A visit to Hispamar in Rio de Janeiro

16 to 18 March 2017

A satellite launch rocket model in the foyer of Hispamar offices, Rio de Janeiro

Dr Klaus and I head off to Rio de Janeiro to visit South American satellite operator Hispamar.  We depart from Curahuasi at 5:30 AM for Cusco (about 2 ½ hours’ drive) where we then fly to Lima airport (just over an hours’ flight) to then catch our flight to Rio de Janeiro.  But firstly Klaus makes a Diospi Suyana presentation in Lima in the afternoon before our early evening flight to Brazil.  

Then came a clanger when I try to get my Rio flight boarding pass - I find that neither my Australian passport nor my Peru Extranjeria Carné is sufficient to enter Brazil!  I am told I would need a visitors’ visa with my Australian passport (despite our Australian trade agreement).  With the time I have available whilst Klaus makes his presentation, I head off to the Brazil embassy in Lima.  But I am told there that a visitor’s visa will take 3 days and there is no way to expedite it! 

So I try for my second option – I have a British passport and I am informed at the airport that this requires no visa to enter Brazil (due to EU relations).  However my British passport is in Curahuasi.  So I go for a two pronged approach – firstly (a long shot) I get Sandi to drop it into Diospi Suyana and they put it in the next taxi to Cusco.  Then there is a plan to get it on the next flight to Lima but we are not sure if this is possible. 

The second option is I go to the British embassy in Lima and see if they can issue an emergency passport.  So I arrive at the embassy with a few hours left up my sleeve before I need to make my way back to the airport through highly unpredictable Lima afternoon traffic.  The process normally takes much longer, but I explain my plight and they agree to do this in time as a special favour.  I rush out to get passport photos and then return in the nick of time.  It was a good thing I pursued this as my original British passport never made it onto a plane in Cusco.

 

The view filling out my Emergency Passport application in the British Embassy, Lima.

But upon leaving the embassy I am told the Emergency Passport has cancelled my original British passport so I would need to reapply for a new one after my trip.  This was a clanger – but I will pick up this story again in a later post.

So back to the airport – Klaus is stuck in Lima traffic jam for over 2 hours but makes it in time to get our flight to Brazil.  We land in Rio at 4:35 AM on Friday 17 March and catch a cab into town with a very talkative driver with the sun rising over the city.  There is no hotel for us on this schedule for us as there is no time.  Klaus must leave for Germany this evening.

 

Flying into Rio at dawn is impressive in size and features (stock photo).

We fill in time with breakfast in a small café and arrive to meet the Hispamar management team at 9:00 AM.  Hispamar are the South American division of the Spanish satellite operator Hispasat.  They operate seven satellites and lease capacity to public and private institutions.  Klaus makes his Diospi Suyana presentation.  This turns out to be successful when the Director of Negotiations for South America, Sergio Chavez asserts was so impressed that he wants to make Diospi Suyana their company’s corporate responsibility!  Albeit subject to head office approval in Madrid, Spain so we don’t know the final outcome for sure yet. 

 

Klaus presenting to the Hispamar management team with Sergio Chavez on the left.

We are then given a tour of their facility.  During the tour we are introduced to all the staff.  The satellite control centre is well presented and equipped with the right monitoring equipment (with a number of high end digital spectrum analysers).  The seaside view on one side, city on the other and mountains on the other from the office windows is compelling.

The amazing view from Hispamar offices with famous Rio sights.

The Hispamar satellite control room and customer centre.

We enjoy a classic Brazilian “Rodízio” lunch with Sergio and some of his team.  I had not had anything like this since I left Australia!  We depart ways with the Hispamar team and then at 2:00 PM Klaus presents to a German journalist with offices and studios in Rio.

At 3:30 PM we drive back to the airport, avoiding the temptation to use the rest of the daylight in Rio to visit some sights whilst driving past Sugarloaf Mountain with cable cars running to and fro, or climb up to the famous “Christ the Redeemer”.  Rio is a risky and unpredictable place at nightfall.  And besides, it would not be enjoyable without our wives and in my case, family.

 

Speeding past Sugarloarf Mountain with its famous cable cars on our way back to Rio airport.

Listening to Portuguese music over the airport speaker system for hours on end – it is a most unusual and almost enticing sounding language to my ears.  It sounds nothing like Spanish to me despite what some have said about similarities.

As Klaus summaries, three days go without hotel accommodation but filled with a thousand impressions.

Regards,

Chris