Cheguei

Guess what. Now I’m writing from Salvador Airport. I ARRIVED. I have a big grin in my face that just wouldn’t stop. I’m again or still super tired, but happy. I left the plane and it already smelled like Brazil. That was fantastic. I still can’t believe that I’m here. That I’m back. Even the fact that I’m just communicating in Portuguese is not enough yet to realize that I’m in Brazil. Maybe I also need to leave an airport for full understanding. But this won’t be until in 10 hours. A night at the airport is still waiting for me. But I still need to fly there. But I better start at the beginning, how my day started. The flight was actually quite nice, even though I didn’t like the movies they were showing. But actually I knew one of the flight attendants. I met her during my time in Marburg and we used to wakeboard together. I knew that she was working for the company I flew with, but the possibility that she would work on this flight was pretty low, so it was a big surprise to meet. It is a very good thing to know one of the flight attendants because that means that you can put all sorts of special orders without annoying anyone. I got free cocktails and if the copilot wouldn’t have had his dad with him in the cockpit I could have sit there during landing. Why did he bring his father? But anyway it was really nice to see her again and to hear news (not necessarily gossip) about all the people from the wakeboard park.
Entering Brazil (passing border control) was a little adventure too. My impression is that Brazilians are now stricter than they are in the US. They wouldn’t let anybody board the plane unless they had a return ticket. So when I went to border control and they checked my passport I was told that I still had an open fine to pay from the last time I had been in Brazil. The last time I stayed illegal for several months, and that means I had to pay a fine for every day I stayed illegal. The notice about this was in my old passport, so I expected I will never hear about this again. But how I found out, I’m registered with the federal police for every time I was in Brazil. The past ten years. Hui. The open fine actually was quite some amount and didn’t really felt like paying it. Luckily the guy checked the whole system if I had paid (because I didn’t deny, when he asked) and through this he found out that the fine vanishes after five years. The fine is five years and two months old. I think I’m a lucky bastard. That’s what he said too. So no problem, my account is back to zero.
Now I’m here waiting for the next flight. I already had a cashew juice (the fruit, where the nut comes from) for a first real Brazil taste (actually I wanted a coconut, but the vending stand was already closed). And I think now it’s time for a nap. Still 90 minutes to wait…