A Lo Que Puede Ser Cosidas

Catching up.. (4 more cities.. 2 new countries)

mattjc — Wed, 4 Mar 2009 21:40:00 GMT

I don't have much time lately to update this so I'm going to cram about a week into one entry... Short and sweet :)

Since Floripa we've been to some amazing places.

Drove from Floripa to Praia do Rosa, Brazil where we stayed 3 nights. An amazing little town, I personally think it could quite possibly be the most beautiful place ever. And thanks to Michelle's research we landed at the PERFECT pousada. I'll post the name when I figure it out :)

Do check out the photos of this place:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35617967@N08/sets/72157614812030160/

Then a drive through some extra foggy jungle mountains to a little town called Gramado. Only one night and it was off to Porto Alegre where Michelle and I said our goodbuys :'( and it was off to Buenos Aires!!

3 days in BA, intense walking and sight seeing.. And some amazing food on the cheap. Tried this place called Milion last night and was very impressed with the Lamb for around $12.

Met up with a friend this morning and hopped a high speed ferry to Colonia, Uruaguy. Cool little town with again, lots of old but "fun" architecture. And... Heading to Montevideo manana.

Ok, heading out for a giant Uruaguyan steak.

Hasta Luego

Floripa! And Virgin Beaches...

mattjc — Tue, 3 Mar 2009 17:00:00 GMT

February 24th, 2009

After some serious adventures in Rio we hopped a plane to a little island called Florianopolis. Quite a change in scenery and attitude from our previous locations..

We found this cool little hotel in the south part of the island. We started early in the AM on a little hike to a beach that is locally known as the last virgin beach in Brazil. No roads and only ways in. A 2 hour hike through dense jungle and around steep cliff faces or an hours hike straight up over a mountain through mud and rocks.. Michelle, who I'm finding to be a bit more adventurous than I decide to try both ways: There through the jungle and back over the mountain.

Needless to say from the photos it was quite an adventure with great reward.

We followed it by some frolicking through the town and sampling the local Cachaça!!

Since there are so many great shots I posted them on Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35617967@N08/sets/72157614685703933/

Enjoy!

The other side of Carnival:

mattjc — Tue, 3 Mar 2009 14:22:00 GMT

February 22nd, 2009

This one can not be explained easily so I'll just post a video:

Click here > Michelle, Flavia and me in the Mocidade Carnival!

Michelle and I, along with some friends were able to participate in the Mocidade Samba School, Carnival Parade.

Click here> Here is an airal view of the parade

It takes about 45 mins to pass the review stands of where you dance and sing your a$$ off. The Gringo pulled it off with just enough endourance to finish! The locals make it look easy..

I say: if your going to Rio for Carnival you have to go all out.

Here are a few snaps from the evening:

Natalia, Flavia, Michelle and friends

Michelle getting ready

"Hey Matt, This time it's for Rio.."
- Bruno

Bruno & Natalia

Visiting a Favela

mattjc — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 04:44:00 GMT

February 22nd, 2009

Today was a day that I can never forget. We met up with one of Bruno’s ((…did I mention that Bruno grew up in Rio and was one of the best surfers in town. Now to be allowed to surf the best waves in Rio you have to be respected and the way it goes is this: To be respected enough you must be, 1: A really good fighter, 2: an elder, meaning you are old; or 3: you are a really good surfer. Bruno was (and still is) a great surfer. He made friends with many of the other good surfers who were from all classes.. And even a few guys from the favelas…)) friends who was working on the beach when I met him the previous day selling something out of a cart. We were meeting him for a personal, walking tour of one of Rio’s largest Favelas.

Our Guide

It was about an hour’s walk or so before we entered into the center of the tightly built city. It was exactly what I heard; buildings thrown together with whatever materials they could find. Sewage washing past us in narrow, open canals. Very poor people living here. There were only a couple of instances where I didn’t feel safe. We passed a group of guys (a couple of them heavily armed) and we heard the word “Gringo!” being yelled over and over. One guy had a grenade. They let us pass with no problem, probably as curious as I was for why I was there.

A few photos of us:

Bruno’s friend had been participating in a surf club that has been set up to help the children of the Favela learn how to surf and stay out of trouble. He showed us the club HQ where they repair the boards and get together to watch surfing videos.

He seemed very passionate about the cause in his explanations. (…Bruno’s friend((sorry, don’t know his name)) has 2 children and he’s 21 yrs old. He seemed to be well respected in his Favela and knew everyone. He owns a 3 story home.

He walked us up to one of the highest parts of the Favela and then we hiked up a rock face where he had a surprise for us… One of the most beautiful views of Rio.

And one that is definitely not seen by many people from out of town.. or out of that Favela for that matter. It was amazing. After a brief decent through the jungle we were back in the middle of the Favela. We walked back through and finally found ourselves at lower street level. As we exited once again were the guns and the familiar “Gringo, Gringo, Gringo…” My response was to just look at my feet and walk past. Seemed like the least intrusive method.

How can I describe it? I would say that it definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone. I saw similar neighborhoods in some parts of Nicaragua but there was something different about it. I wouldn’t recommend it to a friend. If you are going for a good cause then all the best but if it’s just to see something different I’d stick to the images on the internet.

For more photos of that and the trip go to: http://flickr.com/photos/35617967@N08/

To Rio!

mattjc — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 13:35:00 GMT

February 20, 2009

Early flight to Rio!! No hassle at security, they let me take my water no problem. Didn’t even have to take my laptop out of my bag and place it in a tray by itself (I hate doing that)

Apparently Rio has the shortest airstrip in the world.. Let’s just say the plane stopped short. We dropped our things at Natailia’s place in Ipanema and hit the beach. Hot, crowded and exactly as I expected. I stuck out like a sore thumb being 1: the only gringo and 2: the only man not wearing a Speedo. I knew I should have brought mine..

The Christ

Michelle on Ipanema Beach

We met up with Michelle’s aunt who lives in a lovely top floor, beach front apartment. Very nice people, we made plans to meet with her cousins later to go to a parade and made plans to meet ome other family in southern Brazil on their farm for ribs (explain later).

View looking north (East?)

View looking south (west?) (notice the Favela on the side of the mountain close to the sea - What a view they have!)

Later we tried to get some cash from the ATM’s and had no luck. Turns out there are only a few banks in town where you can use your “Bank of America” card.. But I did find a Pharmacy where you can buy pretty much anything you want..... Stocked up on Imodium :)

We met with her cousins later and walked to the parade. This is a typical Rio carnaval street parade. It’s about 50,000 people following around 1 truck with giant speakers, crowned by a few singers. Everyone and I mean everyone is dancing.. An amazing experience. Not many costumes in this one, anyone can participate.. just dance your ass off and you’ll fit right in. Fun Fact: The mayor of Rio recently shortened the street parades to 3 hours not to tie up the city too long.

SP day 2 - New faces, new places

mattjc — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 13:12:00 GMT

2/19/09

Now if you know me then you know I love shopping for costumes but this brought it to a new level.. Imagine Canal street on steroids.. The Halloween store on 11th and Broadway x 10,000... that's where wewent today. Called Rua 25 de Marcho crazy place, very busy, intense.

Natalia and me

Flavia and Natalia

To recover from the madness we went to have some Chopps and dinner at a restaurant in the "bohemian" district of SP, sat on sidewalk, in Vila Nadalema neighborhood, very cool restaurants and bars. Highly recommended.

Gallery: Sao Paulo

mattjc — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 02:12:00 GMT

Waking up in Sao Paulo

mattjc — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 01:05:00 GMT

Just landed in Sao Paulo, I'm getting to like this "red eye" thing, fall asleep and wake up in another country.. too good.

Very green here.. at least til you get close to the city. It didn't take long for Brazil to live up to its reputation for beautiful people.. Upon approaching the coral where you pre-order your taxi I fell in love with all 4 of the uniformly dressed cab ordering attendant ladies.

My driver was an elderly gentleman in which the extent of our conversation was my thanking him for a spicy cinnamon hard candy as if to take our minds off an hour and a half of traffic and the reckless driving. He did say something about my boca but didn't quite catch it all. About $45 gets you to central Sao Paulo.

We passed a couple of the Favelas along the way, much more thrown together and denser than the ones I remember from Nicaragua. Passed sever prisons, all heavy, intimidating concrete structures. Saw a lone man standing in the median of the highway barriers eating fruit from a tree. A lot of random but "fun" architecture.

Michelle met me for lunch where an order for 2 is more like an order for a "few." (the sun is hot here) We later met for drinks with some of her other friends. We went to a restaurant called Piraja where I tried this beer they call Chopp (show-pee).

It consists of 1.5 inches of beer and 4 inches of foam (called "cream") As the story goes it is a craft to pour such a creamy head on the beer. A man can make a career out of this talent. If the craftsman leaves the pub for another it is known throughout town and all the patrons will follow him with their Reais (that's the money here)

1 day til Rio!! Now I was excited about this event but I found out tonight that not only am I going to watch but I'm going to be wearing one of the CRAZY COSTUMES AND WILL BE WALKING IN THE SHOW!! MUY CALIENTE!!

2 Days til Departure

mattjc — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:49:00 GMT

Not easy to leave this city and good friends. Be back soon. 2 days til departure..