As I was about to leave Florianopolis I realised that if I head straight to Iguazu Falls it will be the end of my journey in Brazil and I was not quite ready for it. So instead I decided to head back to Sao Paulo in the hope that this time I will get to see some more of the city and train capoeira.
Massive bonus was also the chance to rest from the hostel world as was going to stay at friend's house.
Unfortunately as soon as I arrived to town I was struck with horrible fever and pretty much stayed in bed for 3 days. Being ill is never fun when you are travelling but I felt so lucky to be staying with friends rather than in a hostel.
After weekend in bed I felt strong enough to visit Cordao de Ouro Matiz and sign up for a week of training.
From then on I tried to follow a simple routine - chill out in the morning, capoeira in the afternoon and some drinks in the evening.
Training was hard - I was so happy to be back with my Cordao de Ouro family but after nearly 4 week break from training my body was broken within 2 days. But I did persevere and started to feel much better. It was also good chance to make new friends and as a result spent my Sunday eating feijoada at a very cool socialist place and then watch the sunset (ok, we were a bit late) on the hill with the view of Sao Paulo below.
Got to also spend St Patrick's there and properly celebrated with some green beer.
All in all once again Sao Paulo did not disappoint. As I keep saying, it's not a beautiful city, but it does have its inner charm and despite what others claim Paulistanos are not cold people, they are pretty amazing and welcoming actually. It does remind me of London in the sense that there is always something to do or see and is as much about hanging out with your friends over a drink. Not to mention the fact that there CDO academy on every corner. Which is probably why I find it so difficult to leave behind.
I still feel like there is a lot for me to do and see there so watch this space...
After camping out on Victor's sofa for 10 days it was inevitably time to get a move on. It was not an easy decision but I did come to South America to travel so even though I feel completely at home in Brazil and could easily just stay there I chose to hit the road and make my way to Argentina through Foz de Iguazu.
I took the overnight bus to Foz. It was probably the most uncomfortable journey I had in Brazil so really do not recommend Kaiowa.
I really think that if you don't want to be in a place it senses it and makes your stay that little more uncomfortable. It was certainly the case with me and Foz. Upon arrival I mistakenly boarded a bus to Paraguay. Once I got out of it and got on the bus to centre the bus crashed into the car in front and I went flying down the stairs (I was about to pay my ticket when the crash happened). Then I kindly asked the ticket guy to tell me when to get off and of course he forgot so I went on a scenic journey through all of Foz before making a circle and finally getting off at the right stop.
After that I decided to remain positive and upon finding my hostel and the nearest supermarket I settled into a quiet evening with a beer.
Next day I went to visit the Brazilian side of the falls with a German couple I met at the hostel (this is really bad but am pretty sure I never asked their names). It is an impressive site. It's really good to do the Brazilian part first as it gives you the overview and the grand tour of the falls. It kind of shows you the scale but you do not get close and personal with the water.
It also takes much less time then Argentinian side - you only need couple of hours to do the trail.
I have to say that even though I could appreciate the beauty, the falls were a bit lost on me that day. It was incredibly humid, I was tired and angry that it's my last day in Brazil. I only cheered up over an acai and a caipirinha. But that is only due to my mood that day cause I could see others totally enjoying the experience.It is definitely worth seeing, even if you are grumpy...
After that it was time to pack up, find a hostel on Argentinian side and say goodbye to Brazil with some beers. I wasn't helped by the hostel friends who tried to convince me to turn around and go back to Brazil - I guess the country has similar effect on everyone. So instead of saying definite bye I started to plan my return route... Amazon after all is not that far way from Peru...
