Manaus - Day 1

We arrived in Manaus at about noon on Wednesday.  The airport had a jet graveyard of sorts but more welcoming at MAO was when we were greeted wtih city maps and beer coupons redeemable just steps away. We thought that was a good start but it wasn't until an hour later that our airport transfer finally arrived...but luckily the driver had the Netherlands-Australia match on in the car, so it wasn't a complete failure.

The room we were given had five beds and an excruciatingly foul smelling bathroom with a seatless toilet and a hole in the shower leading to the common kitchen. That's right, not a window but an open hole through a shaft and into the kitchen. Looking back in hindsight this room could be considered palatial, but I'll get to that later. 

 After settling in, Jim and I headed out to the city center Praça São Sebastião (the city fan fest in the square by the Amazon Theater) to watch Spain-Chile on the big screen before heading up to Arena Amazonas for Croatia-Cameroon (4-0).  There were tons of fans and matching security all the way up to the stadium.  And that hotdog w/the shoestring potatoes on top was rockin'!

 We walked back to the gas station where Jim and I got a cab while Amy opted for the moto-taxi.

 Back at the city center was a big party plenty of street food, caipirinhas, and loads of security.