Fuzzy. Jet-lagged and confused, we land in GRU (Sao Paulo airport in Brazil.) This is an 8 hour layover. My smart partner booked a hotel for these hours. Considering this is the start of a jet-lagged journey, we might as well get some sleep before our next long flight to South Africa. Our next flight is from GRU (Sao Paulo) to JNB (Johannesburg.)

But first, lets talk about this hotel. The Tryp Hotel by Wyndham is actually inside the airport behind security. This means we don’t have to immigrate into Brazil to get to it.

This is great news. The signs are clear as day but for some reason, the pathway that leads to the hotel isn’t open. Not having practiced my Portuguese in awhile, I ask Latam personnel how to get there and they tell us to go down stairs, into a waiting area, proceed through a secondary security, then back up stairs in a weird circular patter.

As we try to proceed though security we are not allowed. Since our flight is 8 hours from now, we can only get our boarding passes two hours before the flights departs. In other words we cant get our boarding pass and we can’t get into this hotel and we don’t know what to do.

Luckily we see the Latam personnel I just spoke to and she comes up and talks to her. We give her our printed itinerary. Long story short, she allows us to enter. 

We go through security. Find the hotel. Check in and fall asleep for about 4 hours before getting our boarding passes and boarding our next flight.

IMPORTANT:

Currently, if you’re traveling to Sao Paulo airport (even if it’s just a layover) you WILL need proof that you got a yellow fever vaccination and a visa. Theoretically, you only need both if youre staying in Brazil. For the Yellow Fever vaccine, if your layover is more than 10 hours, even if you DO NOT leave the airport its required.

I should also mention that many people got turned away and were not allowed to get on the plane because they “were just in transit” and their layover was only a couple of hours.

The gate agent does not care. They will send you back to the country from which you came.

GRU to JNB, Latam 767 First Class Flight

This Latam flight is in first class. The plane model is a 767. The seats are configured different than the previous business class flight I was on. Even though, Latam is renovating all their business class seats, this one has not been renovated yet.

The seats are still pods, so to speak, but they’re smaller. Instead of a diagonal zig-zag pattern this seats are parallel to the walls of the plane. But the middle seats are set a few feet from the window seating which makes it somewhat private.

• 

• 

If you’re seated next to someone who you don’t know, it might be weird since they’re not as private as the American Air 777 business class seats. Also, my middle console wall didn’t work. So I’m guessing other people couldn’t use it either.

These seats also become flat and turn into beds. The leg space is enormous and the TV is out of reach. However, you have a control next to you.

The one different thing about the seats is the foot rest that flips up. However, it still comes with a pillow a blanket and their own cute amenity kit with morning necessities. 

The shoulder width is tighter but I’m not complaining. I’m still happy to be in first class. I should also mention this portion of the trip is paid for.

I paid $900 for this leg of the trip. It’s a pretty good deal if you ask me. This means I’ll also get plenty of miles from this leg I can use towards another trip. It’s a win-win!

The Food!

I got another salad on this trip in order to minimize my glutton guilt. Also, I always feel so bloated when I eat so much on these flights.

This shrimp salad has fried zucchini, heart of palms and shrimp. Its a big salad but honestly it’s a little bland.

The meal also came with cream of corn soup which is damn tasty! I finished that first. 

For dessert I got a tasty pineapple/coconut, tropical ice cream mix of heaven. 

Overall, dinner is great. 

I filled out my breakfast card before they turned off the lights for bedtime. I ordered a simple coffee and yogurt for breakfast.

Considering, I just slept in the hotel, I stayed up all night and worked on a few blog posts.

The Video System

Their entertainment system is great. They’re flush with lots of foreign films ranging from Spanish, to Brazilian and even French features. Of course, they have lots of new releases and plenty of old ones too. I stayed up and watched Jumper considering I just finished a Jumper sequel on YouTube, I was eager to watch this one. The show (called Impulse) is way better, but Jumper is also good.

• 

• 

I tried to force myself to sleep but I probably got about an hours worth of good shut eye.

This flight is 10 hours and my impatience for the destination is building. I’m eager to get to Cape Town. Overall, I’m tired of being on a plane. It’s a tough marathon. At this point, it’s been about 21 hours on a plane. I’m done!

Unfortunately the adventure continues with one last flight from JNB to CPT (Cape Town.)

Let Me Break It Down For You:

Latam Business Class Flight on a 767 from GRU to JNB is nice. A tad smaller than an American Air flight on 777.

I paid $900 for first class. A great deal if you ask me. I’ll get miles for it.

The food is decent. I got a shrimp salad, pineapple/coconut desert and cream of corn soup.

It has lots of movies to choose from, including lots of foreign films.

The amenity kit is cute.

From GRU to JNB is 10 LONG hours!

ABSOLUTELY MUST HAVE YELLOW FEVER VACCINE AND BRAZILIAN VISA!