As I write this I am on an Airbus A320 flying at 37,000 feet over the Amazon jungle. I’m tired. No, I’m almost completely exhausted. I would be hard-pressed to function normally if I were in my typical, daily routine. The task of getting through immigration and customs in Miami looms as an extremely unpleasant task that I’ll have to muster up enough reserves to endure in about 6 hours, as does the 5 hour layover in Miami and the 2 hour drive from Raleigh to Wilmington in the wee hours after midnight. My brain glazes over just thinking about it.
Why such weariness?
Physically, this trip is always hard. The flying takes more out of you than you would assume. Our first day in Fortaleza is always spent trying to recoop from the flight. It would be a notable mistake to head for Ubaúna the day after driving, flying, and sitting in airports for over 24 hours.
The trip to Ubaúna is another drainer. You never know exactly how long it will take — usually between 4-6 hours, depending on the state of the roads.
Ubaúna is almost always hot. I don’t mean Wilmington hot, I mean equator hot. This time of the year, normal day temps can run anywhere from the low 100’s up to the 120’s. We were fortunate this trip. I don’t think we topped 110. I have experienced 130+! If you’ve never tried to function in that type of heat, you really haven’t “enjoyed” a real, life altering experience.
Hand in hand with the heat is the humidity. You wouldn’t think a desert region would have much humidity; Ubaúna, though desert, is close enough to the ocean that you enjoy the worst of both worlds — heat and humidty wrap themselves around you like a wet blanket and seem to suffocate you. You can literally feel your energy being drained away from you. “Swelter” is the perfect word to describe it.
If you add sleeping in unfamiliar condtions (like in hammocks), exposed to the elements (like sleeping in the open on a porch), getting only 3-5 hours of sleep nightly, dogs barking, roosters crowing, vehicles passing at high speeds less than 50 yards from where you’re sleeping, bats and birds making bat and bird noises, going as hard as you can for 18-20 hours each day (did I mention the heat?), trying to function in a foreign culture, and having any age on you at all, the result is exhaustion.
I hit that state on Wednesday night at a little after 1:00 a.m. (I guess that technically would be Thursday morning). Ask any of the team . . . I understand they got a number of chuckles at my expense at that point.
Our last night in Brasil saw us getting to bed at almost 2:00 a.m. No big deal until you have to be up and heading to the airport at 4:15 a.m. I feel like I have a hangover.
Looking around the cabin, I see that my fellow travelers are in a similar state. June is sleeping so hard that she is almost drooling; Jeff has those funky eye blinders on and has his head twisted hard to the left, nose upwards pointing, mouth wide open; Arimar is curled up like a puppy in her chair (she’s the only one who can do that!); Brad has an expression on his face, eyes closed, similar to a drunk; and JP kinda comes and goes with little cat naps. I just simply cycle through passing out and trying to read or type (I cannot sleep on an airplane!).
So, please bear with all of us over the next few days as we try to recooperate from our journey!