Entry 5

ON LOOKING through the first few pages of Lonely Planet there is a wonderfully written piece suggesting that Brazilians can show a deep longing.

A wistfulness or home sickness. Its not depression but a shared sadness.

Well, on landing here in Manaus on June 17 we caught the second half of their nil-nil draw against Mexico.

The airport was virtually deserted except for around 50 'workers" crowded around a small TV set in the bar.

As the minutes ticked by the home nation pressed for that elusive opener but Mexico stood tall.

The mood around that set went very flat indeed and on the final whistle 50 people shuffled back to their posts in a sombre and quiet manner.

It was much the same getting our bus into town.

The streets deserted. Indeed I got speaking with a young lad the next morning called Jameson who told me ' that wasn’t very good, I cried after the result.'
 

It took a couple of days to shift that considered disappointing result but things have changed a great deal.

Yesterday the streets were packed again as the excitement of playing Cameroon kicked in from about lunch time.

We decided to head out to the FIFA fan fest out in Ponta Negro, along with another 50,000 locals.

What an evening as the hosts and in particular hero Neymar turned it on to for Brazil to win four - one.

Each goal heralding celebrations that are normally seen at home for last minute winners.

It was great to be involved and be surrounded by huge smiles and a sense of pride.

The party carried on right across the city as people stayed out very late to drink and dance the samba.


Our time here in Manaus is rapidly coming to an end and to be honest it will be great to get south and out of the oven.

It’s been 35c and 90 odd percent humidity for 3 days on the trot with no rain.

We have been living life at 100 miles an hour with little sleep and drinking far too much.

It has been a wonderful experience being up here in the jungle and we have been well looked after.

But Sao Paulo is now on the horizon!

 

Entry 4 Colin Bowman from Manaus

We have now changed our status from England fans to tourists.

To that end we have spent the last 36 hours away from Manaus and in the heart of the Amazon Basin. We took a speed boat accoss the mighty Rio Negri, passing the 'meeting of the waters´ where two rivers meet but never mix.

It produces a distintive line between clear water and muddy, running for about 5 miles.  From the other side we drove 60k into the jungle before river boating (down a tributory) for a further two hours.  We stopped at a very basic lodge on the riverside.  All the following activities happen from this base.
We had a five hour motorised canoe ride along the shorline looking for animals, Cayman hunting in the pitch black and overnight sleeping in a  hammock.

Today we hiked through the rain forrest for 3 hours and went fishing off the canoe.

The guides are excellent and keep us safe.  In 36 hours we got a real flavour of what life would be like living where the only roads are the ones flowing past your front door.  

The perfect escape from matters elsewhere and the best thing about this adventure thus far.

Entry 3.

It is with heavy heart that this blog is written in the wake of another faltering England World Cup  effort here in Brazil.  The latest disgrace being at the hands of Luis Surez, who has just risen from his sick bed to score two goals. We really needed some kind of result today but instead we got a half-hearted attempt to get out of the group.   Our players are on 20,30 40 of 50 grand a week while most of the travelling support are on 20, 30 or 40 thousand a year.

The England squad and loads of hangers on have been on a five week holiday in Miami and Rio to get themselves ready for this world cup and what do we get for our money?

Our travelling support have been fantastic throughout this Brazillian adventure.  Great manners, polite and supportortive of the team and the opposition.  However they have been shafted by rubbish on the pitch.

There isn't any member of that England World Cup cortage that shouldn't come under the finger of rebuke including the manager Roy Hodgson.   And please do not accept any excuse given about the climate.  It's the same for everyone!

Something needs to be done for France 2016!

 

Entry 2

Rio, an Amazing City.

The hardest thing I've had to do so far on the trip was write two little numbers on my Argus World Cup Wall Chart :-  2- 1.  We watched the game from the immpressive setting of the Rio Fan Zone set up on Copacabana Beach. We were staggered to see there were around 500 England fans all congregated to one side of the park. As darkess fell (arond 6pm) the mood was one of celebration and excitment for the match.  All the regular chants loudly ringing around and a lot of bouncing.  The champaige moment of the evening came when Rooney crossed the ball for Sturridge to sidefoot home. There was wild celebration from a tiny corner of Rio and would imagine right across our region in Sussex.

But Cahill fell asleep for one second allowing the Italians in for the winner.  Gutted - sombre trip back to the hotel.

In terms of being a tourist this city is very easy to navigate and get around.  Modern underground system ( pound a go) and loads of busses. Yesterday I swam in the warm waters just off the Copacabana which was very exciting as huge breakers came in.  Mind you the locals effortlessly got changed but it took me a good half our to dry, get rid of the sand and dress !

We are eating and drinking well.  Dinner was chicken, rice, chips and black beans, two pints of Brama for around seven quid. Very good quality.

It's Sunday and its relatively quiet on the streets this morning. All eyes will be on the Maracaná this evening as 76,000 people watch Argentina open their World Cup adventure.  The city is full of blue and white shirts which is going to make getting tickets off the streets pretty damn hard. Bryan and I are going to give it a good go but have set a budget of $200 each. Whatever happens it´s sure to be an exciting night of action to look forward to even if we have to watch from a bar aross the road.

If Lorriane and Sue are reading I am still on the lookout for those burnt orange and black Havana Slims. 

Enjoy the football.

 

Entry one

TRAVEL, football and cricket are my three greatest passions so flying out to Rio was a very exciting prospect indeed. I have been very fortunate to attend top events over the past 14 years usually travelling with my best friend Bryan Cox from Haywards Heath.

Since 2000 we have been to three World Cups, two European Championships, one African Nations in Ghana and a Copa America in Argentina, plus had a three week jaunt in China for the Beijing games. It's been a giggle.

Indeed this series began in January 2000 for the International Club Championships in Rio and Sao Paulo when Manchester United played and lost in the Maracana against Vasco de Gama.

We had an an intoxicating mix of footie, alcohol and samba in 40 degree summer heat and were hooked from that moment on.

Brazil is a vibrant, hardworking nation which knows how to party.

Given the weather there is an outdoor feel to whatever is going on.

Beach culture is very strong as are the numerous city bars where people spill out into the street soaking up the warm nights.

Music fills the air and there is always people moving to the beat.

Its fun to get involved. It's the people that I've been really looking forward to seeing this time around.

With a World Cup being played out in their back yard there is a lot of celebrating going on especially if Naymar and the boys keep winning.

We saw a hint of that last evening as the hosts got off to a flyer.

200 million people would have risen as one when Chelsea midfielder Oscar poked home the third.

ITV panned around to several fan zones to see golden shirted fans jumping around. They took that mood right into the night.

On the other side of the coin we have news of riots and civil unrest, indeed the ITV studios were pelted with stones last night before the police moved in.

One can have huge sympathy as billions have been ploughed into World Cup infrastructure and not into public issues such as health, education and transport.

Hopefully, the football will give everyone a huge lift as I predict that our hosts will progress all the way to that final on July 13.

Our own arrangements have been going pretty well. I packed my Argus World Cup wallchart.

On Sunday we will be going see Argentina play Bosnia in the Maracana.

The real thrust of this trip happens on Tuesday when we make the 4 hour flight up to Manaus deep in the heart of the Amazon rain forest.

We will have seven exciting days in the tropical heat and rain watching three matches (Arena Amazonia) and experiencing what the area has to offer.

I send best wishes to all Argus readers out there in Sussex and lets hope we all have a great night on Saturday as Roy and the lads take on the might of Italy. Win that and a little piece of Brazilian spirit will be pulsating through the streets of Brighton.