Hi Peeps,
Last time I was in the middle of Bolivia in Santa Cruz. From there I got a bus to the border with Brazil and crossed over to see the Pantanal (large wet area!). Then to La Paz (the highest capital city in the world at 3,600m), followed by Corioco, Lake Titicaca, then into Peru to Puno and then Cusco, the capital of the old Inca Empire and the start of the Inca trail to Machu Piccu.
The lows first because I´m sure that you find them more entertaining !
Remember that bus to Santa Cruz, Bolivia which arrived 74 huors late - well things didnt get much better after that. After only 1 night in a normal bed it was back to the bus for a 19 hour journey to the Brazilian border - unfortunately the bus was pre war (pre any war you would care to mention) and it was not only late leaving it broke down within half an hour and we
waited 1.5 hours for them to fix it. The ´road´ if that be the correct name was sometimes rubble, sometimes sand and at other times just plain bad. It didn´t help that I was feeling really ill with Parasitic diahorrea (although I didnt know what it was for another week+). To say it was uncomfortable was an understatement and with breakdowns punctures etc it arrived 11 hours
late (total 30 hours). Actually it never arrived at the destination - Just to cap it all the road was blockaded (by taxi drivers it seems ) a few miles short of the destination - so we had to .... take a taxi !!! the rest of the way at our own expense ! Cos we got there so late the border was closed and we had to stay in Bolivia another night.
- After that I had to traverse the whole length of the country agan but decided there was no way I was going to go by bus and flew to La Paz for US$150 - and who said Bolivia was a cheap country?
- My travelling schedule being completely screwed up by the strikes and of course the football! What a silly time to be travelling without much time......
- Having to get up at stupid times to go and watch the football. In the early stages in Bolivia it ran from 2.30am to 9.30am and later on in Peru, 1.30am to 8.30am. I have got used to hauling myself out of bed at ridiculous times of the night after 2 or 3 hours sleep and immediately
immersing myself in a beer. I do not necessarily think this is a habit I will keep up now the footy is over ! (I did miss a few matches by oversleeping - but I missed more by not being able find a TV showing it in the towns I was staying in - caught all the biggies though!)
The floating islands in Puno, Peru - The Uros people have lived on island made of reeds for over 1,000 years. They still live their today and still practice their traditional skills of fishing, bird catching and maintaining the islands so they dont sink. However most of the time they sell stuff to the tourists who turn up to see them. Proabbly the most touristy place I have been anywhere. They now have solar panels, TVs etc and stay there cos (according to the tour guide) they have an easy life. Tourism has changed so much about their way of life - but hopefully for the better. Although I have my doubts. These people are now just a tourist attraction ...... but
as I was told by another traveller ..... ´there is a reason for that !´
And just a few highs
- The Pantanal in Brazil. If I ignore the angony of the journey and the wasted week I spent getting there (from Sucre it took almost exactly 7 days) and the expense of the flight back to La Paz, then I can be positive about the experience. I spent 4 night in a hammock (surprisingly comfortable) and the days spotting alligators (over 2m long), capybarras (the worlds largest
rodent - at 80cm long they looked like extremely large guinea pigs), deer, howler monkeys, a large anteater and birds (Macaws/parrots, herons, black vultures, toucans (yes the ones from the old Guinness ads), and the 1.5m wingspan Jabiru stork).
Also went pirhana fishing (although I was slightly hesitant about wading into the water to fish) and caught two, each 30 cm long. Ate them for lunch - very tasty but a lot of bones.
The most dangerous road in the world! - About 1 truck every 2 weeks falls off this narrow ledge carved into the mountain down a 300m+ vertical drop.
So the best thing is to go down it by bike! OK maybe not the best idea ever but its nearly all downhill - imagine going 63km and dropping 3,500m in height at speeds of up to of 60kph. Just try and keep an eye out for trucks coming the other way as there is no room to pass them on most of the road.
The prison in La Paz. This may be one of the worlds oddest tourism attractions but guided tours (by a New Yorker imprisoned for drug smuggling) are available. The prison is a whole series of little communities where prisoners have to buy or rent their own cells (top penthouse cost $15,000 to buy). Whether they get to live in a 5* part, a 3* part or a no star part entirely depends on how much money they have. To occupy themselves and to earn money there are hundreds of businesses inside from shoe shine, fresh veg stalls to restaurants - for prisoners who do not want to eat the prison food with possible sedatives etc in it. And of course the 3 things that keep a prison running - drugs, sex and alcohol are all available. You can have a woman stay over for $4 a night (note : this does not include the cost of the woman) so many prisoners have their girlfriends/wives stay over. And one more oddity - once sentanced the prisoners must pay a $4 entrance fee to the prison - if they can´t they have to work for 30 days in the kitchens (not a nice place).
England v Argentina - Whilst it must have been fantastic to watch it in London it was altogether a different experience getting up at 2.15am and spending all night watching the football in a La Paz bar. I knew I was in SAmerica but I didn´t expect everyone in the bar to be supporting Argentina (I mean how many people in England wanted Germany to win the final just because they are European !?). But there I was, 7.30am in the morning the bar was full of 300 pro Argentine supporters and 3 England fans. I´m pleased to say I made more noise than the 300 put together! - and only got a few dirty looks - and we won!!
Five minutes after the finish I was out on the La Paz streets where it was if nothing had happened. Did we really win or had I been dreaming .......
Island of the Sun in Lake Titicaca - the Incas believe that this is where the sun was born. There is a rock at one end of the island with a orange patch where it was actually born - and it has a lovely big smile! How nice is that!
The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu (MP) - There is actually a stone trail (mainly stairs) that the Incas built for the several hundred people a day who undertake the 4 day trial - now that is far sighted eco-tourism! OK so maybe they actually built it for important Incas to undertake pilgrimages to MP - either way it is still there today as are many of the Inca built earthquake proof buildings despite a huge number of earthquakes in the area (all the Spanish colonial stuff regularly falls down). Actually the Incas are hardly an ancient civilisation - they existed for a few hundred years but are only really important from 1430 (when they started to expand their
empire) to 1532 when the Spanish arrived. MP was built from 1450 to 1532 when building of the incomplete structure was stopped in favour of fighting the Spanish (in a few years the Spanish won but it is thought never found MP).
It actually wasn´t too difficult to do the trail although we had to climb to 4,200m above sea level at one point - it really is a case of the top seeming further away after every step due to the altitude. The worst part was actually having to get up at 2.45am on the final morning to trek the 3 hours mainly on the dark to see the sun rise on MP. Worth getting up for though. MP itself is not the most wonderful collection of buildings however -some (badly restored) nice close fitting Inca stonework of course - but it is the very spectacular setting amongst near vertical peaks and deep valleys and the views from above which make it easily worthwhile.
Anyway off to see the Nasca Lines, Lima and then into Ecuador for a few days in the Galapagos (if I can afford it) before heading home in just a few weeks.........
Love
Pete
Showing posts with label Brazil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brazil. Show all posts
Sunday, 30 June 2002
Tuesday, 5 March 2002
Where 15 Buenos Aires, Argentina --OR-- Waterfall Heaven
Since Rio I have taken a 23 hour bus jouney to Iguassu Falls on Brazil
-Argentine Border and then bus again to Asuncion in Paraguay. After a few
days there I had another bus trip, 22 hours, to Buenos Aires, Argentina (it
dosen´t look like a big country but is the 8th largest in the world and so
there are quite a few more long bus trips to come).
Brazil (continued)
Big Highs
BRAZIL- ARGENTINE Border
- Iguassu Falls. I wasn´t expecting that much - after all I have seen
Victoria Falls and how different can another waterfall be. How wrong I was.
These falls are absolutely incredible stretching for over 2km with every
part being different - raging torrents, long sheer drops, interspersed with
beautiful trickles draped in weed and multi level cascades. Each part is
spectacular and/or beautiful in it´s own right. All this topped of by the
pinnacle of dramatic endeavour, the Devils Throat, a semi circular
thunderous mass of collapsing water into the unseen depths of a mighty
unfillable pit. And I still haven´t mentioned the near 360 degree rainbow
down below me when I was standing on the edge peering down into the mist. Access to the falls is by numerous walkways almost taking you into the falls
themselves. This is not just a viewing feast but an interactive experience
- a complex arrangement of water gymnastics - full flowing power - so random
and yet so precise and consistent.
If Walt Disney were going to build a waterfall attraction then they would
build one just like this.
In comparison Vic Falls is about as beautiful as a overflowing drainpipe.
Lows
- Getting money out of Brazilian Banks is a joke. They have rows of brand
new ATMs (far more andvanced than in UK) which do everything except clip
your toenails and are plastered with Visa and Mastercard stickers and then
you come to use either of these cards to get anything out ...... BUGGER ALL
´appens!!!
- Passing Sao Paolo on the bus there was a river which must be the most
polluted I have ever seen. At a nearby service station there were 5
different coloured bins for different types of waste - very environmentally
friendly I thought. I wonder if this means they throw the rubbish from each
bin into different parts of the river?
PARAGUAY
In my Lonely Planet covering Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay there are 13
highlights. None of these are in Paraguay or Uruguay. Enough Said. To
call Paraguay unimpressive would be to significantly overstate it´s
cultural, geographic and historical value.
But then again no place is without its ´points of interest´ ......
Relative Highs
- I decided to get the bus from the bus station to the hotel. Unfortunately
I didn´t, speak the language (my spanish is still at an early stage), didn't have a
clue which buses went where and my only map had the hotel and a couple of
roads around it. After half an hour I guessed we must have got to about the area
where the hotel was and I got off. And there was the hotel exactly opposite me. Now how often does that happen? Not often believe me.
- Met some very friendly locals - had very slow conversation in Spanish
helped by a McDonalds Spanish English dictioary with phrases like ´The dog
does not sing, nor the cat´ and ´he make a lot of noise when he plays with
other boys´......
- More importantly the beer bottles are getting bigger. In Brazil a large
bottle was 600ml (cost $1). in Paraguay a small bottle is 630ml and a large
980ml (cost $0.5). Something is going right.
Dangerously Lows
- Paraguay is not dangerous I was told. Then we passed a normal shop which
has two guys outside sitting on stools fully armed with pump action
shotguns. The Lloyds TSB (yes they really have them) was permanently
guarded by 4 fully armed guards... just like home, not.
- I changed some US$ for local currency with a strange man in a bus station
(as you do). He scoffed at my $10 note which had a slight tear but was
otherwise crisp and pristine. After some reassurance he accepted it and
proceeded to give me the shabiest, dirtiest and most sellotaped notes I have
ever seen in my life. I found out that these were perfectly acceptable in
Paraguay - In fact, I think that the value of the note increases with the
addition of more sellotape.
- The showers in this part of the world are cold water but have a heater
immediately above the shower head to at least partly heat the water. This
means that the electrics (often bare wires coming straight out of the wall)
come dangerouly close to the water. Whilst in the shower I sensed a burning
smell and seconds later the showerhead burst into flames - I stood there frozen not sure quiet what to do. After 15 seconds it burnt itself out. I didn´t tell the owners as they would have only repaired it (not desirable) so I had cold showers from then on.
URUGUAY
It was only a day trip across the River Plate from Buenos Aires to Colonia
but I got another shed load of stamps in my passport (I am seriously running
out of room) but from what I saw:
Highs
- It was a colonial town (hence the name !) so very pretty.
Lows
- It rained nearly all day and the sun came out just as we were getting the
boat back.
- It was touristy (Argentinian tourists mainly) and expensive.
Apart from that Uruguay is apparently much like Argentina without the bits
worth seeing.
ARGENTINA
So trying to avoid talk of wars and football (neither of which was
completely achieved) I ventured forward.
Argentina is a rich country with a good, modern infrastructure. And it´s
bankrupt.
- Currently over 30% of everyones savings has been taken from them by the
Govt. and they are not allowed to withdraw all of what´s left. (Govt has
converted US$ held in bank accounts into pesos at $1 = P1.4, whist the market
rate is over $1=P2.0)
- Mistrust is now so high that Argentines would rather put their money under
the matress than in the bank.
- No one is buying anything other than necessities despite every shop having
a ´Sale´.
- Official unemployment is 18% but actual rate is nearer 30% and this will
increase very rapidly as large nos. of people are laid off daily and this
will cause further problems as spending reduces and prices rise. A vicious
circle, and barring a miracle, the knock on effects of this over the next
few months will be catastophic. I could go on ....
Dollars (Highs)
- BsAs is a Europèan style city but with trees lining virtually every street, open parks, wide roads and a high % of cobbled streets - very pretty in places. It also bustles with too much traffic, many poor areas and currently over 13 million pissed off Argentines.
- Spent a couple of days in the coutry just outside Buenos Aires with a
fairly poor family none of whom spoke english (it´s a long story but I met
one of them on the bus). Making Empanardas (like cornish pasties) on the
kitchen table and sitting a round drinking Mate (a tea type drink which is
very much a social event) in the sunshine is a nice way to spend some time.
- The beef here is huge and cheap and makes up a large part of the diet. The
wine is also cheap and although the locals drink wine at every meal they
don´t drink much - half a small glass seemed about average. No need to
finish the bottle off here ...... it will get drunk tomorrow (maybe this
should have been a low).
- Friendly and hospitable locals. Met up with a couple I met briefly in
Bangkok over a year ago who showed me round BsAs.
- La Boca - the area of BsAs that is home to houses of many colours and the
Tango - and also a fair chance of getting mugged i.e. not the best area and
I was warned by the police not to walk more than 2 blocks from the touristy
centre of the area.
- The economic crisis has doubled the no. of Pesos I get for my $ so
everything is much cheaper than if I had come here 3 months ago.
Pesos (Lows)
- The economic situation. I had to mention it again, Argentines are talking
of little else...
- Kissing the boys. Kissing everyone even in business is the norm. I spent
most of one evening kissing guys I didn´t even know!
If your still reading then it was worth me writing all this (unless you
skipped straight to this end bit). Now I´m off down south to see some
wildlife and then heading to the most southerly city on the planet....
Love
Pete
-Argentine Border and then bus again to Asuncion in Paraguay. After a few
days there I had another bus trip, 22 hours, to Buenos Aires, Argentina (it
dosen´t look like a big country but is the 8th largest in the world and so
there are quite a few more long bus trips to come).
Brazil (continued)
Big Highs
BRAZIL- ARGENTINE Border
- Iguassu Falls. I wasn´t expecting that much - after all I have seen
Victoria Falls and how different can another waterfall be. How wrong I was.
These falls are absolutely incredible stretching for over 2km with every
part being different - raging torrents, long sheer drops, interspersed with
beautiful trickles draped in weed and multi level cascades. Each part is
spectacular and/or beautiful in it´s own right. All this topped of by the
pinnacle of dramatic endeavour, the Devils Throat, a semi circular
thunderous mass of collapsing water into the unseen depths of a mighty
unfillable pit. And I still haven´t mentioned the near 360 degree rainbow
down below me when I was standing on the edge peering down into the mist. Access to the falls is by numerous walkways almost taking you into the falls
themselves. This is not just a viewing feast but an interactive experience
- a complex arrangement of water gymnastics - full flowing power - so random
and yet so precise and consistent.
If Walt Disney were going to build a waterfall attraction then they would
build one just like this.
In comparison Vic Falls is about as beautiful as a overflowing drainpipe.
Lows
- Getting money out of Brazilian Banks is a joke. They have rows of brand
new ATMs (far more andvanced than in UK) which do everything except clip
your toenails and are plastered with Visa and Mastercard stickers and then
you come to use either of these cards to get anything out ...... BUGGER ALL
´appens!!!
- Passing Sao Paolo on the bus there was a river which must be the most
polluted I have ever seen. At a nearby service station there were 5
different coloured bins for different types of waste - very environmentally
friendly I thought. I wonder if this means they throw the rubbish from each
bin into different parts of the river?
PARAGUAY
In my Lonely Planet covering Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay there are 13
highlights. None of these are in Paraguay or Uruguay. Enough Said. To
call Paraguay unimpressive would be to significantly overstate it´s
cultural, geographic and historical value.
But then again no place is without its ´points of interest´ ......
Relative Highs
- I decided to get the bus from the bus station to the hotel. Unfortunately
I didn´t, speak the language (my spanish is still at an early stage), didn't have a
clue which buses went where and my only map had the hotel and a couple of
roads around it. After half an hour I guessed we must have got to about the area
where the hotel was and I got off. And there was the hotel exactly opposite me. Now how often does that happen? Not often believe me.
- Met some very friendly locals - had very slow conversation in Spanish
helped by a McDonalds Spanish English dictioary with phrases like ´The dog
does not sing, nor the cat´ and ´he make a lot of noise when he plays with
other boys´......
- More importantly the beer bottles are getting bigger. In Brazil a large
bottle was 600ml (cost $1). in Paraguay a small bottle is 630ml and a large
980ml (cost $0.5). Something is going right.
Dangerously Lows
- Paraguay is not dangerous I was told. Then we passed a normal shop which
has two guys outside sitting on stools fully armed with pump action
shotguns. The Lloyds TSB (yes they really have them) was permanently
guarded by 4 fully armed guards... just like home, not.
- I changed some US$ for local currency with a strange man in a bus station
(as you do). He scoffed at my $10 note which had a slight tear but was
otherwise crisp and pristine. After some reassurance he accepted it and
proceeded to give me the shabiest, dirtiest and most sellotaped notes I have
ever seen in my life. I found out that these were perfectly acceptable in
Paraguay - In fact, I think that the value of the note increases with the
addition of more sellotape.
- The showers in this part of the world are cold water but have a heater
immediately above the shower head to at least partly heat the water. This
means that the electrics (often bare wires coming straight out of the wall)
come dangerouly close to the water. Whilst in the shower I sensed a burning
smell and seconds later the showerhead burst into flames - I stood there frozen not sure quiet what to do. After 15 seconds it burnt itself out. I didn´t tell the owners as they would have only repaired it (not desirable) so I had cold showers from then on.
URUGUAY
It was only a day trip across the River Plate from Buenos Aires to Colonia
but I got another shed load of stamps in my passport (I am seriously running
out of room) but from what I saw:
Highs
- It was a colonial town (hence the name !) so very pretty.
Lows
- It rained nearly all day and the sun came out just as we were getting the
boat back.
- It was touristy (Argentinian tourists mainly) and expensive.
Apart from that Uruguay is apparently much like Argentina without the bits
worth seeing.
ARGENTINA
So trying to avoid talk of wars and football (neither of which was
completely achieved) I ventured forward.
Argentina is a rich country with a good, modern infrastructure. And it´s
bankrupt.
- Currently over 30% of everyones savings has been taken from them by the
Govt. and they are not allowed to withdraw all of what´s left. (Govt has
converted US$ held in bank accounts into pesos at $1 = P1.4, whist the market
rate is over $1=P2.0)
- Mistrust is now so high that Argentines would rather put their money under
the matress than in the bank.
- No one is buying anything other than necessities despite every shop having
a ´Sale´.
- Official unemployment is 18% but actual rate is nearer 30% and this will
increase very rapidly as large nos. of people are laid off daily and this
will cause further problems as spending reduces and prices rise. A vicious
circle, and barring a miracle, the knock on effects of this over the next
few months will be catastophic. I could go on ....
Dollars (Highs)
- BsAs is a Europèan style city but with trees lining virtually every street, open parks, wide roads and a high % of cobbled streets - very pretty in places. It also bustles with too much traffic, many poor areas and currently over 13 million pissed off Argentines.
- Spent a couple of days in the coutry just outside Buenos Aires with a
fairly poor family none of whom spoke english (it´s a long story but I met
one of them on the bus). Making Empanardas (like cornish pasties) on the
kitchen table and sitting a round drinking Mate (a tea type drink which is
very much a social event) in the sunshine is a nice way to spend some time.
- The beef here is huge and cheap and makes up a large part of the diet. The
wine is also cheap and although the locals drink wine at every meal they
don´t drink much - half a small glass seemed about average. No need to
finish the bottle off here ...... it will get drunk tomorrow (maybe this
should have been a low).
- Friendly and hospitable locals. Met up with a couple I met briefly in
Bangkok over a year ago who showed me round BsAs.
- La Boca - the area of BsAs that is home to houses of many colours and the
Tango - and also a fair chance of getting mugged i.e. not the best area and
I was warned by the police not to walk more than 2 blocks from the touristy
centre of the area.
- The economic crisis has doubled the no. of Pesos I get for my $ so
everything is much cheaper than if I had come here 3 months ago.
Pesos (Lows)
- The economic situation. I had to mention it again, Argentines are talking
of little else...
- Kissing the boys. Kissing everyone even in business is the norm. I spent
most of one evening kissing guys I didn´t even know!
If your still reading then it was worth me writing all this (unless you
skipped straight to this end bit). Now I´m off down south to see some
wildlife and then heading to the most southerly city on the planet....
Love
Pete
Saturday, 16 February 2002
Where 14 Rio de Janerio, Brazil --OR-- Beaches, Breasts, Bums and Carnival
Hi Guys,
And you thought that I had forgotten to email you it has been so long.......
After deciding UK was just too cold and gloomy I left uk on 19/1/02 and spent a week in NY en route to Rio de Janerio for 6 months of hard intensive work in South America (no I didn´t think that you would believe that).
Actually I decided to hit the beaches a few hours down the coast from Rio and retuned to Rio for the Carnival (and hit the beaches again!)
NEW YORK
Was it what I expected ? Amazingly Yes. Almost everything was exactly what I expected - I must have been watching far too many of those US TV programs !
Skyscrapers (The Highs)
- The Empire State Building - Completed in 1930 and once again the tallest building in NY. Majestic against the skyline (most of the other tall buildings are some distance away).
- Brooklyn Bridge - walking across the this web of wires and pylons in the blazing sunshine towards the skyline of lower Manhaten is simply amazing.
- Seeing Winne the Pooh and Friends - now over 80 years old they are barely recognisable as the ones on sale in the nearby Disney Store or FOA Schwartz toyshop (that's because they look completely different - where the tubby version of Pooh came from I have no idea).
- For those whose knowledge of New York comes from watching ´Friends´, Bloomingdales is a shoppers paradise if you can afford it(the most expensive thing I found was a crystal US flag about 0,5m x 0,3m which cost $30,000); and there really is a Pottery Barn and they do sell apocathery tables for $499 (but only by mail order).
Low Rise (the worst bits)
- The remains of the WTC. Physically there is actually nothing left, the rubble has been removed and the site is now a regular building site. All over NY there are messages of hope and pictures of ´missing´ family and friends. Upon every subway car and bus the stars and stripes have been
freshly added; outside most houses and on many cars the flag flies and New Yorkers look at the ´new skyline´ with dismay.
- Shopping at Macy´s, the worlds largest store. It is actually very boring.
- The weather - from snow and below freezing to bright sunshine and 15C in less than a week - I just never knew what to wear when going out.
BRAZIL
The breast bits
- The Carnival. It is hard to give a good overall description of the Carnival in Rio. Most of it is a bit mediocre and it is difficult to find out what is going on where at what time. However the Main parades put on by the samba schools are absolutely amazing. The floats are fantastic with
huge moving parts and the costumes (of which there are thousands in each parade) are breathtakingly detailed - unfortunately most people never get to see the detail as most of us were too far away. Nevertheless here was the glitz and glamour I had been expecting and I was not dissapointed. Each parade lasts 1 hour 20 minutes. There are 14 main contestants for the
championship over 2 nights. We got in there at 1am on the second night, saw 4 parades and it didn't finish until 7am. Knackering.
- The beaches in and around Rio are supurb (Copacabana and Ipanema are the main ones in Rio) white sand which is actually clean, and warm water. The beach culture here is something to be marvelled at - make of that what you will. Oh and hanging out on the beach with a load of other travellers/Brazilians that I just met and having a ball! Cool stuff.
- Managed to get a game of football on the beach in Rio - well we really do have to take on the Brazilians at OUR own game. Scored a goal, pulled a muscle (no pun intended). I was easily the Most Valuable Player on the pitch as I was still wearing my moneybelt with all my cash and travellers cheques in it, but better on the person than left almost anywhere else.
- Views from
Sugar Loaf mountain - great views of the beaches and coastline from 400m up. Rio is actually built around a whole bunch of steep peaks.
Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking Rio. Actually the statue of the late JC is rather ordinary .... but what a view he has - from 700m up it is nearly an aerial view - Does he really live here ... well it may not be heaven but it's pretty close. Up there with views from Table Mountain (Cape Town) and Victoria Peak (Hong Kong).
- The people in Brazil have been fantastic - so friendly even though most of them don't speak english and always willing to help. The bus drivers/conductors even tell you the correct place to get off when you haven't even told them where you are going .... amazing !
The cover up (bad bits)
- On the beach topless is out (except for the boys - any displayed breasts are boys that are part way to being girls). However the Brazilians do have the most minute bikinis imaginable - tiny triangles imaginatively connected by straps. As one girl pointed out this is a bum culture and the girls show as much as they can.
- The weather is a bit oppressive - over 35C in the shade and very high humidity. There are some cooler days when you can walk around without pouring sweat so long as you don´t walk up any hills or carry a backpack! It gets down to 25C at night but is still humid.
- the no. of travellers I have met who have been mugged or robbed (sometimes by thieves in costume), sometimes in broad daylight. There is no longer a distinction between being safe and paranoid.
So at last the hassle of finding accomadation for carnival is over and I actually get to travel somewhere. Next up is a 23 hour, 1500km bus journey down to Iguassu Falls on the border between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.
Then into Paraguay and down to Buenos Aires before hitting the cool of Patagonia. Well thats the plan but it will change I'm sure ..... only 5 months left so I'd better get some more sun in ....
Best Wishes
Pete
And you thought that I had forgotten to email you it has been so long.......
After deciding UK was just too cold and gloomy I left uk on 19/1/02 and spent a week in NY en route to Rio de Janerio for 6 months of hard intensive work in South America (no I didn´t think that you would believe that).
Actually I decided to hit the beaches a few hours down the coast from Rio and retuned to Rio for the Carnival (and hit the beaches again!)
NEW YORK
Was it what I expected ? Amazingly Yes. Almost everything was exactly what I expected - I must have been watching far too many of those US TV programs !
Skyscrapers (The Highs)
- The Empire State Building - Completed in 1930 and once again the tallest building in NY. Majestic against the skyline (most of the other tall buildings are some distance away).
- Brooklyn Bridge - walking across the this web of wires and pylons in the blazing sunshine towards the skyline of lower Manhaten is simply amazing.
- Seeing Winne the Pooh and Friends - now over 80 years old they are barely recognisable as the ones on sale in the nearby Disney Store or FOA Schwartz toyshop (that's because they look completely different - where the tubby version of Pooh came from I have no idea).
- For those whose knowledge of New York comes from watching ´Friends´, Bloomingdales is a shoppers paradise if you can afford it(the most expensive thing I found was a crystal US flag about 0,5m x 0,3m which cost $30,000); and there really is a Pottery Barn and they do sell apocathery tables for $499 (but only by mail order).
Low Rise (the worst bits)
- The remains of the WTC. Physically there is actually nothing left, the rubble has been removed and the site is now a regular building site. All over NY there are messages of hope and pictures of ´missing´ family and friends. Upon every subway car and bus the stars and stripes have been
freshly added; outside most houses and on many cars the flag flies and New Yorkers look at the ´new skyline´ with dismay.
- Shopping at Macy´s, the worlds largest store. It is actually very boring.
- The weather - from snow and below freezing to bright sunshine and 15C in less than a week - I just never knew what to wear when going out.
BRAZIL
The breast bits
- The Carnival. It is hard to give a good overall description of the Carnival in Rio. Most of it is a bit mediocre and it is difficult to find out what is going on where at what time. However the Main parades put on by the samba schools are absolutely amazing. The floats are fantastic with
huge moving parts and the costumes (of which there are thousands in each parade) are breathtakingly detailed - unfortunately most people never get to see the detail as most of us were too far away. Nevertheless here was the glitz and glamour I had been expecting and I was not dissapointed. Each parade lasts 1 hour 20 minutes. There are 14 main contestants for the
championship over 2 nights. We got in there at 1am on the second night, saw 4 parades and it didn't finish until 7am. Knackering.
- The beaches in and around Rio are supurb (Copacabana and Ipanema are the main ones in Rio) white sand which is actually clean, and warm water. The beach culture here is something to be marvelled at - make of that what you will. Oh and hanging out on the beach with a load of other travellers/Brazilians that I just met and having a ball! Cool stuff.
- Managed to get a game of football on the beach in Rio - well we really do have to take on the Brazilians at OUR own game. Scored a goal, pulled a muscle (no pun intended). I was easily the Most Valuable Player on the pitch as I was still wearing my moneybelt with all my cash and travellers cheques in it, but better on the person than left almost anywhere else.
- Views from
Sugar Loaf mountain - great views of the beaches and coastline from 400m up. Rio is actually built around a whole bunch of steep peaks.
Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking Rio. Actually the statue of the late JC is rather ordinary .... but what a view he has - from 700m up it is nearly an aerial view - Does he really live here ... well it may not be heaven but it's pretty close. Up there with views from Table Mountain (Cape Town) and Victoria Peak (Hong Kong).
- The people in Brazil have been fantastic - so friendly even though most of them don't speak english and always willing to help. The bus drivers/conductors even tell you the correct place to get off when you haven't even told them where you are going .... amazing !
The cover up (bad bits)
- On the beach topless is out (except for the boys - any displayed breasts are boys that are part way to being girls). However the Brazilians do have the most minute bikinis imaginable - tiny triangles imaginatively connected by straps. As one girl pointed out this is a bum culture and the girls show as much as they can.
- The weather is a bit oppressive - over 35C in the shade and very high humidity. There are some cooler days when you can walk around without pouring sweat so long as you don´t walk up any hills or carry a backpack! It gets down to 25C at night but is still humid.
- the no. of travellers I have met who have been mugged or robbed (sometimes by thieves in costume), sometimes in broad daylight. There is no longer a distinction between being safe and paranoid.
So at last the hassle of finding accomadation for carnival is over and I actually get to travel somewhere. Next up is a 23 hour, 1500km bus journey down to Iguassu Falls on the border between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.
Then into Paraguay and down to Buenos Aires before hitting the cool of Patagonia. Well thats the plan but it will change I'm sure ..... only 5 months left so I'd better get some more sun in ....
Best Wishes
Pete
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