Manaus, Brazil

Oct 29,

As I continue to visit our manufacturing plants around the world, this time around I headed to Manaus, Brazil with my friend and co-worker Cheryl. At 25 hrs of travel each way, it was definitely a long way there and back. And a lot of together time as we were together all day and shared a hotel - because it was full and we could only get one room.  It was also extremely hot. I don't even sweat a lot, unless I am working out, but I would literally sweat just standing there. At some point, as we were walking around an indoor market with obviously no air conditioning, I was sweating so much that I was literally dripping. 

So the trip was long, and the weather was ridiculously hot - and do not even get me started about the expense reports - but we also had a great trip. It was great meeting the team in person (they always appreciate it so much), seeing the site, and having some team building doing a couple of touristy things. We also went to a delicious restaurant called Caxiri that had a great ambiance and great food. Lionel would have hated the weather, but would have really appreciated that meal.

For our touristy day we went to see where the 2 rivers meet, we swam with dolphins (which really means they were floating around us), we held a sloth, and went to see a nearby indigenous tribe. We also went to see the Opera House and walked around downtown a bit. 

Unfortunately my Portuguese did not come back during the trip, and surprisingly when given the option to speak Spanish or English, most of the locals chose English. But basically between English, some Spanish, and kind of sign language, we figured it out.

I do not know when I will be able to go back and visit my team, if ever, so I very much appreciated the opportunity to go - long trip, heat, and all.