Brazil

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São Paulo

From Buenos Aires we flew to the huge and grubby metropolis of São Paulo. We had already pre-booked a hotel on-line, not knowing how busy the city would be. Upon our arrival we soon realised that it was in fact a 'sex hotel' - where rooms are rented by the hour!! We were in a pretty dodgy area, and there were no other hotels around, so we had no choice but to stay. It was a clean hotel and fortunately we had ear plugs, which were definitely a must! The following day we took the metro to the centre of São Paulo. We were staying in a very un-touristy area, and needless to say, attracted curiosity from the locals. Everyone walked around with attitude, all confident and fairly unapproachable - probably due to how dangerous São Paulo is. This obviously makes them feel more comfortable as looking like a soft target is asking for trouble, but as tourists it made for a slightly unwelcoming feeling. São Paulo itself isn't pretty, it's a huge city with lots of 60s and 70s style buildings. We were told that São Paulo is great for restaurants, clubs and museums but rather than work too hard to find this side of the city we decided to leave ASAP!

Paraty

From São Paulo we took a 6 hour bus south east to the beautiful and historic harbour town of Paraty. What a contrast!! It was as if we had changed countries all together. Paraty's 'old town' is filled with white washed buildings, with lots of trendy shops, restaurants and cafés - with the mountainous Atlantic rainforest as a back drop. Most of the gold that found its way to Portugal was shipped out of Paraty, so it has been a wealthy town for many years. The streets are cobbled and the horse and cart is as popular as cars. Paraty is between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and is a playground for the rich and famous.

We were in Paraty for Easter weekend and it was amazing to see all the private jets and helicopters ferrying the rich city people in and out. On our first full day in Paraty, we gathered 2 other couples (one from Denmark and one from Serbia Montenegro) and we hired a boat and skipper. We spent the day exploring the islands and beaches around Paraty. It is a tropical paradise. The water is an emerald green colour and the sand is soft and white. Most of the islands are covered by rainforest, some are uninhabited and some boast the most amazing houses. Unfortunately the waters have been over-fished, so there's not much to see while snorkelling, although we did jump in for quite a few swims and managed to see some turtles. While we stopped for coffee on a little pier we saw around 100 dolphins swimming towards us in the bay, it was amazing.

For the next 2 days we joined Jelena and Borko from Serbia Montenegro for beach day trips. First we went to Trindade - a beautiful sandy beach with rocky coves and a big waterfall in the forest. We spent the day drinking fresh passion fruit juice and observing the other beach-goers. Brazilians wear the skimpiest clothes to the beach - women with tiny bikinis and men with tight Speedos, regardless of if they have the body to pull it off!! Everyone faces the sun to try and get the best tan possible. It's an obsession. There seems to be a lot of sexual freedom in Brazil, and there are lots of older rich women with young men, and vice-versa. It makes for some really interesting people watching! The next day we caught the local bus to São Goncalo, and got a 5 minute boat crossing to Ilha Pelado - a really lovely island with calm waters. From the island, we got a great view of the mountains and misty rainforest back on the mainland.

Ilha Bela

After 2 more days of relaxing in Paraty, we travelled west back towards São Paulo, to a town called São Sebastião. From here we got a ferry boat to Ilha Bela (“Beautiful Island”). Who ever named the island certainly wasn't s exaggerating. The island has thick rainforest and steep mountains and waterfalls in the centre, with beaches and coves around the outside. There is a road around 1/3 of the island, meaning that 2/3 are only accessible by boat, and here small communities live and time seems to stand still. A family friend of ours has lived on Ilha Bela for the last few years, and has built a house to sell there. Luckily for us Glyn said that we could stay with him, so he picked us up from the ferry. We arrived at his house - an amazing 4 suite house, right on the sea, and surrounded by banana palms. Each bedroom has a bathroom with a glass wall so that you can look straight out to the ocean whilst in the shower. We got on really well with Glyn and had a fantastic few days with him and his dog Susie. Unfortunately the south of Brazil had really severe storms, and so we were rained-in for 3 of the 4 days. We had a really good time though, chatting away and drinking Caipirinhas! Brazil hadn't seen rain like it for 40 years. It was so bad that 200 people died in a landslide in Rio and others in São Paulo. After 3 days the rain passed and we got to have a proper tour of the island complete with a fish lunch on the beach. It's a really pretty island, with lots of chic restaurants and sea view houses - another playground for the rich of Brazil who seem to helicopter in at the drop of a hat.

Ilha Grande

After a few days we got back on a bus and this time headed for Ilha Grande ("Big Island"), 2 hours to the west going back towards Rio. The sun was shining as we arrived on the island and our hostel had a BBQ that evening. We sat and chatted to some Brazilians (Daniela, Eliane and Ernani). They were really lovely, and very patient with our limited Portuguese - although since being in Brazil, there's been a noticeable improvement! Ilha Grande is a largely uninhabited island because of the dense forest and impassable mountains in the centre. Most beaches can only be reached by boat, of which there are plenty which ferry people from beach to beach each day. It's got a very laid back feel to it and the main town is quite small with dirt tracks and no cars. On our first day we headed off on a boat tour round the island with our new Brazilian friends. We had a brilliant day, slowly sailing along, stopping at nice beaches with Reggae music blaring from the onboard stereo.

We had only intended to stay on Ilha Grande for a few days but ended up staying for 8. This was mostly due to a fantastic beach that we found called Lopes Mendes. It is on the south side of the island and has Atlantic waves instead of mill-pond still waters found elsewhere. It's a clean beach with 2 metre waves to dive through and soft white sand. It was recently voted in the top 10 best beaches in the world. So each day we got a boat to Lopes Mendes and spent the day lying on the beach and diving through huge rolling waves. One day we managed to see 6 dolphins on the boat to the beach - playing around beside the boat.

Rio de Janeiro

From Ilha Grande, we got a bus to Rio de Janeiro. After unpacking and drinking a refreshing Caipirinha we headed to Ipanema beach, one of Rio's famous beaches. It was a Saturday night, so after a stroll along the boardwalk we stopped for a drink to take in the people and place. The next day we went to the Maracana stadium to watch the regional Rio football final between Botofogo and Flamengo. There were 77,000 supporters in the stadium, all either face painted or wearing their teams' colours. It was a fantastic atmosphere, really quite crazy. The Botofogo fans let off fireworks and everyone was singing, chanting and cheering like their lives depended on it. Surprisingly there were a lot of women in the crowds, about 35% of all supporters. The game was really interesting to watch but kept stopping and starting as the fouls and yellow cards rolled in. The referee was rubbish and seemed to reward diving. There was a lot of cheating and the game was pretty broken up because of this. In total there were 13 yellow cards, 2 red cards and 3 penalty kicks. The game finished with a 2-1 score to Botofogo.....crowning them regional champions. A great atmosphere and experience.

We spent the next day on Copacabana beach, a city beach with tall buildings and mountains as a backdrop. The sea seemed incredibly dirty, so we decided not to swim in it. Instead we took a taxi to Sugar Loaf Mountain (Pão de Açúcar) - we took the cable car to the top and experienced the most amazing views over Rio. We could see the city, the harbour, the beaches and the sea. We could also see some of the favelas (slums), which had been built into the surrounding mountains. We watched the sun set over Rio, and watched the sky turn crimson red. Then as day turned to night, we watched as the city lights slowly started to twinkle.

We had been on a 'township' (shanty town) tour in Cape Town a few years ago and thought it was a great way to understand more about the history and people of the city. So whilst in Rio we wanted to experience what it was like inside a favela (shanty town or slum). We went on a small tour and drove to Rocinha - the largest favela in Brazil. There are 811 favelas in Rio alone. There are 15 million people in Rio and 9 million of these live in favelas. We imagined the houses to be made of corrugated iron and for there to be limited utilities (water, electricity etc), similar to Indian or African standards, but we were wrong. The buildings are really small, piled high and are built almost on top of each other. However, they are all made of concrete and all have windows and most importantly have electricity, water, sewage and in some cases even internet. Favelas are all built into the hills illegally, often on unsafe ground. The streets are narrow, uneven and steep but they are mostly tarmac. The favela is a real community with schools, shops, churches, a post office, and all the amenities of a normal neighbourhood. It was quite incredible. The favela mafia runs the show and turf or drug wars are the only type of violence. We're told that attacks and robberies etc between the inhabitants of the favela are not tolerated. The guilty parties are simply shot. Drugs are tightly controlled by the mafia and they are often made or 'cut' inside the favela. The drugs are sold within the favela or to the general public of Rio. The mafia roam the streets with machine guns and drug dealers zoom past on their mopeds. Children laugh, sing and dance in the streets and we were made to feel really welcome. It was a very interesting experience and one not to be missed.

We spent our last full day relaxing on Ipanema beach with friends from our hostel. It was a public holiday and the beach was packed. As we sat watching the sea, dozens of beach sellers came past us selling everything from sun tan lotion to BBQ prawns. We didn't have to move an inch. As we looked out to sea we could see footballs flying up into the air from all directions, with the locals practicing their skills. It was a fun and buzzing atmosphere. Brazilians are a really nice and friendly bunch of people and we enjoyed being in their company. On our final night in Brazil, and of our world trip, we sat playing drinking games with Caipirinhas until 3am with friends from our hostel.....it was a lot of fun!

We woke the next day knowing that it was the last day of our world tour and we felt really sad that it was over. We have had the trip of a lifetime, a year full of adventure. We've been to so many wonderful countries and met so many fantastic people. We've seen amazing sights and eaten some delicious food. It hasn't all been easy travelling, but it has all been the best fun and we've made some great friends along the way. The world is a far more positive place than the media seems to portray. We've been welcomed by all races and religions with open arms. It has been a life changing and unforgettable experience. Some day, we'd love to do it all again!

This is our final blog, and we want to say a huge "THANK YOU" to everyone that has followed our trip. We've really enjoyed being able to share this with you. Thanks for all of your comments and messages throughout the year and we really look forward to seeing you soon.

Take care, lots of love Dave & Coz xxx

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Comments

[Andy]

Man boobs
Hi mate I'm sitting here with Rob, Chris, Lumpy, Vince and Parker. We only have a few comments to add, mainly about those lovely man boobs;-) See you soon Andy