Friday, December 24, 2010
Do nothing Curitiba
I have been traveling for 3 weeks and have yet had a do nothing day. I have either been traveling or out hiking somewhere everyday. It was time for a day just to relax, not travel, catch up on internet and relax. Today, december 23 was that day. I walked around the city and checked out a few malls too. Christmas is huge here and there are many decorations. In the center of town is the Rua de Flores, a pedestrian only street with top notch people watching. There's so many weird things here, like a 10m Christmas tree made up of plastic bottles. Another Christmas tree was made of tons of begonias in 10cm pots. Spiderman was around giving the thumbs up, which is very popular here. They give thumbs up more here than any other country I've been to. It's just the culture, one local told me. It rained lightly off and on all afternoon. I found a decent and cheap place to have a buffet meal. I finished off my day seeing the late showing of the movie Buried. Interesting and very original movie about a guy trapped in a coffin. I wasn't sure what I was going to do the next day. So many options but I settled on the night bus to Foz do Igauzu, the mighty Igauzu Falls which I have really been looking forward to. I will arrive there Christmas morning. I hope all my readers have an enjoyable holiday season. Feliz Natal!
Curitiba Tourist Line
The included breakfast spread at the hostel was impressive - toast, buns, ham, loads of different cakes and pastries, tea, coffee and juice. I met an English couple Steve and Anna. I heard them speaking English so I introduced myself. They were really nice and had the same plan as I did for the day so I joined them. There is a green double decker tourist line bus that goes around the city stopping at 25 attractions. With the purchase of a $12 ticket, you are allowed to get off and on 4 times. It was turning out to be a really sunny day. We sat on the top level. It was cool cruising through the city. Our first stop was the Botanical Gardens. It was ok but I wasn't that impressed by it. Next we stopped at the German Forest. A little forested park with a wooden viewing tower. There are many urban parks in the city and Curitiba is one of the greenest cities in the country. It's good to see that Brazil is very forward thinking and trying to be considerate about the environment. Most places I've seen have different colored trash cans specifying if they are for metal, plastic, organic,etc.
Parque Barigui was our third stop. This was a huge green area with a large lake and running track around it. I spotted a lone capybara in the distance eating some grass. The capybara is native to South America and it the world's largest rodent with webbed feet for swimming. They weigh up to 50kg. I have seen them before in Peru and Venezuela but never in a city park. It lets Steve and I approach it pretty close before heading off into some tall grass. Minutes later though we see a group of at least 50 capybara! They also let us approach close, being used to people. It's so cool to see them this close up and I get some great photos. We weren't sure which park to check out and we were both really glad we stopped at this one. It started to rain now and was pouring when we got on the bus. The tourist bus comes along about every 30 minutes. Our last stop was a 100m communications tower with a 360 degree viewing platform. Steve and Anna decided to skip this but I really wanted to see this. It was a tiny elevator to the top. At the top was a superb enclosed viewing area. Panoramic views all around. I was glad I got off here.
While I was waiting for the bus, it started to rain more. When the bus arrived it was jam packed. They didn't put any cover on the open top and I could see a few people still up there with there umbrellas. There was about 25 people waiting at the stop with me. Some of them got on but the bus was getting too full. The doors were still open and no one else was getting on because they were in groups. I was by myself so I figured I could fit on the bus. I jumped on just as the doors closed. As I was standing there a Brazilian woman said something to me about the rain. I wasn't sure what she said so I just smiled and nodded. When the bus came to its first traffic light, I understood what she was saying. All the water from the top level rushed towards the front of the bus and fell like a waterfall at the front corner inside the bus. I had my raincoat on but my shorts and sandals were soaked. My camera and backpack were dry so I didn't care much. It was funny. The water really came down! It was intense. The woman who warned me now says to me 'You don't speak Portuguese?" She spoke a little bit of english and I told her how I didn't understand what she said earlier. We had a laugh about it. Finally some people got off and I was able to move a bit deeper into the bus away from the waterfall. I wondered why this bus wasn't set up better. Surely it must have rained on tours before? The rain was really intense now. Ssome of the streets were under more than 30cm of water! Thankfully the bus stops at the mall across the street from the hostel so I didn't have to walk far but by this point the rain had let up considerably.
I changed, got something to eat and purchased my movie ticket for Tron Legacy in advance. It's great most of the movies are shown in english here with Portuguese subtitles and the cost was half of what it is in Canada.
Parque Barigui was our third stop. This was a huge green area with a large lake and running track around it. I spotted a lone capybara in the distance eating some grass. The capybara is native to South America and it the world's largest rodent with webbed feet for swimming. They weigh up to 50kg. I have seen them before in Peru and Venezuela but never in a city park. It lets Steve and I approach it pretty close before heading off into some tall grass. Minutes later though we see a group of at least 50 capybara! They also let us approach close, being used to people. It's so cool to see them this close up and I get some great photos. We weren't sure which park to check out and we were both really glad we stopped at this one. It started to rain now and was pouring when we got on the bus. The tourist bus comes along about every 30 minutes. Our last stop was a 100m communications tower with a 360 degree viewing platform. Steve and Anna decided to skip this but I really wanted to see this. It was a tiny elevator to the top. At the top was a superb enclosed viewing area. Panoramic views all around. I was glad I got off here.
While I was waiting for the bus, it started to rain more. When the bus arrived it was jam packed. They didn't put any cover on the open top and I could see a few people still up there with there umbrellas. There was about 25 people waiting at the stop with me. Some of them got on but the bus was getting too full. The doors were still open and no one else was getting on because they were in groups. I was by myself so I figured I could fit on the bus. I jumped on just as the doors closed. As I was standing there a Brazilian woman said something to me about the rain. I wasn't sure what she said so I just smiled and nodded. When the bus came to its first traffic light, I understood what she was saying. All the water from the top level rushed towards the front of the bus and fell like a waterfall at the front corner inside the bus. I had my raincoat on but my shorts and sandals were soaked. My camera and backpack were dry so I didn't care much. It was funny. The water really came down! It was intense. The woman who warned me now says to me 'You don't speak Portuguese?" She spoke a little bit of english and I told her how I didn't understand what she said earlier. We had a laugh about it. Finally some people got off and I was able to move a bit deeper into the bus away from the waterfall. I wondered why this bus wasn't set up better. Surely it must have rained on tours before? The rain was really intense now. Ssome of the streets were under more than 30cm of water! Thankfully the bus stops at the mall across the street from the hostel so I didn't have to walk far but by this point the rain had let up considerably.
I changed, got something to eat and purchased my movie ticket for Tron Legacy in advance. It's great most of the movies are shown in english here with Portuguese subtitles and the cost was half of what it is in Canada.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
BH to Curitiba
My next stop after Belo Horizonte was the capital city of Parana state, Curitiba. I was initially going to stop and overnight in Sao Paolo to break the journey but I did not want to see Sao Paolo at all. It's just a huge urban nightmare for me that I had no problem missing. So I would go from BH to Curitiba on the overnight bus, a journey of 15 hours. The bus left at 8pm sharp but it took almost an hour just to get out of BH. The bus was nice, a semi sleeper with a leg rest that came down off the seat in front of me. They provided some snacks and water, as they should, this was the most expensive bus ride I've ever taken. We stopped every three hours or so for a break. I slept off and on most of the way but I was still wrecked when we got to Curitiba, at least 1000km from BH. I walked to Hosel Roma, about 10 minutes from the bus station. I thought I had sworn off hostels but Brazil is so damn expensive, I had to give them another try. It turns out I got my own room with 2 small beds in it for the same price as my hotel in BH. I was happy about that. It's the room sharing with a billion other people and the late partying that bother me most about hostels. This hostel was huge though and it didn't appear to be busy at all. I crashed for most of the day. I got up to eat and went to check out the mall across the street.
This mall was absolutely insane! It was huge and one of the most modern and expensive I have ever seen. This blows away anything in Canada. It's true Curitiba is one of the wealthiest cities in Brazil and enjoys a higher standard of living than the rest of the country and I could see that. It had all the fast food chains I know and some I didn't like Pizza cone. Yup, it's pizza in a cone. I wanted to try it but was kind of expensive for one cone and they were small so I had a soft taco instead. The one thing I really cared about and why I checked out the mall was for its cinema. It had 10 screens and was showing newer Hollywood movies. I was too late to see what I wanted tonight but would come back with plenty of time tomorrow.
This mall was absolutely insane! It was huge and one of the most modern and expensive I have ever seen. This blows away anything in Canada. It's true Curitiba is one of the wealthiest cities in Brazil and enjoys a higher standard of living than the rest of the country and I could see that. It had all the fast food chains I know and some I didn't like Pizza cone. Yup, it's pizza in a cone. I wanted to try it but was kind of expensive for one cone and they were small so I had a soft taco instead. The one thing I really cared about and why I checked out the mall was for its cinema. It had 10 screens and was showing newer Hollywood movies. I was too late to see what I wanted tonight but would come back with plenty of time tomorrow.
Tabuleiro to BH
Last night, Renata offered me a ride back with them to BH. They were only here for the weekend. I could stay here for another day or 2 but I can't pass up the free ride, saving me $50! After breakfast I packed up my tent but before we began the drive to BH, we stopped at a natural swimming pool five minutes away. It was a great spot and we spent a few hours here. There were some high cliffs to jump off, which is always fun. We had lunch in Conceiao before we hit the high road to BH. We stopped at a great view point, that I wished I could have stopped at on my way here on the bus. Once in BH, they dropped me off right in front of my hotel, Madrid. They had a cheap room for me and I took that.
I didn't do much else that night but the action began after I crashed. I was lying on my bed sheet for a while before I crashed and actually went under the sheet. Half an hour later I was itchy all over my torso and neck. I got up and looked in the mirror, 17 huge mosquito like bites, but these weren't mosquitoes. These were the dreaded bedbugs! I hate these things, though thankfully I don't have a lot of experience with them. There were 2 beds in my room so I went to the other bed and tried to sleep on top of the sheet. I also sprayed the bed with Deet. This seemed to help and they only bit me on my legs a little. I put hydrocortizone on the other bites and they were mostly gone by morning. Hydrocortizone is a life saver. That shit is amazing for any bug bites, rashes, redness and itchiness. Sure it's got a steroid in it and you're not supposed to use it more than 4 times in a day but I find after one application that's usually enough. That said I have some reoccuring bug bites which is common for me. Sometimes a bug bite in a sensitive area like a finger, wrist, foot or somewhere bony, last longer and get periodically itchy. I find leech bites and tick bites can itch off and on for weeks. I forgot to mention about a week ago, I pulled a tick from under my thigh on the bus to Caratinga. It was easy to pull out and wasn't that fat, indicating that it had not been feeding on me long, however, that damn bite still gets itchy now and again. All these bites and I haven't even been to the Amazon yet!
I didn't do much else that night but the action began after I crashed. I was lying on my bed sheet for a while before I crashed and actually went under the sheet. Half an hour later I was itchy all over my torso and neck. I got up and looked in the mirror, 17 huge mosquito like bites, but these weren't mosquitoes. These were the dreaded bedbugs! I hate these things, though thankfully I don't have a lot of experience with them. There were 2 beds in my room so I went to the other bed and tried to sleep on top of the sheet. I also sprayed the bed with Deet. This seemed to help and they only bit me on my legs a little. I put hydrocortizone on the other bites and they were mostly gone by morning. Hydrocortizone is a life saver. That shit is amazing for any bug bites, rashes, redness and itchiness. Sure it's got a steroid in it and you're not supposed to use it more than 4 times in a day but I find after one application that's usually enough. That said I have some reoccuring bug bites which is common for me. Sometimes a bug bite in a sensitive area like a finger, wrist, foot or somewhere bony, last longer and get periodically itchy. I find leech bites and tick bites can itch off and on for weeks. I forgot to mention about a week ago, I pulled a tick from under my thigh on the bus to Caratinga. It was easy to pull out and wasn't that fat, indicating that it had not been feeding on me long, however, that damn bite still gets itchy now and again. All these bites and I haven't even been to the Amazon yet!
Tabuleiro part II
The sun hit my tent at 8am and it started to roast inside. I could not sleep anymore. I got up and had breakfast. At 10am, my new friends and I headed to the Tabuleiro waterfall, the main reason I came here. We drove 7km to the falls on a steep and rutted dirt road. If I was alone I would have walked this road, it would have taken me a while. Plus I would have to still walk to the falls and then back again. Would have been a really long and tiring day. I'm glad to have met them and have the company. From the parking lot we had a 2km hike down to the river. The park has a lot of endemic vegetation and I found it very interesting. I'm fortunate in the fact that I like and appreciate plants just as much as I do animals. When there aren't many animals around I can get into the plants and be just as happy.
Once the trail reached the river, we had to boulder hop the rest of the way to the base of the falls. This was a lot of fun, finding my way over huge rocks around the river. The girls were pretty slow, so Caio and I went ahead. We all relaxed at the falls for a while. It was windy and the mist from the falls made it hard to get good photos. Some of the guys swam but it was too cold for me! By the time we got back to the hostel it was mid afternoon and we were all starving. The guys had brought their own barbecue and meat. They fed me generously. Though I had to refuse the alcohol until later at night.
I showered and relaxed in my tent. I could hear more people arriving and the atmosphere getting more rowdy with guitar and group singing. Now I must admit I'm a bit of an introvert when I travel. I don't go out at night to meet people or drink. I usual take in a movie if I can or just read/write/relax/ listen to music on my ipod. I didn't think I was going to feel comfortable with all these drunk strangers but I was wrong. I stayed in my tent until Caio came to get me. They wanted me down there, I didn't have a choice!
Once I got there, Lucas made an annoucement. He made everybody stop what they were doing and announced that I was his friend and I was from Canada. So much for a low profile. Thankfully there were a few other guys there who spoke english well. Many people were super wasted and it was only 9pm! I drank but stayed within my limits. It was really fun. A few people I met said I was crazy/brave for traveling around Brazil alone. Weird, I seem to be hearing that a lot on this trip! The night went late but many people were in bed by 11 or should I say passed out by 11. I had a lot more fun than I expected, I guess I was a bit of a novelty because I was the only non Brazilian there.
By spending time with locals I'm getting to know the insides of Brazilian culture but there is one thing I learned on my own and that is Brazil is a cleavage-lovers paradise! It's true, women of most ages and all colors and shapes show off their cleavage. Sure, it's warm here but it's also warm in Africa and Southeast Asia but I have never seen so much cleavage before. If you got it flaunt it, seems to be the motto here and I must say I don't disagree! Some of the boobs are fake though and they can be easily spotted. Apparently there are a lot of fake asses here too, literrally. I'm not sure if I could spot a fake ass but dammit, I'm going to have fun trying (discreetly, of course)! I must admit Brazil has some of the best people watching I've seen anywhere due to the racially mixed society. There's all combinations here and I really appreciate the diversity.
Once the trail reached the river, we had to boulder hop the rest of the way to the base of the falls. This was a lot of fun, finding my way over huge rocks around the river. The girls were pretty slow, so Caio and I went ahead. We all relaxed at the falls for a while. It was windy and the mist from the falls made it hard to get good photos. Some of the guys swam but it was too cold for me! By the time we got back to the hostel it was mid afternoon and we were all starving. The guys had brought their own barbecue and meat. They fed me generously. Though I had to refuse the alcohol until later at night.
I showered and relaxed in my tent. I could hear more people arriving and the atmosphere getting more rowdy with guitar and group singing. Now I must admit I'm a bit of an introvert when I travel. I don't go out at night to meet people or drink. I usual take in a movie if I can or just read/write/relax/ listen to music on my ipod. I didn't think I was going to feel comfortable with all these drunk strangers but I was wrong. I stayed in my tent until Caio came to get me. They wanted me down there, I didn't have a choice!
Once I got there, Lucas made an annoucement. He made everybody stop what they were doing and announced that I was his friend and I was from Canada. So much for a low profile. Thankfully there were a few other guys there who spoke english well. Many people were super wasted and it was only 9pm! I drank but stayed within my limits. It was really fun. A few people I met said I was crazy/brave for traveling around Brazil alone. Weird, I seem to be hearing that a lot on this trip! The night went late but many people were in bed by 11 or should I say passed out by 11. I had a lot more fun than I expected, I guess I was a bit of a novelty because I was the only non Brazilian there.
By spending time with locals I'm getting to know the insides of Brazilian culture but there is one thing I learned on my own and that is Brazil is a cleavage-lovers paradise! It's true, women of most ages and all colors and shapes show off their cleavage. Sure, it's warm here but it's also warm in Africa and Southeast Asia but I have never seen so much cleavage before. If you got it flaunt it, seems to be the motto here and I must say I don't disagree! Some of the boobs are fake though and they can be easily spotted. Apparently there are a lot of fake asses here too, literrally. I'm not sure if I could spot a fake ass but dammit, I'm going to have fun trying (discreetly, of course)! I must admit Brazil has some of the best people watching I've seen anywhere due to the racially mixed society. There's all combinations here and I really appreciate the diversity.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Tabuleiro
My 1pm bus left on time. I was heading to Tabuleiro but the bus only went as far as Conceiao do Mato Dentro. We headed north out of BH. The road was flat for a while but then climbed gradually into a moutain range covered with grass and scrub brush. As we got near the top there were some amazing views. We came down the other side and after just over 3 hours arrived in Conceiao. There was a bus from here to Tabuleiro but they only run at certain times and I already missed it. I had to get a taxi the final 18km. The road was paved but we soon left that for a rutted and steep red soil road. I arrived at Tabuleiro Eco Hostel and set up my tent. There were a few shady grassy terraces for camping, though I couldn't pitch my tent exactly where I wanted due to huge piles of horse shit around. There were horses, chickens and dogs around here roaming free, it seemed. I ate and showered and then hung out.
A group of locals from BH arrived and pitched a tent as well. They spoke some english. After dinner I came to my tent after checking out the stars when the group called me over to them. They were barbecuing and drinking and wanted me to join them. They were Philip, Caio, Lucas and his girlfriend, Renata. They all spoke different degrees of english, understanding more than they could speak but it was Renata who was modestly fluent in english. I talked with her the most or she translated for everyone. Lucas had an accoustic guitar and was belting out cover tunes in english and portuguese. They wanted me to play so I played them a few of my own tunes. It's funny, Lucas only plays cover songs where as I play only my own songs! I don't have the talent, patience or desire to learn any other songs. I'm happy just writing my own stuff. The night went late and I had to refuse plenty of alcohol. I got kind of drunk but didn't want to get super wasted like they were. My tolerance is very low. After I went to bed they stayed up drinking and playing guitar.
A group of locals from BH arrived and pitched a tent as well. They spoke some english. After dinner I came to my tent after checking out the stars when the group called me over to them. They were barbecuing and drinking and wanted me to join them. They were Philip, Caio, Lucas and his girlfriend, Renata. They all spoke different degrees of english, understanding more than they could speak but it was Renata who was modestly fluent in english. I talked with her the most or she translated for everyone. Lucas had an accoustic guitar and was belting out cover tunes in english and portuguese. They wanted me to play so I played them a few of my own tunes. It's funny, Lucas only plays cover songs where as I play only my own songs! I don't have the talent, patience or desire to learn any other songs. I'm happy just writing my own stuff. The night went late and I had to refuse plenty of alcohol. I got kind of drunk but didn't want to get super wasted like they were. My tolerance is very low. After I went to bed they stayed up drinking and playing guitar.
Caratinga to BH
Thankfully when I got up today, Taty had better and more concrete news for me. The bus to Caratinga went by at 11.30 and there was a 4pm bus from Caratinga to BH. That was a lot better. I had a relaxing morning was able to dry most of my stuff in the sun. I got to the main road with plenty of time. The bus passed on time and I arrived in Caratinga around 2pm. I ate, read and waited. The bus left on time at 4 as most buses here are very punctual. The bus system is actually pretty organized, planned and civil here. No worries about getting ripped off or losing baggage. Everyone buys a ticket before boarding and they give you a sticker for your stored luggage with a corresponding number on your ticket so no one can claim your bag but you. It was a steady 6 hours back to BH. I went back to Madrid hotel across from the bus station but they didn't have any cheaper rooms available. I had to go with the next step up which was $10 more. I could see where the extra money went. I had a fan, private bathroom, TV and a view of a concrete wall out my window. I know, doesn't sound nice but all the cheap rooms face the street and the noise of the bus station so this room was super quiet. Unfortunately, there was no english channels but it was nice to have a fan. I could wash my clothes and they would be dry be tomorrow because I have a 1pm bus to Tabuleiro.
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