Beautiful Brazil

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Last time I wrote I was just about to leave Argentina to enter Brazil, now I´m writing again about to leave Brazil to enter Argentina (again, I think this is the 4th time in as many months).

So I´ll start from where I left off last time... Iguazu Falls. One of the natural 7 wonders of the world, this huge series of waterfalls cascade over a large crack along the border of Argentina and Brazil. There are over 270 waterfalls in total, with heights of upto 80m, which means absolutely nothing until you are stood at the foot of one of these giants, and vast amounts of water are cascading down towards you, and beautiful rainbows are created in mid air. There are large areas of mist created by the sheer power of the water, and involuntary oohs escape from your mouth as you gaze upwards in delight. The sky is full of huge birds - look a little like eagles, but are in fact, much less romantically, vultures, and the sound of green parakeets is everywhere.

The Argentinian side brings you closer to the falls, with walks upto the falls, and optional boat trips underneath. You can actually walk to the top of the huge ´devils throat´, where you are able to almost stand suspended on the edge of a mass of water falling so far and so fast that you can´t see the bottom for a cloud of mist rising high up into the sky, like smoke.

The Brazillian side is more of an overview, although none the less impressive for it. You also get the added bonus of coatis - the South American version of the racoon, running around trying to steal your lunch. I had also hoped to see a Toucan, having heard they flew all over the place, and were hard to miss. However, after 2 days on the Argentinian side, and only 30 mins left before I had to leave the Brazillian falls, I was losing hope of actually seeing one at all. Then something made me look up, and there, sitting in the tree above me was a Toucan! Hurray! Plenty of photos to be developed of tiny Toucans in trees, and only 6 films of the falls. I will need to get another digital camera to stop me taking so many films, without the ability to delete the bad ones I have to take 3 just in case...!

From Iguazu I went to Curitiba, a mere 10 hours on a bus, to meet up with Zoe, finally. It was soooo good to see her, and we spent the first day talking non stop to each other in English, about everything we´d both been upto. Very therapeutic, and I fell more like myself again after being able to waffle for awhile!

We decided to take a break to a nearby island for a bit of R&R and sunbathing. So we set off on the train through the mountains and cloud forest (been better had the cloud not been there and we could have seen the view), then on a little ferry across to the island. The cloud persisted, and soon the rain broke through. By the time we landed on the idyllic island it was drizzling, and we set off amoungst the trees to find the hostel. However, finding the hostel was easier said than done. We had no map, and the sign posts were few and far between. After walking for almost 20 minutes in the rain, with our huge backpacks on, we asked the way. The guy pointed, and said about 45 mins. Great, idyllic. So we carry on, and soon after come across a map, showing roughly where we are, and roughly where our hostel is. A mere 1 hour trek along the beach. In the rain. We set off again, and realise that the tide is coming in, and our beach walk is fast becoming a rock climb. The rocks get larger and larger, and we literally have to take our backpacks off to clamber over rocks, passing the bags to each other as we struggle to keep our footing in the now pouring rain. We finally make it back to 'dry' land, to continue our trek, on the idyllic island, towards the headland. We only need to climb up the headland and down, and on the other side our wonderful hostel will be waiting. The path up is slippy, as the soil is more clay than sand, and I land on my arse at least twice as we slide down, struggling to balance with a 25kg weight on our backs. But eventually we make it. And discover that there is a second stop for the ferry. In front of our hostel. There is no need to actually spend 1hr 30 mins struggling through forests, over rocks and climbing hills to get there. But the hostel is open (our other fear was that as we arrived out of season, without booking ahead, we might be the only people there, and the the hostel might be shut), and best of all, there are hot showers. Bliss. Amazing how appealing a bed and hot shower can be, and we immediately make use of both.

That night we managed to find a pizza restaurant on the island, and after discovering that one pizza was not enough to fill the hole, we decided to try the chocolate and cheese pizza aswell. Yep, that's right, chocolate. On a pizza. With mozarella. You smell the chocolate, and take a bite. It tastes like chocolate, yummmm, then you taste the cheese, yummm, then your taste buds start questionning whether these two flavours should really be there at the same time... ummm? So you take another bite, to find out. The process is repeated, and I can honestly say that I have no idea if chocolate and cheese go together, despite several slices being consumed. A very strange experience altogether!

The next few days the sun did come out, and we were able to spend a while enjoying the sun and the sea, Zoe admiring the surf, and making me clamber over rocks on numerous occasions, convinced that there was a path there somewhere. I think she just wantd to practise her climbing skills, but I'm sure it was good for me nonetheless.
We spent the time discussing our plans, and eventually decided that Brazil was not where we wanted to be. Neither of us speak Portuguese, and although our Spanish is poor, at least we can be understood and understand a little, whereas in Brazil few people speak Spanish, let alone English. Also the weather up the coast was reported to be wet, and there's not a great deal to do on a beach in the rain (unless there are some rocks that need climbing...) So we decide on Chile, the Argentinian lake district, and the Atacama desert instead, winter, here I come. Again!

But before we leave Brazil altogether, we made a trip to the Pantanal. This is a vast area of wetland in Southern Brazil, where despite attempts of farming, vast amounts of wildlife remain. The land is frequently flooded, making it poor grazing, and this fact alone has saved the area from suffering a similar fate to the Amazon, although many local people still live and try to farm just to survive. We go on an organised tour, and have an amazing three days.

Our first day is spent walking throught he palm woods, spotting howler monkeys, toucans (yeah!), coatis, agoutis and deer. In the afternoon we get taken to a large area of wetland to go riding. The horses take us through the flooded areas, water almost upto their chests, and the bird life is spectacular. We see pairs of macaws flying overhead (macaws mate for life, and if one dies, the other dies soon after of a broken heart... awww), huge 4ft high Jacaibu storks standing catching fish, hawks fishing for mollucs, and numerous other waterbirds, too many to remember, let alone mention. The next day includes a boat trip, caimen sunning themselves, and a huge number of bright blue kingfishers dipping in and out of the water. We see more monkeys, and the highlight was a glimpse of otters fishing ahead of us. Our final day, and I'm given a fishing rod (bamboo stick with nylon and hook attached), and some beef, and told to catch some piranhas for lunch. It's amazing how fast they eat the bait before you gt a chance to hook them out of the water! However, I did catch 4 (3 too small and had to be thrown back), and they tasted delicious when fried for lunch that day! A spectacular trip, and both Zoe and I were reluctant to leave our basic camp site next to the river, surrounded by wildlife, to return to te big city with all its people and pollution.

So we're heading back to Argentina together, and leaving Brazil . As to what I will miss about Brazil, after only a few weeks it is amazing how much...
The food - whereas in Argentina being a vegetarian was a fact most people struggled to imagine (what do you eat was what I was always asked), in Brazil fish, salad, beans and rice are the staple diet, supplemented with large amounts of fruit. I feel like I've actually been eating healthily, not pasta and pizza the whole time! Having pasion fruit and pineaple for breakfast, not stale bread rolls smothered in the delicious but not particularly good for you dulce de leche.
The weather - I know I said the same about Argentina, but here the sun shines more strongly, it's actually warm and I've been able to go swimming in the sea, walk around in a T-shirt, and convince myself that it is summer!
The drinks - Caipirinha. Very strong alcoholic beverage, served in tall tumblers, and a mixer provided in the form of large amounts of sugar and a bit of lime juice. You get drunk on just one of these! Also the sucos, freshly squeezed fruits poured into a glass, from orange to melon to strawberry, to passionfruit and mange, all for under a pound.

and also the footbal fever...
I don't know whether there is any mention of it back home, but over here there´s this big football match taking place. Even if you have absolutely no interest in football (and for this you can't be Brazillian or even Argentinian), there is no avoiding it. TVs suddenly sprout up in the most unlikely places, and large crowds gather in public places, including aoutside shop windows to watch the games. Everywhere, but everywhere is covered in green and yellow Brazilllian flags, all the people in the streets are wearing some sort of yellow top with Brazil emblazoned across it, and all the shops have green and yellow window displays. It´s crazy, and even an avid football hater like me has been drawn into finding out the scores, and if not actually managing to watch a full game, at least stare at the little people on the screen for upto 20 minutes at a time. I hear England aren't doing too badly, even if they're still not actually capable of winning...!!

So off to the winter climes, I'll update you of the route plan when I have one!

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Comments

[DMBHealer]

World Cup
Anna, sounds lovely in Brazil! The world cup is going well for England so far (we'll see how they do today!), not so fortunate for us yanks - we blew it! Anyway, please say hi to Zoe for me (if it is the same Zoe that I am thinking of!), and stay happy! It's nice to read a happy blog from you again! Hugs, -Brian