Today I said goodbye to Belo Horizonte and headed to Natal, the site of Greece’s next game against Japan in World Cup 2014.
Greece vs Colombia. The setting was Belo Horizonte but the game might as well have been played in Bogotá.
On the shuttle to the stadium, Greek fans were outnumbered about 25 to 1. Inside Estádio Mineirão, it was worse. I was the only Greek fan in my entire section.
Nothing special to report today from World Cup 2014. I went to the colonial city of Ouro Preto about two hours from Belo Horizonte. Really amazing place.
This morning I went to the front desk of my hotel in Belo Horizonte to ask where the nearest laundromat was located. The receptionist drew a map and then explained in mixed Portuguese and English that it was closed today.
“Fechado (closed)? But it’s Thursday.”
He shrugged his shoulders and replied, “Brasil. Futebol.”
To see the rest of Belo Horizonte’s attractions, you need to head about 20 minutes north of the city center to the planned district of Pampulha. There’s public transportation, but we decided on a taxi ride to save time.
As a football fan, I’ve been on a lot of stadium tours, but none have given me chills like I had walking onto the field at Maracanã Stadium (Estádio do Maracanã). This historic stadium in football-crazy Rio de Janeiro is the Mecca of football. I’ve been on BETTER stadium tours in more beautiful stadiums, but none in a place as significant as Maracanã.
About a ten minute walk from El Caminito is an icon of La Boca, Estadio Alberto J. Armando, or more commonly known as La Bombonera (The Chocolate Box). This is the home of the Boca Juniors football team whose blue and yellow colors influence a lot of the color schemes in La Boca in Buenos Aires.
The biggest barrio in Buenos Aires without question is Palermo. It’s so big, it’s broken into sub-districts. Most of Palermo is a residential district, but if you like outdoor recreation or a relaxing walk in a park, then this is a good place for you to visit.
I had some time to kill after seeing La Serena, so I decided to jump on a bus and head to the neighboring town of Coquimbo. I thought it would be an interesting place to check out because it’s a port city that was settled by a lot of English immigrants in the 1800s.
Back in December, without any expectations and just for fun, I entered the lottery for FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 tickets. There is less than a 10% chance to get tickets to a game for anyone entering the lottery. I requested tickets for all three of Greece’s group stage games with a friend. Again, the chances of even getting tickets to ONE game was slim to none.