We Are Going To Brazil! We Are Going To Brazil!

After the US Men's National Team clinched its berth to the FIFA World Cup Finals last year, the happy US fans sang/chanted "We are going to Brazil! We are going to Brazil!  We are going, we are going, we are going to Brazil!"  It's a catchy little song, and one we're happy to be living right now.

Luck came through for us again this year and we were awarded tickets to all three US group games (against Ghana, Portugal and Germany) in the crazy FIFA lottery system.  Our travel plans are very much dictated by the matches' locations and times, so we're spending more time in the northeast part of Brazil than perhaps we would have otherwise chosen.  I'm sure it will be beautiful and charming, though I do regret we don't have as much time to explore the southern part of Brazil.  Ah well - that's what our next trip is for, right?

Some US fans (and the US team) have grumbled about the match in the middle of the rainforest in Manaus.  It's a 4-5 hour flight from the coast and incredible hot/humid.  But we can't imagine visiting Brazil and not going to the Amazon, so we're excited to head into the jungle for our rainforest adventure. We're fully immunized and have our anti-malarial pills, but still keeping our fingers crossed that the mosquitoes don't make a meal of us as we head up the Amazon for 3 days in the heart of the rainforest before the US match.

We leave the US on Tuesday, June 10th, and arrive in Rio just a few hours after Erin flies in from Africa on June 11th.  We'll try our best to keep the blog updated, as wifi and time allow.  Wish us luck with our collective lack of Portuguese knowledge as we get ready to explore Brazil!