Game Changers: Altering Your Itinerary at the Last Minute

I drank some coffee this afternoon and now am unable to sleep. I am glad to use this time to share some news about my trip.

Yesterday I was advised that the person with whom I was supposed to spend the Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro legs of my trip is no longer in Brazil. For whatever reason, I was only given this information less than a week before we were supposed to meet, and less than two weeks before Carnaval is to occur. This has several implications including the fact that essentially all accomodations are now booked in Rio so close to the celebration dates, and transportation costs are very high when booking this last minute. I am dissapointed that this person did not share the possibility of his absence with me in advance so that I could properly make alternate plans, but I did have my suspicions that something was not right since I had not received confirmations from him over the last two months.

So what does one do when your plans change? Make new plans. I am lucky that I do have contacts here in Brazil who as I have said are extraordinarily hospitable. They are helping me as best they can to ensure my stay in Brazil is all I hoped it would be.

The major decisions that I have had to make in the last two days is one of value judgement - 1) is it more valuable to see more places in a country but spend most of your budget on accomodation and transportation, or 2) is it more valuable to visit fewer places but have the cash to do more and better activities?

I have chosen the option two. I know that I have never been the type of person that likes to visit a city every day or two for the sake of 'having been' to each place, but I'd rather see one city inside and out. I leave tomorrow for Brasilia. Originally I was supposed to fly from there to Sao Paolo to meet the person in question. However, without knowing someone in the city, it really doesn't have much draw for me anymore. So my options were to 1) fly directly to Rio if I could find accomodation and visit Ihla Grande for a few days before trying to go to Carnaval, 2) fly to Florianapolis for five days before trying to go to Carnaval, or 3) return to Belo Horizonte to stay with my current hosts for an additional five days and participate in the activities which they have planned for me.

After doing the cost analysis of these three options, as well as doing a safety, fun and convenience analysis, I have chosen to return to Belo Horizonte after Brasilia. There are so many activities and sites I would still like to see in Belo Horizonte, and I have a place to stay and people to expose me to the best activities in this town.

I still think good karma is on my side, and I look forward to sharing more details from Minas Gerais upon my return from the country's capital - Brasilia.