Blumenau Day 2
8 Februari 2025, Brazil ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
Today was our big sightseeing day in Blumenau. After our walk last night, we were more familiar with where we were going which made things easier to plan. Breakfast was a bit meh at the hotel, but better than nothing. I also made a couple of ham rolls with some of the breakfast that was available so that we had something to eat around lunchtime to keep us going.
We retraced our steps from the night before starting at the Lutheran Church on the hill. It was open for visitors this morning and had an organist playing for people. An older woman greeted us in both Portuguese and German and began speaking to us. Unfortunately we didn't understand her, so she disappeared and came back with her adult son who spoke English. He explained that his mother is a volunteer guide for the church. He talked us through some of the history of the church as one of the first protestant churches in the area and how that impacted the design of the building over the years. He also spoke a little bit about their community before inviting us to stay and listen to the music.
After we visited the church we went back to the main road stopping in at a couple places along the way. The first was a museum dedicated to Dr. Blumenau and his family, namely his niece who lived in the exact house we were in. Dr. Blumenau lived in a house just behind hers that was washed away in a flood, but some of his furniture and personal items survived. We then continued around the corner through the cat garden to the mausoleum (his niece loved cats and owned about 50 throughout her life so the garden is where she buried them behind the house). The mausoleum was a simple building, but contains the remains of Blumenau, his wife, and his two children. He died while I'm Germany and was originally buried there, but his remains were eventually brought to Blumenau where he considered his true home.
Across from the mausoleum is the beer museum. There were no tours in English until 2pm, so we went back into the main center of the city. We took pictures of the traditional buildings in the daylight before stopping at the main church in the center. It was incredibly modern and I liked how the stations of the cross were all stained glass windows along the sides of the church. We walked a bit further into town to the theater and city hall to eat our little rolls before walking back the way we came to the beer museum.
The visit at the museum was really good, and it certainly helped that we got to taste some local beer as we went along. Our guide took us through the brewing process as well as some of the history about beer. She also told us about Blumenau's history of beer. The city is susceptible to floods because it's in the valley, so breweries can be greatly impacted. It's also not a good locations to grow hops, so they have them imported. She told us about Catharina Sours which is a recipe that was developed in Brazil that other brewers can follow. The sour was nice! We also had a Belgian style beer that smelled like bananas but tasted nothing like them. It was strange! We enjoyed the room with all the different beer cans from around the world, including Brewdog. To stimulate tourism, Blumenau has Oktoberfest every year and over doubles its population each October. Pretty crazy!
After our museum visit, we walked about 45 minutes to the German Village where Oktoberfest takes place. It had great reviews on TripAdvisor, but when we arrived we were pretty underwhelmed. Many things were closed, it was very quiet, especially for a Saturday afternoon, and only one bar had a decent beer selection. We didn't linger here, and walked back to the main center of town.
We popped back to the hotel to cool down before running back into town for a quick Subway dinner before we waited at the theater to try and get tickets for the Blumenau Philharmonic that had a free concert that night. Lucky for us, lots of people didn't show up, so we got to see the show. The music was lovely. The orchestra played a selection of Beethoven's pieces. It was nice to hear live music again. After the show finished, we walked around town and followed the sounds of loud music and happy people to an outdoor bar with live music and lots of locals dancing. It was pretty cool, but after the calm orchestral music, I was a bit overwhelmed! We ordered a couple beers and enjoyed the people watching and music until it closed around 23:00. We then went back to the hotel after what felt like a very full, well-rounded day!Baca lagi
Blumenau to Florianopolis Day 1
9 Februari 2025, Brazil ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
Today was not too busy. We had our free breakfast at the hotel before packing up and heading out to Florianopolis. The drive wasn't too long and we didn't hit very much traffic thankfully. The road wasn't very eventful unfortunately.
Once in Florianopolis we parked at a public park. It was a big park with lots of different sports fields available like soccer, basketball, and beach volleyball. There was also a walking and bike track around the whole thing. Florianopolis is an interesting place. It's mostly an island that is connected by a bridge just off the coast of Brazil. The park was near the coast, so after getting some food, we decided to walk across the bridge onto the island. We climbed up some steep steps under the bridge before making our way across. The layout was reminiscent of the Forth Road Bridge: there's an old road bridge now closed to vehicles for people to walk across and next to it is a new road bridge for the vehicles.
As we walked across the bridge the sun was setting so we got some nice pictures of the bridge, surrounding mountains, and colorful sky. On the island, we walked into the historic center to the main plaza. It was getting dark now, so there were some nice lights on some of the buildings. There were some lovely buildings with white molding and accents on pastel colored facades. There were string lights along the pedestrianized road too.
We went to the central square where a big tree was in the middle lit up with purple lights. We also heard drumming and singing coming from the far end of the square so we followed it. There was a samba group practicing for what we assumed was Carnaval. We sat on the steps of the cathedral and watched the dancing and drumming. They went down the small street in front of the towering cathedral, and we briefly followed as they turned left to continue down the quiet street. It was great to see the performers up close and personal with only a small crowd.
After we watched the samba group, we went back along the street to the bridge. Allan tried, and failed, to find a green coconut to get some refreshing coconut water, so we just went back across the bridge to the park. It was lit up with purple string lights. Back at the park, we walked around for a lap or two and happened to see the bridge put on a small light show with rainbow changing colors. We stood and watched with a little snack at the pretty lights before heading back to the car, our bed for the night. It was still pretty warm so hopefully it cools down and we can get some sleep.Baca lagi
Florianopolis Day 2
10 Februari 2025, Brazil ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
Last night was rough...sleeping in the car when it's hot is horrible. The air in the car was stifling and the sweat was pouring off of our bodies. In the morning we booked a couple places to stay tonight and tomorrow to avoid the uncomfortable car experience again.
Our plan for the day is to visit the farthest points on the island starting with the south and working our way around to the east where we will stay tonight. The drive south from the bridge was slow. The roads were fairly busy and had so many speed bumps! They really take care with speed control. Once we arrived and parked in the parking lot, a little old man asked us to pay for our parking and then directed us to the trail that leads to the beach at the southern tip of the island.
The trail was a lot longer than expected with lots of rocks and tree roots. We also decided to take a small detour on the trail to go and visit the lighthouse. We were walking through tall grass and almost felt like the trails that we walked in the rainforest in Madidi. There were lots of big, blue butterflies as well as some smaller ones. The blue ones were as big as some of the birds! Sadly, they never landed so we couldn't get any pictures.
While we were walking along the trail, we encountered a couple of military area signs, so I was ready to get to the lighthouse and get out. Once we finally got there, it seemed like an abandoned military area, but I was still nervous and didn't go near the lighthouse like Allan did. As far as lighthouses go, it was pretty short and didn't seem to have a light on top, so I wonder if it's still working. We then went around the corner to an opening in the jungle to see the water. It was very beautiful and peaceful here. We considered having lunch here because it was so quiet, but there was no shade and it was very hot.
We turned around and walked through the jungle along the coast until we got to the beach. It wasn't busy and was very hot. The sand was soft, but if you stepped on it without shoes on, it would burn your feet. We walked quickly to a tent where it looks like you could go to rent things like umbrellas or chairs for the beach. There was nobody there and it was next to the lifeguard tower. The lifeguards gave us a thumbs up when we pointed to sit under it. We sat and had our lunch, but it was far too hot, and neither of us planned well and didn't have bathing suits on. We were also tired and grumpy from last night and the walk here took about 6km, and we still had to walk back to the car through the jungle. We finished our lunch while watching the waves, and then packed up to walk back to the car and continued our road trip. Along the way, I stopped at a small stream to rinse my sandy feet and I also put some of the cold water on my face and arms. It was very refreshing.
The walk to and from the southern mist point took longer than we expected. It was mid afternoon by now, and we had only visited one point. The western point wasn't far from the southern, but it was harder to access because of the placement of houses. We parked at a grocery store nearby. Allan went exploring, determined to find the point, and I bought some snacks and cold juice that we shared when he got back.
After the western point, we made our way to the place we were spending the night. We decided that the last two points could wait until tomorrow. Our accommodation was still in the process of being renovated, so it was rough and ready, but not too expensive so we couldn't complain. It also, importantly, had AC which was a must after last night. We went to the grocery store nearby to get some things for dinner and breakfast, had some food and took a much needed shower. Afterwards, we chilled out in our air conditioned upstairs room while sharing a couple of local beers before bed.Baca lagi
Florianopolis Day 3
11 Februari 2025, Brazil ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C
We had a better sleep last night due to the cooler temperature. We got up, had some breakfast, and got back on the road to head to the eastern and northern points.
The eastern point was near a busy beach. Again, it wasn't a long journey distance wise, but the time took a while because of traffic and speed bumps. After we parked, we walked a short distance to the beach (much shorter than yesterday). But then, the hard jungle trail navigation began to try and reach the eastern point. Our first attempt led us past the beach into the jungle directly at the end of the beach. Unfortunately there was no obvious trail after about ten steps in any direction from this point, so looking at Maps.Me we tried a different trail following the coast. This trail was a bit rocky, but it was the tall grass that made it tricky. It was hard to see where you were walking, and the grass was itchy. We clambered over some rocks and things were looking good for about a kilometer, but then the trail turned into a bog for an unknown amount of distance, and neither of us was willing to walk through the swamp. A bit defeated, we turned back around again. At least the views of the ocean and coast were pretty good along this trail.
Once back at the beach, Allan was still pretty determined to find the point on the map and wanted to try a few more trails, I however accepted the fact that it wasn't a point that I'd be accessing. I stayed on the beach while Allan continued looking. Just over an hour later he reappeared, dirty and sweaty, but triumphant. He managed to find the spot on the map, but annoyingly couldn't see anything past the trees. At least he made it there though!
We walked back along the beach and then the street to the car. Allan got cleaned up a bit and then we went further north. It took a little while, but once we got there, it looked like potentially private land we had parked on. Allan ran up the hill to the point while I stayed with the car in case anybody came. His success at this last point meant that he visited all 4 extreme points on the island (and I got pretty close...).
We left the northern point and headed off towards our accommodation off the main island. We stopped at a viewpoint along the way. It gave us some spectacular views over the city from several different angles. After that, it was a short drive to the house. When we arrived, a little old woman warmly greeted us and showed us to our room. It was a nice house and very clean which was a welcome change after the previous night in the rough and ready chalet. We got settled and then went out for a walk to the coastline. The sun was just going down, and the moon was rising. It was a big, bright moon in a purple and pink sky. After our coastal visit, we walked back inland to a cheap pizza place for some dinner. We also hit the grocery store for some breakfast for tomorrow morning.
Our time in Florianopolis was different than I expected (leisurely walking or enjoying the beach), but I'm glad we got to see this part of Brazil.Baca lagi
Florianopolis to Cambara do Sul Day 1
12 Februari 2025, Brazil ⋅ 🌧 21 °C
We had a slow morning, enjoying being in a nice, clean room before we packed up the car and continued our road trip south. Our destination today is Cambará do Sul. This is a longer drive, just over 5 hours. It was highway for most of the drive, and despite our efforts to avoid tolls, we had to go through a couple. With no cash, and an international debit card, we couldn't pay the toll. The lady at the tollbooth wrote a note on some receipt paper to pay the toll on our way back.
Once we reached Praia Grande, we stopped for some lunch. We ate pot noodles in the car while Allan looked up hot air balloons in the area because we saw so many signs. It would be cool to see the canyons from above. Unfortunately, his research yielded information that the balloons can't go over the canyons due to wind currents, and there won't be good enough weather on February 14 when we wanted to do it.
With only 40km left to go, but over an hour in time, we braced ourselves for the bumpy dirt road up to Cambará that we knew was coming. Even knowing it would be unpaved for part of the way, and Google's estimates, didn't prepare us for the road that lay ahead. Allan did great navigating the horrible road. It started off fine, it had portions that were partially paved, or had fine gravel and been flattened to the point it was just about to get asphalt out down. The start of the unpaved portion lulled us into a false sense of security as the very windy, steep, uphill road gave way to curves and bends and then no gravel at all. The road became dirt with large stones and potholes of varying size filled partially with water disguising the depth. Our tiny compact car was in no way equipped for this. Going about 10-20 km/h we bumped and chugged along the road for almost two hours to get the 36km to Cambará do Sul. Because it was so difficult and time consuming going over the rocks and bumps and holes, we took much longer than expected, and unfortunately the sun went down. Now, we were trying to get through all the obstacles, and we had to rely on a combination of headlights and full beams.
Allan's patience was, rightfully, thin and nerves a bit frayed by the time we finally pulled into the town and the parking lot of the tourist center. We couldn't relax yet, we had to quickly find a grocery store that was open before the rest of them closed in less than an hour. It's a small town, very little was open, and the grocery store that was open had minimal selection. Luckily we still had some hot water from lunch, so it was pot noodles again for dinner as well as some deli ham and crackers. Cambará is one of the highest places in Brazil, so it was cooler making sleeping in the car more manageable. After our meager meal, we got ourselves ready for bed.Baca lagi
Cambara do Sul Day 2
13 Februari 2025, Brazil ⋅ 🌧 24 °C
Our night in the car wasn't nearly as bad as the last time. Cambara is one of the higher areas in Brazil, so it was a cooler temperature making it easier to sleep.
We got up and went to the grocery store for some breakfast. We also picked up a couple of things for lunch since we will be at Fortaleza Canyon at lunchtime. When we got back to the tourist center, it was open so we went in to get some more information about the area. The woman working didn't speak English, so we took turns using Google translate. She was very kind and helpful. In the end, we spent almost an hour speaking to her about the town and the canyons. She also confirmed that the road to Fortaleza is paved which was a relief after last night!
We decided to eat our porridge when we got to the canyon, so we got in the car and drove about half an hour to the canyon. We got there around 9:30 and it was pretty dead. We ate our breakfast, put on sunscreen and bug spray, and started the trail.
As soon as the trail started we had some great views of the canyon. It was a very sunny day and not a lot of breeze, so for now the clouds were staying above the canyon. Our walk took us along the edge of the canyon for a few kilometers and then up over a small hill. We took a slight detour to a viewpoint of a waterfall where we saw people crossing over the top of it. We kept walking more inland now away from the edge of the canyon. We stayed on the path with all the warnings of snakes in the tall grass, instead of cutting across the field to go back the way we came. Good thing too because once we reached the end of the trail, we saw a shorter way back along the road, but also the trail that led to the waterfall.
We started the waterfall trail despite the slight rain that began to fall. It eased up after about ten minutes though which is about when we reached the top of the waterfall. Water was steadily flowing and there was no clear path across above the water. My PTSD from crossing the rivers on the W trek stopped me from even considering going across, but in true Allan fashion he had his shoes off in a jiffy and was ready to cross. I watched while he began walking through the water, but as he got close to the other side he seemed to struggle. I watched as he hiked up his shorts and waded through a pretty deep section. Thankfully, he got to the other side without issue and was dry. He explored more of the canyon edge before making the walk back. When he was safely back on my side of the waterfall, we walked back along the road to the visitor center again.
When we got back to the start, the clouds hadn't gone into the canyon yet like they typically do in the afternoon, so we made our way up a hill to a higher viewpoint of the canyon. It looks like you could also Zipline from that spot at one point. Not long after we got to the top, the clouds began rolling in. We watched as the wisps came from one side of the hill, up and over into the canyon. Content with our pictures we went back down to the visitor center and had our lunch before we got back in the car and drove back to Cambara.
When we got back to the tourist center, we popped back in to get some suggestions for the rest of our afternoon. The woman has also, kindly, written down some local sites for us in English. We used this list to make our plan for the evening.
Our first stop was a little waterfall on a farm. We were a bit confused at first about whether we were allowed to be there and we got lost, but we eventually found it. We also had a little Frenchie follow us on the walk which was nice. The waterfall was in a small forest. It dripped and slowly cascaded off the rocks into a small pool.
After the waterfall we walked back through the farm and the sheep and stopped at the cemetery across the street. It was an interesting cemetery because the people were buried in little houses and they were all very colorful. It was not a solemn feeling at all because of all of the colors. We continued down the road from the cemetery back into the town center and checked out the lunar sequoia (the seed for this tree had been brought to space before it was planted) and the church in the main square. Cambara doesn't have very much going on, and not many tourists so the square wasn't as manicured as other places we've been.
I was starting to feel pretty tired by now, and with grocery stores not having a wide selection, we looked at a couple of local places. Food was surprisingly expensive for the lack of tourists! We settled on a pub that served decent priced burgers called xis. The toppings of the burger are all the same for each one, but the meat is what changes. When they arrived, they also had a larger circumference than a standard burger. It was pretty funky to eat a burger with peas and corn on it, but it was nice to have a hot meal that filled our bellies after not eating much the last couple of days. We also took the opportunity to charge our phones because our portable chargers were dead and sleeping in the car again meant no electricity.
Phones revived, bellies full, we left the restaurant and went back to the tourist center. We got ourselves ready for bed. We've definitely gotten the hang of this whole car sleeping thing now.Baca lagi
Cambara do Sul to Porto Alegre Day 1
14 Februari 2025, Brazil ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
Happy Valentine's Day!
We began our day waking up after a semi restful night in the car. We were up promptly around 7 so that we could put away our sleeping things, get dressed, and eat some breakfast before our taxi arrived at 7:45. After the car struggled on the road here from Praia Grande, we decided it was best to hire someone to take us to the park to see Itaimabizinho Canyon.
We bumped along the road, much quicker, and arrived around 8:30. It was cooler this morning than yesterday, and very foggy. We started the first trail with the hope that the fog would go away as the sun burned it off. We walked the 3km trail slowly. The first part of the trail was not near Itaimabizinho Canyon. We were walking with trees on either side of us. We could hear all the waterfalls, but couldn't see them because of the trees and the fog.
After about a kilometer and a half, we got to the first viewpoint. Sadly we saw nothing, but we could hear the waterfall that was nearby. We continued along the path hopeful that the fog might start to lift as the day went on, but each viewpoint we peered over, we were met with disappointment and a lot of clouds. At the end of the trail, we lingered and took some pictures to mark the fact that we'd come, but there was still nothing to see beyond the fog. We walked back a bit deflated, but we still had one more trail left to try.
We started the vertice trail which is much shorter than the elbow trail we did earlier. At the first viewpoint we could see a tiny bit of a waterfall through the fog. Our hope was renewed! Unfortunately, this hope was quickly dashed on the rocks because every subsequent viewpoint was cloudy. I was feeling frustrated and bored by this point, but we continued on to finish the trail. On the walk back, I didn't stop at the viewpoints, but Allan did still clinging to the hope that he might see something. Back at the start, we made our way to the deserted parking lot, got in our taxi, and bumped back along up the road.
Back in Cambara we got dropped off at the tourist center. It was closed for lunch so we took the opportunity to eat some lunch in the car and go to Casa do Mel. Cambara is well known for its stingless bees from the Araucaria Forest. These bees are only found here and make white honey. They had some white honey to try and it was very nice. Much more floral than normal honey. We got a small jar and a honey beer before heading back to the tourist center one last time to fill up our water, use the bathroom, and say goodbye to our helpful Brazilian tourist worker. She was a breath of fresh air when we've been having trouble with rude Brazilians. After our farewells, we got in the car and headed out to Porto Alegre.
The drive to Porto Alegre was uneventful. When we arrived, the city was pretty chaotic, so I was glad Allan was driving. We parked outside our hotel while I went in, checked in, and got the address for the parking garage nearby. We drove and parked the car and walked back to the hotel to get settled. After a couple days without a shower, it was nice to get washed and feel fresh again. Because it was Valentine's Day, we wanted to have a nicer meal than our typical fast food or cheap local eat. Sadly, many places here are crazy expensive, so it was hard to find somewhere reasonable. We settled on an Italian place that had a lot of pasta options and wasn't too far from the hotel. Porto Alegre doesn't seem the safest place to be walking around at night so we didn't want to go too far.
We walked to the Italian place, but there was a line to get in and we were told it'd be about 30 minutes wait. We decided to leave and go to the Subway down the street. Nicer meal plan foiled, we had our sandwiches and then walked into the center to see the theater and cathedral lit up at night. They are both nice buildings and the cathedral was huge. I'm looking forward to seeing the inside tomorrow.
Because it was Valentine's Day and we didn't get our nice meal, we decided to treat ourselves to an açai. We walked into another part of town where it was much busier. People were spilling out of small bars and restaurants with beers in hand. There was loud music and a lot of chatting noise. At the açai place, it was fill your cup and weigh it to pay. Normally we avoid these because they can get expensive, but it was a treat. There were a bunch of different açai and sorbet flavors. Allan went for more traditional açai whereas I chose açai passion fruit mousse, an apple sorbet, and dragon fruit sorbet. Allan had mostly granola in his, but I added some fruit, candy, and chocolate. In the end, they weren't actually that expensive and they were delicious 😋.
We walked back to the hotel and got into comfy clothes. The room had a tv with Netflix, but with our cheap package it unfortunately wouldn't play anything. Instead we looked at some trip stuff, and headed to bed ready for another drive tomorrow to Pelotas.Baca lagi
Porto Alegre Day 2 to Pelotas Day 1
15 Februari 2025, Brazil ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
Today we spent the day sightseeing in Porto Alegre before finishing the drive to Pelotas, our final stop on the road trip.
The sites in Porto Alegre were pretty spread out and in random locations. Our first stop was back to the main plaza to see the cathedral. We also had a look at the statue dedicated to a former president with all of the symbolism and imagery he believed represented him. When we walked up to the cathedral, it was sadly closed until the afternoon so we had to make some amendments to our plans.
We decided to go for a short walk to the local basilica about 15 minutes away. While we were walking we stumbled upon the cultural center. It was hard to miss because of it's size and the pink color. We took the elevator up to the top to get a slight view over the city towards the water. The circular towers were nice and the building itself was probably better to look at than the slight view the terrace offered.
We continued down the street to the church. When we got there, we were glad the other one was closed or we never would have come to this one. There was a long outdoor staircase that led up to the church. It didn't scream Church when you looked at the outside (minus the crosses). When we walked in we were surprised by how bright it was. The interior was a combination of yellows, gold, and light blue. It was one large room with pews that stretched from wall to wall. The altar was interesting because it looked like stairs that led further into the back of the building. It was beautifully and tastefully decorated.
When we left the church, we decided to get a quick Uber to the opposite side of Porto Alegre to see "the most beautiful street in the world". We were a bit skeptical, but with a name like that we thought we had to go and check it out for ourselves. When we got there, we saw a sign that said social media helped propel the street into stardom, and while it was a nice street "most beautiful in the world" we had to disagree. The buildings on either side were somewhat run down and some had pretty hefty security gates. The trees that lined the road on either side creating a canopy were very nice and the cobbled road was picturesque. We completed our walk down the street and continued on towards the port.
We went under a few underpasses that eventually led to the port. Surprisingly there wasn't much here besides some horrible metal gates, a few crappy industrial buildings, and the boat office for the boat that we were taking on the river. We got our tickets and boarded. It was a three level tourist boat with the top being open and the middle had a bar for refreshments. Once the boat started moving, we popped up to the top deck for a better view of the coast and the small islets in the middle of the river. In the distance we could see some serious storm clouds, and I hoped they weren't headed our way. Alas, they were and about halfway through the hour long boat cruise big droplets of rain started. Everyone rushed back downstairs to the sheltered area and continued watching the scenery. The rain did lighten up, but quickly turned torrential. Neither of us has brought our rain jackets and we still wanted to walk back up to see the cathedral we missed this morning.
When we docked back at port, it was still raining. We quickly walked about 5 minutes to an açai place, where they also oddly sold lots of Scottish whisky. We had açai while we waited for the rain to stop. It did lighten up a tiny bit, so we half ran up the street about 10 minutes to the cathedral. We weren't too wet in the end thankfully. It wasn't ornate inside. The cream and brown tones were very neutral, but also helped keep the space light. There were lots of archways and a large dome in the center before the altar. There was also some nice stained glass near the dome. This church is not old and was started less than a hundred years ago, hence its modern facade outside and stripped back interior.
It was torrential downpour again when we walked out of the church, so unfortunately we paid the inflated price for a short Uber back to the hotel to avoid being soaked before our 3 hour drive to Sergio's. Once back at the hotel, we had a coffee while we waited for the rain to ease. Once we had a dry window, we got our backpacks on and walked to the parking garage. After we were all loaded up, we got on the road.
The rain was off and on during the drive and once we were out of Porto Alegre, the roads were fairly chill and quiet. We stopped once for gas and to switch over drivers, but stayed on the road until Pelotas for dinner. We got to Sergio's house just after 9pm. We had to go through a gate with an attendant, it was all very fancy and slightly intimidating. A guard drove with us to the house where we were warmly greeted by Sergio. It was just him when we first got there because his wife, Sylvia, was taking their daughter and son to Porto Alegre (unfortunately Sergio's car was hit by a driver running a red light so they needed someone else to drive their kids). We got acquainted and after chatting for about an hour, Sergio ordered pizza. When Sylvia came back, we said hello and soon the pizza arrived so we all sat down for dinner. The pizza had four different sections of toppings, it was nice to have so many flavors on one pizza!
It was late by the time we had finished dinner, so we got our bags from the car, had a quick shower, and went to bed.Baca lagi
Pelotas Day 2
16 Februari 2025, Brazil ⋅ 🌧 28 °C
Our first full day in Pelotas was very chill which was great. We spent the day getting to know Sergio and Sylvia and sharing food. After a small breakfast and some nice coffee, Sergio, Allan, and I went for a walk. It was very warm, but it was a leisurely walk around the housing area. All of the houses are so different and have very modern designs. Many also have swimming pools. While we walked we shared chimarrão, the Brazilian version of maté. I prefer chimarrão to maté because it is less bitter. Sergio explained that it has social rules such as always sharing one cup and following the same order of people to drink. We also had some fruit from small fruit trees while we walked. It reminded me of cherries with the size and the pit, but tasted more like nectarines.
Once we got back to the house, Sylvia and Sergio began to prep the indoor grill for the churrasco. Allan and Sergio ran out to the bakers for some bread rolls while Sylvia and I sort of chatted. She spoke in Portuguese and I spoke in English, but we both understood what the other was saying. It was a very interesting dynamic. Once the boys were back, the fire was beginning to get larger so the meat came out to be prepped for the grill. They had some flavored sausages as well as different cuts of beef to put on the grill. At the side of the grill, logs were lit and stoked until the wood was beginning to break apart. Once they began to break apart, the smaller parts were slid under the grill and the meat was then added to cook. It was really interesting to see a grill working that way, and indoors as well! Churrasco is a very social meal. Sergio explained that as the meat cooks, it is cut up in bit size pieces and eaten as a finger food opposed to putting sausage or meat on rolls like a sandwich and sitting at a table to eat.
Throughout lunchtime and into the early afternoon, we nibbled on meat and garlic bread rolls and talked about many different things. It was nice to eat and chat without having to worry about the time. Once the meat was finished, Sergio brought out some sugared fruit and jellies. He explained that Pelotas is well known for its sweets. We had pumpkin, fig, guava, pineapple, and orange. They were really nice. My favorite was probably the guava. Allan liked the pumpkin, he thought it tasted like coconut.
Once we were finished with the meal, and the rain stopped, Allan and I got our bathing suits on and had a dip in the pool. I was a bit chilly, but it was nice to be in the water once I warmed up. Allan, of course, was totally fine. It continued to rain off and on, and once I was getting a bit too chilly, we came out. (Just in time too because a big thunderstorm started shortly afterwards.)
After we were dried off, we all watched a movie. Sergio picked a bit of a weird one called Beacon about a girl who washes up on an island with a strange man who is a lighthouse keeper. The movie was a thriller, so as it went on the two characters began to distrust each other for different reasons and it had a weird ending, as many thrillers do. It wasn't the best, but it could've been worse.
Dinner arrived shortly after the film finished. Sylvia had ordered burgers. I was still feeling full from earlier, but I managed most of a burger, and Allan helped me finish. By now, the day was pretty much done. We said our goodnights, and made our way to our room to get some trip planning done before bed.Baca lagi
Pelotas Day 3
17 Februari 2025, Brazil ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Today we explored Pelotas while Sergio and Sylvia had work. We had some recommendations from them as well as a couple of places we wanted to see too.
We drove into the center of town and our first stop was the main square. There's an old fountain with yellow paint chipping off in places and the fountain wasn't working. Along the outside of the square were some formerly beautiful buildings that had all pretty much fallen into a state of disrepair, some more than others. We held off on exploring the buildings around the square and instead walked about 10 minutes to the cathedral. The cathedral was undergoing renovation inside (and I feel like the outside could have done with it as well). It was a plain gray building, but had a nice deep blue dome at the back half of the building. Inside, half the church was blocked off for the renovations. It was surprisingly beautiful inside with some intricate paintings along the walls and ceiling as well as cream marble columns. The paintings and marble were accompanied with some gorgeous stained glass windows. This building epitomized don't judge a book by its cover.
We walked back to the main square after visiting the church and stopped at a sweet shop on the way. Sergio told us that Pelotas is well known for its sweets, so we decided to try a few. They were all very good. I liked the nut one, it tasted like nuts and brown sugar. Allan had one that was custard based and the last one was like chocolate ganache with pistachio filling. They were a bit too sweet for Allan's taste.
After our sugar rush, we walked along the inside of the plaza to see the buildings around it. There were so many potentially nice buildings it made us wonder what Pelotas used to look like. The public library was one of these buildings, and unlike many others, it is still open. We went inside and up the stairs. There's some beautiful marble and nice windows that open up to the plaza. It looks like a nice area to rent out for an event. The yellow building next door is city hall. This building was in pretty good shape compared to all the others. Inside was a big open room with a couple of desks along the far sides and a staircase in the center that we assume leads to the offices.
Our walk around the plaza continued leading us a little further from the main plaza to the theater that is still in operation. We also saw the central market and an interesting church that was entirely blue. Our walk back to the car brought us to an old church covered in vibes making it look like it came out of a fairy tale. Unfortunately we couldn't find a way in, so we just finished the walk to the car and drove to Laranja beach.
The beach was surprisingly dead compared to the ones we experienced in Florianopolis. There was a pier at the beach that we walked across, again not busy at all. After seeing the beach lined with orange trees we got back in the car and started the drive to the longest beach in the world. However, we made a few diversions along the way to try and see old tanning factories. Each one we tried, was either not open to visitors or was closed entirely. After the failed detour, we stopped by a sad looking obelisk on the side of the road (not even sure what that commemorated, but it was marked on Google maps when Allan was looking for things to see). Eventually we drove back to town to get lunch because of all the detours before we finally set out for the longest beach in the world.
It was a straightforward hour drive to the beach. When we got there I was surprised, again, by how chill it was. There weren't many people on the beach. Many people were choosing to dish off the sides of the large rocky pier. I was excited to be at a beach where it wasn't blisteringly hot, not crowded, and there were seashells all around to look at and collect. I enjoyed the sand for a little while before crawling up the pier to meet Allan and go for a walk. We went as far as a kilometer, about halfway, before we turned around and came back. Not far from the car when we got back was a swing that was wide enough for two people, so we sat together and swung for a little bit before getting back in the car to head to Sergio's.
When we got back to Pelotas we decided to stop at the shopping mall to see if we could pick some snacks up for our long 12 hour drive tomorrow. Our quest for snacks was successful, but unfortunately in the meantime I lost the ticket for the parking. Eventually we managed to get it paid and a receipt with a barcode to scan us back out, but it was a bit stressful running around the mall trying to find it and then trying to find someone to help.
Our last stop was Parque Baronesa to see a now closed museum. The house that holds the museum was pink and white and looked very nice. It had a small tower in the back of the house that looked like it had a bathtub in it. Very strange if that was the case! We got there 10 minutes before the park closed, so we had just enough time to look around the outside of the house before heading back to the car.
When we got to Sergio's after the park, he and Sylvia were on their way out, so we had showers and packed until they were back and dinner was ready. Sylvia made a lovely pasta dish and it really made me miss cooking and home cooked meals in general. We chatted for a while after dinner, but said our goodnights around 11:00 so that we could head to bed and get some rest before the big drive tomorrow.Baca lagi
Pelotas to Curitiba
18 Februari 2025, Brazil ⋅ 🌧 22 °C
Today was strictly a travel day. We had a lovely breakfast with Sergio and Sylvia before we got on the road to journey north back to Curitiba.
The road was pretty much highway the whole time and not particularly interesting. There was also a surprising number of tolls! We had a couple chunks of traffic and some rain, as well as some idiotic drivers who were not paying attention, but overall the trip was ok.
We arrived at our hotel just after 22:30 about 10 minutes from the airport where we need to drop off the car. I'm glad we decided to just take the hit and drive the full 12 and half hours up here so that tomorrow morning we have nothing to do until we drop off the car at 11:00. It will be nice to wake up, get some free hotel breakfast, and then drop the car instead of having to drive another couple hours like we originally planned.Baca lagi
Curitiba to São Paulo Day 1
19 Februari 2025, Brazil ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C
Today was another travel day. We woke up and ordered our complimentary breakfast that was delivered to our room. It was pretty decent with rolls, some cheese and chicken (standard Brazilian breakfast it seems), apples, and randomly there were chocolate chip cookies. We also got juice and coffee. My only critique: not nearly enough coffee.
Then it was time to check out. Once we did that, it was a quick drive to the airport, dropped off the car (paid our toll charges for when we had no cash), and then Ubered back to the bus station. It was a quick morning!
The bus left on time, and was very scenic. We traveled through the mountains and watched as tree covered mountains and small lakes passed us by. We made a pit stop about halfway and treated ourselves to some coconut candy. Allan got coconut with condensed milk and I got coconut with passion fruit. He says they're like coconut ice in the UK.
Once back on the road we continued planning for the rest of our time in Brazil. With Carnaval coming, things are getting much more expensive, and it's harder to do things cost effective. We also hit some traffic coming into the city, which was to be expected given the time of day (typical rush hour around 6:30/7:00). Once it cleared we were on our way again and arrived into São Paulo about an hour late. Neither of us wanted to navigate the metro after the bus and with it being dark, so we got a quick Uber to Bebeto's apartment.
He has a big apartment and we have our own room to stay in while we are here which is nice. He took us to a local bread shop nearby for some savory pastries. They were good! We had one filled with beef, tomato and onion. Another was fried potato and chicken. The last was pastry wrapped around cheese and turkey. A quick and simple dinner to tide us over until tomorrow.Baca lagi
São Paulo Day 2
20 Februari 2025, Brazil ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
Happy birthday Allan! 🥳
Our first full day in São Paulo started with a walking tour. It was a big group, and at times hard to maneuver around the city with so many people. Also, because we were a large group, we couldn't go inside any of the buildings, but we did learn some interesting things.
Our walk started at the Circolo Italiano building. When São Paulo invited Italian immigrants to settle in the city, they felt that they needed somewhere for them to gather and socialize. A few architects submitted designs for the building and in the end a German won. Many people didn't agree with his because surely an Italian should design the Italian gathering place, but oh well!
We continued walking around the downtown area stopping at more buildings along the way, some were harder to see than others. The national library was a nice building and it has a mosaic out front with the word 'library' in many languages. I hadn't even noticed until the guide pointed it out.
When we stopped at the Theatro Municipal de São Paulo, we got a little peak inside too. The building itself is very grand with columns and a quite a few statues. Inside was a red carpet and white marble with gold accents. It was very fancy, even just peaking through the fenced doorways. We walked past the park across the street from the theater, but there were large gray barriers blocking most of it from view to protect it from Carnaval. We walked across the Tea Bridge and stopped about halfway to look through two large buildings at a smaller one with a small crown on the top. That building, which is dwarfed by the buildings around it now, was the first skyscraper in São Paulo.
We finished our walk across the bridge to the Prefeitura Municipal de São Paulo, or city hall. This building has some controversial rumors. It's a tall building built by an Italian architect. There are two small balconies at the sides where you could come out and address the public. Above them are three Ms. Two of the Ms are for Italians in São Paulo, like the architect who designed the building. By the third M is rumored to be honoring Mussolini who was friendly with the architect and man who commissioned the building. There's no confirmation, but I think the rumor is damning enough.
We went to the Catedral Metropolitana de São Paulo. It's a huge church, and I was disappointed we couldn't go inside as a group. Our guide recommended we go in because you can visit the dome and the crypt inside. She also said to look out for Amazon animals like Easter eggs inside the church instead of traditional gargoyles. The cathedral has ubserfne some serious renovations over the years. During one of these, they noted a lot of water getting into the building. Apparently two of the towers on the church were accidentally left unfinished, so during the restoration they finished two of the towers which closed off the building and allowed for proper drainage.
I'm front of the cathedral is Praça de Se and Marco Zero de São Paulo. Our guide didn't do a great job of explaining what this mark was for, so we will need to investigate further when we come back to go into the cathedral. We walked quickly through the plaza because it had many homeless people and as such a big group of tourists, we were huge targets. Allan and I hung back from the group a bit to try and draw less attention to ourselves. I'm not sure if it worked, but everything was fine. São Paulo has a large homeless population and a housing issue. It reminded me a bit of Hawaii.
We walked through Pateo do Collegio where some monks set up a school
It was knocked down, turned into something else, but then a replica of the original building was out back here. There was also a large statue featuring the struggles of the indigenous people of Brazil. The guide made some comments about history being written by the victors, but didn't elaborate how it was related to the statue.
We continued from here through the financial district. We stopped at buildings like the stock market (which is an old bank), the Bank of Sãu Paulo, and a building that was modeled after the Empire State Building. Also in this area is the Condomínio do Edifício Martinelli. Martinelli wanted to create the tallest building in Sãu Paulo, but this is before buildings were tall. He kept adding and adding floors until the government told him he couldn't add any more floors. He negotiated a few more floors and ended up with a magnificent building. You can clearly see the sections where he added a little bit more each time, especially at the top which was a different color from the rest of the building and the whole floor was his living space.
Our last stop on the tour was a monastery, Mosteiro de São Bento. The building was large and dark. Inside the monks sell bread and beer that they make themselves. We quickly popped our heads in, and were surprised by how dark it was inside. There were some beautiful rainbow stained glass windows, but the panes were very small and dark colored glass, so they didn't let much light in. The features and decorations in the church were also very dark which added to the mood of the church and monastery. We didn't look very long because we planned to redo this walking tour and go into the buildings in a couple of days.
We said goodbye to our Chinese friends from Antarctica who were also on the tour and made our way to MASP, Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assisi Chateaubriand, on the metro. From the outside, you'd never know this was an illustrious art gallery. It looked like a nice office building. When we went in, the first floor we entered had a special exhibit on about LGBTQ+ art. We decided to visit the main gallery and come back to this one if we had time. We made our way to the top floor and entered a large, open room. Inside the room, the art hung in or on clear glass panels. The name of the piece and the artist was listed on the back of the artwork. The intention was that people view the artwork without expectation or prejudice based on the name of the piece or artist. It was effective, but some artists are just so iconic you immediately know who painted it. For example, Picasso, Monet, and Van Gogh were some that were easy to pick out (but they weren't the only ones). It was a really interesting concept and I enjoyed looking at all of the art in one place on level playing ground rather than going from room to room, or missing lesser known artists in favor of rooms I know have more well known artists. We did have time to pop into the temporary exhibitions. A lot of the art represented the challenges that the LGBTQ+ community faced and continues to face. It focused on expression, icons, and things like body image and confidence. It was a lot to take in!
After the art gallery, we walked back to Bebeto's and had a quick turnaround to get showered and changed before Allan's birthday dinner. A Casa do Porco was back towards Republica where we started our tour this morning so once we were ready we got back in the metro and got there just in time for our reservation. It took a while for us to get served, which was frustrating, but once the food and alcohol started coming, we let all of it go. The restaurant serves 8 courses with small dishes in each course. We also opted for the wine pairings for Allan's birthday. The first few courses were small bites. Each dish contained pork in some kind of way. I really loved the bread with pork crackling and brown butter. I never would have considered baking bread with that inside it, but it added a unique smoky flavor. There was so much food, and it was all presented beautifully. We also finally tasted cachaça, which is a liquor made from sugar cane. It was stronger than we expected and they gave us a small bottle as part of the first course! Everything tasted delicious, the only downside was the service was a bit meh (mistakes with which course to serve us, broken dishes, etc). By the end of the meal, we were full and smiling after some lovely, intentional quality time and good food and drink. It was nice to do something special like that together.
Following the meal, we got an Uber to Caixote, a bar back towards Bebeto's apartment. He was there with a friend and invited us out to have a drink with them. As it was Allan's birthday, we treated ourselves to some drinks. Bebeto picked a good place because it was 2 for 1 all night. Our first drinks were passion fruit caipirinhas which is the cocktail of Brazil. These cocktails are made with cachaça and were very delicious. We ordered another round before heading back around 1:30 in the morning. It was definitely well past our bedtime and the most we had drank since New Year's Eve.
It was an incredibly busy day, but a very special happy birthday one ❤️Baca lagi
São Paulo Day 3
21 Februari 2025, Brazil ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
We woke up pretty hungover after last night, so movement was pretty slow this morning. We had showers and headed out in search of coffee before beginning our day of activities.
The first stop after coffee was a 40 minute walk to Beco do Batman. We decided to walk rather than get the bus because we hadn't eaten yet and thought we might get something on the way. After about 25 minutes, we stopped at McDonald's and had some food. Allan was surprisingly hungrier than I was (normally it's the other way around after a night of drinking). Them we finished the walk and it was easy to know when we had arrived. There was street art and graffiti everywhere; not a wall was left untouched by the vibrant and unique designs of multiple street artists. We took our time meandering the streets admiring the art.
Once we felt like we'd seen all the art in the area, we stopped in at the Cemitério São Paulo. We walked through on our way to the bus stop. There weren't many mausoleums like other cemeteries, but there were a lot of statues of what I assume are the deceased. We got on our first bus and then had to get a connecting bus to get to the park. We had run out of small bills to pay for the bus, so when we got on the second one we only had R$100 to pay the R$10 fee. The man taking payment didn't take our money and instead chatted to us a little about where we were from before inviting us to sit down.
We got off the bus and went across the street from the park to visit the Obelisco e Monumento Mausoléu ao Soldado Constitucionalista de 32 first. It was a beautiful obelisk with statues near the bottom carved into the obelisk. Underneath it was a memorial for soldiers lost in revolutions (we think). There was also a small chapel down there. It was much bigger than we expected. When we were leaving the obelisk, we saw giant fruits hanging in a tree. Apparently they're called elephant apples. Allan took a bite out of a couple, but said they were too sour.
Finally we went to Ibirapuera Park. When we first entered the park, it was pretty dead which was strange because the park was listed as the number one thing to do on TripAdvisor. We popped our heads into a random Harry Potter exhibition and walked past an auditorium. The MAM art museum was closed so we continued wandering around. Eventually we found the busy part of the park and it was more obvious why it was popular. There were many food stalls, wide paths half for walking and half for cyclists. There were people jogging, cycling, roller blading, and just sitting on benches enjoying the sunshine. People could rent bikes at various parts of the park that I thought was a nice touch. We walked around the park and enjoyed the scenery and lagoons. There was a small green bridge we could cross and saw lots of fish in the lagoon.
After our visit to the park, we went back to Bebeto's place, chilled out for an hour, and then went with him to a churrasco buffet. Luckily the hangover was better by now and we enjoyed stuffing ourselves with a variety of fresh salads, meats, and desserts at the end.Baca lagi
São Paulo Day 4
22 Februari 2025, Brazil ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
Today we recreated the walking tour that we went on our first full day in São Paulo. This time, we went inside the buildings that we visited from the outside. We also got to see many of the buildings from different angles because we walked around more and weren't impeded by the large group.
We took the metro back to Republica and while in the station, we noticed barriers up. We knew that some pre-carnaval activities started today and it looked like the metro was going to get busy later on. We had to go through a couple of diversions inside the station, but eventually got out of the station back into the sunshine. The streets around Praça Republica were closed off and there wasn't a lot of foot traffic yet so we were able to move around quicker.
We visited the Circolo Italiano, the building made by the German for Italian immigrants, and the Copan building, the building made by Oscar Nehemeyer, first. We got to see more of the wave in the Copan building than we saw with the guide. It was easier to see the full shape of the building where we stopped rather than where the guide took us. We continued our walk to Paróquia Nossa Senhora da Consolaçã. I love this church. The way the exterior looks reminds me of a tower on a princess castle in a Disney movie. Inside the artwork was pretty spectacular with deep blues and greens with gold. The green marble columns added a dramatic touch to the paintings too.
The next stop was the library, Biblioteca Mário de Andrade. We think they closed the fenced area because of the precautions for Carnaval revelers, so we didn't get as close to the building as last time and we couldn't go inside, but I did spot more of the word 'library' in different languages on the path outside the library because I knew to look for it after our guided tour. After that we went back to the Theatro Municipal de São Paulo as well as a few government buildings like city hall. We got just as close to these buildings as before and were able to spot the things that were pointed out to us on the tour.
We stopped at Igreja Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Homens Pretos, the yellow church, and walked past the Galeria do Rock on our way to Ponto Chic. We each had a Bauru sandwich, native to São Paulo. It's a French roll hollowed out a bit with four different cheeses, roast beef, fresh tomato and pickles. It was a nice sandwich and it came quick which was great because we missed breakfast.
After that we went to the Catedral Metropolitana de São Paulo and visited the crypt as well as walked around the inside. It was a huge building inside and we looked for the Amazon animal Easter eggs throughout the church. We spotted animals like toucans, lizards, and armadillos. This church also holds the largest organ in South America and spreads along the entire back wall behind the main altar. Down in the crypt, all of the bishops of the church are buried. Many of them were originally born in Portugal and moved to São Paulo. The red bricks on the vaulted ceiling contrasted with the black stones for the graves.
Directly in front of the cathedral is the Praça de Se as well as Marco Zero de São Paulo. We had a proper look at the mark and noticed the names of all the different states of Brazil along the sides. We visited the Pateo do Collegio and Condomínio do Edifício Martinelli taking our time to look at the outside of the buildings and think about what the guide told us. The Martinelli building is definitely one of my favorites from the tour. I love the different sections of the building that lead to the lighter section at the top.
Once our walking tour was done, we decided to walk to Pinacoteca de São Paulo and Estação da Luz. The Luz station is right next to Pinacoteca museum. On our way, we stopped and had a juice while listening to the last five minutes of the England v Scotland rugby game. So disappointing they came so close. We finished the walk to the station and museum. The station was modelled after the station in London and we could really tell. It even had a mini Big Ben at the far end. Before heading into Luz, we visited Pinacoteca. It was a big building, much bigger on the inside that it looks, and is made of predominantly red bricks. There were lots of white accents and columns throughout the interior as well, but that may just be because it matched the vibe for the art galleries. We didn't plan to spend very long here, so just popped our heads into a few of the galleries. Each gallery had a main theme and then smaller themes within the gallery that tied together. For example, one was indigenous artwork but themes of people, colonization, and relationships were throughout the gallery. Once we had a quick explore through the galleries, we walked across the street to the Luz station. The inside looked just like King's Cross. It took us a bit of time, but eventually we found our way down to the metro station and walked for a good ten minutes underground before we got to the yellow line that would take us back towards Paulista Avenue.
Once we finished the metro trip, we walked along Paulista to the Fiesp - Federação das Indústrias do Estado de São Paulo. This is a cultural center that we thought had rooftop access for free. Sadly it didn't, but there was live music as well as a couple of small art galleries. One we visited was all about plants and I loved the contrast of the brightly colored plants and flowers with the dark room. It really made the plants and flowers stand out. Defeated in our viewpoint plans, we walked back to Bebeto's place, grabbed our bags, said our farewells and then made our way back up the street (uphill unfortunately) to our hostel.
Once we were settled in at the Ryanair of hotels, we went for some dinner. A couple blocks away a place called POP Vegan stood out so we went there. I ordered a falafel burger and onion rings and Allan had the all you can eat pizza option. There were so many different vegan pizzas, it was impressive. Allan nearly sampled all of them and had over 12 slices of pizza easily. He even let me try each of them so I didn't feel left out of the pizza eating. After dinner, we went back to our hotel and watched Blink Twice before bed.Baca lagi
Brasilia Day 1
24 Februari 2025, Brazil ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
The bus stayed pretty quiet last night with a few passengers getting on and off at the fee stops we made throughout the night. I was thankful for how quiet the bus was and the comfier seats than usual. The only downside to trying to sleep was how much the bus was bouncing throughout the night. I really struggled to stay in the chair and not constantly slide down it!
We arrived in Brasilia, Brazil's capital, around 1300. We got some food in the bus station before venturing to find the metro. Luckily it wasn't too far or complicated; we just had to stay on until the last stop. We did have to stand with our bags on for the whole time, about 15 minutes, which wasn't great. It was then a 15-20 minute walk to the hotel where we got checked in without hassle. Our room has a balcony that overlooks some of the hotels and government buildings which is nice. When the sun went down, Allan said it reminded him a little of Vegas with all the hotel lights everywhere.
We had dinner at the food court in the shopping mall nearby. We got some lovely Japanese food and splurged on the £1 ice cream coke at McDonald's. It was raining when we went to leave, so we wandered the mall for another ten minutes and thankfully the rain lightened up for the short walk back to the hotel. The rest of the evening we made some tentative plans for the next few days in Brasilia.Baca lagi
São Paulo: Day 5
24 Februari 2025, Brazil ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C
Our last day in São Paulo was spent organizing our remaining accommodation for Rio and experiencing our first taste of Brazilian Carnaval.
After sitting in Starbucks for a couple of hours to try to get something sorted for Rio the first few days we are there, we went back towards our hostel from last night to see what the street parade was like. We saw vendors and police getting set up when we left in the morning and were told it started around 13:00. The São Paolo Carnaval app confirmed this.
Along the way, I jumped into a store to get a starter outfit for Rio. I bought a pair of denim shorts with sparkles and a pink sequinned bikini top. I plan to pick up some glitter and accessories in Rio. Allan will probably buy something while we’re walking to the first party in Rio!
By the time we got to the parade (14:00), the countdown had literally just began. We couldn't have planned it better (for the parade or worse for getting back to our hotel). We intentionally planned to arrive after 13:00 to avoid the main crowd, anticipating the parade might start a bit later, but we would still be able to hear the music, get a feel for the atmosphere, etc. even when missing the start. Even after arriving later (of course with Allan) than originally planned, we were still earlier (relatively) than hoped.
We stood at the side for a second once the music started and the large trucks of music performers and dancers started to move. The sound was defeating, the bass was thumping, the sun was pounding, everybody and everything was glittering/shimmering/sparkling, the air was filled with the smell of food, beer and sweat. It was a sensory overload!
Unbeknownst to us, the crowd on the sidewalks also started to move with the trucks and we decided to start walking at the same time, completely unaware of this. We managed to get access to the side of the street where the trucks were by saying we were going to our hostels and pointing up the street. Everybody else seemed to have wristbands on. We were quickly swept up into the sweaty, glittered bodies of Carnaval partiers and had to keep moving forward with the crowd to avoid getting squished. It seemed like we were in with the hardcore paraders who would be there from start to finish!
To try to give you a a better idea of how it works, the hardcore paraders wait in anticipation at the start of the parade. They drink, chat, dance, and generally have a good time. When the trucks move, they move with them. However, the street ahead is also lined with people. As the trucks move, many of the people on the street (road and sidewalk) join the moving parade. Therefore, the moving parade grows as the trucks move, and as the moving parade grows, the trucks move slower, which makes it easier for more people to join… and difficult to escape!
When we reached a side street, we escaped the mob, went around the block, overtook the trucks, and found a corner next to a shop to observe the craziness. The street was packed from one side to the other, including the side with the trucks, which themselves had now slowed to a snail’s pace.
We grabbed a couple of beers from a young girl helping her dad on his stall and waited for the trucks and partiers to get closer. Once they were in front of us, the bass from the speakers vibrated through our bodies, people were crammed together singing and dancing. Everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves.
There were also some interesting costumes and a definite lack of clothing. Think bondage and beach. It was a completely surreal experience. Bearing in mind this was only “pre” Carnaval and not in Rio, I have a feeling it’s only a small taste of what’s to come in Rio. It’s both exciting and a little bit scary!
After the trucks drove by, we went back down the street behind us, away from the partiers, and had lunch at a vegan place. Considering the size of the crowd, we didn’t have to go far for it to seem miles away. The Korean burger and chicken bowl were delicious, but I think my burger last night was better.
When Allan went to pay, he discovered that the guy working in the restaurant knows someone the year below Allan at school. The guy recognised Allan’s Scottish accent and asked where he was from. Allan responded as normal: Scotland. The guy repeated his question. Allan repeated his answer, thinking the guy hadn’t understood him. The guy said he knew he was from Scotland (because of his accent) and asked where in Scotland. Allan was surprised that somebody in São Paolo knew where Dunfermline was.
It turns out the guy did a water polo scholarship in America with a guy Allan went to school with. Not only that, but Allan’s sister dated one of his younger brothers (twin 1) and his sister-in-law is good friends with the wife of other younger brother (twin 2). Leave it to Allan to come to Brazil and find the one guy who knows somebody from Dunfermline 🤷♀️.
On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at the grocery store to pick up a couple of snacks for our very long bus journey. Then it was time to collect the bags, find an open street for an Uber to the bus station, and get on our bus!
But, before that, Allan said he heard a strange noise. It was “my” iPhone (Allan’s older iPhone that we use as a back-up and will eventually use as the main phone to get round o2’s new fair use policy for roaming). Allan deleted Facebook Messenger from “his” iPhone (Allan’s newer iPhone that we currently use as our main phone) to free up space, but still has it on “my” iPhone.
It turns out the guy from the vegan restaurant had added Allan on Facebook and his new friend was trying to call him. While Allan and his new friend were getting acquainted in the restaurant, his new friend didn’t actually realize our payment hadn’t gone through! Allan agreed to go back to pay, since we had already discussed walking away from the main street to get an Uber. If it had been any other situation, we wouldn’t have been heading in that direction and Allan’s new friend would probably no longer be his friend!
The bus was much nicer than expected and very dead, so it was nice and quiet. Hopefully that means we can get some sleep on our way to Brasilia!
Allan’s deal of the day: 6 sol (£0.83) ice cold ass-beer at Carnaval. Considering this saved us queuing for the shop, was ice cold and it was at Carnaval, this seemed like a bargain!Baca lagi
Brasilia Day 2
25 Februari 2025, Brazil ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
Today was a busy tourist day in Brasilia. We walked to the TV Tower with the aim to get a bird's eye view of the city before we started our day. Unfortunately when we got there, the elevator was broken so they told us to come back later in the day. Allan was a bit disappointed, but we pressed onwards to our next stop.
We took a quick Uber to Praça do Cruzeiro. The cross marks the highest point in the urban area of Brasilia (1,172m). It was the starting point for developing the layout of the city, the Monumental Axis. It was also the spot where the first mass was said in Brasilia in 1957. Right near this spot is the JK Memorial. This memorial commemorates and honors the life of Juscelino Kubitschek, the president of Brazil who moved the capital and built Brasilia. The memorial itself was very large with a pond on either side of the building and a large statue in the front. Underneath the memorial is a museum dedicated to his life. He seemed well liked and important for modern Brazil. Many foreign leaders were featured with him throughout the museum such as JFK, Eisenhower, and others. In the library a set of Shakespeare books gifted by Queen Elizabeth II were on display. There were many pictures and artifacts from his life as well as his wife and family. There were also several outfits he and his wife wore throughout his time as president. In the center of the museum was his tomb made of black marble in a circular red room. It was a well laid out and thoughtful memorial museum.
Across the street from the JK Memorial is the Memorial to Indigenous People. It was designed by Oscar Niemeyer, like much of Brasilia, and opened in 1999 to bring attention to the indigenous people of Brazil. It has a circular design around a central courtyard was like walking down a ramp around a spiral as we went through the museum. The museum holds a collection of items from different Indian nations around Brazil. Whenever you looked at an item, it also had a map that showed where it came from in Brazil. I always live seeing how natural materials are used to create such beautiful things. The ceremonial masks with all the long tassels were especially interesting to me.
Behind that memorial was the Praça do Buriti. It has two large fountains and the Buriti Palm. The Buriti Palm was selected as the city plant during construction of the city in 1959. It was chosen because it is native to the region. It felt a bit random to see one palm tree in the middle of a large plaza between two big fountains, but it stood out so maybe that is the purpose for the placement.
Along the edges of the praça are a medley of government buildings with very cleancut concrete designs and lots of windows. Some of the buildings we saw were government buildings, Palacio do Buriti, and the Palacio da Justiça. We ended up getting an impromptu tour of the Justice building (after some rigamarole with passports and finding someone that spoke English). A man who works in the museum on site took us around the building and explained the different courts and judges that Brazil has. He also took us through the museum and explained some of the key cases that were decided on the Brasilia courts. Some of the case files were quite thick! Despite him saying he didn't have a lot of time for a tour we ended up spending about an hour and a half with him; it was very generous of him to give his time to show us the courts and explain things to us.
After the Palace of Justice, we continued our walk down the Monumental Axis passing by the huge Convention Center, popping our heads into the small Planetarium, and going back to the TV Tower to see if the elevator was fixed. It was! We went up to the viewing platform and got a great view of the Monumental Axis. From the viewpoint it was so easy to see the thought out layout of the city from the center. We couldn't see the residential layout as clearly.
After the TV Tower we got an Uber to the opposite end of the axis where many of the government buildings are. Along the way we passed the cathedral, library, national museum, and many ministerial buildings. We got to the Palaçio do Itamaraty and unfortunately it was closed due to the BRICS Conference. It was still nice to be able to see the outside despite not getting a tour. The building has round arches in Niemeyer's signature concrete and a reflecting pool in the front of it. It almost looked like the building was floating in a lily pond. It is the Foreign Ministry Building and the 5 marble blocks are meant to symbolize the continents.
We began making our way to the Supreme Court, but while we walked the 5-10 minutes there, it started to pour with rain. Allan had gone (with the bag of rain jackets) to get a quick picture of a different building away from the Supreme Court while I made my way there. I took some shelter under a tree until he came back with the rain jackets. We waited out the rain for a bit before going down to the court. We couldn't get a tour here either because of the conference, but took a picture of the outside. It was a large building with a 10 foot concrete statue out front called 'Justice' and pillars in a big concrete plaza. Apparently its design is meant to mirror the Planalto Palace across the plaza.
We were now down at the bottom of the axis and could walk and see many different sites. We visited Espaço Lucio Costa with it's white building and dove stained glass. Nearby was the huge flagpole (330 feet tall) made out of 24 steel rods with massive 3,078 square foot flag at the top. We went to Praça dos Trés Poderes, Plaza of Three Powers, where all the different government buildings were situated around. It had stopped raining now thankfully, so exploring was much easier. We walked past the Palácio do Planalto where the president works. The design has a large ramp out front with two dressed, armed guards. It was also designed to look like it was floating with the way the pillars connect to the building. It also has a balcony where the president can address the citizens.
We got in an Uber and went up to the National Museum and National Library. The museum was half a sphere with a ramp extending into it from the ground and around the outside. An exhibit was just taken down and they hadn't put anything new in the museum because it closes in a couple days for Carnaval anyway, so we couldn't go in here either. We were noticing a trend with being able to see the inside of the buildings. After our failed attempt to visit the museum we went across the plaza to the national library. This building seemed pretty normal on the outside compared to the other Niemeyer buildings, and we did manage to get inside this one, but it wasn't very exciting. There weren't even that many books!
We were finished with our site seeing for the day, but it was getting closer to sunset, so we decided to head back up to the TV Tower for sunset. When we got there the fountain in front of the tower was on and was lit up as the sun went down. We stayed until it closed to see the sky change and the city light up in the night. From here, we walked to get some dinner and then to chill out back at the hotel after a very busy sightseeing day.Baca lagi
Brasilia Day 3
26 Februari 2025, Brazil ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
We started our day with a walk to Dom Bosco Sanctuary. Like many other buildings designed by Oscar Niemeyer, the outside was made of concrete but I was blown away when I stepped inside. Wall to wall was thousands of pieces of blue Murano glass covered the sanctuary. It was striking and very dramatic. There was also a large chandelier in the middle of the sanctuary. It has no other real decoration, but it didn't need it with all the blue glass. We went down the stairs to the crypt where a replica of Dom Bosco's tomb was. There was also a short video about his life. He is known for taking care of and educating children and teenagers. He originally set up schools and programs for young boys, and then enlisted the help of some women to do the same for girls. Dom Bosco is also said to have had a dream about the formation of Brasilia and the untold treasures that flowed here, similar to a vision, which partially motivated the foundations for the city. This is why he is important to Brasilia.
After the sanctuary, we took a quick Uber to the Cathedral Metropolitana. Lonely Planet doesn't speak fondly of the design calling it a UFO, but I think it looks more like a crown. We entered via a ramp leading underground and were surprised by how bright it was in the church. Like the sanctuary earlier, most of the structure is made from stained glass, but the colors chosen for this church as well as the shape, like a cone, meant that the sunlight poured in from every angle. Hanging from the top in the center were three different sized angels. The altar and floor were made of white marble adding to the bright nature of the church. I wonder what it would be like in the dark because there were no hanging lights, just some tucked in at the outer edges of the church.
We continued our religious journey after a short metro to the Temple of Goodwill. There was a lot going on here and quite a mish mash of cultures and religions. The main worship building looked like a white teepee with a crystal at the top. We walked through the interconnected buildings through a crystal room, an art gallery, an Egyptian meditation room, and finally the temple. The floor of the temple is round with a black and white spiral. We read that you enter the spiral walking on the black to the center and leave the spiral walking on the white. We took our shoes off, as that's how they worship, and entered the spiral. We slowly walked around to the center, looked up to the sky, and walked back out on the white ending at a sort of altar. I can see how the spiral can be used for reflection and prayer. I'm not sure how group worship would take place here, but it was definitely a quiet and contemplative space.
The temple was the end of our religious morning, and then we were back to exploring the unique capital that is Brasilia. We took an Uber to the blueprint for the block neighborhood design that makes up the residential wings of the city, Superquadra Sul, or SQS, 308. Each block has everything it needs: housing, stores, gas, groceries, etc. The residential areas of Brasilia are unique and a mathematician's dream (apparently). It follows a logical numbering system that I still don't have a great understanding of. I definitely recommend googling it for a better explanation than I can give! When we got to SQS 308, we saw the different housing blocks, all color coded and lettered. We also saw the school for block 308. Again, everything in this block was the blueprint for other blocks in Brasilia. Anisio Texeira was an educator who came up with the educational plan for Brasilia including directives for the buildings in 1957. The SQS 308 middle school was the first one to follow the model and was designed by (you guessed it) Oscar Niemeyer. It has simple shapes, concrete blocks, and primary colors.
After visiting SQS 308 we got the bus to Alvorada Palace where the president lives. Yesterday we visited Planalto Palace where the president works, but he lives in a different location closer to the coast. We couldn't get near the building, and definitely not tour the inside despite what the website suggested, but we still got to see it. The name of the building means 'dawn' because the president who created Brasilia said the new capital was the 'dawn of a new era'. It has marble columns and many outdoor sculptures.
From Alvorada Palace we went to the Bank of Brazil Cultural Center. The concrete building was inaugurated in 1993 as a training center for the Bank of Brazil. It's a huge 194,000 square foot building that houses many galleries and screening rooms dedicated to art and culture. It became the cultural center in 2000. We visited an exhibit spread across 3 different rooms and a glass house dedicated to Brazilian artists in the 1980s. It had some pretty funky art and music videos throughout the different galleries. The glass house portion had sculptures, many of which I wasn't totally sure how they related to the 80s, but I enjoyed looking at them and how unique each one was.
Following the cultural center we walked to the JK Bridge. The arch bridge opened in 2002 and was designed by Alexandre Chan. The arches are designed to mimic the path that a stone makes when it skips through the water. In 2003 it won the Gustav Lindenthal Medal at a bridge conference in Pennsylvania. We walked halfway across the bridge under the arches. Then we turned around and went down into a small park to get a picture of the bridge. We stopped at the edge of the Paranoa Lake, which is an artificial lake from the dammed Paranoa River. The purpose was to be a beautiful feature for the new city as well as regulate climate. It is a public lake and the shoreline is designed so that everyone can access the lake for recreation.
From the lake, we walked back under the bridge and along the highway to catch the bus back to town. It was a roller coaster of a bus, the driver was going so quickly around the bends I was shocked we stayed on all the wheels! To finish up our last night in Brasilia, we went back up the TV Tower for the good views before dinner. It was much busier tonight than last night, so we didn't stay as long.
Our whirlwind visit to Brasilia is almost over!Baca lagi
Brasilia Day 4
27 Februari 2025, Brazil ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
Our day started with checking out of our hotel and a quick Uber back to the Planalto Palace. We missed the changing of the guard yesterday, so our hope was to see it today. According to the Internet, the guards change every two hours, so yesterday we waited until an odd number hour, and they didn't change, so we got there before 10:00 to be at the palace for an even hour. Sadly, they didn't change on the even hour either, so maybe the Internet wasn't up to date about the changing of the guard times. We were a bit bummed to miss it, but fortunately it meant that we were right across the street to the National Congress for our tour at 11:00. When Allan was checking his confirmation email, he realized he accidentally rebooked on the wrong day! We quickly called them and managed to find someone who spoke English. The English tour wasn't until 12:00, which was too close to when we needed to leave for our bus, so we got booked on to the Portuguese tour at 11:00.
Still on the phone giving our details, we walked from the Palace up the sidewalk past the Congress fencing, and back down the long ramp to enter the building. We got checked in with plenty of time, and they also gave us a postcard to send from the building for free. It was a nice touch. When the tour started, We walked with our small group to the main foyer. The carpet was a puke green color, which was strange, but there was a lot of statues and artwork in this main entrance area including a blue and white mosaic wall with light streaming in from windows at the Three Powers Plaza. In one of the small rooms off of the large green room, was a room displaying gifts from foreign governments to the Brazilian government. Some of the gifts were beautiful and thoughtful, and others weren't (looking at you France and UK...). Some of the gifts were broken, and through our transcription of the tour guide and a sign nearby the broken items, we read that there was an insurrection, and citizens stormed the Congress and destroyed many things in 2023. We were surprised they still ran so many tours a day despite this.
Our tour continued to a blue carpeted area where offices and entrances to main debating halls are. We walked through the Tunnel of Time which has a detailed history of Brazil's government from start to finish. We had to move quickly through this area and didn't get to read the displays, but it was like a mini museum down the hallway. Culminating the hallway, was a replica of an old room with old microphones and desks where former congressional members would have sat. It was a nice touch.
Some people in our group were not great at listening to our guide when he wanted to move us on, so we quickly went through the chambers for the Senate and the House of Representatives. The bowl shape and dome shape were clear. Underneath the dome is the Senate and under the bowl is the House of Representatives. The Senate had a really interesting ceiling designed with aluminum sheets for decorative purposes as well as acoustics. They also have a worker who vacuums the hall and likes to leave shapes and designs in the carpet.
The chambers were our last stop on the tour, so after it was finished, we waited for an uber to get back to the hotel. We quickly grabbed our bags and got another uber to the bus station for our loooong bus to Rio. The bus to Rio was set to be about 21 hours, but we were making frequent stops which was both good and bad. We got to stretch our legs, but the journey was taking much longer than it was supposed to. We also had a rude guy in front of us who decided to bring a leaky cooler full of ice for his beers that proceeded to leak under his chair to our chairs and down the aisle of the bus... But at least his beers were cold. Around 2 or 3 am, the bus emptied out a fair bit, so I moved across the aisle (by climbing to avoid aisle lake) so we could spread out a bit and try to get some sleep. It was a long bus, but the last one we have to do for at least a good long while if not for the rest of our trip. A small price to pay for Rio Carnaval!Baca lagi
Rio de Janeiro Day 1
28 Februari 2025, Brazil ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C
Big surprise, our bus was a few hours late arriving into Rio. We got here around early afternoon instead of 10am. We navigated from the bus station to a separate parking garage to get a short Uber to our hotel. Even up on the outskirts of the city center it is pretty crazy!
It took a little while, but we got an Uber up to our hotel. After a gate opening up on our arrival and a slow, confused walk up a long driveway, we found reception and got checked in. It's a pretty big place with several buildings and its own chapel and cafe. It looks like an old convent that's been converted into an old people's home and one of the former old people's buildings was converted into hotel rooms. It was a nice big room and very quiet because they close over Carnaval starting tomorrow.
We didn't linger long in the room so that we could get some food and get down to Copacabana Beach for sunset. There was a local place our reception guy recommended across the street so we went there for the traditional 'lanchon'. It was cheap and a lot of food!
We got an Uber but were cutting it close with sunset. Instead of walking to a viewpoint, we just sat on the wall at the beach and took it in. After the sun went down, we took a long walk through Copacabana to the Atlantico Hotel where we needed to collect our T-shirts and tickets for the Sambodrome. It was a nice walk along the beach and we stopped a few times to see 'futvolei', a local game where they use football touches to get the football over the volleyball net. It was pretty cool!
Once we got to the hotel, we were shocked by how many people were in line. There were a ton of people, a few different lines, and it was total chaos. Once we worked out which line was for tickets, we begrudgingly walked a fair distance down the sidewalk to the end of the line. It was slow...but there was a woman handing out popsicles and water which certainly helped the general demeanor of everyone waiting. After at least an hour and a half, we finally got inside the building to pick up the tickets. Turns out our box seats are wristbands instead of tickets which is why they had to be collected. We also picked up our tshirts before they closed which was ideal because I did not want to have to come back and do all this again!
When we finally had all of our carnaval items, we got a bus back to our hotel and walked for about 20 minutes. It really is so much quieter in the north of the city away from the beach. We chilled out and watched a bit of netflix before heading to bed after our long night last night.Baca lagi
Rio de Janeiro Day 2
1 Mac 2025, Brazil ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
After getting settled in yesterday, there was no rest for the weary. We were up and out for checkout later than planned after trying to navigate the online booking system for Christ the Redeemer. Because we checked out later than planned, and the uber was longer than expected due to Carnaval traffic, we were cutting it close to get checked in at our next hotel in Botafogo and get to Christ the Redeemer for our time slot on the train. It wasn't busy at the hotel, so we quickly checked in and were on our way to Christ the Redeemer (in another expensive uber, no time for the bus unfortunately like we originally planned).
We were half running up to the window to get checked in for our time slot at 1:30. Turns out all our rushing was futile because their timed entry isn't strict. Our ticket read 2:20, we joined a long line to board the train, almost an hour after the time we had booked. Now we were starting to feel stressed about getting to our next timed slot, which was a stricter entry time, at Sugar Loaf Mountain. We also hadn't eaten anything yet, at all, because of the rushing around which wasn't helping our general demeanor. Luckily the line moved swiftly and we got on the train around 2:00 and made the 15-20 minute journey up the mountain. Interestingly, there were a couple of stops on the way, although I'm not sure what passengers would have been getting on in the middle of the jungle. That being said, at one of the stops, there were some guys with coolers selling water by passing water and money through the open windows.
Once we reached the top, we disembarked the train and walked up the steps. We did have to make a pit stop for over priced tourist food in the tiny restaurant just under Christ's feet. After our crappy cheese fries and ham and cheese croissant, we finished the short walk up the stairs to see Christ the Redeemer. It was busy, and the sun was just over His left shoulder, so it was hard to get good pictures. We popped our heads into the small chapel inside Christ where about ten people could fit and take part in the service that was taking place. Christ the Redeemer is such an icon of Rio de Janeiro, but we were surprised by how small it was in real life. It always looks so much bigger in pictures and movies on top of the hill. It was still really cool to see, but yeah, much smaller than we thought. The views from the top of Christ the Redeemer's mountain top were pretty impressive. We could see a majority of Rio stretching out below us: all the beaches, buildings, favelas, and Sugar Loaf.
We didn't linger too long after getting our pictures because we had to make our way across Rio to get to Sugar Loaf in time for our time slot. We again waited in the long line to get in the small train back down the mountain and with all of the tourist traffic for Carnaval, it took a little while to catch an uber and make our way across the city. Thankfully we made it in time for our time slot, but it was a bit close. Sugar Loaf has two hill tops connected to the ground by cable cars. We didn't have to wait in a line for our first cable car to the first peak. I was surprised when we got to the top. There were shops, restaurants, and even a DJ and people dancing! We met up with our Chinese friends, Ge and Yating, and got the second cable car to the next, slightly higher, peak. This peak also had some shops and restaurants, but much smaller than the other peak. We could see Christ the Redeemer in the distance, but the angle of the sun made it tricky to get good pictures. We had some acai at the top and got some pictures of the sun because it was a good view for the sunset before the sun would dip behind the mountains. While we were up there, it was getting busier with people finding a spot on the balcony for the sunset. Having got some pictures already, and knowing more people would be crowding this space, we went in the cable car back down to the first peak. It still had nice views of the sunset and Christ the Redeemer.
Back at the first peak, we were glad we went to the second one when we did, there was a HUGE line to go up. We made our way to a viewing platform at the first peak and watched the sun dip behind the mountains. We even saw a little monkey while we were here! After the sunset, we debated heading back down to ground level before the line got really long. In the end, we decided to stay and watch the sky change colors and see the lights of Rio from above. We also shared a black IPA while we watched (it was a lovely beer). We had some pretty purples and pinks of dusk, and Rio at night was beautiful with the twinkling lights on the coast and randomly dotted around the mountains and valleys. We did end up having to wait in a fairly long line to get back down in the final cable car, but it was worth it to see the city views.
Once at ground level, we decided to enjoy the nice night and walk along the beach, on the sidewalk though not in the sand (Allan hates sand). It was peaceful and a pleasant temperature. We stopped along the way for some dinner too. When we got back to the hotel, we took a sigh of relief, and exhaustion, at the end of a very busy day. Two of Rio's icons checked off today. Now, we can really focus on Carnaval!Baca lagi
Rio de Janeiro Day 3
2 Mac 2025, Brazil ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
Today we ventured into the historic center of Rio. Rio used to be the former capital of Brazil before it moved to Brasilia. Despite staying in the "center" of town starting tomorrow, we are actually closer to a lot of the sights from Botafogo. We took the scenic route walking along the beach of Botafogo and Flamengo. It was so much hotter than we expected when we ran out of shade (and we accidentally forgot sunscreen). The beach was incredibly busy full of locals, tourists, and vendors selling all sorts of things: acai, homemade ice pops, meat kebabs, and corn on the cob.
About 45 minutes into our walk, Allan was reaching his sunshine threshold. Luckily we were getting closer to the historic center. We started moving in from the coast to head towards the cathedral. We walked past the World War II Memorial, which was guarded, most likely from crazy Carnaval partygoers, and some museums. A lot of buildings in the center like the museums are closed for the festivities. Some are also venues for street parties. When walking past the national library and theater, we stumbled on a fun looking street party just about to get started. We decided to come back after visiting the cathedral. The library and theater were both beautiful buildings, the theater especially. It's a shame that they were closed and we couldn't explored the insides.
When we arrived at the cathedral, we were surprised by the shape. It reminded me of the cult temple in Brasilia. It's cone-like shape didn't really scream cathedral and if you just walked past it we wouldn't have known it was the cathedral. When we walked up to it, Mass was taking place so we stood in the open doorway like many others to admire the space and listen. Along the four 'sides' of the cathedral were large stained glass windows that almost went floor to ceiling. It was very plain inside except for those windows, but the acoustics with the concrete building, size, and shape, were amazing. The sound of people singing was powerful and you could hear it from at least a block away.
After our visit to the cathedral, we shared some acai, Allan's obsessed, and headed about 10 minutes down the road to the aqueduct. It was pretty cool to see a tall aqueduct running through the middle of the city. The white arches really stood out. The sightseeing experience was a little tainted by all the drunken street partiers scaling the aqueduct and relieving themselves all over the surrounding area. We certainly weren't in the nicer parts of Rio anymore. We left the aqueduct and went a couple blocks to Escadaria Selarón. The stairs were designed with painted tiles by an artist, Jorge Selarón, who lived nearby and hated how ugly the stairs were. He still regularly painted tiles to replace and add to the stairs until his death in 2013. The stairs were really cool, but again, packed full of drunken Carnaval party people. We walked to the very top of the stairs where it was much quieter, and so Allan could say he walked all of the stairs, and we took some pictures where there weren't as many people.
We left the stairs and went back towards the theater towards the street party. The sun was going down and the party was in full swing when we arrived. It was busy, but not crazy like some other parties we had seen or heard about. We grabbed a couple of caiprinhas (holy cow the amount of alcohol in those bad boys!) and made our way to the steps of the theater. From here we had a place to sit and watch the party and dance to ourselves without getting tangled in the mess of glittered, mostly naked partying people in the square in front of us. The music was good, and the people watching was too. While we sat and enjoyed our drinks and the atmosphere, talking with each other, a guy next to us started to talk with us in a mixture of spanish and english. I was wearing my llama earrings and he wanted to know if we had been to northern Argentina, where he is from. We told him about our trip, and he told us about northern Argentina and what brought him to Brazil. It was great to talk with him! We decided to share one more caiprinha before we headed back to the hotel.
The day started off a little bumpy, but it ended on a high.Baca lagi
Rio de Janeiro Day 5
4 Mac 2025, Brazil ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C
We got back from the Sambodrome around 5 and went straight to bed. We had a few hours sleep before the staff at the hotel were knocking on our door to deliver breakfast (despite us not even ordering it...) we had intended to wake up at 7, but were woken up at 8 with breakfast after Allan's failed alarm, so it worked out for the better in the end. We planned to get up after what was essentially a nap to head into the center for some of the megablock parties. Today is the last official day of Carnaval, so Rio is pulling out all the stops.
We caught a quick Uber after breakfast to Ge and Yating's hotel to drop off the cushions they lent us. After that, it was onwards to the bloco. When we got there, several streets were closed off and the area was swarmed with people and vendors selling cold drinks. Similar to the party we got caught in in São Paulo, there were a few big trucks with speakers, performers and dancers crawling along the street with people following them and crowding the surrounding streets. It was pretty overwhelming, but luckily we didn't walk into it accidentally like last time. We found a spot that wasn't cramped with sweaty, drunk people and watched the partying people while we waited for the trucks to drive past. We even managed to snag a couple of free bucket hats that were being passed around by Mercado Pago. Still feeling pretty tired, and very sober, we didn't dance very much and decided to avoid the middle of the crowd where there was a fire hose being sprayed over the dancing crowd. Once the trucks drove past (crawled is probably more appropriate), we headed away from the craziness to get some lunch and go back to the hotel.
From visiting the cathedral a few days ago, we had some bearings and navigated to a Burger King for some quick, cheap food. After eating, we tried to get an Uber to avoid the long walk, but unfortunately with all of the road closures for the hundreds of parties and all the humans wanting lifts, it was expensive. We had to walk the hour back to the hotel.
Once we got back from the block party and our unfortunately long walk, we had quick showers and finally got to lie down for a few hours before we had to get ready for Sambodrome part 2. We left the hotel later than planned, and had some nonsense with which sector to enter to get to our seats (who knew that sector 12 was meant to go through sector 8 entrance...), but we made it before the first parade started.
Unlike last night where we were more birds eye view and central, tonight we were front row right at the street, but at the very end. We had to wait a pretty long time, but finally the dancers and floats began to arrive to our section after about 40 minutes.
Mocidade was the first samba school of the night. They had an interesting theme incorporating space, futuristic elements, and lots of aliens. There were robot dogs at the start and at one point the Flintstones and Jetsons made an appearance! I also think there was a nod to Star Wars and Men in Black. The costumes were all pretty funky, but very on theme with lots of eyes, appendages, and neon colors. There was also a video screen simulating tech billionaires as video game characters fighting in Tekken. The band was at the end of the samba school parade which was also different from last night.
The second samba school was Paraiso do Tuiuti. The theme was honoring Xica Manicongo, the first indigenous "travesti" in Brazil. She was enslaved in the 16th century and defied gender norms by rejecting masculine attire. She is a symbol of resistance for the trans community I'm Brazil. Throughout the entire performance, the theme was clear with Amazonian and indigenous floats and costumes as well as a strong focus on clothing and gender, especially pink and blue. The music was different from other samba schools because it didn't keep the same tempo throughout the whole parade, it varied. Towards the middle of the parade, the school started to speed up. By the end, they were running across the finish line because they have to have the gate closed by 80 minutes. They managed literally in the 80th minute, but they were running! It was exciting but also annoying because we didn't get to see the proper performance and it was a really interesting story/theme.
The third samba school was Grande Rio. The theme was The Enchantment of the Turkish Princesses. It was a mystical journey through Amazonian waters blending nature with enchantments. It's all about the princesses' journeys encountering enchanted beings and traveling through the land. The power of water was throughout the parade. The floats and costumes were amazin and I loved the floating blue and green fish and jellyfish at the start of the parade that helped set the scene. The story was very clear throughout the parade which hasn't always been the case. Everytime a new set of costumes came by I was stunned; they were all so beautiful and elaborate. The floats were pretty incredible too with all of the marine details like mermaids and seashells, but it was the costumes that kept me engaged during this parade. They even had jellyfish costumes and bubbles for the ocean! They really thought of everything to create the continuity. The Middle Eastern elements were few, which makes sense if the princesses were traveling in the Amazon, but there were costumes with middle eastern dress elements and even a cow on a golden pedestal (costume, not float!).
The final school was Portela. Their theme was based on Milton Nascimento, a musician, and his connection with Brazilian identity. The parade followed his musical journey and how it related to Brazilian culture. Milton himself even sat on a throne on one of the floats! There were a lot of flowers and musical instruments woven through the floats and costumes. I thought it was clever how they incorporated the musical instruments in the costumes, but still made them interesting and flashy. The floats focused on different songs that Milton Nascimento has made and towards the end it focused more on him and what makes him feel Brazilian. The music during the parade was his music and was one of the only parades where the music changed a few times throughout the 80 minute performance rather than just playing the same song the entire time.
Once the parade was over, almost an hour later than the one yesterday, we climbed over the fence like the day before. Because we were at the end we saw the aftermath of the last parade. There were people changing, eater stations, and the stage at the end of the parade route had musicians playing. The performers that had changed were now enjoying the live music and revelling in the success of the night. It was still an electric atmosphere despite the fact that everyone had been awake for so long and the sun was about to come up. We lingered for a bit and then made our way back through the Sambodrome to walk back to our hotel.
Carnaval was officially over, and what an experience it was!Baca lagi
Rio de Janeiro Day 6
5 Mac 2025, Brazil ⋅ 🌬 28 °C
After two nights in a row of getting to sleep as the sun was rising, we took it easy on ourselves today. We slept in, lazed around, and got up to venture to Copacabana in the late afternoon.
We went to Praia do Aproador for sunset. We were cutting it close by the time we got down to the beach, so we just about saw it drop behind the mountains. We kept walking to the rocky point that stuck out from the beach, and it was surprisingly busy! People were dancing, drinking, and jumping into the sea. Others, like us, managed to find a spot to sit and watch the sun go down. We stayed for about half an hour after the sun had set and were rewarded with a gorgeous sky. It was a great sunset to end our time in Brazil, and ultimately South America.
After the sunset, we walked through Copacabana to Curry-Se! for some dinner. We also met Ge and Yating, our Chinese friends from Antarctica, for dinner there. It was pretty busy and only a small place so we waited a loooong time for a table and then almost an hour and a half for our currys (as we watched takeaway after takeaway leave the kitchen with no food for us in sight). Very hungry by this point, we ate our curry, which was pretty meh, and then dealt with a very rude and disgruntled employee when we didn't give the additional service charge. Oh well... We waited over 2.5 hours to eat and they offered no apology or discount. Not great on the customer service front
We walked away from the restaurant, said goodbye to our friends, and then got an Uber back to our hotel. The rest of our evening was pretty calm, and we prepared ourselves to say goodbye to South America.Baca lagi