Tailor Your Trips

I had this morning an epiphany and I now know that the whole problem with me not enjoying Brazil is my piss poor planning and high expectations.

When I think of travelling to South America I still dream about mountain trekking, climbing and rediscovering ancient ruins of cities that it takes awhile to get to and come back from while battling against the elements and wildlife.

I also think of the women, the discos and the beaches but I forget that alone a beach can be a boring place, especially when you cant leave anything around and take a dip, and of course I can't dance so going to a disco is pointless especially as it is dangerous for a single white guy to walk the streets at night.

Now this is all well and good and I had a good time in Salvador going around on a tour bus and visiting the turtle farm, but I had not done anywhere near enough research and just expected it all to be laid out on a plate when I arrived in Rio for a tourist like me to pick up at the hostel.

However Rio and Sao Paulo are not ancient and historical ruins, but modern bustling third world metropolises with no wildlife to spot, no flora to wade through and the only element I need to fight off is the constant burning heat.

I suppose if I had taken a proper booked tour to the rain forests of the Amazon then I would have loved it, but being alone in the middle of a city that cannot compete with London for attractions, safety, familiarity and the ability to get in touch with friends and family at the drop of a hat, I was always onto a loser really.

My fault entirely, and I no longer blame Brazil for me not liking it, that is all my fault for not correctly tailoring my trip to what I enjoy doing.

I came about this sudden realisation when I was looking at what I was wanting to do in Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, and realised that I could also do all those things in Brazil if only I had chosen to visit the right towns and either booked or at least found out about what kind of tours are available.

It is true that being kicked out of my Rio hostel and missing on a trip to see the dude and watch the football match in the worlds largest stadium put me onto a downer and was only a tiny bit my fault for posting my comments too early, but I should have picked myself up a lot sooner and not wasted any time feeling sorry for myself.

So, although I have a full 48 hours before I arrive in Peru and I doubt that I will have enough time to do everything that I want to do there, at least I have got a proper heading and not just a "third star on the right and straight on til morning" approach to the next few cities I will be visiting.

Today I managed to sort out my laundry, post another package back home and took a nice long stroll to a few places to try and find a nokia charger and my old one has bust, but sadly I could not find any. Oh well, win some lose some.