Hello all!
Glad things are good back in blighty! Mum, hope you had a nice meal with norma and terry and enjoyed mousetrap? I'd like to see it! Vic, glad the dog was reunited. Good old boys playing the heroes! Hope you all have fun with smell and Benny! Soph you'd be jealous of my tan ;) Grandad and Maggie, very organised of you to get started with Christmas shopping already- a few Christmas bits are appearing here, but it doesn't feel Christmassy when it's 35c. Paul, I'm glad you're healing nicely- my family are big fans of Belstead woods! Oh and well done on the chin ups! Time goes so quick between updates, doesn't seem like two minutes since I was last writing!
So the rest of Sunday was spent chilling with the two Irish girls and some of the lads. It was me and Aussie Anthony having the serious debates tonight- he went out with a 46yr old Brazilian woman for 2yrs when he was 24!
Monday:
I booked a bus to São Paolo for 9.30pm. The hostel were running a trip around some of the beaches in the area which everyone was going on and they said they could drop me off nearer the bus terminal at the end of the day, so I booked on that. Another scorching, sunny day! The first beach was nice and quiet and all sand with clear waters and surrounded by hills of lush rainforest! The lads went to the shop and bought a bottle of vodka! I sunbathed a bit and was chatting to the Irish guys and two British girls and a few Finnish girls and a deaf French couple. After an hour we were driven to another beach where a lot of them went to eat. I wasn't hungry so I stayed on the beach. It wasn't long til the Aussie lad Anthony come out and collapsed on me. He'd drunk nearly half the big bottle of vodka in just over an hour?! I dug him a hole in the sand and he puked in it and we buried it again. But he was in a bad way and was almost comatose for the rest of the trip. We moved on to a beach beside a big lake- really beautiful! Went for a swim. We stopped at a stall where they were selling sugar cane juice- you watched them compress it through a roller to get the juice. I didn't fancy it so had a corn on the cob instead.
The bus dropped me and two of the Finn girls at a bus stop where it was a short ride to the main terminal. I had to wait a couple of hours, but they had wifi- a first in South America!
The bus was pretty empty! So I had a double seat to myself and could really get cosy and sleep well! Although it had a food stop at 4.30am?!
Tuesday:
Arrived in São Paolo about 10.30am and I navigated the metro to my hostel. São Paolo has a population of over 20 million! More than Australia! But it was surprisingly less crowded than the London Underground, less traffic on the streets too. My hostel was in a nice area and the staff were really friendly and helpful, recommending lots to do. So I went out exploring- got the metro to the main district where I found a working bank, couldn't find anywhere to phone my bank though, and visited the main market where I had dinner- fish, rice, veg and beans. Walked around and went up a 41storey tower block that gives you a 360 view of the city. It really is an endless concrete jungle- all white buildings and so many tower blocks. Headed back to the hostel and an English mother and daughter had checked in my room- the mum had flown out to spend a couples of weeks with her daughter who was away for 3.5months. We went to watch the sunset over the city from a small area of parkland, then I come back and had to set up Skype so I could call my bloody bank who'd cancelled my card. I did manage to get a better book in the book exchange though! A very quiet hostel, but nice to have peace.
Wednesday:
Good breakfast and checked out. I had to go to São Paolo as I was here, but not much to do really. So I got the metro to the bus station and got a ticket to Paraty. It was a 7 hour trip. I was sat at the front next to an Austrian guy called Rene and he was certainly an interesting character! He is 39, although he looks my age, and he never mentioned a woman or anything- I wouldn't be surprised if he is a virgin as he was just really awkward and geeky, but pleasant. He is besotted with Thailand and had come here thinking he might stay and work but he doesn't like it, so he just waiting for a visa to go back to Thailand because he just gave up his job as a technical engineer in Austria. He was in a monastery for meditation in Thailand before?!
We arrived about 7pm- a very scenic drive through hills of the lush forests!
My hostel was ok, however, when I asked about staying for another night I found out that's it bank holiday weekend here so everything is really busy. Luckily, I found two different hostels for the next two nights as there was no availability in Ihla Grande (a nearby island, my next stop) until Sunday. I bumped into the English couple from my hostel in Iguazu so was chatting to them!
Thursday:
I set out to explore Paraty. It is a quaint little seaside resort. But it has so much character because the old town dates from the C18th and is all cobbled streets and the traditional square, white buildings. I walked along the beaches and the pier. So hot! Loads of little green islands around. I found my new hostel- very nice and lovely staff. Out exploring again, I had to buy sun cream and another phone charger with a Brazilian plug as my adaptor has given up the ghost. I laid on the beach for an hour and paddled- mainly Brazilian tourists here. I got coconut water and an acai dessert.
Back at the hostel I bumped into Rene who was pleased to see me, turned out we were in the same dorm with a Scottish couple in their 50's. They were very interesting and we all went out to dinner together- I had a lovely seafood salad. I did say I couldn't imagine my parents staying in dorms!
Friday:
I checked out and Rene had said about going to see some waterfalls nearby. So we got the local bus there, although we got off too early so had to walk a while in the blistering heat listening to how the mangoes in Thailand are the best and the beaches and everything else, although the ladyboys are just dirty apparently?! We found the falls- not to spectacular after Iguazu, but you can slide down them!! So I had a go- a couple of Brazilians pushed me off and you go flying down! Bruised my buttocks a tad though! We walked around them in the forest a bit, but Rene, bless him, wasn't the most fun person I have ever met! We got the bus back and I was chatting to a nice English girl. I bid Rene farewell! I got my stuff from my last hostel, although my padlock wouldn't open on the locker so they had to use bolt cutters, haha! Then moved to my new one on the beach- basic but adequate. I went out through the old town and had roasted veg and a slice of pizza for tea. Brazilians are huge! Fatter than Americans! And it's not really surprising- a lot of crap food! I also booked my transfer to Ihla Grande on Sunday and from Ihla grande to Rio Janeiro on Tuesday- it was a reasonable price and saves me having to organise buses, boats, etc.
Can't say I've fallen in love with Brazil- maybe because I get bored with beaches and I'd rather be doing more active things! Oh and the prices dampen things- love a bargain! But can't deny it is beautiful and the people certainly keep it interesting!
Keep the messages coming! Enjoy work and the cold weather :p Take care!