Brazil: 71 days to go

Having just booked my yellow fever vaccination, I thought it was time to commence the World Cup Countdown. With 71 days to go before I start the first leg of an increasingly complicated travel schedule, Tobinators Towers is a frenzy of preparation, spreadsheets and post it notes.There is a lot to do. Things completed so far: FIFA accreditation approved, main flights booked, Manaus internal flights booked, Manaus hotel booked, Rio accommodation booked, group stage matches applied for, Focus Images logistics and real-time remote editing suite arrangements confirmed, testing of remote editing comms links completed.Here's a small subset of things still to do: book Sao Paulo accommodation and flights, book Belo Horizonte accommodation and flights, check for additional jabs needed, work out stadium logistics, confirm client requirements & brief, get England press conference and training schedule, work out how to pack gear, get additional stuff I don't have (Speedos, sun tan lotion, flip flops) etc.I booked the main international flights fairly early and got them at a decent price. The internal flights have shot up recently though despite the airlines putting on a lot more flights on the main routes. I had been thinking of driving from Rio to Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte as they are each only about 250 miles away and the drive doesn't look too bad, but general recommendations are not to do this as innocent looking foreigners are targeted by the bad guys. So for the first excursion out to those cities I'll be flying, but I reckon it's possible I'll drive if I have to go out again to another match in either place once I've got used to the country.Hotels are looking particularly expensive in SP and Belo. AirBnB is not throwing up anything decent, and the hotels at the cheaper end are offering 5 hours for the price of 4 which is not quite what I was hoping for.Other things taxing my mind are what gear to take and how to pack it. Obviously all the normal sports photography gear goes with me, plus a couple of more subtle compact cameras, but also a pile of clothes and other essentials. Splitting out what goes in the hold from what goes as cabin baggage will be tricky as I don't really want any of my camera gear in the hold, but I just don't think I'll get away with that. An anxious wait will be in store at Manaus airport luggage carousel I suspect. There's also a Brazilian customs declaration to fill in (for bringing in kit worth more than a certain amount), mobile comms in Brazil (SIM card plus dongle) and a myriad of other stuff on the list.I'm dreading England actually winning their group as that will put them up in Recife which is 1,500 miles from Rio and another expensive flight/hotel combo. If they are second in their group they'll play in Rio against the winners of group C (Columbia, Ivory Coast, Japan & Greece) which will be fantastically convenient for me. 3rd or 4th and I'll be at the airport to wave them off, before resuming shooting other matches in Rio, SP or Belo.As well as the England games, I've got Belgium v Russia booked in Rio. That should be an interesting game, and Belgium could well be quite good I suspect. We can't book the knockout stages until it's know who is playing who, so at the moment only the group stage games can be requested at the moment.So, months of planning is coming together, with a lot still to do. I'll keep the blog updated as we get closer.