Brazil

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So after seeing the Argentinean side of Iguazu falls and living the resort life at The Hostel Inn (A.K.A Rancho Relaxo) we caught the bus to the border just before midday. With all the hassles that Bryan and I had in Buenos Aires trying to obtain a Brazilian visa I would compare the experience in Puerto Iguazu to buying a cup of coffee at Starbucks. Pay the money, wait for the stamp to roast, let it settle slightly and then Bob’s your Uncle. If only the people in the Embassy in Buenos Aires with tears streaming down their face could see how easy it was here, well they would probably let out more tears of frustration.

Crossing the border from Puerto Iguazu (Argentina) to Foz De Iguaçu (Brazil) was very similar to my experience of crossing from Bolivia into Argentina. Don’t get me wrong, most of Argentina is very modern in South American terms but Puerto Iguazu was a shanty border town compared to the city across the border. We immediately secured our bus tickets for the night bus to Florianopolis and quickly realised how light our wallets might be after a few weeks here. It’s a long way from Bolivia that’s for sure. And the kick in the guts was that the Argentinean buses were twice as better for half the price!! Oh well, suck it up and just worry about the bank balance later.

It was steaming hot once we reached the falls and we were delighted to see that a lot of infrastructure was in place including a bus to take you to the falls. After Sarah’s sickness the day before and her encounter with “Dr Sanchez” she was pleased to finally see the falls for herself. The view of the Devils mouth was amazing. I would say it is better than the other side and even though you might not be as close the spray still reached the viewing platform to cool us down slightly. On returning up the platforms we encountered a funny looking animal that I think is called a Qati. There were a number of them in the bushes and a few adventurous ones walked alongside us for a better look. They are one of the funnier looking animals I have ever seen, a mix between an anteater, cat and a dingo??? Very strange indeed…



The night bus to Florianopolis was uneventful albeit that Bryan hardly got a wink of sleep even after taking 3 'very strong' sleeping tablets. He was surprisingly awake and aware as we stumbled onto the pavement still aclimatising to the Brazilian heat. Being used to the hospitality provided on Argentinean night buses we were starving after our 14 hr famine and found a bakery before we made our way to the beaches. After improving on my spanish for the last 5 months it was frustrating to again be at a language barrier. I wasn't sure what was better: speaking english or spanish. As Thiago, my Brazilian friend from Peru told me, open your mouth wider and make jjjeee sounds whilst speaking spanish and they might understand..... it still didn't work.

Our intended destination was Barra da Lagoa beach on Santa Catarina Island which was an hours journey and two public buses from Florianopolis city. It was a pain but when we reached the end of the line we were all happy to be at the beach. Bicycles with baskets lined up as the fishing boats arrived with the mornings catch. Local's playing chess with a cold beer and dogs happily hanging around looking for any left over fish that could be gobbled up. Our hostel was over the bridge and overlooked the beach and the small accompanying town.

"So, are any of you three a couple," asked the manager Tia as we dumped our bags in the reception area. Sarah and I looked at eachother and nodded together with a twinge of curiosity. "You guys are going to love this" was her response. We were getting upgraded to the equivalent of the honeymoon suite....seriously?? We had our own room with a private balcony looking over the beach and with the added feature of a mirror on the ceiling. Seriously!! Queue fits of laughter!! Then followed by the realisation that this was the best room we have had on our entire trip....that is all the details I am going to give 😊

Instantly I was so relaxed. The beach is such a calming place and this really reminded my of the East Coast of Australia. The waves on Barra Da Lagoa weren't massive but they were nice little runners that you could body surf on or learn to surf. Around on the east coast of the island on beaches such as Praia Mole were the bigger waves. And we were staying for 4 days so all the thoughts of traffic and some of the crazy journeys we had undertaken over the last 5 months were long forgotten and it was time to enjoy the beach.

So for the next 4 days our schedule went something like this: sleep in, go for a swim, read a book, sunbake, play some beach football and repeat everything for the afternoon. It was perfect. A small beach over the hill Prainha Do Leste was the perfect place to soak up the evening sun and unwind by kicking the footy around and sinking a few beers. The hostel couldn't have been better. The view of the beach was perfect; they cooked big dinners everynight; and the kiwi behind the bar made sure everyone had full capirinhas long into the evening.

We ventured out one night into Centro Da Lagoa which is the main town on the west side of the island. The club was full but the live music was a mix of rap, hip hop and reggae; not really my cup of tea. This was Brazil though. And heading out on the town was pricey for South America. I mean its normal Western prices to pay a cover charge of $10 and then $5 for a drink but with the money running out and dreams of Bolivian prices in mind everyone had to take it easy not to blow their budget in one night. The cab ride back to the hostel reiterated my frustrations of not being able to speak portuguese. My spanish was the best it had ever been and I couldn't use it. After a few minutes he worked out where we wanted to go and we sped off at break neck speed just to add to the dangers.




Bryan received word from his friend Amanda in Sao Paulo that she would be around this weekend and wanted to catch up. This confirmed our exit strategy so to speak from Florianopolis and also mapped out the final week of my trip in South America. We had some horse riding lined up and also were organising to hire a car but the weekend with Amanda sounded perfect. On another note our timing wasn't great as the hostel was having a massive party for one of their long term employees and instead we would be on a night bus...bugger. But it sounded like we were going to be living it up in style with Amanda so I didn't mind.

So I didnt really see the real Sao Paulo so to speak. I kind of acknowledge that I havent really been there at all, just passed through, which is exactly what we did. Amanda picked us up from the bus station in the morning and we drove 2 hrs eastward where we then headed north of Santos for around 40km. Amanda and her family have a beach house on a quiet beach about 20 minutes south of Sao Sebastiao. A Brazilian couple lives in an adjoining house maintaining the property and looking after the biggest and friendliest black labrador I have ever met. He had so much energy and just wanted to play all the time. I could see why Amanda couldn't keep him in her apartment in Sao Paulo. He would tear the place apart!!

Umbrella's and deck chairs were already in place as we made our way down to the beach. We were really being spoilt...but after 5 months travelling it felt wonderful and we all really appreciated Amanda for opening her house to 3 dirty travellers for the weekend. Amanda's friends and their cute 4 yr old daughter joined us for the afternoon on the beach and back to Amanda's place for a BBQ. This was our first DEMONSTRATION of a Brazilian BBQ. The coals were hot below and the flank of meat was pressed between two grilling plates being turned a few times to even out the cooking. The meat was amazing. Bryan and I couldn't stop asking for me and Paulo kept the meat coming. Argentinian Steak was good but the way they cooked it here made it amazing. The tiredness of the last few days kicked in after dinner. Comfy beds...needed to take advantage of this so we all went to bed early.

Saturday brought much of the same activity as the previous day. I played with the dog in the morning and afterwards we went to the beach and settled into our chairs again. Sarah and I explored the headlands on the northern part of the beach for a nice view up the coast. The waves were really pumping today and lots of surfers gathered around the breaks. Again it reminded me of Australia. Amanda had spent a year on the East Coast of Australia when she was 17 on a high school exchange learning English obviously but she spent most of her time surfing. Apparently going to Oz to learn English and surf is a dream of alot of Brazilians. And this was reiterated by every Brazilian that I met when I told them I was from Australia. They love the place and everyone has either been or desperately wants to go.

Amanda's friends were having a house party later on that evening and even though we felt uncomfortable about rocking up she assured us it would be ok. And it was. Everyone was so inviting when we turned up to the house and fed us with drinks all night. Then we went to this awesome club that had about one thousand people. It was hard to get in but considering we were the only 3 gringos there they decided to let us in (not before I payed $50US for entry...man that hurt the bank). It was a great club though. We kept losing everyone and most of our time was spent looking for people but eventually we managed to round everyone up and pay our debts on the way out.

Considering we all rolled into bed around sunrise the activity in the house was non existent before midday. Ok, now cue the image of Brazil that first comes to mind....hot tanned beach bodies strutting their stuff on idyllic white beaches; and surfers catching waves to shore on crystal blue waters. This is what the three spotty white bodies tourists experienced in the afternoon. All the crew from the night before were up the road on as Amanda put it "one of the most pretentious beaches in Brazil." We seriously didn't want to take our shirts off to expose our white chests. The men with tight shorts and muscles bulging were showing off their skills playing soccer volleyball whilst the women in shoestring bikinis and tanned tattooed bodies watched on with interest. It was definitely a site to be seen and if you weren't image conscious already then that changed pretty quickly.

Their beach soccerball skills were amazing. This is why Brazil are the best football team in the world: everyone is so skillful. These amateurs on the beach would go to Australia and dazzle everyone with their skills and would be playing at a high level straight away. Thiago, who I travelled in Peru with would stroll into the first division back in Australia but here he is "normal" as he put it.

The evening brought more dramas than we envisaged. The bus to Sao Paulo was late and when it finally came past it ignored our pleas to stop with obviously a full bus already aboard. This threw a spanner into our plan of getting the night bus up to Rio. This was until Paulo and Amanda decided to swap cars and we got a lift back into Sao Paulo with Paulo's family with us three in the back. It was so kind of them to fit us in their car as it made it squashy in the back with 4 people. And we even made it with time to spare. Brazilian hospitality to the rescue again.




Rio. I had made it to my final destination unscathed!! After nearly 6 months of travelling I had just taken my last night bus and this would be my final 4 days in South America. A sense of achievement overwhelmed me as I dropped my bags down at the Stone of A Beach Hostel in Copa. I had learnt spanish, trekked up a 5897m volcano, set foot in Antarctica, zig zagged through the Andes and now I was at my last stop. And it was time to really relax.

I realised that I really wasn't going to experience what Rio was all about. I was here from Monday to Thursday and would miss the weekend full of samba and football. Unlike Buenos Aires it didn't really kick off till the weekends here. And the fact that I had made it unscathed the entire trip and after hearing loads of stories about Rio I wanted to keep it low key so to speak.

We decided to do a city tour on the afternoon of our first day to take advantage of the sunny weather and this turned out to be a wise decision on both counts.
1: It rained for the next two days
2: The city tour made it much easier because alot of the sights were spread out.

So even though we were herded like cattle into the van and shepherded around the city I didn't mind it at all. Being at the Maracana stadium has always been a dream and with the 2014 World Cup taking place in Brazil I had a funny feeling that I might be returning one day as a fan. The sambadrome and the Escadaria Selaron (Selaron Staircase) were the other cool bits we saw before we zig zagged our way up Corcovado hill to Christ the Redeemer. Most touristy place I have been in South America: yes. But it was truly amazing and deservedly popular. The sunset view over Rio with the high rise buildings contrasted against the favelas was a sight to be seen. And despite everyone trying to get a photo replicating the Redeemer I still managed to find some space to be alone and fully take in the view. Spiritual...kind of. I was more contemplative of what I had done and looking over Rio and seeing planes take off into the distance really brought the finality of my trip into perspective. I was ready for the next challenge of getting back to work in England. And ultimately saving money for my next trip.

To write about my next few days would really do injustice to Rio. I am planning on going back there again hopefully at the beginning of another trip but this time I was really in the mood to unwind. Apart from a walk with Sarah up to Ipanema Beach and back and the odd trip to the beach and into town it really didn't hit the heights that I expected. But like I said I really wasn't giving it a fair go. Drinking on the rooftop of the hostel was fun and we even had a Brazilia BBQ which reiterated that Paulo's effort wasn't just a one off. The furthest I ventured at night was the nightclub next door. Going back to Rio and exploring Lapa's nightlife will be high on the priorty list for the next trip.

And on that note it all came to an end. My last few hours were spent on Copa beach soaking up the Brazilian sun before I headed back to the so called English summer. I was suddenly going to miss people coming up to me seeing if I wanted to buy freshly cooked prawns on a skewer. Daily life beckoned and all of a sudden this annoyance suddenly became attractive.

Goodbyes are never the easiest. One minute I was talking to Sarah and the next minute I was on the bus to the airport. She was there on my first day and also my last which was kind of fitting considering. Berlin seemed more attractive everytime I thought about it.

Waiting at the aiport I flicked through my under utilised diary and read the entry I wrote 6 months ago at Heathrow Airport. It made me laugh. Was I naive...probably. But that is what travelling is all about: growing as a person, adapting to situations and changing your perspective. A quote down the bottom read "Its not about the amount of miles covered but the friends made along the way". Pretty corney, but years to come I will still be in contact with some of the people I met on this journey. Travelling solo was fun, but sometimes sharing those experiences make them unforgettable.

To everyone I met on my trip, I hope one day we can have a few pints and recount some of the things we saw and experienced.

Or even better, maybe join me on the road again just for another laugh.

Safe travelling.

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