Right I’ve had bugger all time to get on the internet recently and I’m sure when you read this entry you’ll see why. After spending a marathon session on the internet in Lima which is where I left you last, we embarked on a travelling session that lasted the guts of 3 days. First we flew from Lima to Sao Paolo through the night on Friday. At Lima airport we encountered the worst run checking in system I have ever seen. Thanks to this and the complete carnage at the emigration desk and security checkpoint, we only barely made our flight. And that only because we skipped ahead much to the annoyance of other passengers. Arriving in Sao Paolo, it wasn’t long before we found ourselves on a 24 hour bus to Cuiaba on the outskirts of the Pantanal. But not before we got a bus from the airport to the bus terminal only to find out we needed to be at a different bus terminal and had to get a metro there. The 24 hour bus journey turned into almost a 28 hour bus journey. When we arrived at Cuiaba, Julinho, our Pantanal guide, was there to meet us. However he promptly informed us that we’d be embarking on a further 1hr 15 min drive to Pocone where we would base ourselves for the Pantanal tour. However at least the drive (it was dark at the time) was interspersed with stops to look at the various snakes crossing the road.
Once we checked into our lodge at Pocone, Julinho took us into town to see their version of carnival celebrations. We were delighted at this since we were gutted over missing carnival in Rio. Julinho also informed us that the celebrations in Pocone were arguably better than Rio because the town was so small making the festival more traditional and not just for the tourists. Sure enough once we´d had dinner we witnessed the full extent of Pocone´s carnival. The main attraction was a live band playing on a stage in the square. They had a big horn section & lots of singers and almost sounded like a ska group. After dancing for a bit we responsibly decided to hit the sack as we were up early the next day for Pantanal fun.
What made the first day of Pantanal so good was being introduced to countless new species. As we drove through the wilderness which I can best describe as the wild plains of Africa, we saw everything from Caimen (a type of alligator), Capybarras (the world´s largest rodent) and howler monkeys to toucans, macaws, parrots, hawks, falcons, cuckoos, woodpeckers and lizards. We also saw, according to Julinho, some species of bird that would have made a birdwatcher weep! Oh and plenty of ants, termites and spiders. The pantanal was so teeming with life it´s hard to describe what it´s like to experience so much wildlife jumping out at you from every bush, tree and lagoon. Also the noise of each animal´s distinct sound combined is deafening. About mid morning we stopped at a bridge over a river. The sun was high in the sky and viciously hot. Julinho urged us to take a swim in the river at which we laughed. There was no way we were going to go swimming in a river that contained Caimen! After a while we realized he was being serious. After he assured us that Caimen were not man eaters and the river was perfectly safe, we reluctantly jumped in. The water was refreshing but a light brown thanks to the calcium content. We were more reassured when Julinho jumped in after us and eventually we relaxed and played around without regard for the lurking Caimen.
At lunchtime we arrived at the place we would stay for the next 2 nights. This was a farm belonging to an elderly couple from the Pantanal called Gloria and Tutu. Julinho had befriended them and persuaded them to let us camp on their farm. He believed that this would result in us having a more rewarding Pantanal experience. You see Julinho was born and grew up in the Pantanal. He learned everything he knows from his village elders and can, in a split second, name any species just from the sound they make or a fleeting glimpse of their feathers. So we got to see how this family lived their life. They use cows and chickens for meat, chickens for eggs, cows for milk and grow all their own fruit and vegetables – including oranges. Yum! Apparently they only travel to the town once every 2 months. After lunch we drove to an area of the Pantanal that contains the greatest concentration of macaws on the planet. Macaws are beautiful blue birds that glide gracefully through the air while eagerly chatting away to each other. We were awed by the sight of dozens of them playing in the trees and stayed until sunset. On the drive back to the farm we tried to catch a glimpse of the elusive Jaguar but to no avail. That evening at dinner we experienced the full wrath of Gloria´s cooking. The woman is a master chef and had cooked us far too much food, all of which was made from the fresh produce of their farm. After watching a bit of the live coverage of the carnival in Rio on TV we hit the sack.
The next day was spent much like the first – driving around observing the wildlife and eating Gloria´s incredible cooking. When we arrived back that night there was still no sign of a jaguar although we did see rabbits, foxes and owls. After a spot of Brazilian big brother we headed for the tent. The next day we bid farewell to Gloria and Tutu as they sent us off with a packed lunch and as many oranges as we could carry. We headed for a lodge closer to Pocone where we would spend our final night in the Pantanal. On the way we stopped for another swim at our river. Arriving at the lodge that evening, we chilled by the pool before eating a dinner that sadly didn´t live up to Gloria´s cooking. The next day we went for a walk around the area in which the lodge was based. We came across a colony of animals, whose name escapes me right now, but Julinho was very excited about it. They were a kind of ring tailed lemur. On the way back we came across a man fishing on a bridge who had caught a piranha. Julinho showed us the piranha and told us all about it before announcing that the river we´d been swimming in over the last few days was full of them. Jaysus! Lucky he didn´t tell us that at the time of I´d never have gotten in the water. In the evening we headed for Pocone to Julinho´s sister´s house. Alessandra helps run the Pantanal tour business with Julinho and we all went for some traditional Brazilian food together. Later on Julinho brought us back to Cuiaba for our 3am flight to Rio De Janeiro via Sao Paolo.
The flight was tiring since it was in the middle of the night and we had to change planes at Sao Paolo in the middle of it. We´d planned to get some kip when we arrived in Rio at 8am except our descent into Rio changed that. As we came in, we were treated to a fantastic view of Christ the redeemer silhouetted against the morning sun. As the plane turned for its approach we saw the sugar loaf and Copacabana beach. Feck this! we thought. We´re not wasting a second in Rio with such frivolous activities as sleeping. So no sooner had we booked into our hostel were we on a bus down to Ipanema beach to spend the morning. Ipanema beach is ideal – the sand is soft, the water cool clean and free of rocks & seaweed while the people are so friendly and great craic. After lounging there for a few hours we decided to walk back to the hostel via Copacabana beach. While not as nice for swimming as Ipanema beach, it is still an important part of Rio and a must see. We barely had time to shower before we were off to see Christ the redeemer. We arrived up at the iconic statue of the late JC just as the sun was setting giving us a great view over Rio. From here we could also see a perfect example of the Rio community – a favela (slum) with a run down football court literally next door to a massive mansion with a swimming pool and Olympic race track. The rich and poor living side by side is sadly a part of what Rio is all about.
That night we hit a samba street party but not before a few beers and Caipirinhas in the bar. The bus left the hostel at 12.30am and the street party was happening! It was just great walking the streets with a few beers chatting to the locals and backpackers alike and inspecting the wares the street sellers had on offer. Things got mental, suffice to say we got home pretty wrecked and instantly slipped into unconsciousness. As I mentioned before, every minute spent sleeping in Rio is a minute wasted and so we were up in a few hours later and on our way to the sugar loaf. As we queued for the cable car we eased our sore heads with a couple of ice-creams. Once we had taken the 2 cable cars to the top we enjoyed the breathtaking panoramic view of Rio De Janeiro. Looking out over the city and bay we reflected that it looked otherworldly and perhaps something from a computer game – utterly awesome. After the two cable cars back to the bottom, we barely had time to make it to the Irish bar in Ipanema fort the rugby game. Well! What can I say? The bar was packed full of Irish and English including a large throng outside peering in the window to watch the game. Guinness was not cheap at 16 Reais a pint – almost 6 euro! But I allowed myself a quota of 2 considering the day that was in it. The game itself was great with my Irish flag featuring largely throughout. We all know the score – 43-13 to Ireland – apparently a record loss for England in the 6 nations. After the game the banter was heavy. The fields of Athenry was sung loudly followed by a tame version of Swing low sweet chariot followed by an almighty version of You can stick your f***ing chariot up your arse! So good was the win (especially Horgan´s try – can O´Gara do no wrong?!) that I allowed myself a third celebratory pint of overpriced Guinness. We caught half of the high paced France/Wales game before we had to head back to the hostel for a trip to the Sambadrome. Tonight was the winner´s parade from Carnaval where all the samba schools that won during Carnaval paraded the Sambadrome one last time. This was great for us as we missed Carnaval in Rio. The processions were incredible although slightly marred by the fact that we were so tired. The costumes and dancing were like nothing I´d ever seen before. At one stage one of the floats caught fire which only added to the excitement. After seeing a couple of samba schools we were forced to leave due to our sheer exhaustion. We headed straight for bed.
The next morning we were up early again and on our way to the bus station to get tickets out of Rio in two days time. AT 1pm we were off to the legendary Maracana football stadium on a tour organized by our hostel to see Vasco V Flamengo (the biggest rivalry in Brazil) in the semi final of the league. To say Brazilians are passionate about football is an understatement. The crowd, the noise, the flags, the balloons, the flares, the singing – it all continues for more than 2 hours. It´s actually a war! Thankfully the team we were supporting (Flamengo) won although only after a gripping penalty shoot out. We went back to the hostel on the minibus with high spirits and high hopes for the Favela Funk Party that night. The Favela Funk Party is a party that every favela organizes in a club every Sunday. The one we were off to was the biggest one in the biggest favela. The only thing was that the leader of that particular favela was shot dead 3 days earlier with 70 bullets! :-/ We waited in the bar drinking our Caipirinhas for news of whether the party would be on or not in light of the shooting. In the end we were told that in the professional opinion of our hostel, the club would be no more dangerous as a result of the shooting than normal. In fact they reckoned it would even be safer. So the minibus to the party was full of merriment however I found the club itself to be quite disappointing. For such a big place it seemed quite empty and lacked any atmosphere. Even the topless male dancing competition was kind of lame. The only consolation was that the beers cost only 1 real. Coming home from the party was again more fun that the party itself. A stupid Aussie guy at the back of the bus was trying to be a comedian but the more he tried the more he sounded like David Brent. Hilarious for everyone else on the bus though! Back at the hostel the hot tub which normally closes at 10pm was mysteriously re-opened. However I suspect this was more to do with the hostel-goers pulling back the protective sheet than a good will gesture by the hostel owners. After a good bit of craic I crawled into bed at 7am. Another great night in Rio!
The next morning Fi (the mentler) decided to go on a tour of a favela at 10am. Good luck! I chose to sleep however when the tour was full and Fi couldn´t go, she decided to take it out on me by waking me up. After my initial anger I agreed to accompany her to Ipanema beach. It was our last day in Rio after all. We spent a good while on the world´s most perfect beach – better now that it was a Monday – resting our weary bodies. In the evening we headed for Usco to stroll around before heading on to a Churrascaria for dinner. This was no ordinary Churrascaria though. It was the best and most expensive in Rio. We payed 66 Reais for the meal but man was it worth it! Rog would have been in heaven. As much food as we could eat, the buffet included every type of salad, sushi, fish and meat you could imagine. All the food was of the highest quality. For the meats, waiters came around with the meat on a large skewer like a kebab. You indicated which part of the meat you want and they slice it hot off the skewer and straight onto your plate. Divine! With bellys full we made it back to the hostel for more Caipirinhas but the last 4 nights had taken their toll and so we only lasted till just after midnight.
First thing the next morning we were on a bus to Foz De Iguassu. The falls on the Brazilian side are amazing. Not much else to say really – they´re falls! Not to say they´re not spectacular but there´s little I can say to convey the beauty of them. They have to be seen to be appreciated – like most waterfalls I would have thought. At the moment I´m in the hostel at Foz De Iguassu having just enjoyed a delicious Italian buffet dinner. Tomorrow we´re off to see the Argentinian side of the falls then on to Buenos Aires. It will be emotional leaving Brazil. Although we´ve had so many incredible experiences in South America, I can definitely single out Brazil, specifically Rio, as the highlight so far.
# posted by Grum @ 4:58 PM
