Travel

  • Rio de Janeiro during Carnaval is chaotic to say the least. Millions of tourists from all over Brazil and all over the world converge to see the biggest and most elaborate Carnaval in the world. On top of that, it is the largest party that I have ever seen. The downside is that the entire city shuts down. Traffic which is already bad goes to a whole new level of bad. Plus all the stores and groceries close for four solid days, and many businesses are closed the entire week.

    So the Carnaval 2011, we like many other residence of Rio escaped the chaos and decided to vacation in Frade near Angras dos Reis. We also invited my mother in law, Maria Gonçalves, and her boyfriend, Euripedes Cruz with us. We had a great time and it was fantastic to avoid the chaos.

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  • I have not flown Delta in close to a year now. I have flown probably close to 100,000 miles personally, and my family has flown combined another 100,000 miles and none of it has gone to Delta. I am still mad over the episode. I still have the unfulfilled ticket I purchased for my oldest son which Delta refused to honor nor refund.

    I received a lot of comments about sharing my horrible experience with Delta. Thanks for all the comments. But three comments from a poster named DL Employee caught me eye. Here’s a clip from one of the three comments.

    Remember, the second you step foot in our Lobby at Delta near the Kiosks you are a guest in OUR home. Those planes sitting outside at the back of the building… Our planes. Remember, you are in our home, we are providing the service, flying is not a right, it is a privilege.

    To be honest, it is exactly this type of attitude why I will never fly Delta ever again. I disagree with Delta’s attitude that we are guests in their house. Guests do not pay the owners of the house for a visit. We are paying customers. Delta would not have any airplanes if it were not for their customers. It is this ridiculous attitude toward customer service that I encountered and hence have not had my problem resolved. I really don’t think they give a rip.

    If you disagree that we are “guests” on Delta’s planes, then let’s send a signal to Delta and forward this note to everyone you know. I never want to be a “guest” on Delta’s airplanes and I will choose to fly on any other airline other than Delta. If you are on FaceBook and you disagree with Delta’s belief that we are guests on their airplanes, please share this with all your friends. Just hit Share rather than Like. It’s like the degrees of freedom of Kevin Bacon. If it gets shared enough, sooner or later, it might land at the desk of someone that actually cares at Delta.

    3 Comments on “Are We Airline Customers or Guests in Delta’s Home?

    1. Sadly, Delta has very few employees who care. I wish you had taken the airline to small claims court… I think you would have won and given them the worst publicity!! Their conduct is outrageous..but that is what you get when an airline is allowed to emerge from bankruptcy rewarded as the largest airline in the world. As far as I am concerned, you were the victim of bait and switch scamming.

    2. I’m glad I found this website. I just got of THE WORST experience I’ve ever had with an airline (Delta). There were plane delays which I can’t hold against the airline, but the customer service was absoultely horrendous. Because of a plane delay I had 20 minutes to re-check my bags, get through security, and then sprint to the other side of the terminal. When the people at the Delta desk called the gate to tell them I was on my way they told me “pfft, good luck” getting there. They did not even PRETEND to have any sort of sympathy for me.

      When I got to the gate, drenched in sweat, I was not greeted by a crew member with even a hello. She snatched my ticket and gestured to the plane. And I wasn’t even the last one on the flight, either so it wasn’t me holding things up.

      My luggage, of course, did not make it on the plane although I was assured it “would be there before I would” which wouldn’t have upset me except for when it was delivered the next day (today) it was DESTROYED. I don’t know what they did to it to it, but it no longer stands upright, and the zippers at the bottom are literally melted shut.

      This was upsetting in itself, but again, something that happens in travel. When I called the customer service line however, they told me I had to bring it in within 24 hours “or they would not help me”.

      I have a job. The airport is 1.5 hours away. Can I get an extension? No. 24 hours is all I get. I asked to talk to a supervisor. There is no supervisor. Really? no supervisor? At all? You run the whole thing by yourself? No one is in charge?

      I do not have any sort of faith that I will get any sort of compensation for my bag. I am positive that they will blame me from overpacking it and somehow magically welding the zippers together.

      This doesn’t even cover the minor inconveniences
      I paid $1500 to be treated like DIRT. The most frustrating part is I can complain to customer service all I want and it makes NO difference. They will keep treating people like they’re “guests in Delta’s home” rather than people who PAID FOR A SERVICE. Newsflash Delta Agent: If you didn’t have these “guests” you wouldn’t have a home.

    3. I refuse to give any airline good marks. They are all horrid. I’ve been flying since a big plane had two propellers. I’ve seen the days when every kid on the plane received a pair of wings and a trip to the cockpit. It used to be fun to fly. People felt good about flying. Meals were…..meals. There was service and stewardesses were actually helpful and had smiles. You know smiles. It’s where your mouth turns up at both ends. Now all we get are robotic, beat down humanoids that smirk.. People would actually visit, even play cards while flying. There were real magazines. They were on the plane and you could read them.

      You can’t visit now because your actually too close to communicate without spitting on the passenger next to you.

      There isn’t enough room for a magazine. At least not one that opens. An open magazine is wider than the seat. I measured with one of the ones I bought for $17.79 at the airport.

      Of course there’s no room for legs, shoulders or arms either so I don’t know why I was shocked about the magazine.

      Checking your bag was the norm. It wasn’t a problem because most of the time it was returned when you arrived. Also everything you packed was still in the bag. Imagine that. It got so bad that everyone started using cary on. It was the only way you could have anything arrive for sure.

      Now they are making it so you can’t even do that. This time next year people will be wearing 5 changes of clothing just so they don’t have to have a bag. You can’t take toiletries anyway so what do we need a bag for.

      Sometime mid 2012 all of the bag and luggage mfgrs will need a bailout because people aren’t using bags. Depending on whose president they may get it.

      I’ll enjoy flying again when seats are as wide as my a–. Stews smile and bring me real food. Every airline employee acts like they understand that in order to stay afloat, they need to supply something someone wants.

      Thanks for the space. It’s more than they give you on any plane.

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  • We just got back from one of the most awesome vacations ever. Angra dos Reis is the most beautiful place that I have ever been. I don’t say that lightly. I have traveled throughout the entire world, and up to now, I thought that Yosemite National Park was the most beautiful. I visited there in 1983.

    Angra has everything. There are many mountains and water falls very near the beach. But perhaps most beautiful, are all the islands off the coast. They say that there are over 300 islands of all different sizes. Because of all the islands, there are very few waves and boating is very peaceful. Three times, we rented a boat and tried to explore new places. There are many private beaches and restaurants that are only amenable by boat. Many of the islands do not have electricity, only by generator. I really love to swim and I could spend hours just swimming in the clear waters with the fish. While swimming I saw many many fish of all colors and sizes, star fish, and a big tortoise. It was so much fun. The water is so clear that you can see everything in the water while swimming which probably has the best snorkeling in the world.

    Here are our pictures of this marvelous place although pictures do not do it justice.

    5 Comments on “Angra dos Reis – More Photos

    1. ROBERT… email me back because there’s a discrepancy in the class of your 1st grade pic. My 1st grade teacher was Mrs. Iverson. 2nd grade was Mrs. Middleman. You have my name as a participant of that class, but i do believe that i was not. Not that it means anything… really just want to congratulate you on your success. From AZ, home of the NEW immigration bill… good day sir

    2. Hey Rob,
      Those pictures are really beautiful. You all look great and the boys are just getting cuter and cuter.
      I hope to see you sometime this summer.
      Love,
      Jeanne

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  • We are on our first day of a much needed vacation. We are staying at a place called Hotel do Frade which sits on the beach but also has a golf course which nestles against the mountains. I woke up early and decided to run the golf course TWICE. I am not sure how far I ran but I am estimating between 10-11 miles. Then we went swimming in the hotel pool. Later, we went bike riding on the golf course for about an hour. It was a good full day and a great start to the vacation.

    One comment on “Angra dos Reis

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  • Solange’s mother came to visit us and we decided to take a quick weekend vacation. Solange searched the map and found Mangaratiba. It is about 70 miles from Rio de Janeiro, but given the condition of the roads and the traffic, it takes between 2-3 hours to drive there. All that said, it was worth it. I have been all over the world, and I would put Mangaratiba up there with Yosemite National Park as one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited in my life.

    I decided to exercise like a mad man. On the first day, first I swam for an hour in the pool. Next, there is a beautiful natural swimming pool whose depth is about 20 feet deep. There you can swim or snorkel with the fishes. Although I did not have snorkel gear, I enjoyed immensely diving to the bottom and and exploring the ocean floor. After that, I went in the ocean and swam for about a half an hour. Later, just to be more insane, I ran about 3 miles on the treadmill on the hotel.

    On top of that, the kids had a great time, and Solange took most of the photos on my camera. It’s a great camera and Solange is becoming a great photographer.

    3 Comments on “Mangaratiba, Brazil – A Beautiful Place

    1. I want to surprise my boyfriend tomorrow by going to Magaratiba. Is it easy to find the place for snorkeling you described? Could you answer in case the mail reaches you in time to my Email?

      Krissi2007@gmail.com

      Beijos from Rio,

      Kristina

    2. Hello Kristina,

      It is very easy to find the place where the outdoor pool is located. We stayed in a hotel called Porto Real. Here is a link.
      http://www.portorealresort.com.br/

      If you stay at this hotel, it is walking distance to the pool. One thing. Bring your own snorkeling gear. There were many locals with snorkeling gear but we did not have any. They have those long styrofoam noodles to swim but no snorkeling gear for pay.

      Good luck and I hope you like it.

      Rob

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