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Published: February 25th 2008
Only Robbed Once - N.E. Brazil
November 21, 2007 - Jan 9, 2008 First I must talk about my flight over with American Airlines - it was a love, hate, love, hate relationship. Fantastic first impressions were made as I was whisked through check-in procedures at the Vancouver airport, never having experienced a quicker and smoother process. Within 5 mins I was at my boarding gate. However, my opinion was quickly changed when I reached the Miami airport after a 2 hr. departure delay in Dallas. The Miami airport bathrooms were disgusting and the customer service was extremely poor. For those of us that missed our connecting flight - no-one met us and after waiting around for assistance for ½ an hour, the assistance was atrocious giving me the impression that customer service was secondary. I was in complete shock that I was in the US of A. Of course my bags did not land with me since I was rerouted. However, they were delivered to my accommodation later in the afternoon - only minus my headlamp which was in an outside pocket of my pack. But that was to be expected, after all I am in Brazil! Only one
day and night was spent in Rio de Janeiro. Why? Well, the plan was to spend a week in Rio at the end of my trip when Kevin was with me. So I headed down to famous Ipanema beach - only me and my million friends. Crowded? Understatement (or so I thought.....). I did manage to get a bit of sand to spread my towel out on. So very crowded but what do you expect when you have a beautiful beach in the heart of the city. I particulary liked the buff guys doing pushups on raised parallel bars! Alot of volleyball and alot of men working out, not a bad combination. Yes, men you have your woman in dental floss bikinis too.
Now this is what you have all been waiting for.......On my way to my next destination, Ouro Preto I got
robbed. That's right, I had successfully avoided being robbed in 30 countries previously but Brazil had my number. No, it was not confrontational, I just got scammed plain and simple. Of course I had burglarized myself prior to the trip by buying a smaller, less expensive camera than the one I had at home. So armed
with my brand new camera and a good chunk of change since I just arrived in the Country I took a cab to the bus station. It was at night since the only way to get to Ouro Preto by bus was on an overnight bus. Do you think they saw me coming a mile away, was it so obvious that I was new to the Country.........uh,ya. Single white female who did not speak Portuguese and was confused by the layout of the bus station. Who was literally taken by the hand and guided to the ticket outlet, then to my bus. Oh, and what do you mean I have to write my information again on the bus ticket to give to the man who will let me board the bus? Does anyone speak English......no? I'm not sure but I think I was quickly zoned in on......you think? Finally, I boarded the bus about 15mins before departure. Not very crowded at all and I settled into my reserved seat about 3 rows from the front. A few minutes in, some guy boards the bus and tells me to put my daypack up on the rack over my head. Why that
should be an issue since there is a tonne of room on the bus, I'm not sure and am not keen to lose sight of my day pack so I ignore him. A couple of minutes later, he comes back, taps me on the shoulder and tells me again. Again, I ignore him. The third time he is quite persistent but yet again I don't. He's speaking Portuguese to me but his sign language is obvious. At this point, I'm thinking that he is part of the bus staff and am very unaware of what the bus rules are. Then another guy boards the bus as a passenger and sits beside me. At this point to make more room for him, I put the bag up. He is reaching across me, opening up the curtains, pointing outside then starts talking on the cell phone. His job was to distract me, while his theft buddy is going through my bag. Having obtained what they came for, they hastily make their exit before the bus leaves. About 20 mins. into the bus ride, I stand up to bring my bag back down. It is there, all zipped up but just slightly out
of my reach. I open it up and that is when I realize I was scammed! Camera case there with no camera, wallet there with no money. It definately could have been worse, they could have taken my credit and bank cards or I could have had all my money in one spot but thankfully it was only 1 of 3 places. However, I still had more than I should have in the wallet. Not sure why I even brought a wallet as never had travelled with one before but I had been struggling with the best place to store my money. Thinking that they would be aware of money belts since theft in Brazil is known to be confrontational.....clearly not the best choice though. I subsequently carried money in just my big pack and in my money belt around my waist, when on the road. They got a nice little haul from me but once I noticed, there was nothing I could do by that time. I am not upset that I fell for the scam, they were good and they got me at the right time (newly in the country and didn't know their customs or rules when
Huge Bromelia Tree
From the Pineapple tree family on Peninsula de Marau, Itacareon the bus). What I am upset with, is I figure the bus ticket taker was in on it as there is no way those guys could have boarded the bus without a ticket and I don't think they would have paid $50.00 Cdn. each to "hopefully get a good haul". Furthermore, I was sitting at the front of the bus and have a hard time believing that no-one behind me saw what was going on so pretty disappointed that no-one made me aware someone was going through my bag.
Ouro Preto is a friendly, pretty colonial town. So very very hilly with cobblestone streets and colorful old buildings. The heat had me walking through town at a sloths pace. I spent the day with a German guy and was introduced to the grande (big) beers that are so common - 600ml but contained in a cooler encasing that makes them look even larger. A night in the pub had us meeting some locals - suprising that the locals we sat by just happened to speak English. I think we got the last two seats in the place, but no matter when there is no room, the people just
Dancing in the Street, Salvadore
Santa Barbara Festival - dancing in the Pelorinho, Salvadore spill out into the street and take the party out there.
After Ouro Preto was
Porto Seguro which is a Brazilian touristy beach town that rained the whole time I was there. Here I did not come across one other English Speaker - except for the guy who was trying to ask for money or sell me something while I was eating at an outdoor restaurant. When I told him I did not speak Portuguese, he says in perfect English “You speak English?” - I was stunned and was trying to come up with my response when thankfully the waiter rushed him off. Good ol' Murphy's law! Needless to say my Portuguese phrasebook became my new best friend.
I have to admit that so far in my trip I was experiencing feelings that I had never before experienced. A little homesickness and loneliness. This was totally new for me as I have traveled a lot and have always felt that I could travel forever and relished my “little alone time” I ever had. I’m pretty sure that it all stemmed from the language issue - very little English is spoken here. However, I have already discovered how “helpful”
the Brazilians are. So many times I have been taken by the hand and delivered to my hostel or pointed in the right direction all the while the person is delivering a constant stream of Portuguese to me even though they know I couldn’t understand a word they are saying! I have nominated the Brazilians the most helpful people it is just too bad some of them like to help themselves to your stuff!
As I got the hell out of rainy dodge and was riding the bus, I started to get panicky about my new destination when I realized I was arriving in the dark and my guide book didn't even have a map. Of course I hadn't booked accomodation either because that would be so unlike me! However, calmness soon surfaced once I got there, found accomodation & settled in. I don’t know what made me go to
Itacaré as it only had a small write-up in the Lonely Planet guidebook but it ended up being the best decision I did. This small hippy, surfer town was just my speed and I absolutely loved it. Walks through the woods to near empty beaches where I didn’t have
Traditional Dress
These ladies are hosts to a shop in the Pelorinho, Salvadore to worry about my stuff. The chilled out atmosphere was extremely enticing and shockingly a lot of people spoke English here. This place has people coming back time and again, increasing their stay with each visit. I was the only person staying at my Pousada, Jardim Zin, and the owners were beyond
helpful. I hopped on the back of his motorcycle to be shown around town, the lady spoke English and they drove me to the bus station to buy a ticket the day before I was planning on leaving as well as doing some laundry for me. My first night, I had pulled out my map to ask some people on the street how to get back to my Pousada when a car stopped - the driver spoke English - he started to tell me where to go then decided it was just easier if he drove me there. So I hopped in and off we went - totally taken care of! Here I discovered where cashews come from. The nut grows on a fruit attached to a tree. People eat the red & yellow fruits as well as make cashew (caju) juice. Don't dare eat the nut until
Grande Beer
Common size found in Brazil it has been toasted unless you like the feeling of acid burn on your lips!
Next was
Salvadore - a fantastic city. Here I was more into soaking up the atmosphere than doing any site seeing - although good site-seeing on the beautiful beaches. Salvadore seemed to be the place where a lot of travelers choose to take Portuguese lessons and volunteer to help children in poverty. I happened to be there on a festival day - Saint Barbara. Myself and a German girl, Bettina, headed to the Pelorhino (old city centre) where there is markets, cobblestone streets and a great atmosphere. This is where I was told that my “sports sandles” were not Brazilian - that Brazilian Havanas (flip flops) were good - so I bought a pair as my sandles were giving me a blister anyway. Also, this was the first discovery of the very cheap cashews. They come from the north and I bought them for as little as $6.00 for 1KG bag. As we made our way into the thick of the festival at 2pm we were soon overwhelmed with the crowds. Everyone drinking and dancing, some ladies dressed in traditional dress with a hoop
Feast galore!
Kelly Mah with fresh lobster and shrimps at Frances beach near Maceio. skirt and bonnet, others mostly dressed in red. Street vendors galore selling Caprihina’s, beer, meat skewers - that is if you can shoulder check your way to them. You were literally bumping shoulders with everyone - can’t believe some were attempting to drive through the streets too. There was Capoeira being done on the streets (a typical Afro-Brazilian dance that engages 2 people in a simulated sparring which is very acrobatic while others are playing instruments and singing. Soon overwhelmed, we sought refuge away from the crowds a bit and walked into one of the Capoeira schools while they were doing a demonstration and decided to take a lesson the next day. Bettina and myself got along great - she had just arrived in Brazil but had been here before and introduced me to the Maracuja (passion fruit) Caprihina which soon became my signature drink. The Caprihina is made with Cachaça (alcohol from sugarcane), limes and ice. Very potently made. You could buy a 26 oz bottle of Cachaça for as little as $1.50. The crowds actually lessoned into the evening, I guess they did have to work tomorrow. We had a fantastic dinner that evening of fish Moqueca at
The Bag Man
Happy people as Chris and Dave got their 2 bag special from this man. On Frances Beach near Maceio. Il Nido. It is a typical Brazilian stew in a coconut sauce that is absolutely delicious when prepared correctly. We shared a dish for one as the portions are huge here.
Capoeira lesson - beginner lesson......piece of cake, right? Wrong!!! Thought being our first lesson that it would be rather painless however, I started getting worried during warmup. We starting stretching .5 hr before the lesson, doing the usual leg stretches etc. until our instructor came over to lead us into back bends and pushups while in the back bend position. Then hand stands into a walk over. I’m like “you want us to do what?” - haven’t done these things since I was 17. Next the actual lesson begins - first with a lot of repetition in the basic movement. No air conditioning and it wasn’t long before we were sweating bullets. They would show us a new move and get us to repeat for awhile - leg kicks, cartwheels back and forth and back and forth. If we stopped for a second to catch our breath we would be immediately yelled at with “don’t stop, never stop”. Finally we were awarded with a break “100 situps”. This
went on for 1 hour - another 100 situps at the end completed our lesson. So much for taking it easy in the first lesson! It was fantastic exercise though and the muscles these people have developed practicing this is pretty aspiring. If I was sticking around longer, would definitely pursue more lessons.
My next stop was
Maçeio to meet up my ultimate team for the World Beach Ultimate Championships. Met the Irish team on the bus and we shared a cab to the hotel. There I woke up Dave, Chris and Victor at 8:30am - some of them had gotten in during the early hours of the morning. Of course we tried throwing the Frisbee but the gale force winds cut that short and we cruised the beach and market instead with drinks in hand, of course. A small festival was going on with more black woman in hoop skirts doing some kind of ceremony. Later in the evening, they went in the water fully clothed and pretended to drown while someone saved them. It was all very interesting and strange. Team-mates were arriving dailey and we did lots of practicing since most of us had never even
met each other before. In the days leading up to the tournament, we met a few locals. One very pretty 22 year-old lady and her translator guy friend. They were so nice, curious about the tournament and said they didn't meet that many travellers since Maçeio wasn't a foreign tourist hot spot. The first night we met, they showed us to an inexpensive restaurant. There were about 7 of us altogether. At the end, she picked up the bill. Are you nuts - you just met us? We weren’t very comfortable with it but she insisted - again the Brazilian hospitality is amazing. You should have seen Chris’s face when he found out she batted for the other team - he had been working on her all night - priceless! The tourney was a lot of fun, we didn’t do so well but a lot of close games that went to universal point. It was so hot that sand socks were needed. I loved playing on the sand - layouts were a plenty as sand is very forgiving. Here we discovered Açai - a fruit from the palm tree made into a healthy ice-cream like snack. They would mix it
Greg to Tracy
World Beach Ultimate Championships, Maceio. with an energy drink called Guarana to sweeten it and put it with granola, bananas and honey. It was so good and soon became a daily ritual for the rest of my trip. Kev. met me in Maçeio, in time to join us for the end of tourney party and then we were off to Fernando de Noronha.
Fernando de Noronha is said to be the most beautiful in all of Brazil and it did not disappoint. It is a hot tourist destination for the Brazilians and you need to take a 1hr flight to get to the island. It is more pricey than the rest of Brazil. They only let 100 people on the island each day as they are very concerned about the effects on the environment and it is classified as a National park. They also charge an environmental fee for every day you are on the island. They say the top 3 beaches in all of Brazil is on this island and I would agree with what I’ve seen. Especially because these beautiful beaches hardly have any people on them. When we arrived, we took a taxi to our pousada…..the taxi is a buggy -
Tracy - ulti flick
Maceio - against Great Britain the luggage went in the front while we sat in the back level with the trunk so our heads were above the roof - very cool. Here we rented a motorbike and a buggy on different days to get around the island. Other days we just bussed. Lots of snorkeling in the crystal clear waters - saw turtles, flying gurnard, octopus in the tidal pool and did two dives. Brazil is not a top dive destination but it was nice to be back under the water and the visibility was great. The highlight of the dive was the 10 dolphins that were swimming one foot in front of our boat between dives - magic. On Lions beach, the 3rd best beach in Brazil (which is this huge stretch of pristine sand) we settled ourselves in the middle. There were only about 5 others in a group on the beach and they were at the entrance. We strategically placed ourselves in the middle, a good 10 minute walk along the beach. While swimming, a group of 4 came and set up their towels almost beside ours - very strange considering the whole beach was deserted. Anyway, we met one of the
couples, Ana and Andreas, who just happened to be living in Vancouver the last 2 years. Ana is Brazilian and Andreas is Austrian - they moved to England after this trip. We ended up seeing them another day on the island and exchanged email information hoping to hook up in Rio for New Years. While New Years didn’t work out, I did run into Andreas in the Portland airport on the way home, sharing a taxi together. Always a small world.
Our next stop was
Fortaleza as a stopping point to do laundry and catch a bus to Jericoacoara. So disappointing - it was Sunday and all laundry shops were closed. So shopping it was. Fortaleza is very cheap for shopping and Kev. picked up some $6.00 board shorts. I was failing miserably - getting frustrated with the sizing and then being too hot and sticky to tell if things fit properly or not. Apparently I’m a large in Brazil (although not always) and jeans a size 40/42. This I find strange because the Brazilians are not particularly small. Of course if you like one style, they only have one size in that particular style and the size on
the label is really just an estimate that has no bearing to the actual size. I think this is pretty much true in all small stores and markets (unless in a mall). Things that I thought was too small they thought was perfect as they really do stuff themselves into the clothes here. The smaller the better. Of course if you try to go bigger then that gap in the back is really large giving a good view of butt crack - so stuffing yourself in is the way to go. After shopping, we stopped at a corner to consult the map and a car pulled up asking us where we were going (in Portuguese) we showed them on the map and they told us to get in and drove us. No where in the world are people this helpful!!!
We caught a late bus to
Jericoacoara - total of 7 hrs. The last hour we switched to an open air four-by bus that drove on the beach. The owners of the pousada we were staying at met us at the bus - they only speak Portuguese so a lot of translation through the internet was being used when
Hackey Sack gift
Swiss National Sport necessary - sometimes that was hard to figure out too since the translation would come out funny. The Pousada and owners were great and I would have no problem recommending them - they even let us use their internet for free. “Jeri” is known for both windsurfing and kite-surfing and the water is full of people doing both during the day. Just before dusk, everyone ventures out onto the beach where v-ball, soccer and Capoeira lessons happen. The drink and food vendors also come out. Then the Capoeira school starts playing and dancing on the beach for 1 hour. People playing the drums and singing while a circle is formed around the 2 people dancing. This is the best Capoeira that I got to witness with some doing flips, spins and kicks - very impressive. We fell in love with this place right away and most people end up staying longer than they intended. Of course, we took some kite surfing lessons which was costly but after all, this is the place to do it. A total of 9 hours of instruction split over 3 days for about $300.00 each which was cheaper than most, I believe. We really lucked
Tracy & Brazilian friends
Talita & Roman, Maceio
Tracy wearing the necklace from Spain out because we didn’t actually shop around too much before signing up but in conversations with others (after the fact) found out we got a very good deal. On our 3rd day we found out that our instructor was the Brazilian Windsurfer Champion in 2004 but he prefers kite surf and aspires to be champion in that. He didn’t speak much English so hired someone who did, consequently each of us had an instructor with us when doing individual tasks. Lots of kite crashing, kite ripping and finally getting up only to fall down again. But we really enjoyed it and I could see falling in love with the sport once getting a bit more proficient at it - how I will like it in the cold water…..only time will tell. This is what we were doing on Christmas day! As we got closer to New Years, we saw the hoards of people filtering in and it started to get very crowded. Due to this we were ready to move on to Rio de Janeiro.
Brazil is the only country that I know of (although perhaps the rest of S. America is the same?) where they jack up the
Maceio room-mates
Dave, Chris and Tracy price of accommodation whether you stay in a 5 star place or a budget place for New Years and Carnaval. If you want to stay on the 31st then you have to pay for 3 - 4 days at the expensive rate which is usually 3X the regular rate. It is absolutely insane and very expensive for a budget traveler. Our package price for New Years in Rio was $70/night each for 3 nights to stay in a dorm bed - 6 people to the dorm. So we paid $140/night to not even stay in the same bed. Completely absurd but since everyone does it and you have to stay somewhere they get away with it. Carnaval is even more expensive with the prices at least 4X the regular rate. We ran into some girls who were using the couch surfing network and so staying at someone’s house for free. Definitely the way to travel in Brazil at these expensive times of year. Something I will definitely look into in the future ~ www.couchsurfing.com.
We flew to
Rio de Janeiro from Fortaleza on the 30th arriving at 10pm to our hostel. The hostel didn’t book us in until the
31st and they were full. Luckily they found us another place just around the corner. However, we had to pay the expensive rate so would be getting dinged for 4 nights at the expensive rate instead of 3. The Swiss owner did not want to give us a break on the 3rd night - but since it was their screw-up and I had the emails to prove it, we thought they should only charge us the regular rate for the 3rd night. After about 10 mins of discussion going back and forth he finally relented but not after a valiant effort to not take the financial burden! We stayed 3 blocks from Ipanema beach. I thought the beaches were crowded before but this was absolutely laughable! Umbrellas touching each other for kilometers on end and not single file by any means - at least 10 in width.
New Years Eve day we went on a shopping hunt to buy Kev. white shorts. For
Reveillon (New Years), the thing to do is to wear all white and head down to Copacabana beach for the fire-works. We found him a nice pair of board shorts that had enough white to pass but
not so much that he would look perpetually dirty as white and Kev. are not very synonomous. Around 10pm a group of us headed out to Copacabana beach. A group of 10 and 2 million people, we knew seperation was inevitable. Sure enough, we lasted 1 minute at Copacana beach before being seperated. A bunch of Ozzies asked Kev. to take a photo of them and it was game over after that. We were the first to lose the group. The city puts on a spectacular display of fireworks - 3 different locations all over Copacabana and set off in rapid succession for 22 mins. We witnessed a near successful attempt of a bag snatching only to be thwarted by a young girl. After the fireworks, there is wave jumping - people jump 3 to 7 waves, making a wish for each wave. There were food & drink vendors, huge speakers strategically place 200m apart with each playing their own type of music (samba, techno, forro) etc. Always people dancing and shaking their ass. There was a huge stage with dancers - but bathrooms - forget about it! I’m sure that is why I saw the big guy go up
to his waist in deep water then back out again. I know he was very drunk but not sure why he didn’t join the other guys in ankle deep water openly peeing. We only witnessed one fight. Around 2am, the music stopped and we made the slow procession back to our hostel by 3:30am just in time to hear the 2nd set of fireworks go off at 4am from one of the Favela’s. Some slept on the beach as witnessed by sand in their ear and hair the next day. Very cool that the city puts on a big event like this, lots of young kids up with their families until the bitter end too.
We did all the touristy things in Rio - went up for the view and sunset at Sugar Loaf Mountain, saw the tiny (size of a squirrel) monkeys; Christ Redeemer (the huge statue of Christ on the Corcovado mountain) which is one of the new wonders of the world; went walking in Tijuca National Park - so lush and green and close to the city; lapa steps - about 400 steps that are covered in tiles from all over the world (a work in
progress); Samba school rehearsal; tour of a Favela and went to a Samba club in Lapa. I absolutely loved the Samba school rehearsal in preparation for Carnaval. Salgueiro was the name of the school and had won eight times before. Of course there was the street vendors outside the stadium where the rehearsal is located so armed with our drink we positioned ourselves beside the band. The band was fantastic and immediately got the crowd into things - played for about ½ an hour. Then the dancers in parade formation started as they danced along a track. It was impossible not to dance and smile as they paraded past. When the more experienced dancers past, a huge smile was rewarded with extra hip swaying and butt shaking all the while staring right back at ya. It was awesome and I so want to learn Samba and be able shake my ass like that now. The dancers went twice around the track over 1.5 hours and looked pretty exhausted by the end of it. They were not in costume yet as the costumes arrive about 2 weeks before Carnaval which is in February - but for a cool $300, the public
Praia do Sanchos
#1 beach in Brazil - Fernando de Noronha can buy a costume too. Rio is a lovely city but with a Brazilian city comes crime, so you have to be careful to carry as little as possible with you. It is also a lot more expensive than the more rural areas. A night out at a Samba Club in Lapa is a must - on the weekend, the people spill out onto the streets. Brazilians eat late (9-10pm), hit the clubs late (midnight) and party till all hours of the morning. Kevin left me on the evening of the 4th to head home and I went on to
Ilha Grande, an island about 3 hours south of Rio where motorized vehicles are not allowed. It is an extremely lush green island with a lot of hiking trails and nice beaches. The perfect way for me to spend my last few days.
Flying home: I actually got to the airport early and my mouth was dropping as I was making my way to the end of the line - dumbfounded, I had never seen anything like it until I got to the security lineup that is - it was even more staggering in length. It almost took 3
Praia do Leons (Lions Beach)
#3 beach in all of Brazil - Fernando de Noronha hours to get to the boarding area. The Brazilians have no concept of boarding the last people on the plane first. When the 1st & business class passengers are called to board, the hoards rush to pass through all at once. I noticed this coming over too - might be part American Airlines, not totally sure. At any rate, I was near the back of the lineup and received a pleasant surprise when they decided to bump me up to Business Class since they needed my seat in economy. You couldn’t wipe that grin off my face - never happened to me before and I'm loving American Airlines again. I also was seated beside a mid-20 year old Brazilian guy. We had so much fun playing with the 10 different electronic settings on the chair and just couldn’t stop laughing - we became fast friends. The rest of my flights had me seated beside great people too and was pretty much chatting non-stop. I sat beside a lady who is a dive instructor and has done over 1000 dives. Next I sat beside a 24 year old guy who was in his Army fatigues. He was on an 18 day
leave after being away for a year on his posting in Germany. However, has been in Kuwait/Iraq for the last 7 months. He was so excited to be going home and seeing his family and girlfriend. Then I ran into Andreas who I met in Fernando de Noronha. When I went through American customs in Miami, I was surprised to see the US taking digital photos of everyone and digital index finger scans. They didn’t take any of that from me - not sure if that is because I am Canadian and/or a Canadian in transit. Andreas who is an Austrian in transit did get scanned and printed. Not surprisingly, my bag did not make it to Vancouver with me and was delivered the next day. I think I will try and avoid American Airlines in the future….. although they did bump me up to business class on one leg, the rest of the flights were crap - not even head rests on their seats. Love hate....hate definately hate.
In summary:
• Brazilians all get 30 days of holidays which translates into 6 weeks. Canadians are very much deprived in the holiday scheme.
• There is a
large middle-class population contrary to what I was told and they usually have a maid.
• Very helpful and touchy - including to your stuff (more in the cities). Asking for directions, especially in Portuguese is accompanied by a squeeze on the shoulder or they drop whatever they are doing to walk/drive you there.
• Eat late - restaurant queues get going around 9:30pm
• Parties start late to all hours of the morning rendering many travelers to miss breakfast and sightseeing altogether.
• All accommodation in Brazil is inclusive with breakfast. Different juices is offered usually unsweetened. Caju juice is popular as well as papaya fruit. I prefer the pineapple and soon learned to differentiate between caju juice & pineapple juice.
• Minimum wage is $230/mnth which so does not correspond to prices here. Brazil is the most expensive of all the S. American cities. Restaurant prices are not much cheaper than home except for the seafood which they prepare nicely.
• Woman stuff themselves into the clothes here and have great bubble asses. Shopping is a frustrating experience as often they only have one size for one style and the sizes on
the clothes appear very inconsistent and completely random. Canadians with their longer shorts would feel very out of place as it is just not seen. Short shorts are the norm.
• Bikinis are worn by all - irregardless of size and age. The ass cheeks are always exposed.
• Only country that jacks up their prices at New Years and Carnaval.
• No laundry on Sunday - got caught by that twice!
• Cashews are grown in the NE and sold in the markets in big bags. They do not appear to ship them to the South as we wanted to bring some home for gifts to no avail. Only small bags/cans in the South and almost as expensive as at home.
• Favela’s are run by drug gangs - they avoid violence within the Favela as much as possible as they do not want the police coming into the Favela. Also, the electricity and water is stolen from the city. The number of wires attached to the telephone poles resembles a rats nest. The drug managers are teenagers aged 14 - 17. In Brazil, if you squat on land for 10 years + then
The man who stole the gnome
Praia do Sanchez - Fernando do Noronha. you obtain the land rights. (The 10 year thing I heard from another traveler and have not been able to get confirmation through a google search)
• All taxi drivers believe they are Mario Andretti and it is there mission to get you to your destination as fast as they can. Lights be damned - I can't even say they do a "California stop" more like a light smattering of the brakes. Extreme scowling results if there were actually vehicles that did stop at the light and has the taxi driver boxed in.
• Toilets: nothing is to go in the toilet besides what comes out of the body. The holes in the toilet are half the size of our toilets and a good size loaf can plug the hole as it just doesn’t fit. If time is on your side just let it dissolve until it can be flushed down. If desperate….I don’t know, but I do know that trying to shove it down with a stick just doesn’t work.
Overall, it was a great trip and I hope to get back there to finish off the rest of the Country!!!
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Crazy Canucks
Matt
Great First Blog
Ah you did yourself proud with your first blog. Enjoyed reading about your trip and seeing your photos. Keep up the good work and look forward to reading your next blog!!