On the night of June 27th, 2019, I was sitting in my Miami living room with not a single trip planned. Less than 24 hours later, I was on my way to a place called Salvador in Brazil.
It happened like this. My friend Roberto Pazos was in Brazil covering Peru in the Copa America Soccer Tournament. Surprising almost everyone, Peru was playing really well and was advancing to the second round of the tournament. Roberto had just arrived in Salvador and he called to say the place was amazing and invited me to join him. I had no reason to say no. I quickly checked the flights and found out I could get there using frequent flyer miles if I left the next morning at 8am.
I quickly packed, set my alarm and set out on my most spontaneous international trip ever. I knew nothing about Salvador except for what I read on my phone during a long layover in Panama.
Roberto was staying in the old part of the city. When I arrived at almost one am, I was immediately impressed with the city. Clean and inviting.
The next morning, I got to see more of the colorful buildings, cobblestone streets and taste the incredible Moqueca, which is a seafood stew. I was impressed.
Roberto went to the game. I didn't. It was too late for me to buy a ticket to the sold-out Peru vs Uruguay soccer match. Instead, I hung out on the square and listened to the game on the radio with a bunch of other people who didn't have tickets. It was still a lot of fun. Peru won (see video below). And to celebrate we decided to extend our stay in Salvador and we checked into a beachside condo.
Sometimes unplanned and unexpected experiences are the best.
Dates of Travel
- December, 2010
- July, 2019
- June - July 2021
- September, 2023
Places Visited
- São Paulo
- Rio de Janerio
- Salvador
- Port Allegre
- Maringa
- Foz do Iguazu
- Brasilia
- Goiânia
1 Comments
This is so much fun. Thanks for doing this. I only wish I could speak or understand Spanish. But the pix's do the trick. JL
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