4. Curitiba and the cultural baggage

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I've heard that the Japanese actually see the world differently (to us Westerners) because of their writing system. Apparently that's why they take photographs of traffic signs, chavs and council flats. That got me thinking about why we travel. Seeing new things and interpreting them in relation to what you're used to seems to make a lot of people happy. I wonder how quickly that honeymoon period would slither into the banal were we to emigrate to the postcard or photograph. The traveller is always seeking new things because they are consistently discontent with the known. Yet sometimes we do miss that known. Most of us find ourselves in McDonalds or Pizza Hut abroad from time to time, even if we don't eat there at home; probably because we're just bored of putting the effort into acclimatisation. Everyone needs to just relax from time to time, whatever we're doing, and however relaxing that doing is in itself. Knowing exactly what to expect is relieving.

However, Curitiba was rubbish. Not because it was freezing cold there, but rubbish because it is home abroad. We were there on the back of Robby's advice, but should have worked out earlier that he didn't really understand what we were all about. Laura and I travel on a shoestring budget, and want to experience the best of a foreign culture available within our means. Advice like "you fly there, is much more fast" and "I know driver, you hire driver there" should have set alarm bells ringing. Well, we were young and stupid, and you learn from your mistakes.

In hindsight, a driver would have been fabulous. Curitiba is surrounded by beautiful gardens. In fact, the city has 54 square metres of grass/garden for each inhabitant; every one of the almost 2 million people. It's just a shame that it's so difficult to get to any of it. Having said that, the public transportation system is exemplary. The bus-stops look like immaculate horizontal glass tumblers, and are visited by bendy busses every couple of minutes. The system proved too complicated for us stupid kids, however. We got off our bus about 15 minutes too early, and wondered around a scruffy American-style neighbourhood for an hour before emerging in a carbon copy of Bristol (our home town in the UK) city centre.

The novelty wore off in minutes. We walked past H&M, Marks and Spencers, the obligatory fast food outlets and a myriad of other familiar shops, mystified. We found a very cheap place to stay, and then discovered real Brazilian electronics.

Bare wires dangled in the shower, and equally bare wires connected the television set to the plug socket. We decided to leave them well alone.

The bathroom was to become something of a regular feature of en-suite rooms throughout South America. The so-called 'en-suite' was a plastic sliding wall erected inside the main room with a toilet and cold shower (of sorts) behind it. Privacy was reserved for the public toilets. But at £2.50 each per night, who cares?

We were seriously disappointed that Churros weren't popular in Curitiba, but eventually found a curiously fatty variation that satisfied our needs, and fuelled us to do what tourism our legs would allow.

The buildings of the centre, and indeed all of Curitiba that we saw, were spectacular European structures; it just wasn't what we wanted to see at the time. Really, that was a shame. Looking it up now, we did miss an awful lot of impressive architecture, gardens, and cultural diversity. Sure, it doesn't look very Brazilian, but the foreign-themed parks and edifices do offer very dignified and pleasant viewing.

I guess this take us back to what I started this short entry talking about: the travellers' problem of the known. Travellers, like everyone else, must sometimes just be content with where they are, and make the most of it.

In the end, we stayed for a night and then moved on.

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