Blogs from Brazil, South America - page 547

At last, the weather came up with the goods and we were treated with a fantastic warm day on which to visit the most famous beach in Brazil - Copacabana. My father had made the odd request "to walk on the Copacabana before I die", so we were happy enough to accede to his wish. Hopes were fading for a repeat of the 464 bus to Ipanema as we wheeled our way towards the ocean on a very well-behaved Rio bus. The sun was scorching as we walked on the warm golden sands, and without sunglasses it was pretty tough on the eyes too. However I was able to glimpse some of the very fine waves that I could have caught if KLM... ok, I'll stop whining now. See for yourself. Upon sitting down at one ... read more

Oí! jetzt haben wir die ersten tage unterricht hinter uns und resumee ist: lehrer sein ist verdammt anstrengend!!! haben uns nicht vorgestellt, dass so viel vorbereitungszeit fuer die schule noetig ist. die kinder sind sehr, sehr lebhaft und nicht gerade leicht zufriedenzustellen - keine ahnung warum ;-) ausserdem kommen da dann noch die sprachbarrieren hinzu: wir sprechen zwar englisch, aber die kids noch nicht wirklich, und wir sprechen wiederum kaum portugiesisch. ist also jeden tag eine neue herausforderung. aber der portugiesisch-kurs beginnt ja auch schon morgen und dann wirds wohl leichter werden... also hut ab vor allen lehrern und die, die es noch werden wollen... fuer alle, die sich noch nicht sicher sind: kommt her und porbiert es aus!!!! danach wisst ihr es bestimmt! sonst geniessen wir das leben hier in vollen zuegen - fernab von ... read more

So far, our weekend had been good and we had enjoyed almost everything. The weather, however, had turned out badly - wet and cold, it was not the Rio we were expecting. Granted, they're only coming into spring over here now but there had to be some sun here somewhere! In a situation like this, there's only one man to turn to - JHC Himself. We hadn't seen the iconic statue most of the weekend because of mist and there wouldn't have been much point in heading up because we wouldn't have been able to see jack shit. However, on Monday morning, God had truly smiled upon us, as a warm sun shone down on us from a partially cloudy sky. The omens looked good - we hot-footed it to the, eh, foot of the Corcovado. ... read more

Saa er vores tid i Copacabana ved at vaere slut. I morgen tidlig drager vi mod oen Ilha Grande, der ligger 3 timer i bus+1 time i baad fra Rio. Selvom man selvfoelgelig godt kunne have brugt mere tid paa en by som Rio har vi alligevel oplevet en masse fantastiske ting :-) En af de mest facinerende oplevelser har helt klart vaeret vores besoeg i Latinamerikas stoerste Favela. En favela er en slags slumkvarter med udpraeget selvstyre - ikke fordi de har faaet tildelt selvstyre, men fordi de lokale narkobaroner har taget det. Saa det er en slags by i byen, hvor man ikke betaler skat, vand eller el. Til gengaeld hersker jungleloven og vold og drab er hverdagskost. Ca. 1/3 af hele Rio's befolkning bor i disse favelaer, og den vi besoegte har 200.000 ... read more

It was only a matter of time before my entries turned to talking about my stomach, and what I put in it! Both in Paraty and here in Sao Paulo I have eaten extremely well. I had three main meals in Paraty, and each was absolutely fabulous (if a little on the pricey side). It was a welcome change from the rather crap food we had eaten in Ilha Grande, and the food here in Sao Paulo has also been great so far. I must explain about kilo restaurants, a common sight here in Brazil and one I would welcome seeing in the UK. They are, basically, self service restaurants that are laid out in canteen-style - sounds awful, I know, but the food is fabulous and I have found so much joy in being able ... read more