Boarding the Amtrak in Martinez California Comenzo viajar a Brasil
At 6:39pm this evening, I am scheduled to board an Amtrak train in Martinez, CA bound for Bakersfield. In Bakersfield, I will transfer to a bus scheduled to arrive in San Diego at 5:35am tomorrow morning. From there I take the Greyhound into Tijuana Mexico.
A little background:
Since childhood, I dreamed attending Carnaval in Brazil. Perhaps it was a result of watching the film “Black Orpheus". Beautiful music, wild rhythms, non-stop dancing, beautiful women - what a party!
Of course, movies are not reality. However, as the years passed, my desire to experience the Brazilian Carnaval never waned.In March, I was considering moving and contemplating a new destination. My friend Tchiya was visiting me one day, and began telling me about her travels to Mexico and Brazil. She told me how much fun she had in Brazil (coincidentally, while telling me her story, I had a CD on my boom box by Sergio Mendez!), and that I would probably enjoy it there too. Our conversation rekindled my memories of the movie and my childhood desire to visit Rio. And so, on that day, I began my plans to take a trip to Brazil.
Years ago, after leaving college, I had considered traveling to Rio de Janeiro by foot. For this excursion however, I have decided to travel exclusively over land and sea. I will attempt to travel to Brazil (via Mexico, Central and South America), and attend Carnaval de Bahia 2008 without stepping foot inside of an airplane.
I would like to thank the following people for their support, encouragement, help and inspiration in this endeavor:
Deborah Tannenbaum, Tchiya Amet, the Ramey family, Suzie Bridwell, Troyle Tognoli, Katrin & Peter, Miles, Alexa Armenta, Cynthia Whitfield, Esmeralda, YoLizzy & Yoli,T Dog, Lynne McGuire, my co-workers at the Mendocino County Department of Public Health, Celeste, Christian, Lorenzo, Dr. (DJ Mike) Taylor, Kirsten, Lilia Albuquerque, Mr. Phil Cool, my Pilates instructors Susan & Lynlee, Master’s swim coach Mike, Donna & Alfred, Jessica Yamamoto, Volker Poelzl, Antonio Dionisio, Alex Bricken, and my family.
