15.09.2007
Brazil: Summary
Those impressions will always stay in our mind when thinking of Brazil: Its immense ethnic diversity: a Brazilian may look like somebody from Stockholm, from Spain, from Lagos, from Karachi, from Hanoi or from La Paz. Once we were riding the metro in Sao Paulo and looking around we decided nobody could just guess which country they were in! The friendly and open-minded people of Brazil. Some of the most incredible beaches. Thumbs up or two thumbs up, without this Brazilians could not communicate agreement. People are fascinated by cheesy “Telenovellas” (TV-series) just like in Venezuela. TVs can be found everywhere: in shops, in restaurants, in bus stations, at food stalls of street vendors, in doctor’s waiting rooms, at a car mechanics, etc … Despite being some of the biggest cities in the world, Sao Paulo as well as Rio de Janeiro seem relatively quiet in terms of traffic, also pollution caused by cars did not seem that bad. Maybe because many cars are using gas instead of petrol, busses must also run on a special fuel, since we never say a bus leaving a trail of black smoke. Yes, and drivers don’t have their hands on the horn all the time, like in many other countries ... Arriving mid-August towards the end of the high season, we would see or meet very few tourists, except Brazilians of course who travel a lot: only at the REAL must see tourist haunts, like Sugar Loaf or Corcovado / Cristo Redentor in Rio de Janeiro did we see other non Brazilian tourists. The comforting realisation that even Brazilians do not party ALL the time. Being there during the Brazilian winter, we noticed that nightlife during the week days was rather “tranquilo”. The efficient public transport in all cities and our deep respect for the drivers: they move these vehicles like maniacs but we always felt safe … Well, at least Heidi did! The tiny turnstiles in the city busses, while riding a bus it became Heidi´s favourite activity: to watch how people managed to get grocery, bags, children, etc ... through and across this barrier, with the driver accelerating or slowing down brutally all the time! The large beer bottles that come in a cooler and are always shared, even small cans come with two glasses … The only downside we can find is that we missed being able to communicate with locals - with a few exceptions, it is Portuguese or Portuguese! We would ask something in our simple Spanish, people would nod and signal understanding but the answer was usually totally incomprehensible!
The highlights of these 4 weeks in Brazil were: The busy harbour in Manaus and the free concert at the Opera in the Teatro Amazonas. The colonial city of Olinda near Recife, with the most comfortable Pousada d’Olinda. A few days in Salvador: a night at a Candomblé, Tuesday night in Salvador with its free concerts, watching Capoeira groups in the streets, the Afro-Brazilian museum … And the Guesthouse Nega Malouca. Relaxing on the island of Morro de Sao Paolo, with its loooong and empty Fourth Beach & very lively Second Beach. And of course Rio de Janeiro … We definitely plan to return there, it is one of the cities where we both could live in, and there are not many!
What we would do differently or not at all: Fernando de Noronha … Beautiful but soooo overpriced! Spend less time in the Pelorinho in Salvador, a tourist ghetto! Downtown Sao Paulo is really only worth a very brief visit if waiting for a connecting plane … Spending a night on the bus in the last row … Always take seats towards the front, not in the back close to the toilets! Or look for cheap flights, which might even be cheaper than taking the bus …
What we will do when visiting Brazil again: Spend more time in Rio, preferably in Santa Teresa. Minas Gerais and the “Historic Cities”, which we had planed to visit but left out due to time restrains … The National Parc Chapada Diamantina: everyone who was there recommended it … Relaxing a few days at a beautiful beach, why not Itacaré this time or again Morro de Sao Paolo? And probably the Pantanal: everyone we met who was there was delighted.
As a conclusion?
Well, we will go back to Brazil, for sure …
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