Brazil! Loves & Hates

Brazil is a fantastic country and since its my last day here and I have free internet, I figured I would clue you in to some of the best things about Brazil.

• Churrascira (Brazil BBQ) is a buffet for less than $5 USD you get all you can eat. The meat guy brings around and slices meat at your table until you cannot have any more. Yummy!
• They are sharing & social people. At a resteraunt, they serve beer in large bottles (600 ml) and bring you small glasses to share with your friends. Its odd to them to order your own beer and drink it all yourself.
• The beautiful people (they are everywhere)
• Landscape - we have seen much through the side of our bus windows and it is green and lush. The dirt is a red-brown and has altered the color of our flip flops, but it makes for an excellent contrast. The deep green hues and lush trees vs. the red of the rocks and ground.
• Beaches ~Impanema is my favorite!
• Rio de Janero
• Waterfalls- not only does Igazu totally kick butt, we were able to go swimming in 6 or 7 other ones in various parts of Brazil. This has been my favorite activity while in Brazil.
• Coxina - a little ball of chicken that is fried with something. Yummy! totally awful for you to eat no doubt.
• Its realtively cheap here (we have lived on $60 usd a day)
• the ´angels´that have come to our rescue along the way -- when we were unable to communicate in Portugese and were lucky enough to come to our aid.
• Havaianas

Things I wont miss:

• Plastic napkins (seriously, if its not absorbant what is the point???)
• You cant flush toliet paper down the toliet ... you must put it in a trashcan next to the toliet
• Couples (old, young, teenagers, whatever) make out EVERYWHERE here. Waiting for the bus, walking down the street, at a resteraunt, EVERYWHERE.
• All the food is salty and rather unhealthy (with the exception of the delicious tropical fruit).
• Wierd shower heads that I could possibly electricute myself with.
• Extremely few and far between English speakers.

ps. more pics in the same old album ... I will be starting a new one soon!

Falls of Igauzu

We arrived after three not luxurious buses to the Falls of Igauzu, Brazil. We had the pleasure of taking two local buses to our hostel. It was very simply done and the landmark to get off was none other than McDonalads double arches. The hostel is not impressive, but oh well, its cheap.

We arrived at the hostel before 11 am and were unable to check in. We stored our stuff and headed off to the main attraction on a local bus. The waterfalls are near the border with Argentina and Paraguay, but we decided to see the Brazilian side first. They are very impressive. The pictures, big surprise, do not do it justice. We had a nice walk through the jungle and it only cost $8 something USD to get in. We snapped tons of pictures (the best have been uploaded to my Brazil web album) and came back into town.

We went Itiapu Dam and Power Plant for a tour on Thursday. It is the worlds largest hydroelectric plant in power output. They generate 90% of Paraguays power here and 20% of Brazils. It was an immense dam but it has not rained enough recently, so it was not very exciting to see. Very little watter was visable from where we stood. Oh well, it wasnt expensive and the bus ride was a random trip.

We then spent the afternoon going to Paraguay. It sucked. I posted a picture of it in the album, too, but it is not worth seeing. They refused to give us passport stamps (because we didnt have a visa to be in the country) and I was unable to find a post office or a postcard to mail myself. Upon my attempt to re-enter Brazil, I got in trouble for not having the exit card. They even went to the trouble of finding someone who spoke a little English to explain that I needed to have an exit card to leave Brazil. I was trying to re-enter Brazil, so this didnt make much sense but I apologized and explained it was back at the hostel and they finally let me depart.

Tomorrow -- Argentina side of the falls and then a long bus trip towards Urugauy!

Bonito

bonito means beautiful in portugese. as a town, it is not so beautiful but there are lots of beautiful things to see and do within a few kms from town.

We are staying at the HI Bonito Hostel. It has AC (praise the lord!), a pool, and accepts credit cards. Breakfast is included in the price and was pretty nice this morning. The room is clean and comfy, it is sooo nice after being in the Pantanhal. Its like being in a resort.

We went snorkeling in the Barra of Sucuri River. They had all the equipment we needed and gave us wet suits. The water was so refreshing! It was my first time snorkeling and it was very enjoyable -- although our guide did not speak English, we played the ´follow the leader´game. (We watched what the Brazilians did, and then copied them.) After we had all of our gear on, we paddled upstream against the current. There were 7 of us and the guide, only 3 of us apparently knew how to paddle. The two ladies didnt even attempt to try paddling from what Mike and I saw. Good thing Mike and I were along to carry these folks upstream. We then got out of the boat and just floated down and soaked it all in. All you hear when snorkeling is the sounds you make, everything else is silenced by the water. As I never understand what people are saying here, it was nice to have a different kind of silence. We did not get to see millions of fish -- just four varities, but they were plentiful and quite large. I was also able to enjoy the different vegetation as we floated down stream.

Our second day tour was of waterfalls. We saw 7 waterfalls, ranging in size and shape. We got to go swimming in 5 of them. The first one is pretty and scenic and we got some great shots. It proceeded to start raining after the 2nd one and rained most of the rest of the tour, so we dont have as many pictures of the later ones since we put the camera away to protect it. One waterfall had a small cave you could swim into after you passed under it which was fun. Since it was raining, we got to see the rain dripping on the stalactites. There was also a waterfall and a place to jump off -- I am way too chicken for that sort of thing. They are very concerned about preserving the ecology of the area (which is wonderful) and that was why we were not allowed to climb around on everything and go in every waterfall. It was a great fun day -- and the rain probably made for better views of the waterfall.

The Pantanal

...did not live up to its expectations. We arrived in Campo Grande, Brazil and booked a 3 day tour with Ecological Expeditions.

The trip started off on a good foot, we missed our bus by 5 minutes and had to ´catch´it. As the small van from the hostel weaved through traffic and caught our bus, we knew we were in for an adventure.

We never would have survived with out 100% DEET insect repellant that Mike brought along. Regular OFF or bug spray will not do in the slightest. I have never experinced misquotos so badly before in my life.

We slept in hammocks and had no fans. It was impossibly hot the entire time. Our áctivities´consisted of: a safari, piranha fishing, horseback riding, & a boat tour. When we went on the ´safari´and ´hiked´through the woods, it was really a misquto feeding. The buzz buzzzzz of the misqutos never left my ears. I was constantally in motion attempting to swat them away. We saw some minimal animals but it was most unpleasant. Piranha fishing is exactly the same as regular fishing, just that you catch fish with nasty teeth. They were cooked for dinner that evening and tasted surprisingly fishy. The horseback ride was the most enjoyable activity, but my horse was getting into it with the other ones and kept attempting to bite every other horse.

I am happy to be back at a hostel... in Bonito (which means beautiful in Portugese). :-)

Rio de Janero

It means January River in Portugese, as they were thinking when they arrived it was a river. They were wrong, but Rio is still wonderful.

We arrived safely into Rio on Tuesday after a rather delightful (if things can be) 19 hour bus ride. We have been staying at Sun Rio Hostel, which is okay. The booking for our hostel confused the front desk people and so they switched rooms on us. Somehow, they let Mike and I sleep in the all girls room.

We have done EVERYTHING! We got to take the cable cars up to Sugar Loaf and see beautiful vistas of the city. We saw the Flamanigos (a team from Rio) play Boa Vista at the big soccer.... err... futball stadium the Mercado. We went to the national musuem (it sucked). We visited Copacabanna and Ipenemia beaches. We loooved Ipenemia and Copacabanna was okay. We adventured to see Christ the Redeemer (my first of the new 7 wonders of the world). From the top of the hill that the Christ statue is on, you can see all the beaches and everything. It was wonderful. The statue itself is neat to look at and when you see how far up it is, its hard to imagine them hauling everything up there.

We have made lots of friends since we have been in Rio for so long. We made friends with a wonderfully nice portugese guy who led us to a samba school rehersal in the sambadome. This is where carnival will go all nuts starting on Friday. Mike and I cant afford to stay (a package is like 1,000 usd for 6 days) but we got to see it all. We met the mayor of Rio, the King, Queen, & Princesses of Carnival, and saw the rehershal from the samba school. It lasted hours. The first school was all blue and white and I think had about 1,000 people. They didnt have their full on costumes, but it was amazing and energizing. Everyone was joyful and sang their heart out the entire time. They started with a few songs and then when the procession started into the sambadome, it was the same song continously. Each school has an anthem of sorts and they just sang it out the whole time and danced to the music. The first school lasted probably about 2 hours and we were just hooked the entire time. There was a reasonable break and then a second school started in. They were a smaller group but still entertained us for another hour or so. Their colors were green and yellow/gold. It was so exciting and when we departed to catch another bus home, people were still singing on the buses. Even though it was 1 am when we got back to the hostel, it took awhile to settle because it was so much fun and so much happy energy you couldnt help but take it with you.

It was rainy Thursday, Friday, and Saturday so we had some extra time to kill and were a bit meloncholy. We decided to tour the favella. It seems sort of wierd to take a tour of the slums, but several people told us it was really interesting. As it was rainy and we couldnt lay on the beach like we wanted, we went ahead and did it. The slums of Rio are incredible. We went into the largest one with a guide, of course. We took a crazy motorcycle ride up the hill (no helmet, zig zagging through traffic, take turns at an unbelieveable pace) that was thrilling. I think we got our moneys worth in just that bit. Then our guide gave us a little bit of information and told us to put the cameras away, there is a guy whos job is to watch at the enterance to the favella and we shouldnt take any pictures because the drug lords get upset. Our guide Daniel knew everyone and we felt completly safe. Every corner we turned he said hello to the people we passed. I believe he takes his groups on the same route every single day, so that it is part of what the slums look like but also a bit nicer than most parts. We saw some neat graffiti (pictures in the brazil album in the previous post) and met the artists. The streets of the favella are very narrow and you can tell there was no clear plan. They have open sewers, so at the top of the hill it is okay but at the bottom it is grungy and nasty. We went to a day care center and the children were adorable. They are clean and fully clothed, so you know they are being treated well. It was just an amazing experience.

*i have uploaded a few pics for your enjoyment to the same album*

SLIDE SHOW!

Struggles as a traveler

It is very difficult in Brazil not knowing any Portugese. Mike & I have never been in a situation where we couldnt find someone who knew a few words in English. they do not know any english here and we do not speak portugese.

I have learned a few token words: water, hotel, bus, beach, how much (but i really only know numbers under 10), beer, please, & thank you. i never understand any of the other words flying out of peoples mouthes. this is a huge problem and something we are working on learning better. mike has a pharse book and we both are constantally listening to everything around us with no comprehension, but at least trying. mike is faster to understand portugese. i hope that my HS spanish classes will not fail me when we leave brazil in 2 weeks. i hope i will become a wonder that speaks spanish fluently in no time at all....


traveling on the buses has been adventersome at this point. We wanted to leave Lençois to travel to porto seugro and read in lonley planet we'd have to switch buses along the way. we struggled buying the ticket from Lençois as the guy wanted to make us go back to Salvador, which we didnt want to do. Then we arrived in who knows where (but where the guy back in Lençois told us to get off) and tried to buy our ticket to Peurto Seguro. Only one of the bus companies would sell us anything and it was to another town but not all the way to PS. We thought that the bus layover was only an 1 and half hours but it turns out it was 4. we then boarded the next bus to who knows where and arrived after 4 am. When we got there, we were able to buy a ticket to PS our final destination. 22 hours after we stared, we arrived where we wanted to a sunny day. booking our ticket from here to Rio was easy, we have a ticket that takes us all the way there. perhaps on the same bus, perhaps not. we will have to wait and see what happens. i am paitent on these loooong bus rides and enjoy the tropical and beautiful scenery.

Porto Seguro (where I am right this minute but leaving soon) is another pretty beachy town. The beaches here are not as nice as Salvador, but still fantastic. We have enjoyed ourselves. This time we stayed in a guesthouse as the hostel was really expensive and not nice looking. I think its pronounced like Liz but spelled Lis. Its clean, quiets and for about $13 USD we get AC, a private room, a TV (with only portugese shows but hey we saw madonna, obama, and britney flash on the screen), and a breakfast buffet. The breakfast buffet is decent and so far they have always had fresh tropical fruits.

This internet cafe sucks, its high speed but the gal at the desk made it clear that we are not allowd to plug in USB cords and upload pictures. :-( i hope to do so in Rio.

Lencois

*The internet is crappy & slow and that is why there are no pictures yet... but if not tomorrow certainly by the time I reach Rio I will have some up for you.*

After a little bit of beach time in Salvador, Mike & I caught a bus to Lençois. Lençois is inland from Salvador and is a very small town. We successfully navigated via taxi to the bus station and figured out where our bus was departing, generally. It was difficult to find our exact bus since there was not one listed as going only to Lençois.

The ride was not too long - only 6 hours or so. We arrived late at night, around 11:30 pm and had called ahead so a person from our hostel met us at the station. It would have been impossible for us to find this hostel or pousada (hotel in Portugese) without the staff meeting us. The Pousada dos Duendes is overall very nice. The rooms do not have any AC or a fan. HOTNESS all the time while trying to sleep is not the most fun. It is very rocky in Lençois so the hostel is sort of carved out of the stone. Its brightly colored and has artistic flair all over.

We got up early and booked onto a car tour in Lençois. We had an intimate group of 7: oscar the italian, 2 portugese professers, 2 german gals, oolaf the dutchman, mike, & i. everyone was fantastic fun and we had a really fabulous day with our guide Zeo. After they picked us up in a all terrain truck/car (the roads are impossible around here), we headed out to the national park. zeo led us past a rock slide and onto a waterfall. the waterfall was beautiful and we got in for a swim. it was refreshingly brisk but you could swim all the way to the base of the waterfall and let it rain over you. it was great fun.

we hiked back to the car & took off for our next pictursque spot. we climbed up a hill that overlooked the valley. lucky for us, it was cloudy but not rainy, and windy. i would have hated to do it in the direct sun. we were able to overlook the entire valley and it was green and lush.

we got back into the car (our driver looks like he is related to fidel castro) and headed for another part of the park. we had a delicious hot lunch (i dont really know what any of the food was but i know that i liked it) and climbed down into another cave. the water surrounding this cave was a clear and crisp blue, making for some fab pics which i hope to have up soon.

we went for a swim in part of the pool (part is being preserved for nature which was awesome to know) and relaxed in the cold water. i kept my shirt on, even though i have been obsessively applying sunscreen I have a sunburnt back. My nose is red and my arms are also pink. boo. :( we climbed down another steep hill to a different cave, but this time couldnt go swiming, just admire the formations.

as if that were not enough for our day trek, we got to go to yet another part of the park for a different cave. this cave was amazingly dry with a sandy bottom but filled with stalactites. the formations ranged from an umbrella, a lion, an owl, and more. it was neat to see and also very comfortable in the cave. we had no run ins with bats, which makes me very happy. exhausted, we hiked our way out of the cave and back into the truck for the ride back to town. we got to see the sun set over the hills as we rode back into town.

dinner at the hostel was a buffet of lots of food and was tasty. they must eat rice & beans frequently, as they have been offered at the buffets weve been to. dessert was a wonderfully tasty cake with stawberries (?), chocolate pudding, cool whip, & a graham cracker crust. yummy!!!

friday night we attempted to go to the ATM or cash machino as they are called. the lobby was closed so we werent able to get any money out. we went to the bus station to book our ticket onward, which was tricky with our lack of portugese but ran into Oscar who helped us out immensenly. We then went to the city square (very close to the bus station) to have a beer and ran into Oolaf, the dutchman, and enjoyed the night on the town. Exhausted, Mike & I wandered home a bit later to sleep at the hostel.
http://www.pousadadosduendes.com/

SAMBA

Last night we went into the city center, Palahmerino, for their regular Tuesday night street party. There are musicians throughout the city center. Some of the bands that we saw were on platforms/stages. We were also entertained throughly by the samba groups. They are a band of musicans that have large drums and they carry them as they parade through the city. The beats are fast & loud (making them very intense) and them move together very rythmically. The groups also have dancers with them. The first group had a few guys that led the dances and moved quickly in sort of large motions. The people just sort of joined in behind them and followed the motions that they made. One of the groups we saw had official dancers that were a part of their group, followed by anyone that wanted to join. Some of the other friends from the hostel followed the group as it was marching by and joined in with the dancing. Its easy to get swept along with the music and enjoy the dancing.

The hostel here is great. They included breakfast in the price, which is often dubious at best. We had a delicious breakfast that started with fresh pineapple & other fruits. They always have rolls that look like french rolls but taste like nothing. I miss my favorite Companion petite pain. I ordered pancakes & they are stuffed with fresh fruit and cinamon. DELICIOUS! Mike ordered eggs & said they were good. I finished with some homemade cake that was chocolate and cinamonny.

Today, we went back into the old city to explore it by daylight. The buildings are old and built right next to each other. One building is built right into the wall of the next. They often have bright & varried colors. The streets are stone. They not any unform cobblestone, just sort of lots of the same type rocks put together to pave the streets. Salvador has two shelves, an upper shelf and a lower shelf of the city. There are a LOT of steps to get from one level to the other OR you can take a giant elevator for 5 brazilian cents. with the exchange rate, this is less than a penny. the big elevator is modern and sticks out among all of the old architechure. The buildings here are also very frequently tiled with bright ceramic tiles. Sometimes they have patterns in them, sometimes not.

This afternoon, Mike & I went to the beach with our 'roommates' Megan and an aussie who's name we're unsure of. The beach is lovely here and the weather is very hot and humid. It was the perfect way to spend the afternoon until the sun faded away. We'll head out for dinner in a bit...

Arrival!

We arrived in Salvador after our long journey. The flight was uncomfortable and on an old plane, so it was boring, too. (No cool little TVs to pick what movie you want to watch or games to play.) While landing, I was able to look out over the beautiful ocean and see the skyrises. The roofs here are almost all terracotta and from the plane it looks like patches of red.

After going straight through customs and immigration (thankfully no problems!) we adventured to find the ATM. The "cash machines" were a bit tricky to track down, but I finally found it. I swiped my card and to my dismay, the machine did not offer an English (or shall I say engles?) option. I didn't know what item listed was 'withdrawl' and Mike doesn't have it in his phrase book. I tried a different machine, only to have the same result. I was very nervous about what to do next. The third machine turned out to be very lucky and have English prompts. Mike & I then went out to wait for the bus. The bus ride was VERY long. We got stuck in traffic and it probably took about 2 - 2 1/2 hours to reach the hostel from the airport. The scenery is lovely along the way and beaches line the road. The bus from the airport wasn't full, but we picked up passengers along the way making the bus quite crowded. Mike and I were pretty stuck trying to push our way off at the right stop.

The directions from the hostel we booked, Barra Guest House are perfect. We found our way right onto their doorstep and then hesitantally rang the bell. There is no sign on the street that advertises that this is a hostel and we were a bit nervous. Barra's staff has been super friendly and helpful for us to get around. It's very clean and we have AC in our room, which we are very happy about. The temp today is in the upper 80s. We got our swim suits on and headed for the beach. Its beautiful and the water is a deep blue.

Tonight, we're hoping to go to another part of the city for a free musical performance. It happens every Tuesday night and they warned us to get there early.