Days 22-23: Foz do Iguaçu

My parents and I parted ways in Sao Paulo, with a lovely and well-timed send-off. I was flying to the local city of Foz do Iguaçu, while they were flying back to Canada. It was hard to say goodbye after 3 fantastic weeks together .. but I made my way over to Foz and arrived at my hostel - which was nestled down a dirt road and a ways from the main drag - at 11pm. It was a little unnerving not to be shown the bathroom, showers, or breakfast room .. and to then have to join other girls in a dorm with the lights off and a few people already sleeping .. but my flashlight and a few friendly Dutch girls helped me out :)

My first day there I had planned to see the Falls (Cataratas in Portuguese) but was delighted to be invited along with a group of students from Spain. One of the girls was in my dorm and asked if I was travelling alone, after I introduced myself in broken Spanish. All of them were either studying in Brazil (near Sao Paulo) or in Costa Rica. We ventured to Foz and definitely got some great pictures, nice and close! They had all been to the Argentinian side the day before and told me it was a different experience; we concluded that perhaps it can be summed up as follows: The Brazilian side gives you the whole picture and may be better for photo opportunities .. while the Argentinian side takes you closer for a more "intimate" waterfall experience.

I didn't spend long in Foz, only one more night, as there is not much to do there besides the falls. I planned my flight out from the Argentinian side (there's a small airport) and was lucky enough to catch a ride with our hostel van to the border then walk, bus and cab from there. I have to say I did appreciate the transition to Spanish, although the Argentinian dialect (as I later realized) is not quite as easy for me to understand than that of Mexico or other South American countries.

Therein ended my journey in Brazil .. and what an amazing few weeks it has been. I would wholeheartedly tell any curious traveller to come to this incredible country and sample what it has to offer. The land is varied, the beaches are plentiful, the people are unassuming and kind-hearted .. and yet there is no nutshell or pidgeonhole within which Brazil can be placed. That is precisely what made this such a unique experience; I leave knowing that there is so much more to learn about a country that has it's roots in both the European and the African cultures, that is proud of all things indigenous to it's land .. and that somehow makes everything it's "own" - be it the language, the dancing, the passion for futbol, or the subtle eagerness to help a traveller find his or her way ...

:-)

Até a vista.. mucho obrigado!!

Days 19-21: Paraty

So... finally - Paraty! Another coastal town :)

My parents and I arrived in Paraty via bus and checked into a Pousada that definitely had the others beat in terms of location, view, and classy cabin-like architecture. We had the room at the end, so that means a private stairwell and noone walking by! Hammock on the deck added to the appeal. It was the last place we would stay together ... and it was such a treat.

The old part of Paraty is really intriguing. I thought I had seen cobblestone streets in Salvador, but I was wrong! Here.. they were huge and even more uneven (if that is possible!). It would most certainly be an impossible task to walk with heals, let alone stilettos! On our first wander down from the pousada (which was on a hill) we thought Paraty was a ghost town - the streets were empty, and storefronts were mostly shut or quiet.. until you got closer to the newer town (not as pretty and nothing special). We did find a plaza right in the heart of the old town, and it looked a bit more livel. That ended up being our place :-) We had one "linner" (i.e meal between lunch and dinner time) there the first day, and one dinner (meal later in the evening) there on another night. It was definitely on the most interesting strip with the most action... people sitting outside at tables and live music. There were also several romantic places to dine in Paraty.. and actually despite the configuration (i.e parents and daughter) we did enjoy a candelit dinner in the courtyard of another restaurant, which was very uniquely situated in the midst of trees and flowers. We shared some laughs and several beer .. whilst young lovers stared longingly into eachothers eyes.. haha .. Not really, there were definitely other families there too.

I liked the feel of Paraty and the old architecture. Something I found pretty interesting was that the storefronts were so high up - about 1-2 feet off of the ground. Roadways were all wet at times, though it had not rained. Turns out (as per our guide on one of the trips) that the tide sometimes comes into town a few blocks during the wet season!

Paraty is a great place to get out and do stuff outside (which, we realized, is why it is so quiet during the day)! We ended up doing another schooner trip and of course, thoroughly enjoyed the fact that it was (a) sun-filled, (b) involved water and beaches, and (c) was cheap! The next day we did another trek (which I thought was even more worth it) for 50 reas (about 30 CAD that involved visiting 3 waterfalls, sliding down a slippery slope (literally) and jumping off vines ... and then a visit to a Cachaca distillery. Cachaca is the liquor made from sugarcane which is used in Brazilian Caipirinha (liquor, water, lime, sugar). We tasted all sorts of flavours, from pumpkin to guava to cinnamon. I, myself, am not a fan of hard alcohol but could stomach the pumpkin (though it would be better on pie with icecream ;). Our guide was genuine and very interested in our questions .. and we had an amazing lunch of gorgonzola risotto and salad at this beautiful restaurant in the middle of the hills (range rover jeep took us around).

I wish we could have stayed longer in Paraty .. our last night we opened a bottle of champagne and went to eat a $9 dinner which included the best french fries ever! Mom had chicken stroganoff (which seems to be popular here) and it literally tasted like the best butter chicken i had ever eaten. Strange.

Anyways .. since I am now in Buenos Aires (as of March 29th) I better move along and get to Foz do Iguacu - my first destination solo and my last destination in the wonderful country of Brazil.

:-) Thanks for staying around to read!

Days 16-18: Ilha Grande

After Rio, we took off to a little place called Angre and there, caught a boat to Ilha Grande (i.e big island). This is Brazil´s 3rd largest island, lush with tropical scenery and many beaches. It is accessible only by boat, and there are no cars, banks or ATMs on the island.. (which was a little bit disconcerting given how much cash people had to carry for a multiple day stay!) You mostly boat to the various beaches lining the island´s coast; while you can walk, it take is a fair distance through jungly terrain and who knows what creatures you might come across (i.e anaconda anyone?) ;). The island has a population of 3600 but you can´t really tell upon arrival. The dock where the ferry and catamarans arrive gives the impression -to a naive tourist - that there are only about 10 pousadas and a smattering of restaurants. Once you get off the boat you realize the "tourist village" goes much farther back and there are pizzarias and pousadas nestled into winding pathways, with lush overgrowth. My parents say it really reminded them of Bali.

INTERESTING HISTORY: For most of it's history as part of Brazil, Ilha Grande was a high security prison - off limits to the public. There are still some ruins of the prison accessible to view. It was open until 1994 and then became a touristy and "pristine" spot to visit. *It was a little off putting to think that you are going to an island (with tons of cash on you) which less than 2 decades ago hosted criminals....!? Might there still be one or two hiding in the miles of jungle? We did not run into any ;)*

Anyways, moving on ..... we took a schooner trip on one of the days, and stopped at a number of lagoons and a beach. We rented a snorkel and got to see some of the local fish (as well as touch them when they swarmed you after feeding!) I didn´t find them as colourful here as other places, but they are still pretty neat :). The next day we did another schooner trip, which was definitely the way to go! We went to Lopez Mendes, which is supposed to be the nicest beach in Brazil (though i´ve heard this a few times about different beaches). It was certainly spectacular and the nicest beach OVERALL in terms of sand, water clarity and temperature, AND the size (i.e shade options, long stretches of sand, etc). There were no surfing waves so I felt bad for those who brough their surf boards .. but it was perfect nonetheless :).

We spent 3 nights in total, and I very much enjoyed the less frenetic way of life on an island where no cars are allowed. That said, it was obviously touristy ..


Some musings (see, I told you I would report my musings. I DO think sometimes!)

(1) Day trips are the way to go in Brazil; while other things (i.e taxis) are more expensive or at least comparable to Vancouver, these trips are more reasonable than even in Mexico or Cuba. Por ejemplo,$10-14 CAD for a 10-430pm schooner trip, with fruit and coffee included and stopping at 3+ islands. Not shabby!

(2) Dessert trays sitting in the streets are kind of cool, albeit most certainly unsanitary! I didnt take a picture but these huge carts on wheels (like 5 ft by 5 ft) have about 15 different desserts in them and sit there covered up. Not sure they are changed regularly or chilled properly, but we didn´t get deathly ill from the lime pie and that is all that matters to me at this point!)

(3) Acai (the berry) is very popular in Brazil, as is pop made with guarana juice. FYI, Guarana is a berry from the Amazon said to have energy enhancing properties. You can find it at home in Amp, Volt, and other energy drinks (not that I would know, haha) ..but they have Acai berry sundaes here and the like. Tried some sorbet type stuff in Paraty and it was tasty (and free, even better!)

(4) The stray (or maybe not stray?) dogs wandering the streets in most Brazilian cities are adorable, tame, and i want to take one home (at least)!!! See picture above of my favorite boy so far..

(5) Topless-ness is a No No in brazil, but it is more than OK - if not expected - to show as much skin as possible (while still wearing two peices of cloth) when at the beach. One-peices are not worn, from what i could see, by the locals .. no matter the age. That said, just like the majority of beaches it seems, usually the people you do not want to see ... you see more of .... if you get my drift);)

Paraty (the next coastal town we visited) blogging is coming up next .. and I am slowly catching up! Currently (March 29th) I am in foz do iguaçu (Brazil) and am leaving Brazil this afternoon, flying into Buenos Aires after trekking to the Argentinian side by bus and foot.

Will post more soon!

Obrigada!

Days 12-15: Rio de Janeiro

Hi again :-)

Well what do you know, I´m two cities behind in my blogging! Story of my travels!

I have so much to say about Rio, and don´t even know where to start. We arrived on March 17th to a grey, rainy (pouring, actually) city that did not look much different from Vancouver. It is the rainy season so in actual fact, we´d been very fortunate to have no rain in the almost 2 weeks preceding our arrival in Rio.

For those interested, the city´s name essentially means "River of January". Why, you ask (or at least, i did - given it is a bay not a river!)? Well, early Portuguese explorers happened upon Brazil in 1500 and came to a little bay which they thought was the mouth of a river, in January of 1502. Given the month and the configuration of the water ways (there are many bays in Rio)they named it Rio (river) de (of) Janeiro (January). There are about 7-8 million residents here, and they city itself isn´t the concrete jungle i´d imagined (I pictured LA or New York) but rather like many cities put together; nestled into the mountains and stretching across kilometres of beaches.. There are apparently 15+ tunnels in Rio, and certainly moving from neighborhood to neighborhood (i.e Santa Teresa, Copa, Leblon) gives you a whole new feel ..

We stayed in an apartment in Ipanema (one of the safer, wealthier areas) and I have to say I felt pretty secure. We had booked Margarida´s Pousada, which is run by a sweet yet stern woman in her 70´s; I guess she also owns an apartment across the street so we were led there; what an interesting setup! We guestimated approximately 1000 sq foot of space: 2 bedrooms (with wiring haphazardly strewn about in an unsafe manner ;), 3 bathrooms, and an indoor patio (in the middle of the apartment). There was a mishmash of modern paintings and antiques; fake flowers and glass china cupboards (locked, nonetheless!)The elevator to our level was one of those ones with the wooden door that swings, and the metal gate that folds - I´m talking OLD STYLE (am i dating myself? haha...). Two apartments per floor! In Ipanema, each apartment building or hotel has gates and a 24 hour security guard. In a strange way, this didn´t create a sense of fear. The area reminded me of our neighborhood in Sao Paulo; there were lots of cafes and restaurants.. as well as a strip of shops almost identical in configuration to Vancouver´s Robson St. We also saw the cafe where two bohemian guys wrote the song "Girl from Ipanema"...

The first night in Rio was certainly memorable; in the downpour (which didn´t let up until mid morning on the 18th) we wandered over to a pub in hopes of a drink and then planned to wander further for dinner elsewhere. That didn´t happen! 1 hour turned into 3 hours, and appetizers and drinks.. the rain did not let up; i don´t think i´ve seen it pour that much in *gasp* Vancouver! I was proudly prepared with rain jacket but I swear people looked at us funny .. while in Vancouver you would be getting looks if you weren´t rain-prepared (i.e donning sandles, a skirt and tanktop) here, it was the other way around. The thing is - it is still warm so it´s hard to know what to where in tropical rain! Could be worse ;)

Over the next few days we experienced Rio on foot and took a few city buses. We saw the Botanical gardens (which, in my humble opinion, paled in comparison to Van Dusen and Stanley Park). We sat at sidewalk cafes and outdoor restaurants just people watching. We took a city tour and got to see Sugar Loaf mountain (a very high, cone shaped rock mountain that you take 2 funiculars up to - with a gorgeous view of Rio).

For my mom´s birthday dinner we headed up to a fancy pants restaurant in Santa Teresa, which is an area of Rio that is known to be Shi Shi and upscale, but at the same time - dangerous to get to? Strange, I know. We had a cabby take us up but apparently some won´t go there as they have to pay a fee to protect themselves fromt he gangs. The restaurant was nestled in the hills and spanned across a huge chunk of land, between trees, with different layers and an open air kitchen. I loved the wicker walls and flooring, and authentic wood furniture. It essentially felt like an upscale adult treehouse! I have to say the food was overpriced ($30 for a goat entree) but delicious. What can I say - if mom´s happy then everyone´s happy .. or at least that´s my dad´s Mantra. Ha. ;-)

Copacabana was a little more edgy and definitely did not feel as safe as Leblon or Ipanema. We didn´t spend a beach day there but did take off for our tour from one of the 5-star hotels. The hotels on the beach were all very upscale and hugely expensive, with many prestigious jewellery shops lining the sidewalk. Yet, you would walk about a block into the city and things became a bit more grungy. The market on Fri and Sat night was pretty phenomenal and the art pieces are definitely worthwhile to see. We did see a fight between 2 gang members and military police come running out of nowhere to break them up with batons. When we headed back that evening, our attempt at finding a cab driver was a little worrisome; this lovely gentleman staggered out of the corner bar and looked a little like a drunken Scarface. We chose not to go home with him. :)

Ipanema beach was REALLY GREAT! I did not see as many rectal floss bikinis as I´d expected, but there certainly aren´t a lot of one-pieces being worn, either. It was not as frenetic as I expected (i.e you can find a place to sit without too much difficulty) and was actually less crowded and less meat market-ish than Kitsilano. Despite what we´d read there did not seem to be any discrimination between ages or groups of people on different parts of the beach.

You can buy sunglasses, dresses, cervejas, ice cream .. whatever floats your boat .. and then rent an umbrella or beach chair. We tried this cheese on a stick that is roasted in coals then dipped into herbs. It was fantastical!!

A few things before I go:

(1) I would definitely recommend Rio, even to those who don´t like big cities; it was classic yet avant garde, upscale yet edgy, unique neighborhood pockets yet a city of 10 million, very bustling yet nestled in nature with tons or shoreline.

(2) Watch where you walk. We saw a tipped motorcycle with a policeman directing traffic. There was a pool of blood on the ground and honestly, who knows what happened. When we were in Arembepe we saw a body bag (a garbage bag, actually) covering someone who had been hit while jaywalking.. I´ve been in other cities where traffic is far crazier (i.e Kampala, Bangkok) but haven´t had the unfortunate timing of seeing the aftermath..

(3)The favelas (or slums, as the locals would sometimes say) add to the city´s enormous population. We did meet face to face with 2 boys who were no more than 11 years old and may well have been from a favela or similar background; they hassled us when we were outside having a drink and one of them had such a look in his eyes. I´ve never seen that look before .. at least not in boy.. He pierced you with a sort of hate, angry yet vacant stare. Ambivalent to some degree, and empty. The kind of look that - if you were face to face with an older person in an ally - precedes a violent act ... Even the bar owner (a gruff yet friendly older man) had trouble with him and you could see there was just something different. *a fantastic movie, City of God, was filmed to depict these slums and the tumultuous going-ons within..*

(4) The people are OTHERWISE and for the most part, so very honest here in Brazil. Margarida did not even count the money we gave her when we checked out .. and we had spent 4 nights there with no deposit. It has continued to be this way with the rest of our travels and encounters..

I am now in Paraty and will be leaving off to Sao Paulo the day after tomorrow, to fly by myself to Iguazu falls while my parents fly home. We were in Ilha Grande in between, and I will be sure to update with pictures of Rio as well as blogs for the in between ... in a few days time.

Continuing to enjoy each day ... and feeling like there is never enough time to be concise, accurate and eloquent (And upload pictures! haha)..

Cheers,

D

Days 9 & 10: Lençois

Hi again!

So, I am admittedly behind on my travel blogs as it is now Day 12 and we are in Rio! But what can you do :-) I have also found out that Ryan is coming to Argentina at the end of March .. which I was more than ecstatic to hear about last night on the phone, in the middle of a torrential down-pour in Rio and major phone issues! Yay!

Anyways, moving on .. or rather, moving into the past - Lençois!

What a fantastic little city. As I have a tendency to get car sick, I sat up front with my dad and assisted with the navigation away from the coast. Mom was in the back reading us segments of various books ;) It took a few hours but we finally got there! It was so quaint, with a river running through the middle of this little town (somewhat like Salvador in terms of cobbelstone streets etc). Being amidst the mountains and lush green forests was a nice change from the coast. It is essentially off the beaten track, and accessible off the main highway by about 12km on red dirt road. Tourists come here for the outdoor treks to local waterfalls, rock climbing, canoeing through the "swamp" (which is hardly a swamp at all, and rather beautiful), and other such outdoor endeavours. It used to be a hot spot for diamond mining but that isn´t allowed anymore as it is protected territory.

Our first night we ventured into town and followed our vegetable cravings (haha, I get those a lot while travelling);) We had a lovely meal of humous, falafel balls, tahini, pita and greek salad! I love sitting in the streets on plastic chairs, amidst locals and tourists ... and just people watching.

A few things I thought about deeply whilst sitting there:

PET-PEEVES SO FAR:
(1) Napkins: in even the highest-end most amazing restaurants there are these dinky little cocktail napkins and I swear, each meal, we end up using at least 13 each! It´s so silly and I can´t figure out why, if you have a table cloth you wouldn´t at least utilize paper nappies that are more than 3cm x 3 cm.
(2) Retornos: sure there are signs pointing out the next city on the map and the highway # (if you´re lucky) but HOLY cow could the roundabouts be any less clear? You enter them and there is not a single sign so you have no clue which of the 4 options to take. Once you (or in this case, my dad) randomly chooses the "best one" you don´t find out for a few kilometres if it is, or is not, leading you in the right direction.

LOVING...:
(1) The fact that everyone is so gracious and friendly, laughing when I say that Spanish knowledge doesn´t really help with understanding Portuguese; most of the time I get a response like "if you understand Spanish then you should understand Portuguese (speaking, not writing, as writing I get ... to some degree)" .. my response is always half-serious: "Well then riddle me this: why can´t you understand what I am saying to you in Spanish?". Ha. I´m good.
(2) The names of some of the hotels on the side of the main highway(s):
Kama Sutra Hotel, Love story Hotel ... etc etc
(3) The fact that you can get an authentic and fantastic Mexican dish (best corn tortillas I´ve ever had, surprisingly!) in the middle of a tiny mountain town, with a chef who looks Italian but speaks Portuguese, and served with Tamarind Chutney (Indian fare, usually)
(4) Cheap beer and sunshine
(5) The company (Who would have thought a 25 year old could last for more than 7 days in an enclosed space (i.e car and hotel rooms) with parents and vice versa: We are actually laughing together a lot of the time. Crazy!

The second day we did an all day trip into the local Marsh/Swamp and saw the pools of water (look like hotsprings in the middle of the mountains, connecting by small waterfalls). It was lots of fun though are guide was a bit arrogant. It made for a few more laughs and some sunburns all around. We learned the following pronounciation tips, too (French-speakers get ready to feel very very upset):

"Lençois" is actually pronounced "Len-Soys". Eeeeeeeeeeek. A Parisian would undoubtedly faint and anyone else who has a love of the French language may be shuddering slightly.

After 2 nights we left to Arembepe (on the coast near Salvador) and had the most fantastic dinner EVER. Honestly. Seabass-like fish, on top a puree of Yucca (cactus but tasted like mashed potatoes, somehow), with smoked Okra and passionfruit sauteed as a sauce. Oh, and a hot chilly on top. Dessert was a coconut-type flan with (it sounds strange but believe me it was mouth-watering) prune sauce flambayed with some cinnamon.

My mouth is watering. I have to go eat birthday dinner at what sounds like a lovely restaurant of mom´s choosing .. Rio blogging yet to come!

Days 7 & 8: Praia do Forte (Mengue Seco & Imbassai)

So.. on days 7 and 8 we spent two nights at a small touristy city on the coast, after renting a car and driving north from Salvador. My dad was gutsy enough to go through this process, and I like to think I was of some help throwing out random spanish words regarding the insurance and collision process (let us hope there is no "process"! We are not yet done with the car rental...). This place, Praia do Forte, reminds me of Whistler - without the snow or Australians ;). Praia means beach, so there are many "praia something rathers" on the map. It was full of little shops and tons of restaurants, and you see many more tourists (though mostly Brazilian and Argentinian) than you do "locals". There wasn´t even a local population initially (i.e it is a man made town). We stayed at this Pousada (which is basically a unique hotel or B & B) called Dos Artistas; as it´s name indicates, it was UBER artsy. Actually, I would say most places in Brazil have a real flare that makes them truly their own. The front counter was made of a huge piece of drift wood .. (see pictures soon!)and the stairway up to the rooms was made of thin layered rocks. All of the "lobby" furniture is made of wood too. I love this kind of place! You could not replicate it :-) And that is just the point.

On our first day here, feeling super congested and low energy, I made sure to have a $1 coconut (with "milk" which is like water, inside) and that seems to have cleared up my virus. Well .. that, or the sun + alcohol on a regular basis. Just kidding. Sort of. Beer has been a staple. Very different from my previous backpacking trips!

There was a big "post" Carnival thing going on in a neighbouring beach city but we did not make it over.. Too much to see and not enough time! On our first full day, we drove about 2-3 hours in our AC´d car (a luxury) and arrived at another Praia where we parked, took a river boat .. and arrived at Mengue Seco ( a tiny town), which was in my opinion, not a must see. Basically, this town was on a peninsula and had a few restaurants, was fairly littered with garbage, and had really hot sand. The main attraction is Dune Buggying, but in all honesty, there are better places to go in the U.S. I´ve been and thoroughly enjoyed it, with quality helmets, dash boards, etc. The terrain really wasn´t all that phenomenal, or open .. and though the distant beaches were supposed to be great at Mengue, I think the beaches so far *and supposedly in Rio, which is yet to come* are just fine! And according to a traveller we met today (March 15th) it used to be a much more scenic place until a Telenovela - or Soap opera - was filmed there; things thereafter all went down hill. It still made for an interesting day though :). We tried the crab meat with local Dende Oil (red oil derived from little buds that fall from what look like Palm trees).. it was delicious with some Batatas Fritas (or Fries) ...

On the way home we stopped in Imbassai which is a neighouring beach town. We were there for about 45 minutes to take a dip and watch the sunset, but I would have liked to go back; Portuguese rap playing by a Lagoon (separated from the ocean by a meter of soft sand) would have been nice to relax near. There were definitely a few people enjoying a FEW beer, half-way in the water with plastic chairs. Could be potentially relaxing:

On our final morning in Praia do Forte we headed to the TAMAR projecto which is a project to save the sea turtles in Brazil. Now, while I do think there is some saving going on .. I do have some doubts. Essentially, these creatures are being captured and protected in Zoo like (or smaller) enclosures ... the one plus is that researchers are tagging them to see what the migration patterns are of various species. Let me just say that I hope these Projects are not selling turtles and refilling their VERY small tanks (for turtles up to 6 feet long) with another one or two captures. I am not trying to be a skeptic but I have heard stories about situations similar in other countries. In any case, they were adorable and lovely creatures and I enjoyed reminiscing about the cartoon days of Franklin the turtle (they had many cartoon images around Praia do Forte akin to this childhood figure).

Here are a few more things I learned today (don´t worry about my inner nerd friends, I am learning things, and loving it - as per expected and as per usual;) :

1. Transvestites are to some degree considered the National Symbol of Brazil (accordig to Mr. Fodor, Lonely Planet, etc.)
2. Our car runs on Alcool (Ethanol) and regular fuel and there is NO switch! *There is also a fire extinguisher under my dad´s feet. Comforting? Wait ... there´s more. Our car is translated to be called the "Fire .. something". Huh. mmmmm. Yah.
3. Sea turtles, when hatched, try to find their way to the ocean by light of the moon on the water. However, street lamps and hotel lights (or car headlights) can interrupt their flight and cause major confusion. This can lead to their demise via wandering off into traffic, the woods, etc. Poor little things! We didn´t see any hatch, but I´ll post some pictures of the adults.
4. The sand in Imbassai and Praia do Forte was squeeky. Like, seriously squeeky. i.e if you were trying to sneak up on someone they may think their bath-tub duck was stolen and being stepped on repeatedly. WEIRD!

So after our endeavours in P. do Forte and surrounding areas, we jetted off (haha, more like my dad and I tried to navigate despite the lack of signage) to our next destination... the rural town of Lencois, which is towards the interior and somewhat Northern.

Stay posted. Obrigado!

Day 4-6: Salvador (and a few Islands)

Hi there!
So I underestimated the amount of time and energy it takes to get to an internet cafe, upload pictures, think clearly while sweating to death. Sorry I´ve been MIA. We flew into Salvador on March 9th and holy cow is it hot here. 29 degrees in the room, at the start of the evening with AC and fan on (it does cool down eventually). This little city on the coast is pretty remarkable; I would say it looks like Havana and Cinque Terre put together. The streets are cobblestone and hilly, narrow ... and the buildings are old and peeling but full of colour! Carnival just ended a short while ago and so all the decorations (think scary clown faces and Disco light paintings) were still up upon arrival. In fact, Tues night is the "big" night around here so we made it just in time. I´d say the streets were busier than the fullest pub in Vancouver during the Canada-US game! Honestly, you do not want to be carrying anything with you. Luckily for me, we have a safe in the hotel so it is bliss not wearing that dreaded money belt.

The first night we were here we enjoyed live music on the streets (they have this everywhere, little plastic tables and chairs cropping up from nowhere). They do charge a cover fee but it is totally worth it. You see people sitting for hours on end and then moving elsewhere. So far, the people here are a bit more pushy from a tourist´s perspectives because it is a place where tourists come (not Canadians, it seems, though!) Cruise ships dock here so that would make up for a huge portion of the population.

On Day 1, we got to enjoy 2 local dishes: one was Moqueca de Peixe, which is fish, tomatoes, bell peppers and ontions cooked in spiced coconut cream (almost Thai in flavor but lighter). This one comes with rice, black eyed peas (Fergie not in tow), and 3 different kinds of manioc (paste, powder, etc). I´m not a fan of the manioc as it tastes like cream of wheat powder .. but it was interesting and can be good if it´s sweet in pastries! The second dish is their Feijoda, which is essentially bits of meat (pork, beef, whatever.. haha) and beans. It was super duper good. This used to be a staple of the Afro-Brazilians .. and in this region of Bahia, there is a large influence from both the Africana and Europeans. It makes for a very interesting melting pot in terms of food, art, and culture in general!

On Day 2, we spent the day wandering around and looking into rental cars as we are heading up the coast and my dad is going to take on the task of driving around here! It isn´t as crazy as some countries we´ve been, as there are traffic lights etc., but let´s face it -- Canadians are all about the organization of rules ... and most other countries are not so much (or perhaps i should say, as much). We also hit up a wonderful museum with so many amazing and intricate African sculptures and masks. In the evening, we went to a Folkloric show, the "Bale Folclorico de Bahia" .. it was fantastic and actually supposed to be the best in the world (according to the New York times). CAPOEIRA is this type of martial art combined with dancing that blows your mind! Kicks and twirls about a cm from eachothers´ faces. I was very impressed :) Before that we hit up another restaurant and had fabulous seafood, beer of course, and the Caiprihna which is essentially like a Mojito without the mint. My mom swears that two of these in a row killed her cold, but I´m skeptical ... I´ve come down with something harsh and will try this experiment tonight :-) Keep you posted.

The last day we went on a boat tour of two local islands and got to see what Salvador looks like from afar. It´s unique in that in one view, you will see city (i.e skyscrapers) and low slung carribean looking homes. Where we stayed was actually the old part, very hilly, and small; Salvador itself has over 2 million residents.

Next we are heading to Priai de Forte which is a smaller touristy town up North on the coast ... we will tool around with the car and hit up a few other towns before heading back to Salvador and flying to Rio on the 17th!

p.s "R" is pronounced like an "H" when it comes at the beginning of a word; this makes for totally different sounds as you can imagine :)

Ciao for now :)

Day 2 - Our ´FULL´day in S.Paulo

"Generous Head"



Our B&B





The Demonstracion

I think we´re real lucky to have free internet at this B&B so i´m taking advantage of it now :) Last night we were in bed around 11pm after a nice evening out. I´ve posted a picture of a few things below, one of them being the AMOUNT OF HEAD that comes with the draught beer here. It´s incredible, and not in a good way! We realized quickly that it´s probably smarter to get it by the bottle. It does come ice cold (sometimes frozen) which is definitely refreshing.

Today was our first real day, and we spent it wandering around Sao Paulo (about 5 hours of walking and a few buses). We slept in until past 9 (which was a dream!!) then had a wicked breakfast (comes with the cost of the B&B) including eggs, jams, cheeses, cereal, fruit, etc. Liquid lunch was, well .. a liquid lunch :-) 3x 600 mL beer .. and just as we were leaving they put up a sign that said 3x 600 mL for 16 reias (2.2 to $1US). It seems the cheapest thing here is the alcohol; the food isn´t a huge bargain. Then we had gelato. Tough life ;)

The people were very helpful again today, offering assistance with directions without any expectations. Something we´ve noticed (and read in the travel books) is the disparity between poverty and wealth. Of course, in Vancouver there is a sliding scale from downtown east-side to Shaugnessy or Yaletown also ... but here, the real rich have taken to flying around (by the day it seems) in helicopters, while people sleep on the streets. Apparently, helicopter transport became popular around the time that kidnapping wealthy folk for ransom was something that happened `somewhat regularly´. Having said that, the streets aren´t nearly as littered with street children or beggars as other cities in the world.

The people here have purpose and are passionate about their cause. We got to see a demonstration for pro-abortion and women´s rights (pictures above). The interesting thing is there was very little if any police presence, and it took place right outside a cathedral.

The temperature is perfect, i´d say around 26 in the heat and a bit cooler in the shade. You can tell the city is old; huge trees spread their roots in the middle of plazas (of which their are many). The architecture is actually a lot more dated than I had initially thought, which gives it a somewhat european feel .. though not quite polished. The city itself is HUGE, and you can see from the attempted panoramic photo (taken at the top of one of the highest buildings), that there are more high rises than you can count. It really spreads farther then the eye can see. Interestingly, the streets aren´t as crowded as i´d imagined, or compared to say Thailand or Uganda. You don´t quite have to rub sweaty arms with others, though the public bus is - as expected - pretty sardine-ish.

We´ll be heading out for dinner soon, and tomorrow departing Sao Paulo to fly over toward the coast (Salvador). Will update with some beachy pictures then!