Brasil (Population 190 million)

Foz do Iguacu (Pop 325,000)

On Tuesday 15th February we took the bus to the Brasil Border, Foz do Iguacu, quickly but then had to wait 45 minutes for the next bus to come. At the local terminal we got money (Riais) out of the supermarket ATM and took a taxi to "The Green House". Junior, the owner was very welcoming and we booked a trip for the next day down the river Parana to Puerto Bertoni in Paraguay. If you care, you can look him up on the Internet but he was quite a character in the early days of European settlement in the area. We took dinner at The Beer Garden Restaurant and had our first taste of Brasilian restaurant prices. High! It was hot and humid and the hostel was fine although the pool needed a good clean. A note on Foz is that they imported 45,000 people to help build the huge Itaipu dam which produces 20% of Brasilian electricity, nearby. When the dam was finished these people had no work. Little wonder that some parts of Foz are not visitable and crime is excessive.

On the Wednesday we were the only people on the trip. Down the Parana River to the 3 country junction of Argentina, Brasil and Paraguay, The Rio Parana is green until it is joined by the Rio Uruguay and then it turns chocolate brown. 45 minutes down the river with pristine rain forest on either side then ashore in Paraguay, no passport required, (Don´t ask). A stiffish walk up the hill through exotic flora (not native) all planted by Bertoni. The family are all buried here in the small graveyard. 2 families of Guarani Indians were at the museum. They were very poor and very dirty and we bought a bracelet from each family. The museum is brilliant. Entry is free and all funding comes from the Paraguayan Government. Highly recommended.

On Thursday 17th we took the bus to the Parque das Aves(Bird Park)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x068C4AtDqI&feature=related

It was very hot and humid and we spent 3 hours there among the birds. It really is lovely and a "must do" as far as I am concerned.

We then walked across the road to the entrance to the Parque Nacional (and where the bloody helicopter takes off for views of the falls, noisy bast****.) Only Brasil allows flights not Argentina. We had a drink, bought our tickets and went on the bus through well manicured roadsides to the start of the 1.2km walk. On the Argentinian side you were close to the falls but here you have the full spectrum at a distance. All except at the last point where you are right next to a bloody huge waterfall and the noise is awesome. Along the walk a 2 metres black and white snake was climbing the bushes by the side of the walkway. A note that you are still in rain forest.  It is worth the expense to see both sides and the falls represent a truly magnificent spectacle.


Summary of Foz do Iguacu

The hostel was very good and was in the final stage of refurbishment. Worth a visit. The Bird Park and falls are just amazing and generate a huge "feel good" factor. While we were there it was hot and humid and the water levels were the highest for 20 years.

Curitiba (Pop 1.75 million)

We took the overnight bus to Curitiba and arrived still dark at 05.30 on Friday 15th. Took the chance, while at the bus station, to buy some tickets for Sao Paolo on Monday. When light we walked the 6 blocks to HI Roma Hostel, very large and located by a park and opposite a new shopping mall which used to be the railway station. The room was damp. I managed to get the HI rate which is 15% cheaper than Hostel World. We are members of all organisations where room discounts are involved! The place had a kitchen but it was dark and not really suitable for cooking. Internet Brasilian Riais 3 per hour. About 1.25 GBP.

We walked around town and bought a new pair of reading glasses for Ianne, the old pair having given up the goat and finally got lost, after many attempts to do so! We also purchased memory card number 7 for the camera. Oh boy, are you ever in for lots of boring photos when we get back! I had a hair and beard cut and Ianne had her nails done. Apparently nail doing is a must for Brazilian ladies. Although Curitiba is big it is possible to walk around the tourist areas and it is apparently safe, even at night. I still do not understand 1 word of Portuguese. How gas is pronounced gash is completely beyond me.

On Saturday 19th we went on the City Bus Tour with open top. 46km and 2 1/2 hours long, if you don´t hop on and off. The first stop was the Jardim Botanico which was lovely and set in a huge park. We managed one more attraction and were at the furthest part of the tour when the heavens opened and we took refuge with many tourists , all Brazilian, under a bus shelter. After 75 minutes we managed to get on a bus and got off in the drizzle at the Centro Historico which is supposed to be special but isn´t really when it´s raining. We took dinner at a Thai restaurant which was expensive but nice food, just down the road from the hostel.

Sunday 20th we were booked on the 08.15 train to the coast to Morretes and  ParanaguaIntrepids had lost an hour´s sleep. Booo!

15 full carriages pulled by a diesel loco with passengers 99% Brasilian and 100% excited. They all went woo woo in the tunnels and cheered at the other end of the tunnel. Hot and humid. The train proceeded slowly up into the rain forest covered hills and creaked around the curves. There were spectacular views down into ravines (I forget how many bridges, tunnels etc but you can look it up on the web if it interests you. Lots and lots for sure). Many fruit laden banana trees en route. We arrived spot on time Morretes at 11.15, a little breakfast package and drink having been enjoyed. All commentary by the tourist guide ( including jokes) in Portuguese. Still not a clue! Morretes is a little no horse town and we found the bus station after some pi** poor directions from the tourist office. We caught the 12.40 bus to Paranagua which took an hour and stopped everywhere.

We could see the river from the bus station at Paranagua and walked down to river, boats and lots of people. Hot, hot! Took lunch at a Chinese Buffet, all you can eat R$ 12. Total bill including a few beers GBP10, bargain mate. Up and down the river and over the footbridge , cars have to take the ferry, We caught the air con bus back to Curitiba the entire trip taking 90 minutes through the hills with spectacular views. Lovely trip and I have the video of the train trip for a certain person as well as a very special present. I wonder who?
We had dinner in the Mall, a huge portion of chicken and bock wurst and beers for GBP15. Curitiba beat Atletico 4-2 on the tele and everybody happy and cheering mightily. Curitiba are top of the league!

Summary of Curitiba

Lovely city and geared up for mainly Brasilian tourists. Hostel breakfast was good, location good and room shite! Supermarket prices were fine but restaurants tend to be expensive. Travel is cheap, semi cama to Sao Paolo GBP30. Hot, hot with people sleeping rough on the streets with few stray dogs. Relatively few non- Brazilian tourists.

Sao Paolo (Pop 11 million city, 20 million metropolitan area)

Monday 21st February, Curitiba-Sao Paolo 9am, 6 hours. Bus company Cometa, seats 9-12 are best. All Brasilian buses have been single deckers. We got a pillow, blanket and little snack box.  First 90 minutes through the hills with forest and yellow and purple flowers on the trees. Very winding road. Stalls selling fruits on the road with banana plantations everywhere. Sao Paolo traffic horrendous in the rain. We got directions from the tourist Office at the bus station, all bus terminus stations in Sao Paolo have a Metro connection. How good is that? 3 million people per day ride the Metro. We bought tickets to Rio for Friday and took the Metro down to Republica. At Luz station there was a charge to get into the carriage. Bloody dangerous but par for the course when the Metro is busy. Trains are very frequent and at GBP1 per trip a reasonable price. Locals say it is expensive. Our map to the hotel was not clear and we must have looked a bit lost ( but still intrepid) and two girls asked if they could help. They phoned the hotel to get directions. How nice! Hotel 155 is a budget job but at GBP50 it is more expensive than we have been paying. Water all over the bathroom floor and 1 computer does not work and our cards do not open the door to the computer room. Tele only has 10 channels, budget job mate! We took dinner at an Italian Restaurant across the road and by being careful, but enjoying a gin and tonic, the bill only came to GBP20.

On Tuesday 22nd February we had a good breakfast at the hotel then wandered round Downtown and Centro. Millions of people, cars etc. Hot, hot 32. We found some walking streets and bought 2 umbrellas so now we don´t have to put waterproofs on when it rains. There were old colonial buildings and we walked to the Central Market. As it was lunchtime the vegetable stalls were closed but the fruit and veg and cheese and salt cod were open as well as lots of little eateries. Marvellous place. The fruits were from everywhere including rambutans, jackfruit, star fruit, mangosteen etc mmmmmmmm. The exotic fruits were quite expensive . As we had started out with not too much money (mugging)  and had left the cards in the safe we had to be careful for lunch but we still managed some nice sandwiches and a couple of beers. They tried (unsuccessfully) to charge for 3 beers! Old, maybe, stupid, no.

Everywhere adds 10% service to the bill and then you are expected to tip on top of that. Not bloody likely, sunshine! We walked back to the hotel in the heat. We could have taken the Metro but we are not the Intrepids for nothing. There are very few stray dogs on the streets but many homeless people. Nobody bothers them especially not the Police. In the afternoon we enjoyed an air con siesta and it threatened to rain.

We discovered a new thing in the evening. The meat prices in the restaurants are for 2 people and if you multiply by 65% you get the price for 1 (If this sounds Irish to you, I assure you it is true) Also the 10% service charge does not entitle you to any freebies at the start but these are priced separately on the menu, even the bread. Is this the Ryanair School of restaurant pricing? Had a delicious pepper steak for dinner. Brasil beef is good too!


On the Wednesday 23rd we went to the Zoo. First a walk to Republica Metro then change at Se and then all the way south on the Linea Azul. No sign where to go to get to the Zoo but we had to look for Plataforma A outside at the bus terminal. We found the ticket booth for the Zoo which also sold tickets for the bus. We should have paid 20 each for the ticket and 4 each for the bus but we only ended up paying 16 in total because we were seniors. Excellent stuff! The Zoo is huge and set in pristine Atlantic Rain forest. Jackfruit trees etc abound. Lots of water with a great variety of water birds. Lots of toilets ( free) and waste bins for different sorts of garbage. Lunch was eaten "on the run" almost to avoid the wasps. The heavens opened and it was just as well that we had bought the umbrellas although Ianne said that hers had a hole in it. We took refuge under the "safari tour" roof. A camel was looking very sad in his house in the rain and I wondered if he had the hump! The Zoo is wonderful for a day out and the various enclosures are well spread out. Highly recommended.

We caught the bus back to Jabaquara station and zoomed up the Linea Azul to Se and changed to get on the red line to Republica. All of the suits were going home and the Metro was busy. On the way back to the hotel we stopped off for a coffee and Man U V Olympic , champions league, was on the tele. 0-0 at that time and that´s how it finished. We walked back a slightly different way and bought some provisions. Kaiser beer GBP0.50 for 33cl. Cheap for Brasil. We are much more used to the big city and Metro now. Its strange but it only takes a little while. We got lots more bird photos for Malcolm to identify for us. Where are we going for dinner tonight? As it happens we went to the Italian restaurant next door and had some delicious chicken in a light cheese sauce with some saute potatoes.

On Thursday 28th Ianne had been trying to put more credit on the phone (Orange) but Orange said the bank was blocking the payment. We tried to phone Nationwide and after 2 hours managed to get through to hear that they were not blocking the payment. Eventually, after 4 hours, we managed to get GBP50 credit on the phone. What a fiasco. We took some lunch and it was raining. We took the Metro to see the Museum de Immigrantes. We got to a station which was a mix of Metro and overground trains called Bras. Huge.We saw a map at the station with directions to the museum. None of the street names on the map corresponded with the street names as exits. Brasilian maps in general have been terrible. We asked a Security Guard for directions and were sent 6 blocks in a very dodgy neighbourhood in totally the wrong direction, it transpired. We asked a street cleaner where we were and a young man who spoke English told us we were headed in totally the wrong direction. We walked 8 blocks and came to the next Metro Station from Bras where we had got off before.There was the sign to the Museum.  We walked alongside the railway in a very dodgy neighbourhood indeed and eventually found the Museum. "Closed for one year for refurbishment". When shit happens, it does!!!!! Cutting our losses and without trepidation we took the Metro to Luz Parque which was very nice with lots of mature trees. The station was designed and built with materials all from England.

On the way back we stopped at our little cafe bar. Do not order Chopp Claro (Draught clear beer). GBP2.50 for probably 200cl with a bigger head than Cristiano Ronaldo.  Much better value is the Skol can, 33 cl for GBP1.75. These are important matters when the budget is tight!

Rafa very kindly offered to pick us up from Sevilla on our return to Spain so I booked the ridiculously expensive Vueling Flight from Heathrow to Sevilla where we are scheduled to arrive on Saturday 9th April at 21.20.

Summary of Sao Paolo
We only saw the Central/Downtown section (apart from the Zoo). Busy, busy, busy and hot with many high rises and millions of people including lots of suits. The Metro is so good with trains about every minute and is reasonably priced by European Standards. Our hotel was probably reasonable value for GBP50 per night. This is easily the most expensive country in our travels to date. It took a little while to get used to the big city again but, on the whole, we enjoyed Sao Paolo.

Rio de Janeiro (Pop +/- 10 million)

On  Friday 25th February  we took the 10.30 bus to Rio. Getting out of Sao Paulo was difficult due to traffic. At 09.30 the temperature is 29. Bus Expresso do Sul, semi cama with a nice blanket, pillow, drink and a little snack. Having arrived at 17.00 we booked tickets to Florianopolis for Monday week. 18 hours and B$218, expensive. We took a taxi to our hostel in Santa Theresa up on a hill with lots of sweaty people and not much space. We walked down to Lapa for dinner. Friday night and nearing Carnaval the place was heaving. Asked for some chili's and got fresh green hot ones. Whew! Food fine and not so expensive and we walked back up the hill to the hostel making sure to walk in the middle of the road all the way. I turned on the fan and air con and Ianne was cold and had to have a blanket.

On Saturday 26th February we had slept well. No hot water! Breakfast was good and the view over the city was good. We walked down to Gloria Metro (20 minutes)  and took the train to Copacabana.and walked to the beach. Amazing place, clean, upmarket and just like the photographs. We loved it. Lots of beach bars just along the edge of the beach. Water was probably too rough for swimming. We took a beer and chicken Jobie, round ball and a Brazilian favourite (about a 3 out of 10 for me, but then). The band came along and I had to have the photo taken with them. The band Elwood, the Band! Be patient and all will be revealed in the photo session later in the blog. 32C so I bought a hat and we walked the 3km down to Ipanema beach. Much smaller but lots of bathing going on. Ended up in an upmarket beachfront eatery and two sandwiches and 2 drinks cost B$60 or more than GBP20. Too much. There were millions of young people on the street then came the music trucks and the crowd followed. Pre Carnaval fun and frolics with beer sellers everywhere and not a hint of trouble. We stopped for a coffee between beaches then got the Metro back to Gloria and crawled up the hill to the hostel. Hot, hot, hot.We went down the hill for dinner and had chicken and banana, very nice. We took a taxi back because it was quite late and the hostel is in a very dodgy area.

It is Sunday 27th February and we met a nice young Danish couple. Eventually we took the bus to Jardim Botanico having spent an hour trying to find an ATM to give us some money. The Parque opened at 14.00 because of the revellers from the previous night were still at it on the road outside until then! An excellent venue and an excellent coffee shop. Try the quiches ( same in Portuguese), delicious. This followed by a two hour walk round. Excellent, well maintained place. We the walked down to the beach at Leblon at the end of Ipanema and along the whole of the Ipanema beach where we had not been the day before. We tried to find two Metro stations but failed ( few have signs telling you that they are there, unbelievably) Eventually we found the last station at Ipanema and it was packed like Oxford Circus at 08.30 in the morning. Somehow we managed to find ourselves at the front of the ticket queue which was probably 100 metres long.

We got off at Gloria and had a beer in the street while waiting to hear Hanne´s exam results. She had not studied much and wasn´t feeling well and only got a 10. mmmmm. To celebrate, possibly, the restaurant only charged B$10 for 3 beers and a coke. Bargain mate. We took the taxi to Lapa and ate at a different restaurant. Tables all packed with people in fancy dress and the people on the next table had been to London so we had a little chat. The message was "Be careful in this neighbourhood, people on motor bikes will snatch your bags!"  We took the taxi home and it transpired that the Danish couple we had been talking too earlier were robbed at knife point a little way from the hostel. 1 camera and 2 bananas were taken! Raining heavily! No hot water in the hostel again. All this eating in restaurants, do I hear you say? The truth of the matter is that there were perhaps 40 people staying at the hostel and only 1 fridge!

Monday 28th February found us with no hot water again. Overcast and what to do today? Sugar Loaf, no. Cristo Redentor, no. Tram ride? We went on the bus to Centro and saw a ferry so we bought two tickets return. The ferry sails past the airport and there were planes coming in over the water. There is also an enormously long bridge along the same route and across the bay, as the ferry to Niteroi. Took a spot of lunch and returned and got a bus to the Rodoviaria (Main bus station)  to buy a ticket to Saquerema on Thursday. The only tickets available were for 04.30. Beggars can´t be choosers so we took them. At Carnaval time all accommodation and transportation just gets 101% booked. It was a nightmare trying to find a bus back even though we knew the number so we headed to Copacabana and asked to be put off at a Metro station. We then took the Metro to Gloria and were have a refresco in the normal watering hole when Rob and Erin, two Canadians we had met at the hostel walked past so they had a beer with us then we all trolled off for dinner together.

On Tuesday 1st March we were very concerned that if we could only get the 04.30 to Saquerema then would we be able to get a bus back to Rio on Monday 7th.  Having found a bus we got to the Rodoviaria quickly. Two cruise ships were in port, a Royal Caribbean monster and another called Costa Fortuna. If this alluded to the price of tickets then maybe that is bad marketing! As luck would have it there were loads of spare seats so we booked the 11.35 scheduled in to Rio at 13.35 with our bus leaving for Florianopolis at 16.30.

We then took a bus to Covocovo at the foot of the mountain to Cristo Redentor ( or what a way to spend Easter!) We had the private taxi up to the top which is only slightly more expensive than the funicular. Suffice it to say that the views from the top are staggering as you have a 360 degree panorama of Rio.When we came back down we took the bus for Copacabana (we liked it there) and took some lunch which finished around 18.00. Begging to report that the basic lasagne was very reasonably priced at an equivalent of ARS48.  With the dinner I broke all the records and had a Guarana (no sugar Amazonian berry), very nice.

On Wednesday 2nd March, it is a small world. Talking to two Danish people over breakfast at the hostel it transpired that his grandfather was Ianne´s German teacher at grammar school in Kolding in Denmark. Raining. We went down to the Lapa steps.

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then downtown to the Cathedral, a 10 sided concrete job but very nice inside. A tram ride 0.60 cents followed to the top of Santa Teresa hill. Fred Karno´s circus must have been in town because tourists and locals alike were trying to find out where the tram was headed. In the event it went to the top of the hill, we paid another 0.60 cents and it went down again. We tried to find a coffee among the suits at Lapa but everything was full so we went on the Metro . (Guess where?) You got it, Copacobana for a spot of lunch. Back to our watering hole at Gloria and again a wait for Hanne´s exam results. For this one she had lost her notes and had to borrow friend Vir´s notes. Despite the odd hiccup for a few days before she managed only to get a 10 (again).

At the hostel there was HOT WATER. Wow! We negotiated a B$10 per night discount for no hot water. A Taxi was ordered for 03.45 the next day and went to bed and hoped that it would come.

Summary of Rio

Clearly there are world class attractions in Sugar Loaf, Copacabana, Ipanema and Cristo Redentor and these really are special. The Jardim Botanico is special too! There is also a lot of crime involving tourists especially at night. The Carnaval from my perspective is a disgrace. Firstly all accommodation in Rio and most of Brasil is at treble rates and you have to book for a minimum of 5 nights. Further the Samba School parades ( the ones featured on the tele) are not on the street for the people but in a private enclosure seating 70,000 only. Prices per ticket 2012 are from USD 182 to 731 USD per person per day. So you are going to pay 200+ USD for basic hostel accommodation per couple for 5 days and then buy some tickets. Sorry, but us pensioners cannot afford these extortionate prices.

Saquerema(Pop 61251)

The taxi arrived promptly on March 3rd and off we went to the Bus Station. We had agreed that the transfer was B$25. Our man used his meter with no surcharge and the bill came to RS12.70. We paid the 25 on principle. What an un Christly hour to be up and about! It was still raining and the bus got to Saquerema for 06.45.  After a wait of 30 minutes for a taxi ( and it was raining and it is the same in Brasil, you wait for a taxi) we did not know they way and the taxi man tried to charge us R$20 for 7 blocks, no meter! I told him he was a bandit and the fare immediately got reduced to 15 which is probably double what it should have been. The hostel is fine and the man used to be a surfing instructor and run  a surf school. He still goes out every day. The lady still does triathlons. We can cook here , hooray. This is surfing Brasil and we wandered around as safe as safe can be. The town is split by two lagoons in from the sea. There are lots of Residencials here and apparently they all get full from Rio. Quite upmarket for Brasil and I got a beer for R$2,50, less than GBP1.

Good shite!

On Friday 4th March it had stopped drizzling. Apparently the whole town is short of water and they have had no serious rain for 3 months. We found the tourist office in town. Good maps etc but no English and no Spanish spoken!   We walked across the bridge to Saquerema, we live in Itauna. My belt broke and I managed to get some new boxers. We went to the church of Our Lady of Lourdes right on a hill overlooking the sea. Very nice both from the outside and inside. Lots of people on the beaches especially where the sea comes into the lagunas. I cooked a nice chicken and onions with lime and some papas. Lots of noise for a Friday night. Pre Carnaval.

On Saturday it was drizzling and we met a young couple from Hio de Janeiho (that's how they say it) Tried to find a belt. Not a prayer! Surf board, yes, millions of bikinis, yes. Belt for a man , no! I took a caipivodka which tasted better than the last rum and lime drink and then a local drum band started up in the rain. Lots of man dressed as ladies.mmmm.  We went back to Itauna to find the 16.00 bloco (carnaval parade) having asked 10 people where it was. It was found with maybe 10 people on instruments and a motley crew following and drinking beer.  We let them go there being nothing special about it.

On the Sunday it was raining in the morning but we are not the carnavalintrepidos for nothing so we went in search of the Saquerema Bloco along the front at Saquerema for 11.00. At 13.00 it started with lots of drumming and a big truck with music and people in Saquerama Bloco 2011 blue shirts. I want one! Lots of beer being consumed. All in all a good local effort especially involving one lady dancing incredibly quickly. We have the video. Clearly by and for local consumption only. It seems that it is the Ituatunas turn this afternoon. Lots of people everywhere all good humoured. We tried to contact the Florianopolis hostel (Che Lagarto) to get directions. No reply. Someone on the web says they want to charge 2.2  Riais to the USD quoted rates. Official Brasilian Tourist rate is 1.75. Seems like Dick Turpin might be alive and well in Florianopolis.Liverpool beat Man U 3-1. Funny old game.

Monday found a high overcast start for the day. No response from the hostel in Florianopolis. The hostel is nice and the people running it are very provincial, only having a phone capability locally.At 09.35 I am the only one having breakfast.

Summary of Saquerema

We liked the place well enough and it would have been even nicer with more sunshine. It was also nice to be able to walk at night without fear of mugging. The beaches are good for surfing and yet there are places on the entrance to the lagunas where families can bathe safely. A very Brasilian seaside town. Shame about the taxi driver.

Florianopolis (Pop 412724)

We wandered  up to the bus station to catch the 11.45 bus to Florianopolis via Rio. As we had time spare in Rio we tried to buy a ticket from Florianopolis to Montevideo for Friday but this proved beyond our ability. We stopped at some dodgy greasy spoons (oh yes they are in Brasil too!) and we arrived, on the last day of Carnaval, after 18 hours in Florianopolis. There was an email from Che Legato hostel saying that the didn´t pick up! Not what we had asked. While at the bus station we booked tickets to Montevideo, via Porto Alegre, for Friday. Rain, Rain. We tried to buy some USD from the Cambio in the bus station but that man only bought them, he didn´t sell them! Cambo,shambio!!! We knew that we had to catch a bus and which number to get to the  Lagoa do Conceicao in the middle of the island but had no clue after that. After asking a local person, we found an English lady who had just checked into her hostel nearby and they spoke English. They phoned the hostel, 3 kms away and were told to put us on the bus! Nice, eh! This guy organised a friend to taxi us to the hostel. What a nice man.

At the hostel it appeared that any emails sent to the email address on the booking confirmation go to the head office of Che Lagarto hostels in Argentina. Smart eh! They wanted either US dollars of Riais at an exchange rate of 1.99. Despite my protests that this was nothing more than extortion (the manager told me that they had to do this on instructions from Head Office). We had been charged 1.75 , correctly, in Saquerema.They would not even do a deal and meet me half way. I asked where I could buy some US dollars and was told near where we got off the bus. Having walked for 50 minutes to get there along the (polluted but lovely) lake side (we could have taken the bus but it had stopped raining) we found that this Cambio only bought US dollars and did not sell them and we would have to go to the Airport to buy some. 2 bus journeys , elapsed time 90 minutes away.

The moral of the is story is that if you want to stay at Che Lagarto hostels take US dollars for payment. This is the only organisation we have come across in our 7 months on the road which seek to rip you off in this manner. (Apart from the bast*** in The Paradise, Puerto Piramedes, Valdes Peninsular, who said our booking was 150 USD per night not the 150 Arg $ as booked by Hanne on the phone)

This is a noisy, young peoples surfer hostel and the kitchen needed a very good clean indeed. You cannot bring your own booze in but they do have a well stocked bar at reasonable prices. On the Wednesday we went to the Airport and bought the US  Dollars. Only 1 Cambio but no problem. We also found a flight to Montevideo ( we had considered this as an option to the 18 hours bus but could not find a flight). Just as well because the flight was cancelled! Had a spot of lunch, watched a few TAM and GOL planes land and take off, did a bit of present shopping (ha ha I know and you don´t) and headed back. We wandered round in the centre , just over the bridge on to Santa Catarina Island called Florianopolis Centro. Very large market and still lots of statues etc up left over from Carnaval. The hostel did a very nice breakfast with fresh juice of tropical fruits and the ladies baked chocolate and coconut cake every day. We thought Chad would like an all day breakfast there. BBQ at the hostel that evening, very nice indeed.

A man appeared and set up his kit and proceeded to sing blues songs with guitar accompaniment from 21.00 through to midnight. If he had a day time job he should keep it because the voice left something to be desired but all in all he got a few Riais when the hat was passed round and his rendition of "Hey Bartender" was very good.

On the Thursday having rained all night it was overcast in the morning but being intrepid (stupid?) we headed for the beach for our "beach" day. We walked the 45 minutes up and over the hill from the hostel (5 minutes in their advertising) and duly hired parasol and chairs on the lovely beach. The sea was too strong for swimming but the surfers were in their element. After an hour or so the wind got up, it started to rain and the parasol took off down the beach, hitting me mightily on the head as it passed by. Aaaaaah do I hear you say?
It rained in torrents and we were forced to catch the bus back and took refuge in the pizza place on the Lagoa. Buffet lunch, no problem. It rained so hard you could not see the other side of the lake. Siesta time.

Hanne passed her last exam (only a 10)  and I am reliably informed, completed her course in record time. Now only the thesis to complete.  She also achieved an average mark of 9.7 which is the highest mark in her year. Very well done Hanne! Proud parents!!!!

As it was the last night we went to the fish restaurant and had a Camarao (prawn) dinner. Big ones, small ones, grilled ones, fried ones and as per normal we could only eat about half! Still raining.

We booked a taxi for 10.00 for the Friday 11th to take is to the bus station in Lagoa. The thinking was that if it was raining then the traffic would be horrendous, not good even in the dry, and a booked taxi had more chance of arriving, In the event he drove us all the way to the Central Bus station where we arrived 2 hours early. I had a beard trim and we bought some sandwiches for the long journey. Ianne´s mobile stopped again and Orange say that the bank would not accept the charge(no the record has not got stuck!) Bus left at 12.45 and was scheduled to arrive Porto Alegre at 20.30. It did arrive 19.15, 75 minutes early. Our totally full double decker left for Uruguay at 22.00 and we were scheduled to be on Montevideo at 09.00. All passports were collected by the conductor and were duly stamped overnight and no immigration or customs formalities whatsoever.

Summary of Florianopolis, Ilha de Santa Catarina

This is summer land and holiday time Brasil. There are 32 beaches and all sorts of water sports are possible. We probably did not have enough time here and car hire could be an option for a longer stay. Whereas the whole of Brazil cannot be on holiday here, it can feel like it with monster traffic jams (Carnaval time). The rain stopped us from making more of the beach and see the island a little more. We would go back for sure. Sub tropical with a banana tree outside our room.

Summary of Brasil


This is not a tea drinking country and Ianne had great difficulty in getting her Cha Preto. Brasilians are different to the other peoples in that there is no concept of race. You are Brasilian and that is it. Yes, many are aware of their origins but, all in all, it is very harmonic. This is easily the most expensive country we have been to.  Because of the geographical position Brasil is greener and warmer than the other countries and the people are certainly more laid back. All of this bearing in mind we only visited a little of the south and southern coast. We are tld the north is different. You always see vultures in the sky. We were told by our taxi driver that school teachers and policmen are poorly paid. No prizes for guessing what this leads to!