Places I've slept

It's not all flowers...

A cozy bed with feather pillows and a warm blanket, hummmm! None of this, I've been in so many holes that if I tell you, no one will believe me! Some of them were planned (yes, I'm a bit crazy! I plan things too), but others not so much... Think of a thousand places for a traveler to sleep, even the unusual ones, and I can say that the vast majority of them I've already experienced. Good hotels, bad hotels, cruises, friends' houses, relatives' houses, hostels, wild camping sites or not, buses, floors, chairs, airports, streets... I've been through it all, but even the worst holes have had their positives and I don't regret a thing!!! Three times the airport became my overnight shelter, two of which were planned. Hello? Huh? What? I told you it didn't work out very well, did it? I was only going to be there for one day, so I wouldn't have much time to see what I wanted to see and I'd waste time and money on hotels or something like that? Of course not! I landed in the city, saw everything I could and then, when I got tired in the middle of the night and it was close to flight time, I went back to the airport. What, resting at the airport? Yes, I found a bench and slept there. Of course, as planned, the most I had with me was a handbag that was tucked away underneath me (it's not nice to mess around with your belongings while you're sleeping!). Where did I do that?

The first time was at UruguayIn Montevideo, I arrived at 6am and the other flight left at 6am. So why did I only spend 24 hours in one country? Actually, I was going to Argentina, which was the "break" between Rio de Janeiro and my final destination, so I took advantage of it. I left happy and pleased to have won a combo of two trips in one, I wanted to enjoy every second of that new place, but at two in the morning there was absolutely nothing left to do and all that was left was to go back to the airport and try to get some sleep and arrive half rested in Argentina. Montevideo airport has a beautiful terrace, empty, calm and full of benches that look like beds, not to mention a wonderful internal garden with trees, art exhibitions and everything else.

A great tip for backpackers and a perfect shelter. I slept like a little angel until I could and then boarded the plane calmly and happily. The second time was in SalvadorI went to the carnival! I arrived on Monday morning and boarded the first flight out on Tuesday. I enjoyed the city, went to a box on the Barra Ondina circuit, jumped, danced, saw shows and when the party was over, airport pra quê te quero??? But there were still five hours to go until my flight, so I had a snack and went to the departure lounge, grabbed a chair, propped myself up and fell asleep, as the flight announcement was a great alarm clock! And once again the airport saved me money on hotels. What about the third time? Wellmm, the third time wasn't planned and it turned out to be a bit sinister! Three days of trying to get home and no success. What do you mean? Trying to get home? I didn't have a return ticket? I did, but I went to Miami on a discount scheme where you only get on if there's space on the flight. That's right, it was the USA. And I was lucky enough to have three days in a row with no vacancies on the flight to Brazil, I even tried to return via another state, but everything was full. On the first two days I even stayed in a hotel, just to sleep and take a shower, because the next day I had to wait at the airport to try to get on the first flight I had. It was a horrible stress, taking suitcases, bringing suitcases, am I going, am I not going? Not to mention the extra money in dollars. Every flight that filled up made me more desperate and on the third day I ended up staying at the airport for good, I was very tired from all the stress, almost anesthetized, not to mention that the money had long since gone into the negative, so I decided to stay at the airport anyway.

The worst thing was not being able to shower, because on top of everything else, the journey ahead was a long one! I picked up my things and lay down on top of everything, with one eye open and the other closed, and the next morning... Tcharãmmm! I made it to Manaus, I made it! From Manaus I was still going to face a 3-hour wait and another 5-hour flight to Rio, but at least I wouldn't have to spend any more dollars! I was so happy! This was undoubtedly the worst trouble I've ever had sleeping, but the moments up to that point made up for it, the trip had been great There were several other troubles finding a place to sleep, like the day I ended up on the street, and that day was also unplanned and boring! I left Paris for Munich and I didn't book a hotel, it was the same boarding scheme and I didn't know when I was going, so I let life take me and looked for something when I got there, or at least that was the idea. I arrived at night, the city was packed! TIP: Don't forget to find out if there are any events going on in the city! Especially if you're crazy like me and you're not booking a hotel. In my innocence, I thought I'd have an easy hotel there, but I was wrong! I already had some hotel addresses written down, I arrived, grabbed my bags and went after them and tchum! Everything was full, no room for the day and for the next three days! It was already very late, the flight had arrived close to midnight and all the searching had made the night even longer. What was I going to do now? Go back to the airport? It was too far! I went looking for more. TIP 2: When you don't have anywhere to sleep, go to the airport or train station, they're warmer and safer. I walked around, looking for one place after another and nothing! And to help, it started to rain... I went from hotel to hotel and always got the same answer. We're full!

When it was about 3 a.m. and I couldn't stand carrying my suitcase in the rain any longer, I went into a hotel that had a bar, Igor bought a beer, chatted with the attendant for a while and the next thing we knew, we had fallen asleep right there and at 6 a.m. another guy (who had changed shifts) woke us up saying that this was no place to sleep. At that point we looked at each other with a sort of "what now? I stopped, thought about it and came up with the idea of going back to the train station and trying to make the most of the day before heading back to the airport, since no hotel was available. That's what we did, we put our things in the locker at the train station and set off, exhausted though we were, to try and see something of beautiful Munich. The sun was already showing that the city was wonderful, and my strength was gradually returning, until I came across a shy little shop near the train station, which was opening its doors, with the name TOURIST INFORMATION, I entered without much hope, I wanted to ask only about nice places to see in one day, but fate had much more in store for me! Soon the clerk realized that I was Brazilian, he began to speak Portuguese, being the friendliest person in the world, and even found me a cheap hotel to spend the next two days in! What about the other places I've slept? I'll leave that for later, but here are some of my experiences, like camping. Something always happens, right? And we write our lives with pitfalls! What about you? Where have you been? A lot of trouble? Tell us about it!