My excitement for the World Cup in Brazil in 2014 was only heightened by the recent Euro's from Poland & Ukraine. Whist the thrill of watching an international tournament on TV is one thing, actually travelling to a World Cup is so much more exciting, and I am now looking forward to Brazil even more. Anyway, congratulations to Spain who have now completed a memorable treble of wins at the highest level and have proven that they really are a dominant force in World Soccer.
Anyway back to Brazil 2014 and the planning continues, but only very slowly. I have further refined my planning process using the principle that we will need to travel round Brazil during the World Cup, staying in specific cities when games are being played there. With a goal of seeing between 8-10 games, but not be travelling every couple of days, I have come up with the following tentative schedule: -
- 06/6 - 12/6 - Sao Paulo - 7 days - Opening Game
- 13/6 - 18/6 - Manaus - 6 days - 2 Group Games
- 19/6 - 29/6 - Fortaleza - 11 days - 2 Group Games / 1 Round of 16 Game
- 30/6 - 11/7 - Salvador - 12 days - 1 Round of 16 Game / 1 Quarterfinal
- 12/7 - 15/7 - Rio de Janeiro - 4 days - World Cup Final
The above tentative schedule allows us to see 9 games in total, (including the Opening Game & the Final), and also see a fair amount of Brazil. We would start of in the South in Sao Paulo for a week to take in the site & sounds of this bustling city. Next we head North to Manaus, the gateway to the Amazon. It would seem to be a bit of a shame to travel all the way to Brazil and not see at least a little of the famous Amazonian basin. I am sure we can waste some time taking a couple of day tours into the Amazon Rainforest, and fit in a couple of matches.
From the Amazon we would then head to the North Eastern coastal city of Fortaleza, famous for it's beautiful beaches, sunny weather and ancient Portuguese architecture. Spending 11 days in Fortaleza should give us a good feel for this old city with plenty of time for relaxing in the sun. Next we start to head South to Salvador, again on the coast, with deep influence of the Afro-descendents and indigenous peoples in this culturally rich city. With 12 days there, we have plenty more time to see the sights, relax and see a couple of matches.
From Salvador we finally head to Rio de Janeiro where we will in town long enough to see the sights and hopefully the World Cup final. I have deliberately left Rio to last, and given the problems associated with this sprawling mega-city, I have allowed just enough time to do the touristy things and be in the same city as the Final. I am currently planning on heading back to Sao Paulo after this, as I am expecting that Sao Paulo will be our international flight hub, but this may change to Rio depending of flights and availability.I think that the above schedule gives us the best of everything we are heading to Brazil to achieve: 9 World Cup Games; 5 different cities; diverse locations that will show off the best that Brazil has to offer. As with all plans, things can change, but I have to start somewhere with an idea, and this is it.
Thoughts...?
