brazil! (may 29, 2007)

Hey all!!

I thought it about time for an update :) Since I last wrote I can´t really believe how far Ranga and I have travelled! In about 2 weeks we have travelled up the main chunk of Brazil´s coast! Phew! After checking out the Iguazu Falls from the Brazil side (GOTTA do BOTH sides, really) we jumped on a bus bound for RIO DE JANEIRO!! Can´t actually remember how long that ride was, but probably about 30 hours, something we´re quite used to by now. I remember it WAS a bit of a mission with our bus breaking down just outside of Sao Paulo (3rd biggest city inthe world)... after about an hour´s wait on the roadside our driver finally flagged down another passing bus (from another company) and we all climbed on board - all good! :)

Rio is an INCREDIBLE city. I´ve seen pictures of the Cristo before but I never imagined that Rio could be as beautiful as it is. I mean, it´s just abig city! But it´s hot, it´s buzzing, the sun shines all the time, there are palm trees and BLUE sea, and the strange shaped peaks all around make you feel like you really are in a far-off land. Ranga was most pleased that Rio was the scene for her birthday :) The hostel even threw a party for her! Of course we spent a few hours sunning ourselves on Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, I swam in the Atlantic for the first time!... and I even outsmarted the robbers at Ipanema - twice! And we couldn´t be in Rio and NOT see the Cristo, probably the most well known image of the city. We had such a gorgeous day for it and stunning clear views...Check out the photos! :) - http://wedged.showcard.co.nz/gallery/album35

From Rio we flew (what luxury!! Unbelievably the 2 hour flight was cheaper than the 20-something hour bus trip!!) to Salvador. Salvador had a MASSIVE influx of African slaves way back, and now I´m sure it must be like going to Africa itself! Salvador is such a fascinating place... Africa, Portugal and Brazil all mixed together - it´s totally electrifying. The thing I will probably most remember about Salvador is that there is music EVERYWHERE, ALL the time. Honestly, you really can´t escape it, not that you´d want to. Although I admit the day I had the pounding headache and just needed to sleep I was cursing the tremendously loud percussion concert happening JUST outside my window for 6 hours... We spent about 3 days there soaking up the art and the drum beats, checking out the markets and walking down the cobblestone streets (I SO love cobblestones!)... Pics are here: http://wedged.showcard.co.nz/gallery/album36

And then we flew to Natal (further up the coast) (again, cheaper to fly than to bus) and what a little (ok, not so little) paradise it was! Golden sand, palm trees, clean ocean, coconuts everywhere... We stayed in a cheap little hotel here which was a really nice break from hostels. We had a room to ourselves, and our OWN bathroom!! No hot water, but we really don´t need that here. Our hotel was right across the road from the beach - Praia das Artistas. It was the perfect place to stay really... the beachfront was lined with little restaurants and the beach itself was really pretty and refreshingly without the skyscraper fringe. We decided to stay an extra day in Natal and on our last day there we went to a beach an hour and a half further south - Praia do Pipa - as recommended by someone we met in Salvador (and the Lonely Planet). Somehow we found ourselves miraculously transported to Fiji!! Complete with cute little lizards and giant sea-slugs... Natal pics right here :) - http://wedged.showcard.co.nz/gallery/natal-brazil

From Natal we embarked on our longest bus trip yet... 35 hours. Obviously we survived! I must point out here that the Brazilian bus service compared to Argentina´s is a bit kaka. For a 35 hour bus trip we had NO supplied meals (regular meal stops, but still...), NO movies, NO blankets and little pillows... all or most of what we would have got in an Argentinian bus... AND they´re more expensive!!! QUE?? Anyway... we made it to Belem and that´s the most important thing I guess. Belem is even further up the coast... on the mouth of the Amazon River!! Its a big, loud, dirty city... the river doesn´t actually look that clean either, but we are so excited!!! Tomorrow we are getting on a boat and we are going up the Amazon!! It will take about 6 days to get to Manaus, and from there a further 6 days to get toTabatinga... on the border with Peru. Today I bought my very own hammock... my bed on the deck for the next 2 weeks :) Hammock class is half the price of cabin class, and there´s no way I´d take a cabin anyway... swinging in my hammock sounds way more adventurous to me! :) I just hope me and my hammock don´t get stuck by the loo...

Wish us luck! :)

Oh yeah, I put up some other photos from a while ago, mostly from Argentina I think but forgot to email the links, they are below...

El Calafate (Arg): http://wedged.showcard.co.nz/gallery/album30
Bariloche (Arg): http://wedged.showcard.co.nz/gallery/album31
Santiago (Chile): http://wedged.showcard.co.nz/gallery/album32
Mendoza (Arg): http://wedged.showcard.co.nz/gallery/album33
Iguazu Falls (Arg and Brazil): http://wedged.showcard.co.nz/gallery/album34

Hope everyone is well and happy!

Love d xxx