Tropical weather is hot! We were in Manaus for the first part of the 
day – just 3 degrees south of the equator. Manaus was the rubber capital of the world during the hey-day of the rubber barons and it still has that remote, outback feeling – this is a city of 2 millions souls in the heart of the Amazon rain forest!
We spent the morning exploring walk possibilities and found some fascinating sights to show next year’s travelers! The waterfront was particularly interesting – a veritable beehive of activity with everything imaginable being loaded onto vessels straight out of a 19th century ...
Bob and I arrive in Sao Paulo within 2 hours of each other this morning. Fernando, our guide, is waiting for me as I exit customs. He’s a tall, good-looking Brazilian of Dutch ancestry who speaks great English. After picking up Bob, we load our luggage into the car and head for the heart of Sao Paulo, one of the largest cities in the world.
Sao Paulo is not on our planned itinerary, but a change in flight routing caused us to miss the 9 am connection to Manaus, our ultimate destination for the day. The solution – hire Fernando to show us the sights of Brazil’s largest metropolis. This city is huge! What strikes us is the number of high-rise apartment buildings sprouting like a bamboo forest across the city skyline, accounting for one of the densest population centers in the ... 
Chicago this morning, Jan called my cell phone from Brazil. His brother-in-law was able to get through to his ex-boss. He instructed us to ask for Emma when we arrived; she is the vice-consul and knows our story and our need for quick action. We navigated the freeways of the Windy City and found the consulate on the 18th floor amongst Chicago’s forest of skyscrapers on the Magnificent Mile.
The magic word “Emma” produced results and we were soon filling out fresh applications, making our payment, and surrendering our passports. She told us to return at 1:00 pm, so we spent a couple of anxious hours strolling out to Navy Pier past the shops and sightseeing boats. Concerned about the possibility of ... 
received news today, however, that put the trip completely in jeopardy; at a minimum, it is likely that we will be delayed by several days! Master travel planner that I am, I completely overlooked the entry requirements for Brazil! Bob and Bev Saxton are the newest members of our guide team and Bob is slated to accompany me on this first-ever WAI foray into Brazil. During a meeting this afternoon, I received a phone call from Bob bringing the visa issue to my attention. In my previous travels, only Russia and China have required visas prior to entry, and these visa requirements were highly publicized in the travel literature and by our travel partners. Oops!
A few frenzied ... 
beautiful little countryside monastery, then stopped in a village to visit a beekeeper/winemaker, Dusan’s phone was busy. Our new friend, Nikola, agreed to go by the doctor’s office by taxi and retrieve the phone. ...