Carnaval Continues...

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Carnaval, this most wonderful Brazillian celebration, had gripped us like it had the nation. Scenes of jubilation, cross dressing, dancing and drinking filled both the day and the night. Eighty percent of the country's expenditure during the five days is spent on beer and with us contributing to the cause our Carnaval continued, the siestas always followed by extravagant fiestas.   

Having enjoyed the lucid carnaval feel of Ilha da Santa Catarina and the free spirited delights of Florianopolis, it was time to indulge in a night of electronica at one of Brazil's biggest nightclubs. Set amidst the lush Atlantic rainforest near the town of Balneario Camboriu, 'Green Valley' was the perfect setting for three of my favourite DJs to throw us, and four thousand others, into raptures. Booka Shade, Trentemoller and Axwell kept us going until 7am with the sun only raising the music levels that continued to pump. 

The big nights meant our days paled in comparison. However we were able to enjoy the lavish 'buffet livre' restaurants that, for a very reasonable price, eased our 'partied out' discomfort. We left the seaside town of Balneario Camboriu on a sleeper bus bound for São Paulo, without having seen the beach and still unable to pronounce the name correctly.

We arrived in to São Paulo early in the morning having had little sleep, but with excitement at tackling the largest city in the southern hemisphere. It had taken the bus two hours just to negotiate the morning traffic so we were pleased to find an extensive metro system at our disposal. The view from the bus was of a sprawling mega city that was concrete block after concrete block, but, once in amongst the city and it's friendly inhabitants our view of the place became a whole lot brighter.

Lonely Planet led us to what we thought would be the cheapest hostel but that turned out to be too expensive. We were toying with our possibilities as sweat dripped off our backs from the long, hot, heavy walk we had endured when a friend of a guest at the hostel inquired of our tribulations. He professed that we wouldn't find cheaper in São Paulo, but had we tried Couch Surfing? We had signed up to the online phenomenon of offering a room or couch to other travellers for free but had not struck gold yet. He informed us he had a friend who usually had a couch for surfing and duly gave him a call. As luck would have it he said he was free and would be home in two hours or so, so we thanked Gaspar and arranged to call him later. 

Buoyed by this revelation we put our turtle shells back on and wandered up the steep streets to a cafe. There was an invigorating buzz about the place that, coupled with the coffee, kept us going until we called our new acquaintance. Sadly this lead did not now have a room available and we were back to square one. The thought of now having to pay £40 a night when we almost had free accommodation was hard to take, but we weren't to be defeated yet. A quick look at the map showed us that we were a long way from any other guesthouses but quite close to the highly regarded Museo de Futebol. Still unsure of where we might stay we turned our attentions to the beautiful game instead, but only after a painful walk down a never ending hill with 20kgs on our bags knowing the whole time that we would have to walk all the way back up afterwards.

The Museo de Futebol housed in the stadium of Corinthians football team, was brilliant. We were rewarded in every way for our efforts to get there. Not only was there baggage storage and blissfully air conditioned surrounds but on Thursdays it was free entry. Despite the language barrier it was plain to see this museum was all about the successes of the Brazilian national team. Pele, Ronaldo and the rest graced the high tech interactive displays that guided us through the rooms. One innovative section under the stands itself was a replication of the fans. Huge projector screens and speakers blared out chanting and captured the emotion displayed from fans celebrating a goal. Further on there was table football, replays of Brazils World Cup triumphs and right at the end a penalty shoot out cage. This finished it off in style. There was a very realistic computer generated goalkeeper in a full size goal that computed the speed of your shots. So Han and I lined up to take our kicks which we both scored to make England proud. I put mine past the keeper at 97km and was then hooked and had to keep queuing up for more go's. I was in my element!

By the time I had had my football fix the museum was closing and it was time to go to the adjacent bar for a drink. Still without a room we discussed our plan which was overheard by a nice English speaking waiter who claimed we could get a room much cheaper right in the city centre. So it was then back up the long hill, across many different tube lines and to the centro where we did indeed find a nicer room than our first try earlier in the day, and for half the price. Showers and homemade Caipirinha's were in order as finally we had a place to put our bags down.

Out on the streets the place seemed alive with an almost Asian buzz. A mix of music, drinking, dirty streets and barbecues made us feel right back into our traveller mode as we enjoyed and joined the 'realness' of the street scene. Soon we were eating a authentic Brazilian 'Churrasco' (barbecue) sat on plastic chairs by the street, with a cold Brahma in hand. Despite our little known Portuguese, we managed to strike up conversation with those around us about what else but football and São Paulo's beloved Corinthians. Carnaval was over but it seemed the good times and late nights just kept rolling. We moved on to another small bar for a beer where we got talking to some Nigerian guys with who we then moved on to another late night drinking spot where copious Brahma's were consumed until we finally reached our bed. What a day!

Waking the next afternoon with a hazy head, what we did remember is that we had been told there was a 'best of the best' Carnaval samba parade at the Sambadromo that evening, where the top voted schools would do a repeat performance of last weeks parade. Having traversed the whole city to find a ticket all we were good for now was some food and a siesta in preparation for yet another fiesta.

That evening the week long party had caught up with Han as her nose began to run and a sore throat ensued. Not to be defeated we remedied it with some cough sweets, a panadol and energy drinks as we headed to São Paulo's impressive Sambodromo.  Starting at 10pm this parade was our third in our third city, not bad at all. It was also the most professional and expensive display of costumes and floats. Hundreds of paraders came down the long Sambodromo with their respective schools, all dancing to their samba bands with the samba 'drum queens' juggling what little they were wearing in front of it all. The dancing and stories that were told by each school on their hour long set were the most inventive we had seen ranging from ballet to belly dancing. The floats towered high above the stadium and glistened with the bright lights that shone as brightly as their performances. With our feet completely wacked we left the party at 6am with the parade still going. Incredible!

The next day we were able to see the afternoon in the Asian inspired Liberdade area and then wander through some attractive old buildings in the central square on route to the bustling Mercado Municipal for a much needed coffee.

Sampa, as São Paulo is known, had been a fun filled, action packed place of interest and interesting people. We had been amazed at how many nice people we had met and spent time with. It really felt like we were getting into Brazil here. Parts of this mega city were strewn with rubbish as homeless people sadly rummaged through them, but this was life here. Asian ladies sold noodles on the dark side streets with a watchful eye as if it wasn't allowed, but it worked for them and their customers. Bars buzzed with the chatter and the constant flow of beer in both fancy restaurants and simple cafes that sat right next door. A city of extreme wealth and also poverty but altogether rich in culture and life experience. We had enjoyed our time in São Paulo. 

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Photos

A store owner bashfully smiles with his spices behind him...
(Mario look alike???...)

Comments

[Abe Tigger]

Fantastico!
Wow fantastic shots, Rio really is something isn't it? Thank you.