Tuesday, June 17 (Pipa to Ponta Negra)
0700 and my rooster phone alarm is blaring and calling for me to awake and make some coffee, one of our simple pleasures. AJ has brought his folding silicon coffee filter holder. I have a pair of stacking Stanley lexan cups and an immersion water heater. This little kit is going to give us a simple bit of pleasure every morning. We're going thru this first bag of Starbucks Sumatran coffee at a good clip, and I look forward to purchase of some Brasilian coffee in the near future. Bill and Charlie are on their way just after 1000 and AJ and I head out to purchase a SIM card for phone(s). Telephone and wireless service has been terrible, and contributed to a very frustrating couple of days trying to make contact and connections. For example, we must make contact with the caretaker to pass on the keys and transmitter for the automatic door opener to the compound, but we do not have any way to telephone him yet. We are able to purchase a Claro SIM card for R$10. (US$4.70), but are unable to get it to work in the first couple of phones we try. I am not a technology expert by any means, but Andy is and he is becoming increasingly frustrated with the situation. At this point, only Bill and I have been able to communicate via our US phone services but at an extraordinary cost (US$3.65/minute). I have already had to load US$50. to my account in order to make a couple of urgent calls to logisticate the ticket transfer and arrange to meet our crew in Pipa.
1200: we've called the caretaker after paying to use a local land line at a wireless cafe R$2. (US$1) to arrange to meet him at the compound. We trek back up the hill (5 minute walk) but he does not show up. I decide that we will put the key and transmitter into a plastic bag and leave near the automatic gate. We then depart to make another call to the caretaker and the owner to inform of the situation with the keys. Not great, but what else can we do. We need to move on and have now wasted an hour and a half.
1330: we're on our way back to Natal, the road is now quite familiar and we too with our tiny Fiat UNO.
0700 and my rooster phone alarm is blaring and calling for me to awake and make some coffee, one of our simple pleasures. AJ has brought his folding silicon coffee filter holder. I have a pair of stacking Stanley lexan cups and an immersion water heater. This little kit is going to give us a simple bit of pleasure every morning. We're going thru this first bag of Starbucks Sumatran coffee at a good clip, and I look forward to purchase of some Brasilian coffee in the near future. Bill and Charlie are on their way just after 1000 and AJ and I head out to purchase a SIM card for phone(s). Telephone and wireless service has been terrible, and contributed to a very frustrating couple of days trying to make contact and connections. For example, we must make contact with the caretaker to pass on the keys and transmitter for the automatic door opener to the compound, but we do not have any way to telephone him yet. We are able to purchase a Claro SIM card for R$10. (US$4.70), but are unable to get it to work in the first couple of phones we try. I am not a technology expert by any means, but Andy is and he is becoming increasingly frustrated with the situation. At this point, only Bill and I have been able to communicate via our US phone services but at an extraordinary cost (US$3.65/minute). I have already had to load US$50. to my account in order to make a couple of urgent calls to logisticate the ticket transfer and arrange to meet our crew in Pipa.
1200: we've called the caretaker after paying to use a local land line at a wireless cafe R$2. (US$1) to arrange to meet him at the compound. We trek back up the hill (5 minute walk) but he does not show up. I decide that we will put the key and transmitter into a plastic bag and leave near the automatic gate. We then depart to make another call to the caretaker and the owner to inform of the situation with the keys. Not great, but what else can we do. We need to move on and have now wasted an hour and a half.
1330: we're on our way back to Natal, the road is now quite familiar and we too with our tiny Fiat UNO.
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