Just a thought. If this season’s filming timeline is similar to TAR 31, then my speculation is that there is going to br two or three legs with extended pit stops to allow Phil and production to get ahead and then get teams headed to the next destination.
If camera crews were seen in San Paulo, we can’t be sure if they were coming or going, as some camera and production crews leap frog ahead, i.e., some are/were headed to leg 2 while others are/were headed to the leg 3 locations. And as to where things are headed geographically, it could be south to the southern tip of the Andes, last seen in TAR 11, or east to Africa especially Southern Africa, South Africa, Namibia, Angola, or west towards Oceania, New Zealand, or Australia. And being literally near the Equator in the center of the continent would make it hard to rule much out. (There’s an advantage of sorts to 31 routes to not overlooking alternative choices.)
If teams were filming a leg on Wednesday, and production needed a day’s head start to get to the next location, then not seeing teams travel by air until Friday makes sense. There is also a possibility of two legs being filmed in the Amazon. I’m opening to multiple possibilities.