Arriving in Brazil

Should you be traveling to see John of God from New York, flying Tam on the Saturday night may the best option. All other flights from the USA can connect with Tam in Brazil, or Miami. Adrienne will meet you in Brasilia on the Sunday. An air-conditioned bus will take you to a 5 star hotel. Here you will rest and recover from the journey and enjoying a lovely dinner.The following day the group will take a tour of some of Brasilia's temples and churches. Lunch will be in a traditional Brazilian Churrascaria, (Barbeque).

Arriving in Abadiania the accommodation is simple but comfortable and clean. It is very close to the Casa, a two minute walk. There is wireless internet and a laundery service. All rooms have en-suite bathroom and single occupancy is always available.The food is healthy and fresh with plenty of fruits, vegetables, salad, rice, chicken and beans. There is a small pool in the guesthouse. There is also another swimming pool overlooking the hills in the village and it is a wonderful place to relax. There is opportunity for walks in the countryside around the village. There are local shops for staples and bottled water is available.

Let her know if you are a group who would like to travel with her to John of God outside these dates as it may be possible.
For more information on the experience read the page Why go with a guide?, the FAQ page and the Itinerary page.

Getting there

The price of the flight is around £600 - £700 from the UK and $1,000 - $1,200 from the US return, but varies according to time of year and other factors. Airfare is separate. The earlier booked, often the better the deal. She can help you arrange your travel and insurance if you like. From the US the flight is usually overnight via Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo. British airways fly from London as well as Tam and other European airlines with stopovers in Europe . The best way from London, or Europe is to take TAP Air Portugal and fly to Lisbon and take a direct flight to Brasilia. This avoids the unnecessary trip down south to Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro.

Tam is the Brazilian international carrier, codeshared with United. This is preferable as your flight is under the care of one company all the way to Brasilia. However from the US other airlines also go to Sao Paulo.

From Australia and New Zealand Lan Chile is the recommended airline, via Santiago in Chile . Argentinian Air is also available via Beunos Aires. Qantas will commece flying to Beunos Airies three days a week direct from Sydney at the end of 2008.

Visas

Here is a list of countries that do not need a Visa to enter Brazil.

There are links on the right to the Consulates and Visa services. US, Canadian and Australian citizens need a visa. Under normal circumstances, should you live near a Consulate and can go there, it will take one day to receive the visa. If you FedEx your application to the Consulate it may take 12 business days. If you wish to expedite the process the visa services on the right will be able to process within 3-5 days.

Visas are not required for UK and NZ passports and all passports must be valid for six months from date of entry.

Assistance

Adrienne has travelled to John of God from Australia , New Zealand , the US and the UK , therefore is able to help you with any queries you may have about getting there from where you live. It is recommended to book as early as possible as flights are often booked up in advance. She is available to call you wherever you are in the world and discuss your arrangements and assist you with your travel plans. Please feel free to email or call her with any questions.

Climate

Abadiania has dry winters and wet summers. Essentially there are just wet and dry seaons. In the dry seasons there is no rain at all and in the wet season it can vary from a good cleansing downpour for an hour each day to a few days of rain.  The winter - dry months are April through to September and the summer - wet months are October - April.

During the dry season, the relative humidity of the air reaches critical levels during the hottest times of the day. Maximum temperatures average 28 °C (82 °F). During the dry season the temperature decreases and can reach daily lows of 13 °C (55 °F) in July. Maximum averages of 25 °C (77 °F) are still the norm. The average temperature is 20.5 °C (69 °F). The hottest month is September, with an average high of 28 °C and an average low of 16 °C (61 °F). The coolest month is July, with an average high of 25 °C and an average low of 13°C. The monthly difference between the average high is around 3 °C (37°F) and the average low 5 °C (41 °F).

There are advantages to coming at either times, in the dry season you are guaranteed no rain and maybe a little cooler. In the wet season it is greener and the rain can be refreshing.

About Mystical Brasília

One aspect that is usually unknown by visitors to Brasília is that it has attracted many members of offbeat religious sects and esoteric cults that have come here in what they see as the anticipation of the dawn of a new age - sects that embrace reincarnation and universal oneness, academics and sci-fi enthusiasts who associate Brasília with ancient Egypt or the lost city of Atlantis. Land was given to almost any religous group that was legally constituted so many non-mainstream groups were able to built their temples or churches at low cost and exempt of taxes.

Their dreams are fed by an alien-looking cityscape, a showcase for Modernist architect Oscar Niemeyer. Among his creations are the twin towers of the Brazilian National Congress, between which the sun rises, Stonehenge like on April 21, the date the capital was officially moved from Rio de Janeiro.
There is also the famous prophecy about the future building of Brasília. In 1883, an Italian priest named Dom Bosco had a strange dream of a land abundant in precious metals and oil that would be discovered between the 15th and 20th parallels. "There a grand civilization will appear, a Promised Land flowing with milk and honey," the priest recorded in his journal. "These things will happen in the third generation."

Many believe that Brasília, situated between the 15th and 16th parallels, is that place. The man who made the city a reality, former Brazilian President Juscelino Kubitschek, thought so as well. There are many buildings with pyramidal designs and a university, the UPIS, founded by Brazil's most famous UFO investigator, General Moacyr Uchoa who supposedly had close encounters with alien beings near Alexania west of Brasília. One of the history teachers at that school was Yara Kern, a U.S.-trained Egyptologist who concluded, after six years of study, that Kubitschek was the reincarnation of the pharaoh Akhnaton and Brasília was the modern version of Akhnaton's made-to-order capital along the banks of the Nile.

The most impressive building in the city from a religious point of view is the utopian Legion of Goodwill Temple, a seven-sided, seven-story pyramid topped by what sources call the world's largest crystal. Other tourist points are the University of Peace and isolated religious communities such as the Eclectic city founded by the pilot for one of Brazil's presidents, and Valley of the Dawn where women wear medieval-style purple and black dresses, silver tiaras, glittering veils, and cone hats. There is an enormous temple with a statue of the great spirit White Arrow and an artificial lake hemmed by pyramids and wooden cutouts of Afro-Brazilian goddesses.
Farther out is the Chapada dos Veadeiros national park north of the city where the small community of Alto Paraiso has attracted New Agers, Rajneesh, and assorted mystical groups.

We will visit three of these, The Temple of Good Will, the Dom Bosco Chapel and the National Cathedral. We will also see much of Brasilia including the twin towers of the Brazilian National Congress.