Returning from Utah after acquiring nothing beyond food poisoning, I jumped on four more planes and ended up in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. We'll say it was for work.
Two days to recoup was necessary, and after making through the work days, it was time to get out and enjoy the Brazilian fare. The best I've had so far. Belo is a beautiful city tucked into the north central low rolling mountains of Brazil. A little hot, a little humid, but mostly beautiful. Beautiful people, beautiful buildings, beautiful culture, beautiful food...but I'm getting ahead of myself. The soul of the city buzzes and when people you've never met greet you with pure excitement and a kiss on the cheek, I can't help but think it doesn't get much better. Two days were not nearly enough.
Then it was on to Curichiba, further south and near the coast. Cool, crisp, and clean, Curichiba offered a fun-loving nightlife with buy one get one beer nights at the local pub and yes, more beautiful people. Dancing, singing, and harmony ensued. Lunch usually consisted of pay by the weight of the plate and tiny cups of espresso. Actually, everything came with espresso. Only 1 day in Curichiba, and three planes later I was in Concepcion, Chile.
Traveling with my friend Amy from work, we were greeted warmly at the airport by our host, Bruno Fonseca. Bruno is a man amongst men. He started his own outbound Work/Travel company in Concepcion at the age of 24. He has since expanded to Argentina and purchased a coffee shop/language school. Bruno was an endearing character who seamlessly melded the group of 8 clients, 3 partners (Amy, Lauren, and myself), and several of his best friends into many nights of antics and memories.
Great memories included push starting our giant group rental van with a dead battery at 2 am after turning an establishment that was ostensibly a restaurant into a discoteca:
Bruno 'accidentally' running over his best friend Roberto with his BMW hatchback subsequently twisting his ankle, arm-wrestling at a bar after-hours, and,
our never-ending quest to see the elusive Pudu (the world's tiniest deer).
Concepcion is a pleasant city tucked neatly between the far southern Pacific coast and the western edge of the Andes. We spent several days of glorious weather walking the markets:
eating drawn out lunches, and buying Chilean Flag-style kites which were to later be trekked halfway across the globe (no easy task) and somehow fit a good bit of work in between.
After being gone from home for nearly 17 consecutive days, traveling on 15 different airplanes in that timespan, and conducting 5 separate Work/Travel job fairs, I was exhausted and ready to be home. But I certainly did not want to leave South America behind.
Luckily, just a few days ago, Bruno was in the US, and after visiting San Francisco where he is likely starting another business venture, he came to visit us in Austin.
It was a night to be remembered. After going to dinner, many people from the office met up with Bruno at Creekside Lounge and let happenings run free.
We made our way over to Flamingo Cantina to watch my main man Paul Banks:
play a brilliant show which I am now currently watching on video on a giant projection screen in my backyard, and then headed back to Creekside to finish the night with plenty of festive drinks and dancing. Bruno managed to catch his flight home the next morning and ended up being up all through the next night with more friends in Santiago, but somehow made it home in one piece.
We miss you already Bruno, but hopefully Chile won't stay too far for too long.
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