$1 = 1.65 BRL (Brazilian Real)
Luccas, my Brazilian primo, picked me up from the bus terminal and we did a round on the island. He showed me some beaches and we stopped at few lookout points to take in the nice views.
Monday, 28 III 2011
He lives a bit outside of Florianopolis on the mainland in Palhoça. Buses go everywhere so I had no problem getting to the island. I went to the south side of it to Pântano do Sul. There was a 3km (2mi) hike to a secluded Lagoinha do Leste. The trail climbed up through a jungle like vegetation and then dropped down to the lagoon. Closed off by the rocks with sand dunes with no civilization in sight... pretty nice.
Unfortunately dark clouds came and something was brewing up there. Half way back it started raining - D'OH!!! It wasn't a small drizzle. Huge drops soaked me head to toe in a minute. Not exactly what I wanted but at least I wasn't camping out somewhere and had a dry house to come back to. The small muddy trail was flowing and special care had to be taken not to slip, fall and have a roller coaster ride down. Probably would be fun up to the point of flying off the trail into the thick bushes. Maybe next time I'll try it out jeje.
In the evening we met up with my other Brazilian primo Lucas and Luccas' special friend Bruna. We were starving so we went to Sergio's Hot Dogs. My stomach was calling the shots so I ordered two right away. That might off been too much. They were humongous double dog with a mountain of toppings. I managed the two but regretted it a bit as they really filled me up.
Tuesday, 29 III 2011
The weather was still crapy but I decided to go to Floripa. I was just strolling the streets being a tourist. I wanted to go to another beach also in the south but the light rain deterred me from it. I went back to Palhoça and waited for Luccas and his mother, Marta to come back from work. We had a very pleasant dinner with caipirinhas y caipiroscas.
Later we picked up Bruna and Lucas and went to a low key samba bar with live band. A true samba look where locals go to shuffle their feet. Fun times with wonderful people. Obrigado amigos :) Hasta proximo.
https://picasaweb.google.com/maurycy.sarosiek/BrasilFlorianopolis#
Wednesday, 30 III 2011
Time to move north. I went to Curitiba (5h - 45 BRL).
I didn't have luck with the weather... again and it rained. It was evening and I didn't feel like getting wet so I hid in the Hostel Roma (38 BRL) and that was it for today.
Thursday, 31 III 2011
In the morning I went to Museu Oscar Niemeyer (4 BRL) with Louis (French). It houses many different expositions ranging from paintings to cool and weird contemporary pieces. Some were interesting and others not so much. One part of the building was constructed in a shape of a gigantic eye.
In the afternoon I met with Mathisa who lives in Curitiba which meant I had a personal guide :))) We wandered around town visiting some parks and interesting plazas. The city has a lot of green places and I have to say it is interesting but it's still a big city.
At night we went to move our hips to the rhythms of forro. I never danced that but I felt the music and was making it happen jeje. I had fun :)
Friday, 01 IV 2011
Today Mathisa took me to Parque Tangua. Large green area with cliff, waterfall, small lake and a tunnel. Very peaceful and relaxing place.
The stupid rain that is following me through Brasil canceled our farther plans so we hid in a bar. Later we went to a different one to enjoy the tunes of samba played live.
https://picasaweb.google.com/maurycy.sarosiek/BrasilCuritiba#
Saturday, 02 IV 2011
Time to visit Gicele in Saõ Paulo (6h - 61 BRL). Third or fourth largest city in the world and the heart of Brazilian commerce. A lot of people really like this city but I'm pretty skeptical since it's a BIG city. I'm sure it'll still be interesting to see... maybe lol.
As I arrived it started to rain!!! I really don't have luck with the weather here in Brasil. The stupid rain follows me everywhere I go! That's it for today I guess. Just chatted with Gi and her family.
Sunday, 03 IV 2011
Rain or shine we're going downtown. The clouds are hanging low but for now being quiet.
As I said the city is huge and it takes hours to get anywhere. You always have to take a combination of buses, subway and plan to nap between stops. We went to Mercado Central, some museum, churches, few nice plazas and wandered the streets. Around 2pm the clouds opened up and dropped buckets of water on us. That was it for outside sight seeing. We went to the movies for a movie we only saw on a poster and which should not be mentioned. Let me just say that Nicolas Cage should be ashamed.
I really hope this weather leaves me alone and I'll be able to enjoy Brasil a bit more.
Monday, 04 IV 2011
More clouds and more rain :( We went out to stroll the city regardless. First we went to a bus terminal for me to get a yellow fever shot. Maybe I'll need it to enter Venezuela or maybe I won't. Better be prepared. It cost nothing and took 10 minutes. For the rest of the daylight hours we wandered around a huge Parque Ibirapuera. Nice place to get out of this huge ass city.
In the evening we went to Campinas located next to Sao Paulo where Gicele lives.
https://picasaweb.google.com/maurycy.sarosiek/BrasilSaoPaulo#
Tuesday-Friday, 05-08 IV 2011
Time to be a lazy, write/post on the blog, organize pictures, plan further trip, look for paragliding schools, write e-mails, etc.
Saturday, 09 IV 2011
Rio de Janeiro here I come (7h - 76 BRL). Andre's friend Felipe picked me up from the bus terminal and we dove into the chaos of yet another BIG city. I'm glad I had point of contact in all of these crowded metropolian places.
The rain? Of course it followed me here as well grrrrr... Humidity hit me as well. Cold beer by the shore was a great idea Felipe aaaaaaaaaah...
More beer at night? Yes please hehe.
Sunday, 10 IV 2011
Time to hit the beach. Well... not really hehe. It's not exactly my cup of tea. I can play some sports or take a swim but laying down and frying on the sun = booooooooring.
I walked around playas Ipamena and Copacabana. Nice waves and small grain sand. Did I mention the crowds? Yes, another minus. I went to see Fort Copacabana and relaxed there for some time with a coconut in my hand. Rio is pretty hilly and it makes it an interesting city with pleasant views.
Monday, 11 IV 2011
Time to act like a tourist and go to Corcovado where Cristo Blanco lives. I haven't been doing any exercises lately so I decided to hike to the top instead of taking a train. The beginning of the trail can be found in the green lush of Parque Lage. The trail offers steep climb and no views as it snakes through a tropical, jungle like forest. It took me only one hour to get to the top but sweating like a pig. This trail is good only if you want to exercise. It doesn't offer views or anything else.
Surprise was waiting for me on the top. You can't get to the Christ without a ticket and they sell them only on the BOTTOM!!! WTF!!! I had to go down in the van just to come right up (7.50 BRL entrance, 9.75 BRL transport). Ridiculous! The views from the top stretched for horizon but the sun was strong and a gray haze blurred the land.
Since I already knew the trail and I had to pay for the transport anyway why not ride down and see a different part of the city. On the bottom I found out that it's not really a bottom. There are no buses either. I had to walk down on the road for about 40 minutes to get to a bus stop to take me back to a metro station.
This hot and humid weather tired me out so I went back to Muda. In the evening I watched the movie "127 Hours" and I saw myself there. Even on this trip I had few occurrences where I could have found myself in a similar situation. Unfortunately thing like that can happen to anyone at anytime.
Tuesday, 12 IV 2011
Touristy walk around the streets of downtown visiting few old and beautiful churches, history museum (6 BRL), street markets and stuff.
Rio is cool with nice views and clear water. It is still a big city with lots of traffic and noise.
Unfortunately Felipe and Carolina work and study hard and did not have that much time to hang out. Thank you guys for your endless hospitality and your kindness!!!
https://picasaweb.google.com/maurycy.sarosiek/BrasilRioDeJaneiro#
Well, I haven't seen that much of Brasil. Rain was following me wherever I went. With no more rainproof gear I didn't feel like hiking for few days and getting wet. There are some islands I could have visited not to mention the whole north part. Truth be told Brasil is really good for relaxing and baking in the sun or diving into the jungle. Both of those options are not that appealing to me so in a way my trip ended as I left Ushuaia, as I left the serious mountains. I need adventure in my trip or it gets boring quick. I can do completely nothing and relax but for a short time followed by some adrenaline powered activity. This is me and I'm always searching for an adventure and a way to challenge myself. I'm driven by flying and I can't wait to jump out of an airplane again and start soaring under paraglider from mountain peaks!!! Not to mention flying a wing suit and doing BASE jumping off of cliffs, bridges and buildings!!!
Don't get me wrong, I'm loving this whole trip meeting new people, getting to know new cultures and places but it've been a long one already. I still want to travel the whole world but I need a break now. Following trips will be a bit more adventure oriented with some specialized equipment such as paraglider, BASE rig, rock climbing gear, etc.
Another huge factor in cutting my trip short is the fact that I still don't know where will I live after this trip?! It's always on my mind and I would like to know NOW. It will be a huge change in my life and I can't dismiss it and push it on the back burner. It's hard to make a decision like this but if I won't I will regret it. I need to find MY place in this messed up world. I need to try at least and see how will it play out.
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