setbacks.
In no time at all, we were taxiing onto the runway and then took off into the air. The captain followed the coast. There was a small cloud, but I could see the coast and the sea, some towns, Ilha Bella, Beautiful Island, and Ilha Grande, Big Island, both of which I have visited, and then, quite quickly, the captain was beginning his descent towards Rio, my fixed home for so many years.
I picked up my suitcases and entered the airport lobby. I bought a shit cappuccino that was nothing like I was used to at the cafe on the green in Wordsley or all the other cafes I visited with and without Julie. I put some credits in my Tim’s cell phone account, opened the 99 app, and in half an hour I was on my way to the South zone of Rio.
I paid the driver in cash, 50 Reais, and went up to Nalva’s flat. I rang the doorbell, and Nalva greeted me with a smile, a laugh, and pure happiness. She offered to make us some coffee, but I invited her to go out and have coffee and breakfast in the street. We arrived at the Portuguese bakers, sat down at a table, and a couple of the girls who work there recognised me from last year, and Nalva and I talked.
We caught up about Yasmin, work, money, and our personal lives. I told her about Julie, and apparently, everything is fine. It was a pleasant chat; even though we are not together as a couple, we seem to be friends, and there is mutual respect. Nalva told me that Yasmin would finish school at lunchtime and would meet her at the shopping centre for lunch, but Yasmin has no idea I am home for her birthday.
At 1:00 p.m., we arrived at Praia de Botafogo Shopping. Nalva called Yasmin to check where she was with her friends and to organise a meeting at the shopping centre’s main entrance. It took a while to find Yasmin. Nalva found her first; Yasmin saw her mother, then saw me, and she jumped with delight.
We kiss and hug, and I explain everything that happened over the past two days. We had lunch on the top floor of the shopping centre, then we went home. All afternoon, Yasmin and I caught up on school, the trip, what she wants, etc. We took Perola out for a walk, and I also told her about Julie.
Nalva had to go to work for a couple of hours, so it gave us more time to talk without her mother.
In the evening, Nalva cooked something simple but very nice; everything that Nalva cooks is good. We sang and clapped Happy Birthday for Yasmin. Yasmin blew out the candles and distributed the cake. I gave them their presents, we laughed and joked, and everyone was happy. Despite the confusion of the last couple of days, it was all worth it to see my daughter happy again and Nalva too.
Back to my reserved sofa bed and in bed by midnight.
Thank you.
Thanks for reading this blog post. Please explore my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments section.
Richard
