9 days away from home, 11 airline flights, tons of fun! August vacation flight itinerary: San Juan, Puerto Rico to Miami, Florida, to Chicago, Illinois, to Madison, Wisconsin, to Chicago, Illinois, to Miami, Florida, to Buenos Aires, Brasil, to Vitoria, Brasil, to Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, to Sao Paulo, Brasil, to Miami, Florida, to San Juan, Puerto Rico!
My Friend Stratton used to live with many Brazilian roommates in San Diego, California, this brought about this entire trip to Votoria, Brasil. Those roommates have since moved back to Brasil and we had an open invitation to come visit...visit we sure did!
After having our passports confiscated (against our will) in Miami, we had no choice but to wait from Friday until Monday to travel to Brasil. The visa process for Brasil is not the easiest! $100, blue ink only, passport photos, one hour per day to accept applications! Here you see me in the jumpseat of an AA 757 on the first leg of our journey.
"I don't think God wants us to go to Brasil!" The taxi driver in Miami got lost in downtown Miami Beach.
A view (again from the cockpit jumpseat) of downtown Chicago. This is after all day being lost in Miami and using taxis, buses, and trains...
Stratton in the worst of the two jumpseats.
Do I look tired yet? Approaching ORD airport...
My cousins Ben and Sobha were willing to let us visit at the last second since we were homeless for the weekend! Here are Strat and Ben.
Ben, Luke, Stratton, and Sobha in Madisos, Wisconsin.
In front of the embassy with VISAS!!!
Do you have a brazilian visa for 5 years? Do you?
After an overnight flight on an AA 767-300 we caught a TAM flight to Vitoria, here I am at the airport. It is 75 degress and light winds...feels great!
Like many airports in the world, this small airport is undergoing huge growth projects, it will be a major international airport in two years.
One of the many little harbors in Espirito Santo.
The view from Michael's house, a very cozy (and huge) apartment that overlooks the town of 200,000 plus people.
Inside the apartment where we lived for the week...
The church that overlooks Vitoria and Vila Velha.
The military training grounds in Espirito Santo...so beautiful!
Iglesia again.
Stratton in front of Vitoria, we could hear monkeys all around us!
Not sure what it is, but it looks pretty...
Me, Stratton, Michael, and his friend Juliano climbed this hill to watch paragliding.
We all found out that we were out of shape.
...Then I found out that I was out of shape and fat too!
Can you say that you've climbed a radio tower?...how about in Brasil?
Above this point I couldn't take a picture because it was too windy and I was way to scared to let a hang go free...don't worry, I saw a guy do it before I did it.
The four of us sat here for hours and hours, I really enjoyed it.
The supermarket on top of the paragliding mountain.
The first daredevil suits up! Is he gonna do it? Took an hour to decide! From this hill you can hit radio towers or plung into sky scrapers if the wind is wrong.
I got the first jump on video! Watch it here by clicking...
One of the most beautiful scenes to see in person...
Then when you add me posing, isn't just aweinspiring? btw, how do you spell that?
We spent many hours in this beach which was just minutes walking away.
Wow, this is a long story but we ended up going to the mall and I bought this shirt. Yeah, that story is too long for this blog. 
This is Michael's sister, she was so kind...and a professional chef by trade! Each day we had awesome meals, some of the best food I've ever had...and healthy. You see no fat people in Brasil.
This was a good meal, for breakfast we ate grilled bread with ham and cheese, I loved it!
Every morning I would go to the pool before the beach and in the evening the sauna.
The view from a restaurant in Vitoria.
The beach hangout spot, we spent a good amount of time walking around.
Another beach restaurant, we always spoke spanish when were not around Stratton's friends, people who speak portugese understand spanish usually and we usually understood them.
A famous chocolate company in Brasil, we took a tour.
If I had a girlfriend I would buy this for her, but I guess I gotta eat it! muhuhaha.
The view from my window on departure from VIX to GIG. This hill on the middle right is where we climbed to watch the paragliders...
In my experience so far, every foreign airline's coach class is better than most airlines business class in the states...this was a ham and cheese on a 42 minute flight.
On the way into Rio de Janeiro.
Rio...
I may be moving to Brasil...
I haven't asked him yet, but Stratton might be moving with me...as a matter of fact, I came home alone, he is still down there with his friends who live in Rio...I have to work or I'd be there too...
