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With Singapore in the books, it was on to Penha (pronounced Pen-ya) Brazil in 7 days. We boarded our UA flight and settled in for a long haul flight to Chicago. We were slated to land mid afternoon with a ton of time to kill before a 9:40pm flight to Sao Paulo, transferring to Navagants which was 45 min away from Penha.
Mid flight, we decided that we, given the 6hr lay over and 22hr flight, would look into the day rates at the Hilton Airport Hotel. It will have been a long day, and the Red Carpet lounges at O'Hare leave much to be desired when you compare them to Hong Kong and Frankfurt. Shortly after landing, when you are simply transferring to another flight,you grab your luggage to check through Customs, then immediately, put it back on the conveyer belt to be sent to your next flight. After that familiar process was complete, we walked to the Hilton to check in for a few hours, for a shower and some well needed sleep. By the hour hotels,especially at the airport do not come cheap, but it was a nice feeling to get cleaned up and actually sleep lying down instead of sitting!
At 6ish pm, we sauntered back to the C terminal and waited to board our flight. As they called our section to be seated, we approached the gate agent to board and were quickly asked "Where are your Visa's?" Dumb-founded, we asked her what she was meaning as both of us were not aware of any Visa issues with Brazil. We asked the agent why no one, not a soul had mentioned the need for this Visa? The gate agent went to advise us politely that yes, there should have been many places along the check in process where the Visas could have been mentioned, yet at the end of the day, it is the travellers responsibility to know what travel docs they need. We agreed!
The agent was super nice, bumping our tickets at no charge to the next night while putting us up in the hotel and even giving us vouchers for dinner. She printed the consulate's address and advised that we should ask for a "day of" Visa in order to ensure we get one ASAP.
Deflated from STILL being in Chicago, our first call from the hotel was to Michelle, our travel agent to see (a) what was up with the Visas; (b) what can be done about all of our pre-planned travel arrangements and (c) what else was there we could do in the mean time. Michelle called right back (by this time it was well after 10pm her time) and began working on what needed to be done. She advised that when she has booked clients to Brazil herself, all they needed to do for Visas was to go to the airport a bit earlier as they would simply issue them at the gate, thus no mention to us about them...fair enough. She also had already faxed the Brazilian Consulate all of our info and what had occurred; a page from our website indicating the nature of our trip our entry documentation into the race as well as a formal letter on her letterhead. We slept uneasily that night and were up at the crack of dawn. We checked our bikes and our bags that contain toiletries, street clothes and all the extras. We keep our carry on bags with us, which contain all of our race gear (including wetsuits, bike/run shoes and race/training clothing) with us at all times, in the situation that our other bags get lost allowing us to still race. Lastly, we have our laptop bag, holding our laptop, power cords, itinerary and all other documents. We never imagined that we would find these a ton to carry, but after almost a day with them on our backs, it was getting heavy! So, with hands full, we had to catch the hotel shuttle back to O'Hare in order to catch the Blue Line Train into the city. It was about a 45min ride into town with rush hour passengers on board; after all, it is Wednesday morning!
The line at the Consulate was not too long, filled with sad, frustrated faces, so our hopes were not too high. As we sat at the counter, given the fact that the airline attendant had suggested we ask for a "day of" tourist visa, we did exactly that. There were two young ladies on the other side of the window; one looked like she was having a great day, the other.....not so much. Well, nice lady began to tell us the bad news when grumpy lady jumped at the opportunity to convey bad news and let us know that there was a 15 day wait for visas and that there was no way we were going to Brazil on our re-scheduled flight tonight. We pushed the possibilities a bit by advising her that our travel agent had faxed to them, late last night a slew of documents in support of an expedited visa and wondered if they had reviewed them before this hasty decision. The grumpy one interrupted our pleas with a firm "we did not get any fax!". Then, in her flurry of grumpdom, she made her one mistake: she advised us that "there is a 99% chance you will not get a visa!". Brian's coy but firm reply: "Well then, who do we need to speak to for that 1% chance we have!!!!" BLAM!!!!!!!!!
The nice one immediately snuck over to the fax to see if our docs where there. What do ya know!! There they were!!!!!
After a brief conversation with the Consular himself, they returned to the window, the confidence of the nice one clearly overpowering the arrogance of the grumpy one, advised us of the news: we would be getting our visas under this special circumstance, but not before Friday at Noon, if we applied right now. Seeing this as a small rose within a bouquet of thorns, we got our TTW game faces on and got into action as we needed to do. Heather hopped on the PC and started filling out the numerous forms as Brian grabbed the money and began the 6 block hike to the nearest US Postal Service outlet to buy a US Money order to pay for the application (no cash, no cheques, credit cards, ONLY MO). Brian also called Michelle right away so that she could figure out the travel side of things (re-re-rebooking flights, changing transferring flights within Brazil, holding and re-booking hotels that would not hold until Friday). He also found a location close by where we could get our photos taken for the visas. With the applications filled, we then needed to chill for a bit as it was noon already and we needed to get to an internet hotspot to find updates from Michelle as well as begin looking into hotel options since we now had two nights to spend in Chicago. We dropped in to a hotel that was off the beaten path to simply inquire about availability. Hey...did you know there was a huge convention in town and that the downtown core and surrounding areas were booked solid?? UGH! With Michelle looking and us looking, we ended up finding that there were two options. One was to be way out at the airport in an industrial park, or smack-dab on Michigan avenue....for a price. Well, given how drained and beaten up we felt and how badly we needed to get this baggage off our backs, Michigan Ave Hilton was the only real option. We needed to eat and we needed to shop for toiletries and at least a change of shirts as we are on day 2 of these clothes. We can tell you, we both LOVE Chi-town.....but this was not a shopping venture, nor was it a party venture, so a subdued stay in this town or alllll towns is extremely slow and laid back...maybe just what we needed actually.
Friday morning was like an early Christmas for us....we wanted under the tree but did not know if we had been good enough to get it or not!!!! The plan was to get to the Consulate at noon to pick up the visas. If that went well, head to the airport to again wait for the 9:40 flight. With a ton less drama, we approached the wicket and the nice lady was there with her grumpy cohort (who would not make eye contact nor look at us when we said a polite Canadian "good morning!"). The nice one handed us our visas and wished us a nice flight! WOOOOOOHOOOOO!!!!
So off to the airport we went and boarded our flights to Brazil.
After another long flight, we began what we like to call the "Amazing Race" portion of this trip. We needed to transfer airports in Sao Paulo....yes, transfer airports: one is an international and one a domestic. We found the bus that transfers you to the other airport and began the journey to the domestic airport. A crawl....that was the speed set on this bus...a crawl. We can not blame the driver, it was the traffic at mid day in this city. It was not helped by the partially overturned transport truck carrying a full load of cars that had short-sighted the turn and was blocking traffic. TV cameras were there capturing this news-worthy event.
We knew at that point that there was no way we would make our flight. We had a few options at our disposal. Our pre-paid flight from the other day was gone. With a $25 charge each, we had it re-booked for this day. IF we did not make this flight, there was a second one today at 5:20 that we could make. The other option was to see another regional airline about a flight they had at 1:40pm and buy tickets there.
At the airport, the bus drops off the passengers at the "arrivals" door for some unknown reason. Of course, in typical "Amazing Race" fashion, the "departures" area is at the opposite end of the airport and up one floor! With carts loaded with bags and bikes, we wheeled through the airport with Formula One precision. Finally reaching the counter, we ask about our flight. "Your flight is closed". Ugh again!
On to plan B. We looked at what it meant to land in Navagantes (the arrival airport, 45 min away from the race town) just after 6pm, find/take a taxi to Penha, find our hotel, build the bikes, replace Heather’s blown rear tire to ride to registration and then head to transition to drop the bikes...remember, race day was now TOMORROW. That was not going to work! We headed to Gol Airlines to inquire about the 1:40 flight. We were told that there was indeed space on that flight and that if we hurried we could make it. After the shock of finding out that these flights were another $700 dollars, we were hit again with a $200 charge for the bikes!
Wadduyado? When it rains, it pours!
The lady who was checking us in is NEW and is not grasping the fact that the doors close in minutes and we have still to get through security! It got to the point where her supervisor took over, told us to never mind waiting and that she would do the rest. I think the last thing we heard as we ran off was "you better hurry"!!! Really.....ya think? We ran from the check in gate to security and were pleased to see quite the "mickey mouse" set up....by that we mean that belts, shoes and laptops did not need to be removed in order to go through. We were through in a flash and ran to catch the flight. As we were running, we could see the lady at the gate, on the intercom looking for a "Bree-eye-yan Doo-ann" and "Hee-thar Toom-sann"! After all that....we made it and were pleased to be on our way at last.
As we landed in Navagantes, we saw it was 4:00 o'clock. This meant that we had to go directly to our hotel, build and repair bikes to a rideable state, find registration (even though it would be closed) then lastly go and check our bikes! Our cab took us directly to Penha where we drove by the Beto Carrero Park, where registration was and transition which is only about 1.5km from our hotel, so we knew where we were headed.
We arrived at the "Residence Praia Grande", a remotely located 2 story hotel, that at first glance seemed like a questionable place, given its dirt road "built in the middle of no where" location. We met the owners, an older couple who were super nice, even though we could not understand a word! We got checked in and bumped into some other triathletes who evidently had been out for a run, registered and had no bikes. Man, were we behind! Bikes were built, flat fixed and helmets on, we headed out. The ride to Beto Carrero Park was only 3k, but after this long day and essentially parachuting into this new country, it seem quite draining.
Once we arrived there, we saw that race kit pick up and registration, were closed up. Michelle had emailed the race director and advised of our situation. They had replied with two names of people who would wait for us and complete our registration. The woman we met was super and had us all checked in within a few minutes. We needed to head off next to the mechanic tent to get my bottom bracket looked at. For 2 races now, there was a "crick-ing" sound that appeared each time Brian climbed or rode out of the saddle. The mechanic only spoke Portuguese and we did our best to explain. Brian knew there had been no resolution, as the guy simply tightened the crank arm with his hex key!!! At least this is a flat course, so no hard climbing would be tackled.
Now, with the sun actually setting and not having eaten since yesterday, food was an issue as the race director knew of no restaurants in Penha that had "carbo" type meals. We stopped at a "Mercado" which is like a corner store, and grabbed water and a couple of those "just add hot water" noodle cups, as we did not see any kitchenette facilities at the hotel but were sure we could get hot water. We knew we had to ride by the bike drop off to get back to the hotel, so this was our last chance. With our packs now full again, we rode to bike check in. It was nice, as they had volunteers accompany you to your bike and fill you in on the transition details. The locale was amazing. I mean, we didn't have much daylight to see much, but we could see the gorgeous beach and all of the fishing boats anchored just off the shore. We were hoping they would move those for the race in the morning! All checked in, we breathed a sigh of relief that despite all the hicc-ups, we were all set for #13, even in less than ideal conditions as race start was in less than 12 hrs.
Back at the hotel, we asked for hot water four our "cup-o-soups". The owner led us to a room right next to ours....that was a kitchenette with a gas stove!!!! Before the stores closed, we ran down the dirt road to the paved road where there was a very small Mercado that had dry pasta and some sauce. SCORE!!! We cooked the pasta and enjoyed the cup-o-noodles while the pasta cooked....not that we were starving or anything!!!
With full bellies and sleep on our mind, we headed off to bed. We figured we could get in about 7 hrs in before we had to walk to the race start which was only about 15 min away.
Race morning came way too soon. We got up and seemed to be in auto pilot and before we knew it, we were walking through the barrio that separated the hotel and Penha. As we approached the transition area, we could hear the announcer getting everyone revved up and ready to go. As soon as we got in, it was directly to body marking and to our bikes for the last minute checks. This was a mass start race so we would do the swim together. We are not always sure of the number of racers, but this beach looked full!! We have seen a lot of other swim starts on this venture...but this one was very special. As you looked out to the water, local fishing boats lined most of the swim. It was like we were plopped down into this magical beach and were sneaking in a swim while the fishermen we gone for breakfast. Palm trees and hibiscus where the trees that divided the swim exit and the water....simply breathtaking. Ahhhh, then that nasty horn went off.!!!!
The water was cold but calm for the most part and as usual we swam side by side. We were rounding the last buoy heading back to shore when Brian was the recipient of a nasty kick to the hand. There is always body contact in these races, but something we had heard happens and even know how to protect yourself from it in large packs (swimming with a closed fist), but this was a perfectly timed. Brian's hand was just breaking the water surface for a stroke, when the swimmer ahead's food was on an up stroke. BAM! It hurt enough that we actually stopped for 10-20 sec just to be able to regroup and close out the pain.
Heading into shore, it was swim number 13 in the books!
We were able to leave transition together and hit the cobble stones.....COBBLE STONES? Yes....and these were not Belgian Cobble stones, these were ancient countryside cobbles with 1inch gaps between each stone. This was our riding surface for the first 300m. After that, it was flat and well paved. This was a neat course: there was a 2k ride to the loop and then there was 5 loops of this course. Part of it in the city (criterium style) and the rest was on a highway with a couple of overpasses as hills. You rode through the countryside of Brasil, past some of the poorer barrios as well as some of the farming and agricultural areas. In the near distance there were some gorgeous mountains that we were both thankful that we avoided!!!
We rode 4 of the 5 laps together which was fun. We are always amazed at the drafting that goes on and is tolerated in these races. As you now, we ride together as many times as we can during these races. Each and any time we do, we ensure that we are the required distance away from each other that each race calls for (yes, many are different). Occasionally, we ride momentarily side-by-side in order to share a story or moment we have enjoyed in the race so far. However, at this race, the packs (or peletons) of riders were insane. 30-40 riders at a time, wheel to wheel on an already fast course was totally uncalled for. It was nice to see on many of the later laps that these riders had been tagged for penalties for drafting. On lap 4, Heather spun off ahead as Brian's bottom bracket issue would not allow him to push on the over passes. On the fifth and final lap, we both felt like the wind had changed directions, as the last lap was tough, wind heading straight at us.
The run was a bit of a surprise, as Brian figured he would see Heather start her run, as the bike course finished along (what we thought) was the start of the run. Little did either of them know that you ran the first 2k of the course in the park. As we found out later, this is one of the times Heather should have taken in the sights. We ran past llamas, tigers, lions, giraffes and hippos!!! What a neat twist to the run! The only down side to running 2k through Beto Carrero park is that the only course marking out there came in the form of a white line painted on the ground...no signs, no barriers, just the paint and the odd volunteer pointing in the proper directions. Once out of the park, we ran along the bike course in a very interesting yet somewhat confusing course until you run it. We remembered watching the leaders on the run trying to figure out what the run course was (remember, we were otherwise occupied during the race briefing!!!). Turns out that it closely resembles 4 out and backs in the shape of an "H". Heather had her eyes set on a good run and looked to be pulling it off. Brian just did not want a death march as he had experienced the weekend before in Singapore. We both fuiled well for this race and it was returning our investment well on the run. Heather came in strong for her finish and not wanting her to have to wait, Brian was not far behind. With our usual kiss and emotional reunion, it was off to get the bling and some well deserved post race grub.
The post race food was in the "Cowboy Hall" and was a surprise. We sat at a long table and were served two cold beers, a plate of chicken breasts and steaks, rice, veggies and salad. WOOOHOOO! On our way to get our bikes from transition, we saw a "Brasil Telecom" booth, where they had two computers attached to the internet, so one of us checked our results and one of us checked Muskoka 70.3 results as we had quite a few friends racing this one.
We had a 3k ride home which should be easy, and was until we hit those cobble stones. Brian's hand had begun to swell throughout the day and the final ride of the cobbles surely did not help. We got back to the hotel and chilled for the rest of the day. It was a refreshing experience to not have to pack after the race and get ready to fly out the next day. We had almost 3 full days in Brazil in a place that had no TV, no shopping and no internet unless you rode to town to a cybercafe. Believe it or not, 3 days of alone time for us was heaven...no watches, no distractions, just beach, fresh air and blue sky.
On Wednesday, we catch a series of flights from Navagantes to Sao Paolo to Chicago back down to Cancun for #3 in 3 weekends.
Bman and Stella
