So we rose to the entire bakery being on offer at our hotel and after a quick brekky we scouted around and found ANOTHER hotel to our liking, this one located closer to the beach. Talk about accommodation sluts. We packed up and hiked down the beach, and after dumping our stuff got a serious bead on which required a swim in the sea and an early açai. Then it was 1130am and time for R, N and Jo to go for their dive. Out we go on the boat 15mins away from the island and as we get wetsuited up, Nadine discovers that her wet suit zip is broken and can't do it up any which way she tries. So after a wail of despair and frustration wet suits were swopped around. Happy once more we put on our weight belts and BCs and jumped in. Everyone started to descend and as Nadine went to take a nice deep breath of sweet oxygen, none came out, and consequently erupted from the water screaming that her tank was not even fricking open yet! So hastily the guy manning the boat opened it for her and once again she was off. However the Evil Sea Gods were not yet done with her, and she suffered for 15mins at the hands of excruciating non ear equalising until she could properly descend. Hanging onto the anchor rope she inched her way down and every few metres finally received a pop.
The dive itself was not amazing but fish life was generally abundant and Riki even managed to see a giant rockfish. A highlight was a black fish with iridescent blue sparkles on it.
After 45 minutes we surfaced (Nadine with a bleeding nose) and jumped back onto the boat and headed back to shore after Nadine decided not to risk being smited by the Evil Sea Gods again on dive 2. The rest of the afternoon was spent on the beach working on our tans and swimming and enjoying an afternoon açai (as Jo put it-we need to go to AA - Açai Anonymous). Now we are heading to the supermarket to utilise our good friend Spu who has been a very worthy and faithful companion, tonight is lime caipirinhas... Last night of January - Time is flying far too fast for our liking. Nadine is working on Riki trying to accept Ryan's Brazil Challenge - its all about the public place...
miércoles, 31 de enero de 2007
martes, 30 de enero de 2007
30 January
So sleep was minimal and so was the state of my nails by the time i came out of my room, tail between my legs. Beanie being the sweetheart kept sneaking me food into the room- GOOD BREAKFAST. After the previous night´s damage and losses we were not particualry welcome at the hostel any longer so while N lay and read and chuckled the rest of us went in a fracntic search of new accomodation prospects. After various attempts we succeeded and are now well and happily re-located with the solemn vow to stay on the good side of all hostels until the end of our trip. The day was a bit of a mess between moves and meanders. We of course made it to the beach, had an açai and got some sun. Disappointing corn on the beach and pizza for dinner. Beakers OUTTTT.
lunes, 29 de enero de 2007
29 January
After waking Beanie three bunks up with a gentle tug on her sheets and finding that my body was still every bit as sore as the day before. When i reached the second last step or rather what i thought was the last step coming into reception i kind fell locked-leggedly onto the landing....the looks that greeted me read "drunken fool" while i was trying to justify myself by saying that when they advertise caipoera classes they should add ´will be physically incapable for the following however many hours after'!!! So breakfast was a delightful array of amazing bread, fruits and cakes along with spread like 'sweet-milk-crumbly jam' and something with cloves in it. We have concurred on the fact that Brazil possibly has the BEST hostel breakfasts EVER!!!So after packing in our own time without being 'haggled' out of the hostel we took to our walk to the ferry front and back packed and sweating like MJ in the kindy. Paul was already there trying to get his ticket sussed however we boarded unaware of his whereabouts. He eventually arrived and seated himself and 45 minutes after 9 the 9am ferry left. The trip was maybe an hour and a half. We slept or at least tried to between the wails of our favorite travelling companions- SMALL CHILDREN. Spuey of course 'snug as a bug' between the two of us after his stunning performance the night before.. When we finally arrived we were faced with a stunning little island very tropical but also very undulating-( topography conspiracy against Riki!!!!) So we wandered or rather 'muled' our way up and past all the vultures offering anything from docotrs to pousadas- and taxis on an island that has no cars...NONE; taxi = wheelbarrow to take your luggage to your accomodation. After a heavy bead and a man backtracking us and taking us through this weird way- 'local' short-cut we arrived at our hostel dripping but stoked with the rooms, kitchen(with a microwave- finally we can make the popcorn we bought by accident!!!)
The island really is rather beautiful- touristy and full of Spanish speakers, next to hippies that's your biggest indication of mainstreaming!!! We booked in and went in search of açai , advertised everywhere but three misses in a row- one out of stock, one out of bowl and one place that ONLY sells açai out of stock since the weekend. We thought there was no hope until a barman saved the day with açai and mango and at a steal. The three hour wait while he harvested the berries was overshadowed by how good it was and we moved out onto the beach. Full of people and perhaps the best looking bodies yet. Spotted the best located supermarket of my life 200 metre from the the waves...I kid you not. Spent the afternoon enjoying the sunshine the heat and the waves...Looks damn promising!!! Later on we went back to the hostel to find the other kids settled in. Bean and I set to work on washing our clothes- alot of sweaty gear, and showered. In the meantime drinks ingredients had been bought!!!!Kiwi caipirinhas and lime ones were on the cards. Hunting for dinner was a bit tricky as the island is a bit pricey but we found great value in $R8 meal with salad, rice, beans and fish/chicken or meat!!!Happy days were made even happier when we found there was chilli- however for once it was actually hot- infact TOOO hot and we all suffered severe casualities which had to be eased with mango juice. Drinks, Spuey and our hostel crew gathered round a table outside nibbling on coconut delicacies with passionfruit, guava and chocolate!!!! The drinks were fantastic- had our own personal Brazilian barman making them!!(Orlando Bloom type) two other kids in the hostel from Iceland joined the party and even bought out some national liquor for us to try. Vicks and mouthwash more like it..........a few card games and a WHOLE bag of sugar later we were on our merry way to the beach where the party is at...imagine a rugby field bordered with hundred of different stands selling drinks and decorated with beautiful displays of fruits, music and dancing on the inside.
The caipirinha drinks ranged from strawberry, mango, pineapple, acerola (tart cherry like thing), caju (which we have realised is the cashew nut fruit), cacau (the fruit of the cocoa pod), weird white things I think was graviola, kiwi, banana, papaya, and other weird yet wonderful fruit such as umbu (green round thing), and siriguela (tropical plum). After 'Having a Few' (regards to Andrea here) we went and had a groove on the beach dance floor - wonderful soft golden sand to the live band. After removing jandals and hoping we wouldn't lose them we shimmied and shook our tail feathers.
Later on in the evening a 'pastel' was called for and Riki and I enjoyed a tomato cheese and oregano one before Nadine scuttled back to the hostel to sleep.
Riki and Paul end up arriving back at the hostel, but not before a late night swim and a broken shower at the hostel occurs. Ooops.
The island really is rather beautiful- touristy and full of Spanish speakers, next to hippies that's your biggest indication of mainstreaming!!! We booked in and went in search of açai , advertised everywhere but three misses in a row- one out of stock, one out of bowl and one place that ONLY sells açai out of stock since the weekend. We thought there was no hope until a barman saved the day with açai and mango and at a steal. The three hour wait while he harvested the berries was overshadowed by how good it was and we moved out onto the beach. Full of people and perhaps the best looking bodies yet. Spotted the best located supermarket of my life 200 metre from the the waves...I kid you not. Spent the afternoon enjoying the sunshine the heat and the waves...Looks damn promising!!! Later on we went back to the hostel to find the other kids settled in. Bean and I set to work on washing our clothes- alot of sweaty gear, and showered. In the meantime drinks ingredients had been bought!!!!Kiwi caipirinhas and lime ones were on the cards. Hunting for dinner was a bit tricky as the island is a bit pricey but we found great value in $R8 meal with salad, rice, beans and fish/chicken or meat!!!Happy days were made even happier when we found there was chilli- however for once it was actually hot- infact TOOO hot and we all suffered severe casualities which had to be eased with mango juice. Drinks, Spuey and our hostel crew gathered round a table outside nibbling on coconut delicacies with passionfruit, guava and chocolate!!!! The drinks were fantastic- had our own personal Brazilian barman making them!!(Orlando Bloom type) two other kids in the hostel from Iceland joined the party and even bought out some national liquor for us to try. Vicks and mouthwash more like it..........a few card games and a WHOLE bag of sugar later we were on our merry way to the beach where the party is at...imagine a rugby field bordered with hundred of different stands selling drinks and decorated with beautiful displays of fruits, music and dancing on the inside.
The caipirinha drinks ranged from strawberry, mango, pineapple, acerola (tart cherry like thing), caju (which we have realised is the cashew nut fruit), cacau (the fruit of the cocoa pod), weird white things I think was graviola, kiwi, banana, papaya, and other weird yet wonderful fruit such as umbu (green round thing), and siriguela (tropical plum). After 'Having a Few' (regards to Andrea here) we went and had a groove on the beach dance floor - wonderful soft golden sand to the live band. After removing jandals and hoping we wouldn't lose them we shimmied and shook our tail feathers.
Later on in the evening a 'pastel' was called for and Riki and I enjoyed a tomato cheese and oregano one before Nadine scuttled back to the hostel to sleep.
Riki and Paul end up arriving back at the hostel, but not before a late night swim and a broken shower at the hostel occurs. Ooops.
domingo, 28 de enero de 2007
Jan 28
And then there were TWO!!! Tripod left the party today and headed on his not so merry way back to South Africa. We awoke toooo late to get in our last açai as a team , sore and stiff. I could hardly get off the bed without some ante-natal breathing techniques. We nibbled on some breakfast until P`s TWO taxis arrived and contemplate what came before and what comes next without our third and most fabulous team member. Having saved on us innumerable occasions from inappropriate shower takers, tough crowds, males in general and always with an honest opinion his presence will be missed but I think more importantly the laughs and the statements (he WAS talking to me, he JUST looked away!)and lest we forget the re-enactments(`seals` - good with balls) will be the things we miss the most. There is a very good reason beakers go on top of the tri-pod!!! Pieter took one for the team in everyway protecting us and supporting us. We will miss him alot. It also dawned on us the good fortune of the situation as things could have been quite different but we had such a LEGAL time in everyway. No shame!!!! Hah so now we must continue matching get-ups and fending for ourselves one less !!! So, decided to say 'phooey' to our hostel by taking advantage of the free internet and parked up for a good few hours until the owner curtly reminded us that check-out time was 12 and NO LATER( time being 11.30) so we gladly took the hint packed our stuff , paid our bill and left. Back-pack front and back and Spu in hand I could hardly move as was- so waddling down the cobblestones , only to have to waddle up (silly undulating topography) we arrived at our new hostel which is a pure delight in relation and I tell you what, it's not even in the same ballpark as the previous. Well lit, uninterfering yet friendly and helpful staff, clean, and delightful wafts from the creperie, open spaces and ventilation. We settled into our room only to find we had the second top and third top bunks. After pleading with Beanie to take the the highest one as the prospect of actually getting up nevermind down for me seemed damn near impossible, we went and had an açai and juice. Showers followed in well enough lit bathrooms to tweeze eyebrows( you may scoff but this was a huge luxury after 'la nega maluca'- more like 'la negra')!! Indoor hammocks and chill out time was high on the wanted list and we slept away the afternoon. I awoke with the intention of phoning home but coincidently found Paul at the bottom of the stairs. Nearly got in a slice in had it not been for the lack of subtlety my current physical state has left me with, he caught sight of someone looking like a retard waddle-hopping down the stairs. Cake and juice helped ease the excruciating pain and dozyness. We then decided on a game plan. Meet Jo and Juan and go to Boi Preto - an all-you-can-eat meat buffet which we were told at the Nega Maluca was 20Reais. So off we go in a taxi (Paul, R and N) to the restaurant. Upon arrival we were seated at a table, and headed over to the buffet - tummies rumbling. We began to load our plates up with all sorts of goodies until we realised we had better confirm the price. So Riki asks. And we receive the answer of 52Reais. Each. So we all slowly put our half filled plates down, reached for our bags, and backed out of the restaurant as NONE of us had that sort of money to spend on one meal no matter how good it was. So red faced and tails between our legs we boosted back to the Pelorinho and scurried into our favourite Açai restaurant (I think it has a name- Restaurant Bahia maybe??) and ordered steak for 20Reais each. A little more in our budget. A guava juice later and a coconut ice concoction from the street, we met up with J & J and decided to utilise Spu again. So out comes the bottle of Cachaça, passionfruit and a bag of ice purchased from across the road. A bucket of caipirinha later, and teaching and refining The Slice with them, we amused many passersbys. We wandered the cobblestone streets in seach of a party, but could only find a bar playing 'Kung Fu Fighting' (think 1999 people) with a transvestite dancing outside. So we passed and decided since we had a 9am catamaran over to Morro de Sao Paulo (an island with beach vibes) bed was the thing to do, so off we trotted to our hostel, climbed up our respective ladders- Nadine glad she wasn't afraid of heights - and slept.
sábado, 27 de enero de 2007
Jan 27
Waking nice and early at 9am we enjoyed breakfast of mango, papaya and pikelets (small pancakes) before donning our team caipoera pants - Riki and Pieter in blue, green and yellow stripes, and Nadine in yellow, green and red stripes. We hit the cobblestones looking extremely coordinated with pants, bandannas, jandals, AND aviator sunnies. Damn we are cool!
This time we were slightly more prepared for the free flow of sweat with Riki and I wearing bikinis underneath. So up the stairs we went with our instructor `King Kong` who has been teaching caipoera for 29years but has the most incredibly muscly body. Our two hour class started off with running around circles and cartwheeling and jumping over sticks put in front of us. Then we progressed into thigh workout material and then came a laugh and a half which girls just DO NOT have the strength for.. holding themselves up with their arms only, with legs above head. So Riki and I are collapsing laughing at our weakness while the boys struggle. Next was our backs. So without telling us the aim of the exercise King Kong literally pulled N over into a backwards bridge position - easy enough to do if you are told about it - but bizarre if you don`t have ANY idea what is coming. Finally we got taught some basic moves and paired off to practise. Interesting to note that part of it is all about the eye contact- they don`t break it at all when you are standing opposite them. By this time blisters on the soles of Riki`s feet had formed, and Nadine had a split toe. Meanwhile we were soaked in sweat with N`s top again changing colour. Then it was on to the floor with press-ups and sit ups. Pieter pulling through with 50, N with 20 and Riki with a measly 9 due to laughter making her weak. King Kong then showed us the musical side to caipoera with a demo of instruments and another session with sticks in a group circle. As you can probably infer, it is a full on session and it is no wonder that Brazilians have amazing bodies- between samba-ing their butts off and caipoera they should be incredible. What a workout!
We all staggered out and headed for (thats right you guessed it) an acai at our favourite place and went back to wash our bead encrusted bodies in the shower. Upon arrival at our favourite joint `la nega maluca` a.k.a our super friendly hostel we found a message from Paul(Kiwi) and Jo(Aussie) (friends we made in Santa Catarina) they had come calling so we awaited their return and preened ourselves. Once they arrived we made the introductions and plans for the following 24hours. The main priority being Ben Harper. So to the shopping mall we went again, tickets we got and not just any tickets.. NOOOOOO folks...golden circle!( P you spoilt us rotten). So N and R had a mad run around the mall dodging the slow walking (waffles=platforms impeding shuffling) shopping hordes and bought the farewell stuff for P, and moisturiser. Somewhere in between we had some healthy lunch and a soft serve and before we knew it , it was 6 pm and we were frantically rushing back to our respective accomodations to get ready and make some caipirinha beforehand. When we got back we got scolded by the hostel for leaving our washing in the bathroom in a bucket- caipoera pants that would be soaking ` oh the crime`!!!! We also got told to return `their` bucket to its rightful place- we quickly put them in their place about it being OURS - which they thought was even stranger and unbelievable (eeeeeediotttts). Anyhow Paul showed up not long after without ice and we set to filling Spu with beverage. The hostel owner then told Paul that if it got busy he would have to leave- hostel by the way was NOT busy but I suppose it makes all sorts of people make the world go round. By the time Jo and her matching Brazilian(Orlando Bloom whose been surfing forever) boyfriend arrived the hostel staff nearly had a seizure so we promptly left the premises and awaited our taxis outside. Our same taxi man came and we soon found out that he and the girlfriend of three years and mother of his child had split over night- `tough crowd` anyway we headed towards Ben as did the hour. Nadine was really taking one for the team with her bodily demands , I think we visited various ladies rooms 4 times within an hour and a half!!!! Taxi driver= Wagner then decided he thought N was `a bit of alright` and he was gonna go nuts and buy tickets like ours (a lot of money for a Brazilian taxi driver I would imagine). At this point we were at the festival and N had scurried off again to find the bathroom. So while P and I stood there we realised the potential disaster we were signing ourselves up for and boosted it- I realize not the nicest thing to do but Ben was our reason and we were determined to enjoy our last night as the trio as much as possible. In saying that we found P, J and J soon enough inside our `special elite` area (fluoro orange wristbands required) and were delighted with the caipirinhas (strawberry and tropical plum) and setting. Oh the joys of having money to spend in a foreign country. The new kids took to the `slice` and the `three` remarkably fast and embracingly!!!!
So after one act ended we took the opportunity to move closer to the stage. Hardly a battle - and positioned ourselves about 5 metres from the stage- beside the paparazzi (which as N pointed out has to be sign of good positioning). Poor Ben - his warmup was this slightly lost Brazilian boyband member in a floral orange with glitter shirt (Pat eat your heart out) and an entourage of amazing dancers with permanent smiles. The music was a style of pop\samba and the crowd loved it but definately a bizarrre choice before Ben. And then it was time- an amazing act but not surprising when it is BEN HARPER and the best part we were SO close about 3m from teh edge of the stage. So in heaven the six of us all savoured the moment.
Ben shone as normal - an amazing fantastic set - All the classics - Sexual Healing, Diamonds on the Inside, Burn to Shine, Steal my kisses, and some newer stuff, along with some classic Bob Marley. As the foreigners who spoke English we knew all the lyrics and consequently were screaming our lungs out while bewildered Brazilians looked at us bizarrely. In particular they didn`t know Burn to Shine at ALL, so we were about the only ones in a 15m radius jumping up and down wildly!! With some awesome percussion and a dance troupe flown in from Chicago he was so good, and we felt absolutely stoked to be in the golden circle. Many photos and homemade movies later Ben finished his fabulous set and we all just looked at each other with grins from ear to ear. We all then realised that we were starving and we went and got ourselves a Pastel do Carioca - in our case a chicken and cheese filled deep fried goodness followed by a really appealing looking piece of chocolate cake which in the end looked better than it tasted. By this time the capoeira pain was starting to kick in and Riki and I just dropped after the adrenalin rush and after a quick dance at the Reggae tent we left the Festival stoked with everything we had achieved during the day. ..and night.
This time we were slightly more prepared for the free flow of sweat with Riki and I wearing bikinis underneath. So up the stairs we went with our instructor `King Kong` who has been teaching caipoera for 29years but has the most incredibly muscly body. Our two hour class started off with running around circles and cartwheeling and jumping over sticks put in front of us. Then we progressed into thigh workout material and then came a laugh and a half which girls just DO NOT have the strength for.. holding themselves up with their arms only, with legs above head. So Riki and I are collapsing laughing at our weakness while the boys struggle. Next was our backs. So without telling us the aim of the exercise King Kong literally pulled N over into a backwards bridge position - easy enough to do if you are told about it - but bizarre if you don`t have ANY idea what is coming. Finally we got taught some basic moves and paired off to practise. Interesting to note that part of it is all about the eye contact- they don`t break it at all when you are standing opposite them. By this time blisters on the soles of Riki`s feet had formed, and Nadine had a split toe. Meanwhile we were soaked in sweat with N`s top again changing colour. Then it was on to the floor with press-ups and sit ups. Pieter pulling through with 50, N with 20 and Riki with a measly 9 due to laughter making her weak. King Kong then showed us the musical side to caipoera with a demo of instruments and another session with sticks in a group circle. As you can probably infer, it is a full on session and it is no wonder that Brazilians have amazing bodies- between samba-ing their butts off and caipoera they should be incredible. What a workout!
We all staggered out and headed for (thats right you guessed it) an acai at our favourite place and went back to wash our bead encrusted bodies in the shower. Upon arrival at our favourite joint `la nega maluca` a.k.a our super friendly hostel we found a message from Paul(Kiwi) and Jo(Aussie) (friends we made in Santa Catarina) they had come calling so we awaited their return and preened ourselves. Once they arrived we made the introductions and plans for the following 24hours. The main priority being Ben Harper. So to the shopping mall we went again, tickets we got and not just any tickets.. NOOOOOO folks...golden circle!( P you spoilt us rotten). So N and R had a mad run around the mall dodging the slow walking (waffles=platforms impeding shuffling) shopping hordes and bought the farewell stuff for P, and moisturiser. Somewhere in between we had some healthy lunch and a soft serve and before we knew it , it was 6 pm and we were frantically rushing back to our respective accomodations to get ready and make some caipirinha beforehand. When we got back we got scolded by the hostel for leaving our washing in the bathroom in a bucket- caipoera pants that would be soaking ` oh the crime`!!!! We also got told to return `their` bucket to its rightful place- we quickly put them in their place about it being OURS - which they thought was even stranger and unbelievable (eeeeeediotttts). Anyhow Paul showed up not long after without ice and we set to filling Spu with beverage. The hostel owner then told Paul that if it got busy he would have to leave- hostel by the way was NOT busy but I suppose it makes all sorts of people make the world go round. By the time Jo and her matching Brazilian(Orlando Bloom whose been surfing forever) boyfriend arrived the hostel staff nearly had a seizure so we promptly left the premises and awaited our taxis outside. Our same taxi man came and we soon found out that he and the girlfriend of three years and mother of his child had split over night- `tough crowd` anyway we headed towards Ben as did the hour. Nadine was really taking one for the team with her bodily demands , I think we visited various ladies rooms 4 times within an hour and a half!!!! Taxi driver= Wagner then decided he thought N was `a bit of alright` and he was gonna go nuts and buy tickets like ours (a lot of money for a Brazilian taxi driver I would imagine). At this point we were at the festival and N had scurried off again to find the bathroom. So while P and I stood there we realised the potential disaster we were signing ourselves up for and boosted it- I realize not the nicest thing to do but Ben was our reason and we were determined to enjoy our last night as the trio as much as possible. In saying that we found P, J and J soon enough inside our `special elite` area (fluoro orange wristbands required) and were delighted with the caipirinhas (strawberry and tropical plum) and setting. Oh the joys of having money to spend in a foreign country. The new kids took to the `slice` and the `three` remarkably fast and embracingly!!!!
So after one act ended we took the opportunity to move closer to the stage. Hardly a battle - and positioned ourselves about 5 metres from the stage- beside the paparazzi (which as N pointed out has to be sign of good positioning). Poor Ben - his warmup was this slightly lost Brazilian boyband member in a floral orange with glitter shirt (Pat eat your heart out) and an entourage of amazing dancers with permanent smiles. The music was a style of pop\samba and the crowd loved it but definately a bizarrre choice before Ben. And then it was time- an amazing act but not surprising when it is BEN HARPER and the best part we were SO close about 3m from teh edge of the stage. So in heaven the six of us all savoured the moment.
Ben shone as normal - an amazing fantastic set - All the classics - Sexual Healing, Diamonds on the Inside, Burn to Shine, Steal my kisses, and some newer stuff, along with some classic Bob Marley. As the foreigners who spoke English we knew all the lyrics and consequently were screaming our lungs out while bewildered Brazilians looked at us bizarrely. In particular they didn`t know Burn to Shine at ALL, so we were about the only ones in a 15m radius jumping up and down wildly!! With some awesome percussion and a dance troupe flown in from Chicago he was so good, and we felt absolutely stoked to be in the golden circle. Many photos and homemade movies later Ben finished his fabulous set and we all just looked at each other with grins from ear to ear. We all then realised that we were starving and we went and got ourselves a Pastel do Carioca - in our case a chicken and cheese filled deep fried goodness followed by a really appealing looking piece of chocolate cake which in the end looked better than it tasted. By this time the capoeira pain was starting to kick in and Riki and I just dropped after the adrenalin rush and after a quick dance at the Reggae tent we left the Festival stoked with everything we had achieved during the day. ..and night.
Jan 26
Well, as I start to write this I feel rather overwhelmed. The last 48 hours have been pretty insane or rather since i last wrote. We managed to sleep even if it was deathly hot and sticky and the fan conveniently doesn`t reach my bunk. Waking up to a swollen foot ...think `Oedipus Riki`, fortunately it didn`t actually hurt anything other than my eyes and those subjected to being around me. So breakfast was somewhat surprising with eggs made to suit your preferences and a variety of fresh fruit, bread and a variety of beverages!!!! A slight improvement in our opinion of the hostel. After this kitted out in bandannas, aviators and sunscreen we took to the cobblestone and headed back to the historical centre and main area of markets, water sellers and tourist attractions. The heat was impressive but we managed to get through our list of `to do`s ` without any casualities other than a few incidents where people were trying to sell stuff we obviously didn`t want or need to us. Another 5 c journey in the lift left us near the market and the water. The market served it`s purpose for hammocks and we finally got ourselves some Brazil sarongs and a few postcards. After a a delightful acai(this time with mango) and some fruit juices= guava and graviola we sorted ourselves some samba classes and bought tickets for a ferry to an island we head to on Monday.
Whilst waiting for samba classes to begin we decided to invest in some caipoera pants- white trackies basically with Brazil coloured stripes down the side. So I am aware of the extreme and potentially ridiculous lengths we are going to with our purchasing of Brazilian paraphernalia but it`s just so damn `legal`( that in Portuguese means `cool` and has no relation to the English meaning). The class initially started off with the three of us and about five others plus instructor with the creds but lacking the smiles. I am not co-ordinated ok, but willing to try!!!! Beanie out-shone us all including the ballet dancing uber-eager-stretching-acting-like she`s the samba queen-ballet dancer. Now fans, now I need each and every one of you to grasp what dancing samba is like- nevermind without any ventilation. I ought to say so much more- it was positively one of the funnest and sweatiest activities I have done in my life. It`s a hard dance and I swear you need a lifetime and early exposure to do it well and wow when they do but it` s the funnest work out and the music and moves despite some confusing me( got to spend a great deal of one on one with the teacher- definately not smiling now!!). We walked ut of the class and it just feels like every part of your body has been separated from the next, and you almost feel like the muscles no longer attach to each other. Talk about shaking it! Forwards and backwards we worked our way...there are photos of just how much colours on clothes change when they get sweated through. Ready to die from dancing we finished our 1, 5 hour class and P bought the cd`s. Food was in dire need and we went back to our favourite place with the acai ....yesssss it`s an obsession. We also ventured as far as to order some interesting juices...P went for(and at this point KIDS DON`T TRY THIS AT HOME - IN FACT NO ONE REGARDLESS OF WHAT INSPIRES THE DESIRE TO DO SO) an acai concoction that had quail eggs in it and no the acai was not overpowering enough to take away the taste!! Bean and I being the considerate to our stomach and tastebud types went for juices of Cacau and Cupuacu. The hilarity in trying these fruits for the first time is that one automatically tries to relate it to a fruit one already knows...when it`s its own fruit.This time we opted for smaller servings and shared a pizza and a divine chocolate mousse. Ordering chilli sauce proved to be damn near impossible and we ended up with olive oil, vinegar, toothpick, tomato sauce and basically everything remotely resembling sauce other than chilli. On our mission back to the hostel we stopped for a caipirinha( a new one this time as there was another fruit we weren`t familiar with `uma` very tart green little thing and whilst waiting got harrassed by the usual array of folk in the plaza. One of them included our wee random body-part kissing boy who took to Bean this time and her shoulder. I think we were perhaps a little hasty in saying it was a first for him but now Bean shared in a first along with me! So hostel, showers and anti-histamines for the foot. At 8 our taxi driver that we had organised the night before (with his wife in tow) picked us up and we all zoomed out to the airport..us three all realising how much better it was to taxi rather than bus- it would have taken us forever but no, the taxi driver`s skills let us weave in and out of the traffic with ease.
Upon arrival we bought some tickets (a little more expensive than we had hoped for) and entered the Festival de Verao! This place is awesome - the most organised thing we have seen since being in the country. Loads of sponsorship, lights, people and food stalls (joy oh joy caramel corn) selling everything from Bob`s Burgers (a fast food chain) to the local Acaraje - Bahian style food. As we wandered up and down the avenues of the park we ventured into the main zone and scoped it out. After having a boogie to Jamilla, and O Rappa(pronounced oooo harper\hupper) we spent the rest of our night people watching, dancing and pretending to sing along to Portuguese rap. After various gropes from guys as we struggled through the frenzy of people we emerged towards the back with a bit more room to spare and something hazy in the air. At 3am O Rappa finshed and we met up with our good friend the taxi driver and boosted home.
Whilst waiting for samba classes to begin we decided to invest in some caipoera pants- white trackies basically with Brazil coloured stripes down the side. So I am aware of the extreme and potentially ridiculous lengths we are going to with our purchasing of Brazilian paraphernalia but it`s just so damn `legal`( that in Portuguese means `cool` and has no relation to the English meaning). The class initially started off with the three of us and about five others plus instructor with the creds but lacking the smiles. I am not co-ordinated ok, but willing to try!!!! Beanie out-shone us all including the ballet dancing uber-eager-stretching-acting-like she`s the samba queen-ballet dancer. Now fans, now I need each and every one of you to grasp what dancing samba is like- nevermind without any ventilation. I ought to say so much more- it was positively one of the funnest and sweatiest activities I have done in my life. It`s a hard dance and I swear you need a lifetime and early exposure to do it well and wow when they do but it` s the funnest work out and the music and moves despite some confusing me( got to spend a great deal of one on one with the teacher- definately not smiling now!!). We walked ut of the class and it just feels like every part of your body has been separated from the next, and you almost feel like the muscles no longer attach to each other. Talk about shaking it! Forwards and backwards we worked our way...there are photos of just how much colours on clothes change when they get sweated through. Ready to die from dancing we finished our 1, 5 hour class and P bought the cd`s. Food was in dire need and we went back to our favourite place with the acai ....yesssss it`s an obsession. We also ventured as far as to order some interesting juices...P went for(and at this point KIDS DON`T TRY THIS AT HOME - IN FACT NO ONE REGARDLESS OF WHAT INSPIRES THE DESIRE TO DO SO) an acai concoction that had quail eggs in it and no the acai was not overpowering enough to take away the taste!! Bean and I being the considerate to our stomach and tastebud types went for juices of Cacau and Cupuacu. The hilarity in trying these fruits for the first time is that one automatically tries to relate it to a fruit one already knows...when it`s its own fruit.This time we opted for smaller servings and shared a pizza and a divine chocolate mousse. Ordering chilli sauce proved to be damn near impossible and we ended up with olive oil, vinegar, toothpick, tomato sauce and basically everything remotely resembling sauce other than chilli. On our mission back to the hostel we stopped for a caipirinha( a new one this time as there was another fruit we weren`t familiar with `uma` very tart green little thing and whilst waiting got harrassed by the usual array of folk in the plaza. One of them included our wee random body-part kissing boy who took to Bean this time and her shoulder. I think we were perhaps a little hasty in saying it was a first for him but now Bean shared in a first along with me! So hostel, showers and anti-histamines for the foot. At 8 our taxi driver that we had organised the night before (with his wife in tow) picked us up and we all zoomed out to the airport..us three all realising how much better it was to taxi rather than bus- it would have taken us forever but no, the taxi driver`s skills let us weave in and out of the traffic with ease.
Upon arrival we bought some tickets (a little more expensive than we had hoped for) and entered the Festival de Verao! This place is awesome - the most organised thing we have seen since being in the country. Loads of sponsorship, lights, people and food stalls (joy oh joy caramel corn) selling everything from Bob`s Burgers (a fast food chain) to the local Acaraje - Bahian style food. As we wandered up and down the avenues of the park we ventured into the main zone and scoped it out. After having a boogie to Jamilla, and O Rappa(pronounced oooo harper\hupper) we spent the rest of our night people watching, dancing and pretending to sing along to Portuguese rap. After various gropes from guys as we struggled through the frenzy of people we emerged towards the back with a bit more room to spare and something hazy in the air. At 3am O Rappa finshed and we met up with our good friend the taxi driver and boosted home.
jueves, 25 de enero de 2007
Jan 25
So after our Jeri and its beautiful dunes disappeared by the night sky we bussed it back to Fortaleza Airport where we checked in for our flight to Salvador. The fact that we got on the plane on time (between hour forwards hour backwards jumps that when on holiday one is oblivious to) and without any actual problems= was purely MIRACULOUS. Spew(bucket) joined the fun and although we got some strange looks as we went through security and entered the aircraft, he managed to stay by our side. When we finally arrived in Salvador we had the extended pain (a great deal cheaper than the taxi alternative $R70 vs. $R 4) of having to get a minibus for an hour and half to the Historic Centre. We found we had not booked the best hostel, but it would have to do. We decided an Acai was the thing for it and then we decided to explore the city centre some more. We got harrassed by people trying to sell everything from water to lint cleaners to fruit. Riki got lucky and even got kissed by a small boy - but because of his height impediment only managed to get her elbow. Probably a first for her! (and him!) We then took a 5c (yes they still exist and what`s more things still cost that little) giant elevator down to the Cidade Baixa (lower city). P was surpised at how little it cost. We wandered through the market place, ending up buying a coco gelado which wasn`t so gelado after all... some tropical plums which are yellow and kind of tast like a tart mango, deep fried manioc which was not to Riki`s liking but very much a dish from here . We then all squished onto a bus, consequently getting a bead on, which was then amplified by the 33deg heat shown on the outdoor clock, and the long painful trip to the Bomfin church. The Bomfin chucrch is perhaps better know for it`s ribbons which are sported by most people from here or who have visited here and which apparently bring good luck. There are two very special festivals during the year celebrating the healing and lucky power of the church and although we missed the first and biggest we hope to catch a glimpse of the litte one at the end of this month- both take place in January. Here again we were harrassed - this time by males trying to attach ribbons to us. We scuttled into the church, not feeling very pious compared to others prostrating themselves in front of the Virgin, rather choosing to use our time to contemplate the decor not so quietly. As we turned to leave, we saw an extra room, and in we went, only to be creeped out by plastic waxy fake body pieces and photos, left by people who had been `healed` in the church. Ironically, when P tried to take some photos- divine intervention ....well interfered, as P`s camera would only work OUTSIDE the room. However God`s smite was beaten as P stood outside and stuck his arm in and took the photo. Pieter 1 - God 0. As we emerged our `friends` (ie males with fabulous names like `Paulo`) came over and tried to bleed some cash out of us, again with the damn ribbons. Which in the end we bargained them down for and even scored a free one each which they tied around our wrists. The idea here is that they tie it with three knots- each one representing something a wish if you will, and if you remove the ribbon it will bring bad luck so one has to let it come off in it`s own time. As we waited for the bus in the hot sun, P flagged and was the hero of the day as he got us a taxi. Team Medal. We all stumbled our way back to the hostel with Riki and N stopping off for a healthy salad por kilo meal accompanied by mango smoothies. We then ruined our top effort by indulging in a Lime Pie icecream. So in summary- I think we all had interesting imaginings and expectations of what Salvador would hold in store for us. It is well know as the centre of the `African` heart of Brazil , this is expressed not only in the people faces and bodies and their ability to move them, but in their culture, initially this was the main port( and original capital of Brazil) for the slave industry which the Portuguese ran and even today one can only imagine what it must have been like all those years ago!! Recognised as being extremely rich in cultrue whether musically- just today we were witness to various exhibitions of this whether (caipoera= fight dancing has to be seen to know it= AMAZING!!!) or just an accoustic group ranging from all ages playing drums that would rock the socks off Paul Simon performing live in the street.Even the food is different- for one thing it is one of the few places that not only uses but embraces hot spices and chillies in their cooking and it really is a fascinating combination of food- African and mysterious. That brings me to the religious aspect of the place, or better put religion. For here in Slavador of course Catholicism is still very much a prominant religion but with the number of slaves and immigrants and varying mainly African origins there has been a a fusion with various practices such as Candomble( a practice that has various gods and according offerings and festivals- for example on the 2nd is the festival of Iemanja the sea goddess which we hope to return for!)To be honest it almost feels like we have landed in a whole different country, some of it is very Africa -the extreme smells, sounds and colours and the fact that is hot as hell in a way that we have so far not been exposed to. Like I said at times one can only close your eyes and imagine this place in the height of its popularity with slave trade and breathe in the air with all its flavours and there really is a ` different magic ` here. Their is a rhythym all unto its own and a mystery to the people and their way of living. Make no mistake their is also the dark and the negative or ugly if you will too- poverty for one is very much a reality and although we have been blessed on this trip so far- we feel a need here to be a little more careful! Physically Salvador is very quaint in the inner city (think cobblestones) which has been frequented by tourists and alot of the colonial buildings have been renovated..but it is sad to still see crumbling colonial decadence in the outer areas of the inner city. It is also very undulating- a welcome reality to our thighs one day, and the cause of a few whinges the following -no doubt. Safe to say the place has come as quite the shock to us both because of what we were expecting and because of how peaceful and spoilt we were in Jericoacoara.So without further romanticising the place for lack of knowing it better ....Still a lot to be done...
Right, so after we showered we decided that the thing for us being knackered from our travelling was a nice movie. So off we trotted to the local `Shopping` (mall) to see a movie. The taxi driver we met offered to take us out to the Festival de Verao the following night for cheaper as he and his wife were going out anyway - so we jumped at the chance due to the Festival being a good hour away - more in traffic. So transport for the next night organised we strolled into the mall and found the cinema. We had a Team Conference and decided that Babel was the best choice so we bought tickets and had a quick munch on mall food before going in. To our horror and dismay caramel corn was not available so we settled for second best - salty. Gutted.
As the movie was 5mins in the whole film stopped and some guy came in saying in Portuguese something about the fact that it was going to take 15mins to fix the projector (???) and amid cheers and boos from the crowd - it was a full house - the guy tried to bargain with us suggesting another film but the crowd said no- Babel it was- hence leaving the cinema at midnight. The movie however ended up not being the best choice as alot of it was in a language other than english which meant listening to Japanese or Arabic and seeing Portguese subtitles come up. We got the gist but believe we need to see it again to catch all the details.
We taxied back to our hostel and fell into bed...already having a bead on due to lack of ventilation in the dorm.
Right, so after we showered we decided that the thing for us being knackered from our travelling was a nice movie. So off we trotted to the local `Shopping` (mall) to see a movie. The taxi driver we met offered to take us out to the Festival de Verao the following night for cheaper as he and his wife were going out anyway - so we jumped at the chance due to the Festival being a good hour away - more in traffic. So transport for the next night organised we strolled into the mall and found the cinema. We had a Team Conference and decided that Babel was the best choice so we bought tickets and had a quick munch on mall food before going in. To our horror and dismay caramel corn was not available so we settled for second best - salty. Gutted.
As the movie was 5mins in the whole film stopped and some guy came in saying in Portuguese something about the fact that it was going to take 15mins to fix the projector (???) and amid cheers and boos from the crowd - it was a full house - the guy tried to bargain with us suggesting another film but the crowd said no- Babel it was- hence leaving the cinema at midnight. The movie however ended up not being the best choice as alot of it was in a language other than english which meant listening to Japanese or Arabic and seeing Portguese subtitles come up. We got the gist but believe we need to see it again to catch all the details.
We taxied back to our hostel and fell into bed...already having a bead on due to lack of ventilation in the dorm.
miércoles, 24 de enero de 2007
Jan 24
Our last morning in Jericoacoara was as bright and beautiful as every previous morning. After a fulfilling breakfast, we grabbed 'Spew' the Industrial Bucket and Sand Tools and set off to the beach to create yet another Wonder of the World. This time being a more classical approach - being an actual castle - Neuschwannstein styles. First on the cards was Speedos for Pieter. A necessary requirement for a guy in Brazil, especially if you don't want to go home with pasty chicken legs.
So off we trekked to find a suitable spot and spent the next good part of the day digging a MASSIVE pile of sand with three (tripod-like) towers. As the sun beat ferociously down upon us, we realised far too late that Pieter was burnt all over- including a stylish bandanna line, Riki on her back, and Nadine (again) on her ass. Riki's tower was almost lost at one point, and Nadine's was, let's say, solid..while Pieter's yet again took the prize for best designed. However as we are a team he helped us and we ended up coming out on top with three fantastic towers, complete with sand engraved bricks, windows, and flag poles, all surrounded by a strong wall.
As we packed away Spew and Tools to get ourselves a nice green coconut from our favourite place (the waiters really don't like us there due to excessive freshwater shower usage, i.e every time we go for a swim) and a nice relax on their beach chairs. Lunch at Cafe Brasil of salad went down a treat, and then this was all followed by crepes, chocolate for Riki, and Nutella for P and N. However as Nadine's arrived it was also accompanied by a fly that had been accidently caught in the batter and fried. Consequently amid laughter it was sent back.
Beach bats followed and then we all went for our last frolick in the sea at Jeri while the sun went down plunging the beach town into almost immediate darkness. A Kiwiroska later we headed in to shower and refresh and have some dinner of 'sunny dried meat', with Lime Meringue Pie to finish off the day.
All in all Jeri has treated us well, and the weather has been fantastic...
So off we trekked to find a suitable spot and spent the next good part of the day digging a MASSIVE pile of sand with three (tripod-like) towers. As the sun beat ferociously down upon us, we realised far too late that Pieter was burnt all over- including a stylish bandanna line, Riki on her back, and Nadine (again) on her ass. Riki's tower was almost lost at one point, and Nadine's was, let's say, solid..while Pieter's yet again took the prize for best designed. However as we are a team he helped us and we ended up coming out on top with three fantastic towers, complete with sand engraved bricks, windows, and flag poles, all surrounded by a strong wall.
As we packed away Spew and Tools to get ourselves a nice green coconut from our favourite place (the waiters really don't like us there due to excessive freshwater shower usage, i.e every time we go for a swim) and a nice relax on their beach chairs. Lunch at Cafe Brasil of salad went down a treat, and then this was all followed by crepes, chocolate for Riki, and Nutella for P and N. However as Nadine's arrived it was also accompanied by a fly that had been accidently caught in the batter and fried. Consequently amid laughter it was sent back.
Beach bats followed and then we all went for our last frolick in the sea at Jeri while the sun went down plunging the beach town into almost immediate darkness. A Kiwiroska later we headed in to shower and refresh and have some dinner of 'sunny dried meat', with Lime Meringue Pie to finish off the day.
All in all Jeri has treated us well, and the weather has been fantastic...
martes, 23 de enero de 2007
23 january
Today was the perfect lazy holiday day we got up after a long sleep...having gone to bed so early and waking up twelve hours later one would hope that we would be revived and roaring to go, but we ended up loitering between sarongs on HOT sand and hammocks with good books and very little exertion of any form. Somewhere between cold showers after lying in the sun, and sweating a stream there was a dunk in the mainstreet of sand- nice one P!!!! And a movement towards swapping some books and eating some açai.
From here we progressed towards the beach and found a pousada(hotel) with a deck, great showers and coconut water and sundeck chairs where we settled in for the afternoon. Like I said the perfect holiday! Around 4.30 we finally got ourselves alive and kicking and hired some sandboards and headed for the dunes. Hah let me point out however that the sandboards are a little shorter and fatter than skateboards and have velcro straps- cute on the rack but rather ineffective on a dune that is anything other than a direct vertical drop. Nonetheless we gave it a good go. Beanie got in some turns(half a one a run) and Pieter with 3 pairs of matching havaiianas strapped to his pack had the right notion but the boards kind of sunk everytime we tried to do anything with them . Nonetheless between hops and falls we were still descending and having to make our way up the hill at the end of it. The sand being of such a nature that with every step forward you avalanched backwards half a step.....making up for a lazy day indeed !! As for me = I don´t really call myself a snowboarder and i know 'excuses are for losers' but yeah luckily i had the boards making me look somwehat better by not functioning. So we, along with the whole of the town´s population settled on top of the dune and watched the sun go down. Whilst waiting we took on a few photo feats and yes managed to get sand in places where no sand has gone before!( And with good reason)
We finally slid down one last time- N standing and P and I on our butts(mine being somewhat burnt after a tanning session) and headed for a swim and an attempt to un-encrust ourselves. This however turned into 'P tackling R various times' session which lead to her recovering at one point without full coverage of her chest. Not her proudest moment!! Reaching our gear just as the tide did we moved back to town and the centre of the beachfront where the caipirinhas were well into their sundowner sells, and caipoera was being performed under a burnt sky- locals and toursits alike mingling. We returned the boards without too much ceremony except for avoiding a table full of Argentine boys which featured in a team challenge some nights earlier . We then decided to rinse ourselves with some well water - mainly because we could. Beanie however threw the bucket into the well with no consideration as to whether it was actually attached to the wall thus losing the bucket all together and any chance of well water with it. We took off at quite a pace for fear of angry locals not finding this nearly as amusing as I did at the time. Technically as B put it , it should have been tied. What have we learnt from technical people? = what Chuy looks like!!!
Anyhow stopping off for a kiwiroska with out favorite stall lady and a few menu inspections we headed home for a thorough clean and change of clothes. Fresh and pretty we had another heaven-sent feast; Garlic prawns for two with chili and lime= LOTS!! Lasagna and a desert which thank goodness we didn´t discover till tonight our last night here....chocolate/nutella crepes- AAAAAAAAAAAmazing!
So here we are ready for bed again and satisfied beyond anyone's right. What are we going to do once this all ends?????????
From here we progressed towards the beach and found a pousada(hotel) with a deck, great showers and coconut water and sundeck chairs where we settled in for the afternoon. Like I said the perfect holiday! Around 4.30 we finally got ourselves alive and kicking and hired some sandboards and headed for the dunes. Hah let me point out however that the sandboards are a little shorter and fatter than skateboards and have velcro straps- cute on the rack but rather ineffective on a dune that is anything other than a direct vertical drop. Nonetheless we gave it a good go. Beanie got in some turns(half a one a run) and Pieter with 3 pairs of matching havaiianas strapped to his pack had the right notion but the boards kind of sunk everytime we tried to do anything with them . Nonetheless between hops and falls we were still descending and having to make our way up the hill at the end of it. The sand being of such a nature that with every step forward you avalanched backwards half a step.....making up for a lazy day indeed !! As for me = I don´t really call myself a snowboarder and i know 'excuses are for losers' but yeah luckily i had the boards making me look somwehat better by not functioning. So we, along with the whole of the town´s population settled on top of the dune and watched the sun go down. Whilst waiting we took on a few photo feats and yes managed to get sand in places where no sand has gone before!( And with good reason)
We finally slid down one last time- N standing and P and I on our butts(mine being somewhat burnt after a tanning session) and headed for a swim and an attempt to un-encrust ourselves. This however turned into 'P tackling R various times' session which lead to her recovering at one point without full coverage of her chest. Not her proudest moment!! Reaching our gear just as the tide did we moved back to town and the centre of the beachfront where the caipirinhas were well into their sundowner sells, and caipoera was being performed under a burnt sky- locals and toursits alike mingling. We returned the boards without too much ceremony except for avoiding a table full of Argentine boys which featured in a team challenge some nights earlier . We then decided to rinse ourselves with some well water - mainly because we could. Beanie however threw the bucket into the well with no consideration as to whether it was actually attached to the wall thus losing the bucket all together and any chance of well water with it. We took off at quite a pace for fear of angry locals not finding this nearly as amusing as I did at the time. Technically as B put it , it should have been tied. What have we learnt from technical people? = what Chuy looks like!!!
Anyhow stopping off for a kiwiroska with out favorite stall lady and a few menu inspections we headed home for a thorough clean and change of clothes. Fresh and pretty we had another heaven-sent feast; Garlic prawns for two with chili and lime= LOTS!! Lasagna and a desert which thank goodness we didn´t discover till tonight our last night here....chocolate/nutella crepes- AAAAAAAAAAAmazing!
So here we are ready for bed again and satisfied beyond anyone's right. What are we going to do once this all ends?????????
22 january
So Beanie and I arose and did breakfast before going for a wax,we left Pieter to sleep. I have never met anyone who moves quite as much or sleeps quite as badly as he. Hah if it's not the fan keeping him awake it's his back and then that means musical beds between his bunk and the hammock outside our room. No wonder we found his one earplug in the garden!!! So having to meet up with the Estonians at the beach we decided an Açai was in order just to calm our nerves. In my case it was more to distract me from the lovely hangover i was feeling with a vengeance- the heat wasn't helping either. I mean far be it for us to complain about being toooo hot, but it really was a perfect day for being in a hammock with a fam and a bottle of ice-water, rather than facing the forces of nature at this time of the day. Our plans included going sandboarding with the Estonians and using their vehicleto get there. However once they joined us i think cruelly but truly none of us three were al that keen anymore. So while they had to move hotels, B n R made an excuse of needing to buy tickets out of here and sorting out memory/photoloading issues in an internet cafe- airconditioned of course!!!
So we sccurried leaving Pieter to take one for the team. After enquiring on the street as to where we could buy our tickets a guy kindly volunteered guiding us there- no such thing as a free lunch though and he ended up pitching himself as a buggy guide and when i said we had already done that...he wanted a tip. Bean and I pulled the 'we don´t understand you and scuttle' card. Returned to the hostel to leave Pieter a note in the room to say we weren´t feeling our new friends still unsure of who was in more danger in terms of who they were hunting=P, N or R- Europeans dressing habbits weren't giving anything away and between earrings and constant photo taking of us three we couldn´t help but wonder! So, we relocated to the beauty of aircon and awaited P. he however being a boy didn´t check the room. Two hours later we returned to the hostelt o find him asleep inthe hammock and he had managed to lose the Estonians. We spent the rest of the afternoon camped out at a pool next door hiding and re-enacting sea animals- mainly Pieter but so true to life that B and R had tofilm it but could hardly stand they were laughing so hard. Now Jeri consists of three streets, not helpful when you are trying to avoid people- we moved to a restaurant where we made quite the afternoon of it and had amazing açai(again!!!), pesto pasta(momstyles), a salad with mango and rocket and all things good and P also managed to chow a hamburger. We topped our gorgefest off with a delightful choccy-goo biscuit concoction.....between three! Happy days we rolled home and hat showers and painted our toe nails . While B was in the shower, P and R out of lack of blood moving to our braincells-too much food in the way took to indoor beachbats and toenail locking...await the fotos is all i can say!!!! An outdoor shower for me later and a review of the days fotos saw us sleeping like babies....well me and Bean atleast as for P losing an earplug-again....wrestling with his three pillows, swapping beds and angles all in search of the perfect sleep,right?- Feng-Shui anyone?
So we sccurried leaving Pieter to take one for the team. After enquiring on the street as to where we could buy our tickets a guy kindly volunteered guiding us there- no such thing as a free lunch though and he ended up pitching himself as a buggy guide and when i said we had already done that...he wanted a tip. Bean and I pulled the 'we don´t understand you and scuttle' card. Returned to the hostel to leave Pieter a note in the room to say we weren´t feeling our new friends still unsure of who was in more danger in terms of who they were hunting=P, N or R- Europeans dressing habbits weren't giving anything away and between earrings and constant photo taking of us three we couldn´t help but wonder! So, we relocated to the beauty of aircon and awaited P. he however being a boy didn´t check the room. Two hours later we returned to the hostelt o find him asleep inthe hammock and he had managed to lose the Estonians. We spent the rest of the afternoon camped out at a pool next door hiding and re-enacting sea animals- mainly Pieter but so true to life that B and R had tofilm it but could hardly stand they were laughing so hard. Now Jeri consists of three streets, not helpful when you are trying to avoid people- we moved to a restaurant where we made quite the afternoon of it and had amazing açai(again!!!), pesto pasta(momstyles), a salad with mango and rocket and all things good and P also managed to chow a hamburger. We topped our gorgefest off with a delightful choccy-goo biscuit concoction.....between three! Happy days we rolled home and hat showers and painted our toe nails . While B was in the shower, P and R out of lack of blood moving to our braincells-too much food in the way took to indoor beachbats and toenail locking...await the fotos is all i can say!!!! An outdoor shower for me later and a review of the days fotos saw us sleeping like babies....well me and Bean atleast as for P losing an earplug-again....wrestling with his three pillows, swapping beds and angles all in search of the perfect sleep,right?- Feng-Shui anyone?
lunes, 22 de enero de 2007
Facebook Link
If the photos are a strain on your eyes and you want to see them closer, have a look at Nadine's facebook site - you will have to create an account but the photos are far easier to see.
www.facebook.com
www.facebook.com
21
OK so am writing this with very little enthusiasm as I had just finshed blogging when i closed the window by accident without saving the damn page but here we go again.
Right so after a coughing frenzy or two in her sleep- poor Beanie, Pieter turning off the fan and me mistaking Beanie's earplug in the midst of her coughing attack for a piece of watermelon we eventually awoke to another beautiful day in Jeri. Delighted by the fact that none of us looked anything resembling a watermelon we celebrated with breakfast one and two. The first at the hostel- we finally made it to one as a collective and the second being an Açai just to start our 'team' day right. Today we allocated sandcreation building and 'no time' as our challenges . So all kitted up in our aviators, havaiianas-Br styles and our Brazilian flag bandannas...God forbid anyone mistook us for foreigners or we momentarily forgot where we were!!! Design in hand we scuttled into the market in search of 'C' for serious tools. Emerging with an industrial strength 10L bucket, clay sculptor and 'brush n pan' pan(think shovel), we were all geared up and with ´ganas´(desire/enthusiasm/intention) we made it onto the beach . Choosing a neat little position near the bottom of the sand dune and miles away from the water - the fact that it was low-tide didn´t really help either, we set to work. Pieter on drawing the outlines and me and Bean following orders. As we scurried between fetching water and digging up sand our initial approach was to loosen the sand with the clay sculptor and then throw in into the middle thus giving the creature definition. However after the clay sculptor suffered a casuality and the handle broke we had to resort to the very malleable plastic pan and our hands. We must have looked quite the sight in our matching accessories, bikinis and down on all fours covered in sand. The fact that the wind was blasting us to smithereens was rather painful and unneccessary but did take away the full effect of the heat and make no mistake it was SCORCHING.
So the creature I speak of was to be a 'three-headed sphinx' - It´s all about the trio!! However at this point the ´thing' was growing rather lumpy but progress is progress. Feeling like we had bitten off more than we could chew and without a clue of time we put our backs into it . As I said before ganas is essentially a matter of "where theres a will , theres a way" Not without the usual sprinkling of passer-byers- on foot, motorbike, buggy or jeep they all came by stopped stared and wondered. Hah granted we either looked really cool or really stooopid- but curiosity killed the cat. TAKE A FOTO IT LASTS LONGER!!!
So at some point after the ´sphinxy´started gaining some form , i.e hipbones, nice childbearing hips and very 'sliceable' backside Beanie and I moved in the direction of water to rinse. With three options a puddle of water=tooo hot, a very shallow estuary(flounder-able but not worth it) and the ocean which felt like a good kilometers walk but the winning option. We made our way back only to return just as encrusted as before. Subbing with Pieter we continued defining paws and awaited his return so we could make smallwork of our creation. Beanie took to the tail as only she would- delivering a masterpiece and Pieter and I invested our skill and genius in creating three heads. After various attempts to solidify the sand we realised we would just have to let go of our three head illusions and settle for one. The final result being a somewhat meek looking cat...with a fantastic behind. We however were every part the proud parents- typical you think the best and most of that which you give birth to. A few more people finally grasping our intentions passed and played some guessing games..."yes well done it´s a cat!!!!"
Anyway after various snapshots and videos we made our way in search of fresh flowing water. Finding two showers and the a whole beachfront restaurant full of disapproving looks we de-crusted ourselves and our tools(possibly the cause of the weird looks and murmurs) and sat down with the intention of ordering ´coco's´. Fifteen mintutes of writhing for attention later we huffed our way out of there and found a similar setup where they served us with a smile and fooooood. Blessed with the entertainment of a group of hippies selling jewellery, one with a baby in a stroller wearing nappies and backpack with what looked like leopard fur, I might add!- WHO`D DO THAT? Almost satisfied we found some ice cream and waddled back to the hostel still none the wiser about the time but oh so thrilled with our accomplisments for the day. The hammock and I bonded while Beanie and Pieter took to the net.
After a frustrating session of trying to burn CDs of photos we left the hostel after a shower in search of dinner. We ended up at a pizza restaurant where salad was the winner..followed by caipirinhas down at the stands were we met two guys from Estonia - Enn and Reno. ESTONIA!!?? Random - I think they are the first Estonian people we have met. This could be due to the fact that the country only has 1.5million people and it was a former part of the Soviet Union. So after bonding over Kiwiroskas, Maracujaroskas (passionfruit) and the all-endearing classic lime caipirinha we took our torch and hiked up in the dark to the sand dunes. Drinks in hand we watched the starry sky..Beanie seeing 3 shooting stars, Riki nil. After running down the dunes we headed to the supermarket and back to the hostel to pick up our friend the industrial bucket to make our own caipirinhas. We stopped at the supermarket and then went and sat round the unswimmable pool due to cleaning at the Estonian's hotel while they tried to teach us an Estonian card game. Kind of along the lines of 500 mixed with Old Maid. Hard to teach easy to play apparently. After various attempts we all gave up and decided on a swim in the sea in the pitch black and then headed back to the hostel swinging our dear empty friend the bucket all the way home.
Right so after a coughing frenzy or two in her sleep- poor Beanie, Pieter turning off the fan and me mistaking Beanie's earplug in the midst of her coughing attack for a piece of watermelon we eventually awoke to another beautiful day in Jeri. Delighted by the fact that none of us looked anything resembling a watermelon we celebrated with breakfast one and two. The first at the hostel- we finally made it to one as a collective and the second being an Açai just to start our 'team' day right. Today we allocated sandcreation building and 'no time' as our challenges . So all kitted up in our aviators, havaiianas-Br styles and our Brazilian flag bandannas...God forbid anyone mistook us for foreigners or we momentarily forgot where we were!!! Design in hand we scuttled into the market in search of 'C' for serious tools. Emerging with an industrial strength 10L bucket, clay sculptor and 'brush n pan' pan(think shovel), we were all geared up and with ´ganas´(desire/enthusiasm/intention) we made it onto the beach . Choosing a neat little position near the bottom of the sand dune and miles away from the water - the fact that it was low-tide didn´t really help either, we set to work. Pieter on drawing the outlines and me and Bean following orders. As we scurried between fetching water and digging up sand our initial approach was to loosen the sand with the clay sculptor and then throw in into the middle thus giving the creature definition. However after the clay sculptor suffered a casuality and the handle broke we had to resort to the very malleable plastic pan and our hands. We must have looked quite the sight in our matching accessories, bikinis and down on all fours covered in sand. The fact that the wind was blasting us to smithereens was rather painful and unneccessary but did take away the full effect of the heat and make no mistake it was SCORCHING.
So the creature I speak of was to be a 'three-headed sphinx' - It´s all about the trio!! However at this point the ´thing' was growing rather lumpy but progress is progress. Feeling like we had bitten off more than we could chew and without a clue of time we put our backs into it . As I said before ganas is essentially a matter of "where theres a will , theres a way" Not without the usual sprinkling of passer-byers- on foot, motorbike, buggy or jeep they all came by stopped stared and wondered. Hah granted we either looked really cool or really stooopid- but curiosity killed the cat. TAKE A FOTO IT LASTS LONGER!!!
So at some point after the ´sphinxy´started gaining some form , i.e hipbones, nice childbearing hips and very 'sliceable' backside Beanie and I moved in the direction of water to rinse. With three options a puddle of water=tooo hot, a very shallow estuary(flounder-able but not worth it) and the ocean which felt like a good kilometers walk but the winning option. We made our way back only to return just as encrusted as before. Subbing with Pieter we continued defining paws and awaited his return so we could make smallwork of our creation. Beanie took to the tail as only she would- delivering a masterpiece and Pieter and I invested our skill and genius in creating three heads. After various attempts to solidify the sand we realised we would just have to let go of our three head illusions and settle for one. The final result being a somewhat meek looking cat...with a fantastic behind. We however were every part the proud parents- typical you think the best and most of that which you give birth to. A few more people finally grasping our intentions passed and played some guessing games..."yes well done it´s a cat!!!!"
Anyway after various snapshots and videos we made our way in search of fresh flowing water. Finding two showers and the a whole beachfront restaurant full of disapproving looks we de-crusted ourselves and our tools(possibly the cause of the weird looks and murmurs) and sat down with the intention of ordering ´coco's´. Fifteen mintutes of writhing for attention later we huffed our way out of there and found a similar setup where they served us with a smile and fooooood. Blessed with the entertainment of a group of hippies selling jewellery, one with a baby in a stroller wearing nappies and backpack with what looked like leopard fur, I might add!- WHO`D DO THAT? Almost satisfied we found some ice cream and waddled back to the hostel still none the wiser about the time but oh so thrilled with our accomplisments for the day. The hammock and I bonded while Beanie and Pieter took to the net.
After a frustrating session of trying to burn CDs of photos we left the hostel after a shower in search of dinner. We ended up at a pizza restaurant where salad was the winner..followed by caipirinhas down at the stands were we met two guys from Estonia - Enn and Reno. ESTONIA!!?? Random - I think they are the first Estonian people we have met. This could be due to the fact that the country only has 1.5million people and it was a former part of the Soviet Union. So after bonding over Kiwiroskas, Maracujaroskas (passionfruit) and the all-endearing classic lime caipirinha we took our torch and hiked up in the dark to the sand dunes. Drinks in hand we watched the starry sky..Beanie seeing 3 shooting stars, Riki nil. After running down the dunes we headed to the supermarket and back to the hostel to pick up our friend the industrial bucket to make our own caipirinhas. We stopped at the supermarket and then went and sat round the unswimmable pool due to cleaning at the Estonian's hotel while they tried to teach us an Estonian card game. Kind of along the lines of 500 mixed with Old Maid. Hard to teach easy to play apparently. After various attempts we all gave up and decided on a swim in the sea in the pitch black and then headed back to the hostel swinging our dear empty friend the bucket all the way home.
domingo, 21 de enero de 2007
YouTube Video Link
Currently there are only a couple of videos on there. As you will see the Giant Snail Crossing is a hit. More will be uploaded when we either get home (Feb 18) or once we hit a decent net cafe.
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=NadineLawrence
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=NadineLawrence
sábado, 20 de enero de 2007
Jan 20
Waking up to our first glorious day of sunshine in Jericoacoara..lovely except Pieter and I found bed too good especially as Nadine has a bad cold. Riki made friends with people at the breakfast table and boosted on a buggy trip to Tatajuba. Later in the morning we got up and went for an Açai seeing as we missed breakfast. We then wandered down the road to the beach where a swim and a sunbake was in order. The tide had gone out and it was spectacular against the enormous yellow sand dunes set against verdant palm trees. Nice..
So while the Team took one on their pillows I made the best of a sunny day and boosted it by buggy with some Brazilians in need of a partner in crime. With driver on hand we moved our way down the beach and into the vast horizon of sand dunes and ´tealy´shaded ocean.
Our first stop gave us the option of taking a boat and viewing sea-horses, something we side-skipped and instead kept moving. Here; there were literally floating planks of wood over a lagoon ferrying across the various buggies and 4x4 by pole. Pretty insane especially with the setting of wind-abused palm trees, minimal shacks and sand. Absolutely shatteringly beautiful. Once across we roared towards a sprinkling of huts selling coconuts and beer and had a refreshing stop along with the locals working there, their donkeys and few random and coconut attacking pigs and piglets!!!. After this the sand dunes just got bigger and the landsape more dramatic. At one point we stopped on top of a perfect dune where no doubt in the rainy season clear pools form, imaginations was let to picture it as there was nothing but dried out pondscum. The effect of shadows alone made such differences the scenery- only complaint at this point was the strong wind and the lack of team to make the most of the sand-boarding on offer. SO yeah the final stop was somewhat of an oasis amidst the sand....a lagoon bordered by various huts selling fresh seafood and hammocks neatly hanging in the water ´just so´ .A very welcome concept with the scorching heat beating down on us. I managed to sleep sprawled across a table and then in the hammock for the majority of our stop only to wake conveniently in time for some prawns and tropical plums- YUM. So we BUGgered back towards Jeri and I was deighted to find the team alive and active. Not long athereafter we got picked up to go out to a place with a pool and buffet lunch. Not quite all you can eat- satisfied all the same we settled into the pool and made it our task to disarm the actual children of their pool noodles. Between splashes and slices and a ´first´dip we re-disovered our tiredness and napped on the warm tiles. Waking to the sunset we got delivered back to the hostel in a rather bizarre set-up one family jeep and 10 Spanish speaking people later we did our own thing at the hostel.
AND THEN>........................... we had our watermelon eating competition. That´s right one melon, the tripod(a.k.a the team and a lot of ganas)- recipe for laughter and a mess. People...we will be posting a link shortly to YouTube so that you too can share in the experience of our skill and idiocy. After devouring the melon through all forms possible and imaginable -covered in juice we took to washing our clothes...Naturally all in a teamly manner- conveyor belt in action we made easy work of the clothes and yesss collapsed bloated and bubbling with watermelon into our beds. Yet another Saturday that we are choosing sleep. I guess though one can only have so much fun in one day.
Ten points for the seal Pieter- you made our day!
Who´d do that?
So while the Team took one on their pillows I made the best of a sunny day and boosted it by buggy with some Brazilians in need of a partner in crime. With driver on hand we moved our way down the beach and into the vast horizon of sand dunes and ´tealy´shaded ocean.
Our first stop gave us the option of taking a boat and viewing sea-horses, something we side-skipped and instead kept moving. Here; there were literally floating planks of wood over a lagoon ferrying across the various buggies and 4x4 by pole. Pretty insane especially with the setting of wind-abused palm trees, minimal shacks and sand. Absolutely shatteringly beautiful. Once across we roared towards a sprinkling of huts selling coconuts and beer and had a refreshing stop along with the locals working there, their donkeys and few random and coconut attacking pigs and piglets!!!. After this the sand dunes just got bigger and the landsape more dramatic. At one point we stopped on top of a perfect dune where no doubt in the rainy season clear pools form, imaginations was let to picture it as there was nothing but dried out pondscum. The effect of shadows alone made such differences the scenery- only complaint at this point was the strong wind and the lack of team to make the most of the sand-boarding on offer. SO yeah the final stop was somewhat of an oasis amidst the sand....a lagoon bordered by various huts selling fresh seafood and hammocks neatly hanging in the water ´just so´ .A very welcome concept with the scorching heat beating down on us. I managed to sleep sprawled across a table and then in the hammock for the majority of our stop only to wake conveniently in time for some prawns and tropical plums- YUM. So we BUGgered back towards Jeri and I was deighted to find the team alive and active. Not long athereafter we got picked up to go out to a place with a pool and buffet lunch. Not quite all you can eat- satisfied all the same we settled into the pool and made it our task to disarm the actual children of their pool noodles. Between splashes and slices and a ´first´dip we re-disovered our tiredness and napped on the warm tiles. Waking to the sunset we got delivered back to the hostel in a rather bizarre set-up one family jeep and 10 Spanish speaking people later we did our own thing at the hostel.
AND THEN>........................... we had our watermelon eating competition. That´s right one melon, the tripod(a.k.a the team and a lot of ganas)- recipe for laughter and a mess. People...we will be posting a link shortly to YouTube so that you too can share in the experience of our skill and idiocy. After devouring the melon through all forms possible and imaginable -covered in juice we took to washing our clothes...Naturally all in a teamly manner- conveyor belt in action we made easy work of the clothes and yesss collapsed bloated and bubbling with watermelon into our beds. Yet another Saturday that we are choosing sleep. I guess though one can only have so much fun in one day.
Ten points for the seal Pieter- you made our day!
Who´d do that?
viernes, 19 de enero de 2007
Jan 19
So we landed in Recife safe and sound to a rather confusing time change-an hour back and were thrilled to find that despite our late flight we were not going to be holding up our connecting flight. In search of a way to spend some time we found the food court and some hot chocolate goo, cappucinos with far too much sugar and cheesepuff GOOOO balls. The ´drying´cracker and guava goodies on the plane really served no purpose.
After bouncing around there for a good 40 minutes we boarded our plane and left, dare I say it on time. This flight brought the joy of small children making squealing noises. Agony we can deal with, but you can´t cry one minute and giggle the next....parenting people...PARENTING!!!!
So yes we all dozed some more and were hardly surprised to see cloud or raindrops as we descended onto Fortaleza....the coast savagely sparce, with beautiful oceans and sand dunes awaiting us.
Delighted to leave the small child behind we skipped off, collected our packs and managed without any complications or delays (except for them not accepting VISA) to get a bus to Jericoacoara at 10am. Waiting outside in the sick heat the beach bats put in an appearance again until I hit the ball onto the closed off runway area. End of our fun or at least so we thought until we spotted a man who kindly retrieved and returned the ball.
The bus came and our seat numbers 49 and 50 were nowhere to be found - again avoiding eye contact we claimed some seats and enjoyed the sweaty-back journey. We awoke to a movie on bus and sandy roads two hours into our 6 hour journey. As the movie was finishing we pulled into a por-kilo food court outdoor styles and we descended onto the fresh produce with glee. The remainder of the bus ride was sweaty and uncomfortable not to mention the fabulous privilege I had of a standing cop who decided to rest his butt/ gun (no actually a real gun) against my seat slash head as I was semi-coma-ed....talk about awkward and gross. So yeah, then we got informed that we were changing vehicles to a more suitable for sand dunes truck...awesome fun and Pieter proved his purpose by managing to get our packs on the roof because my attempt sure wasn´t gonna get them up there. Beanie boosted to save us some seats and we set off down this road lines with palm trees- wild seas and random farm animals. Quite the paradise I believe we have landed ourselves in. Just running now to find a swim and shower- water being something we are all desperately suffering withdrawls from. Backpackers has given us a room to ourselves...Beanie pulled the double bed and me and Pieter are on the bunks. We are one açai in and exhausted. We dinnered at Sky restaurant and started on the caipirinhas..passionfruit for Riki and I and lime for Pieter. We then moved outside to the caipirinha stands and downed some more Kiwiroskas, mango and grape caipirinhas. We then scuttled out and sat on the beach and drank and then we decided to go to a party out in the wops which ended up playing YMCA so we decided to pass and move on down to the beach front where things were cranking along in the Planeta Jeri - Salsa music blasting..but nobody dancing. We decided at 4am to go home...Can´t wait to see what tomorrow brings...
After bouncing around there for a good 40 minutes we boarded our plane and left, dare I say it on time. This flight brought the joy of small children making squealing noises. Agony we can deal with, but you can´t cry one minute and giggle the next....parenting people...PARENTING!!!!
So yes we all dozed some more and were hardly surprised to see cloud or raindrops as we descended onto Fortaleza....the coast savagely sparce, with beautiful oceans and sand dunes awaiting us.
Delighted to leave the small child behind we skipped off, collected our packs and managed without any complications or delays (except for them not accepting VISA) to get a bus to Jericoacoara at 10am. Waiting outside in the sick heat the beach bats put in an appearance again until I hit the ball onto the closed off runway area. End of our fun or at least so we thought until we spotted a man who kindly retrieved and returned the ball.
The bus came and our seat numbers 49 and 50 were nowhere to be found - again avoiding eye contact we claimed some seats and enjoyed the sweaty-back journey. We awoke to a movie on bus and sandy roads two hours into our 6 hour journey. As the movie was finishing we pulled into a por-kilo food court outdoor styles and we descended onto the fresh produce with glee. The remainder of the bus ride was sweaty and uncomfortable not to mention the fabulous privilege I had of a standing cop who decided to rest his butt/ gun (no actually a real gun) against my seat slash head as I was semi-coma-ed....talk about awkward and gross. So yeah, then we got informed that we were changing vehicles to a more suitable for sand dunes truck...awesome fun and Pieter proved his purpose by managing to get our packs on the roof because my attempt sure wasn´t gonna get them up there. Beanie boosted to save us some seats and we set off down this road lines with palm trees- wild seas and random farm animals. Quite the paradise I believe we have landed ourselves in. Just running now to find a swim and shower- water being something we are all desperately suffering withdrawls from. Backpackers has given us a room to ourselves...Beanie pulled the double bed and me and Pieter are on the bunks. We are one açai in and exhausted. We dinnered at Sky restaurant and started on the caipirinhas..passionfruit for Riki and I and lime for Pieter. We then moved outside to the caipirinha stands and downed some more Kiwiroskas, mango and grape caipirinhas. We then scuttled out and sat on the beach and drank and then we decided to go to a party out in the wops which ended up playing YMCA so we decided to pass and move on down to the beach front where things were cranking along in the Planeta Jeri - Salsa music blasting..but nobody dancing. We decided at 4am to go home...Can´t wait to see what tomorrow brings...
Jan 18
Peter's birthday today meant Riki and I biked to the supermarket to buy fresh bread, champagne and orange juice. After a yummy breakfast we kombied into town for a last minute shop since it was RAINING AGAIN... and also to buy our bus tickets back to Rio. Bikini purchases later we kombvied back to Tomas' to pick up our packs and make a quick lunch/dinner before getting on our bus at 5pm. We got to the bus station and then realised that Peter need birthday cake so Riki and Nadine scuttled across the road to the conveniently located cake shop and purchased a slice of Brigadiero cake (chocolate and caramel), Passionfruit sponge and Coconut caramel cake for munching on the bus. When we bought the tickets the guy conveniently put us all in COMPLETELY different seats, so when we got on we claimed seats togther and refused to make eyecontact with anyone that got on the bus.
Arriving in Rio bus station we spent 15mins trying to find a cheap bus to the airport only to find that in the end a taxi was a better idea. So off we headed to the Domestic Airport Santos Dumont assuming that since our flight was to Fortaleza Brazil we weren't required to go to the International Galeao Airport. However it seems that techinally domestic only means to Sao Paulo. So the smart people we are ended up at the wrong airport. Not a big deal since our flight was at 3am but frustrating none the less. However star-team players Gigi and Alex came and hung out at the airport with us and took us to the correct airport. At check-in we were told our flight was delayed, so we ended up playing beachbats in the departure lounge, accidentally hitting the ceiling, various people and ourselves with the ball. At 430am we finally boarded at slept - luckily claiming the backseats - each of us getting a row of 3 each to sleep on for the next few hours...nice.
Arriving in Rio bus station we spent 15mins trying to find a cheap bus to the airport only to find that in the end a taxi was a better idea. So off we headed to the Domestic Airport Santos Dumont assuming that since our flight was to Fortaleza Brazil we weren't required to go to the International Galeao Airport. However it seems that techinally domestic only means to Sao Paulo. So the smart people we are ended up at the wrong airport. Not a big deal since our flight was at 3am but frustrating none the less. However star-team players Gigi and Alex came and hung out at the airport with us and took us to the correct airport. At check-in we were told our flight was delayed, so we ended up playing beachbats in the departure lounge, accidentally hitting the ceiling, various people and ourselves with the ball. At 430am we finally boarded at slept - luckily claiming the backseats - each of us getting a row of 3 each to sleep on for the next few hours...nice.
miércoles, 17 de enero de 2007
Jan 17
We rose relatively early and wandered down the road to check our email and try and sort these damn tickets of ours...On the way a white truck filled with Brazilian males tried to hit on us except they couldn't start their truck and kept stalling it. Eventually they ended up just rolling down the hill with us walking up it laughing hysterically at them!
Again, Buzios decided that we needed more rain so Riki has cranked out her yellow plastic poncho. Such style and class! We kindly went and purchased some bread along the way and this big fresh ´sweeeet´bread- no literally covered in custard gooo and fruit. We also agreed that sustenance was an urgent matter and found some açai to keep us moving. Breakfast was it´s usual display of glutton and gorging however breakfast now happens around 2- so technically(my favorite word!) it´s a brunch= TWO meals in ONE!!As it had finally stopped raining we made a beeline for the beach and had a whale of a time in the water. Our joy was brief as the skies opened up once again and we moved home with the intention of warm showers and shopping in the centre! So the trio made it to the centre and found some things to buy...black and white ; bikini for the bean and ´pumpkin poof´dress for Riki.
After the extreme exertion we decided that with one day left we had to try some of the local delicies. Pieter ruined our fun by buying a burger which of course we had to try, caramel corn and the cuzcuz which is basically tapioca mush with coconut and condense milk. Prolly not the yummiest description but believe you me TO DIE FOR!!!!!. We also had somepassionfruit/condense milk coconut/tapioca and a cheese and tomato crépe for good measure. We waddled in search of the bus station , half a team member down Pieter with a mix of hangover and oncoming flu.
Bus tickets were no longer being sold so we kombi´d home. After eating that much the Bean and I decided biking was on the cards and I was still hoping to pass the hotel where we stayed last time me and mom came and say ´hi´so we mounted arsenal ´the tractor´ and ´mountain heat´.
AND of course I would have to break the chain around the first corner going up a gentle slope. So here we are at 7.30 at night, everything is shutting , people are chuckling at me and i have a broken chain in hand. So we decide to try our luck searching for somewhere that can fix it. Walk, walk, walk.......nothing main road, it´s getting dark and i´m enquiring in my spanish/portuguese mix about where I can go. The next thing there´s a surf shop and as i hold up the chain everyone including Beanie points next door and there by the light of the workshop is a Bike shop...THERE and OPEN. I mean what are the odds....?
So after washing my hands and smiling sweetly we were back on the road. Helmetless, in the dark amongst the drivers from here (Visions of hospital beds and insurance numbers being pulled up were vivid as one can imagine) and between getting covered in mud splash and working up a bead we biked for a good 2.5 hours!!! Up hills, through crowds yelling ´ting-ting´as there were no bells or lights- the boys overly concerned when we finally made it back had taken to napping!!!!
Dinner was pasta (tomatoey and terrrific) and Riki juice along with a nice salad all flavoured with ´essence ´. Pieter feeling awfully ill and the two of us were rather knackered and had to let Tomaz down gently as all we wanted to do was sleep. Bed was a delight... HAPPY BIRTHDAY PIETER!!!
Again, Buzios decided that we needed more rain so Riki has cranked out her yellow plastic poncho. Such style and class! We kindly went and purchased some bread along the way and this big fresh ´sweeeet´bread- no literally covered in custard gooo and fruit. We also agreed that sustenance was an urgent matter and found some açai to keep us moving. Breakfast was it´s usual display of glutton and gorging however breakfast now happens around 2- so technically(my favorite word!) it´s a brunch= TWO meals in ONE!!As it had finally stopped raining we made a beeline for the beach and had a whale of a time in the water. Our joy was brief as the skies opened up once again and we moved home with the intention of warm showers and shopping in the centre! So the trio made it to the centre and found some things to buy...black and white ; bikini for the bean and ´pumpkin poof´dress for Riki.
After the extreme exertion we decided that with one day left we had to try some of the local delicies. Pieter ruined our fun by buying a burger which of course we had to try, caramel corn and the cuzcuz which is basically tapioca mush with coconut and condense milk. Prolly not the yummiest description but believe you me TO DIE FOR!!!!!. We also had somepassionfruit/condense milk coconut/tapioca and a cheese and tomato crépe for good measure. We waddled in search of the bus station , half a team member down Pieter with a mix of hangover and oncoming flu.
Bus tickets were no longer being sold so we kombi´d home. After eating that much the Bean and I decided biking was on the cards and I was still hoping to pass the hotel where we stayed last time me and mom came and say ´hi´so we mounted arsenal ´the tractor´ and ´mountain heat´.
AND of course I would have to break the chain around the first corner going up a gentle slope. So here we are at 7.30 at night, everything is shutting , people are chuckling at me and i have a broken chain in hand. So we decide to try our luck searching for somewhere that can fix it. Walk, walk, walk.......nothing main road, it´s getting dark and i´m enquiring in my spanish/portuguese mix about where I can go. The next thing there´s a surf shop and as i hold up the chain everyone including Beanie points next door and there by the light of the workshop is a Bike shop...THERE and OPEN. I mean what are the odds....?
So after washing my hands and smiling sweetly we were back on the road. Helmetless, in the dark amongst the drivers from here (Visions of hospital beds and insurance numbers being pulled up were vivid as one can imagine) and between getting covered in mud splash and working up a bead we biked for a good 2.5 hours!!! Up hills, through crowds yelling ´ting-ting´as there were no bells or lights- the boys overly concerned when we finally made it back had taken to napping!!!!
Dinner was pasta (tomatoey and terrrific) and Riki juice along with a nice salad all flavoured with ´essence ´. Pieter feeling awfully ill and the two of us were rather knackered and had to let Tomaz down gently as all we wanted to do was sleep. Bed was a delight... HAPPY BIRTHDAY PIETER!!!
martes, 16 de enero de 2007
Jan 16
Waking at 1pm we boosted to the supermarket to get supplies for the next day - fruit, bread and of course limes and cachaça... After a yum breakfast/late lunch Riki and I caught a small blue van to the centre where we found ourselves an internet cafe to try and book these Ben Harper tickets! After a call to the company later we have discovered that because our credit cards aren't Brazilian we have to go through a lengthy process to pick them up... Dramas dramas dramas..
By this time it was still raining so we decided to console ourselves with a bag of hot caramel popcorn..definately the purchase of the day..and a wander around the streets of Buzios in the rain. We then caught our good friend the small blue van back home and prepared dinner - salad, garlic bread and some steak on the woodfire barby!
A couple of passionfruit caipirinhas later we went into town only to have our plans foiled by rain, Zapata the main bar being shut and more rain. We ended up being very soggy and deciding that Buzios is the place that hates US the most!
By this time it was still raining so we decided to console ourselves with a bag of hot caramel popcorn..definately the purchase of the day..and a wander around the streets of Buzios in the rain. We then caught our good friend the small blue van back home and prepared dinner - salad, garlic bread and some steak on the woodfire barby!
A couple of passionfruit caipirinhas later we went into town only to have our plans foiled by rain, Zapata the main bar being shut and more rain. We ended up being very soggy and deciding that Buzios is the place that hates US the most!
lunes, 15 de enero de 2007
Jan 15
Riki and I awoke early and went and got bread for the boys for breakfast and we did as the Brazilians do - and had our first Brazilian in Brazil! We then managed to rouse the boys and drove the half hour out to Sao Conrado beach where we kitted up and drove up the hill to throw ourselves off a cliff attached to some aluminium poles and even less fabric than the parapenting in Mendoza Argentina. Riki and Gigi went first and Pieter, Nadine and Alex dorve to a shopping mall to withdraw cash as the HangGliding people manage to have DVD players in their car yet somehow cannot seem to make Credit Card facilites available.
After we arrived back with cash in hand we drove up the hill and saw Riki prepare for her flight, and all admired her running style. She got strapped in and then she was off, into the fabulous view and towards the beach accompanied by some squeals.
Nadine was next and showed everyone how to run off a wooden platform properly - haha. Again the flight was accompanied by squeals and constant photo taking on the digicam.
Upon arrival at the beach we landed this time - Riki even managing to run. We then all drove down to Barra Shopping - Brazil's biggest shopping mall to buy our Ben Harper tickets - except to find that they don't accept credit cards and that we had to pay cash except we didn't have any left! So frustrated we ended up trying to buy icecream at Bob's Burgers, only to find our plans were foiled when the Eftpos/Visa machine decided not to work. So there we were munching on icecreams getting more and more frustrated at the retardedness of it all.
In the end Tomas had to sponsor with some cash and we left Barra - Riki and I wanting to come back for the shopping but also irate about the Ticket situation.
We arrived back at Alex's flat and packed up our stuff ready to leave for Buzios.
The drive out took 2hrs and by the time we got there it had started bucketing down with rain to Riki's delight as it always seems to rain when she is in Buzios- well the province of Rio really. We had a yummy pizza - Riki's namesake flavour, and one with chicken and tubed cream cheese- 'catupiry' and after asking for various juices and liqueurs that they didn't have, we settled for the quintessential lime caipirinha. At this stage the rain had intensified even more and we ended up skipping through puddles and waterfalls with merely a thin blue piece of umbrella fabric protecting us from the elements to Zapata - an apparently happening bar in Buzios. However when we got there it was empty so Riki and I just decided to dominate the D-Floor anyway, requesting and receiving the ultimate - Justin Timberlake 'Sexy Back'. Yea!
After burning up the floor we sang and danced our way back to the car belting out such classics such as 'Singing in the Rain' and 'I'm such an Ugly Bug'. Riki managed to slice a very gorgeous 25yr old Argentine Lawyer called Ignacio. She completed Team Challenge number one given to her by Nadine. Bedtime consisted of coating ourselves with Repel Deet bug repellant and laughing about Tripods.
After we arrived back with cash in hand we drove up the hill and saw Riki prepare for her flight, and all admired her running style. She got strapped in and then she was off, into the fabulous view and towards the beach accompanied by some squeals.
Nadine was next and showed everyone how to run off a wooden platform properly - haha. Again the flight was accompanied by squeals and constant photo taking on the digicam.
Upon arrival at the beach we landed this time - Riki even managing to run. We then all drove down to Barra Shopping - Brazil's biggest shopping mall to buy our Ben Harper tickets - except to find that they don't accept credit cards and that we had to pay cash except we didn't have any left! So frustrated we ended up trying to buy icecream at Bob's Burgers, only to find our plans were foiled when the Eftpos/Visa machine decided not to work. So there we were munching on icecreams getting more and more frustrated at the retardedness of it all.
In the end Tomas had to sponsor with some cash and we left Barra - Riki and I wanting to come back for the shopping but also irate about the Ticket situation.
We arrived back at Alex's flat and packed up our stuff ready to leave for Buzios.
The drive out took 2hrs and by the time we got there it had started bucketing down with rain to Riki's delight as it always seems to rain when she is in Buzios- well the province of Rio really. We had a yummy pizza - Riki's namesake flavour, and one with chicken and tubed cream cheese- 'catupiry' and after asking for various juices and liqueurs that they didn't have, we settled for the quintessential lime caipirinha. At this stage the rain had intensified even more and we ended up skipping through puddles and waterfalls with merely a thin blue piece of umbrella fabric protecting us from the elements to Zapata - an apparently happening bar in Buzios. However when we got there it was empty so Riki and I just decided to dominate the D-Floor anyway, requesting and receiving the ultimate - Justin Timberlake 'Sexy Back'. Yea!
After burning up the floor we sang and danced our way back to the car belting out such classics such as 'Singing in the Rain' and 'I'm such an Ugly Bug'. Riki managed to slice a very gorgeous 25yr old Argentine Lawyer called Ignacio. She completed Team Challenge number one given to her by Nadine. Bedtime consisted of coating ourselves with Repel Deet bug repellant and laughing about Tripods.
domingo, 14 de enero de 2007
Jan 14
Riki and I arose at 9am fresh and ready to enjoy the day. We scuttled out of the apartment and walked to pick up our freshly laundered clothes and enjoyed an Açai, and two new experiences - Acerola juice which is a kind of Amazonian berry -kind of tart but good; and Caju juice which is quite creamy and yellow. We then wandered through some markets and ended up buying Brazil headbands and planned our team outfit for when Peter woke up. We then took Tomas and Peter some lunch and then drove out to Ipanema Beach where we walked up and down the promenade enjoying beers and coconuts on the way while admiring the view. We introduced Peter to the slice and contemplating slicing some Policia Militar, but decided that perhaps it wasn't the best idea. After enjoying a caipirinha and watching a volleyball game with virile young Brazilian men (ahaha) we got into our car and drove to Copacabana Beach. Here we wandered around and then stumbled across a Samba band with some young girls samba-ing. It is crazy how they can dance - Brazilians seem to be just born with this innate ability to shake their bootys.
We then bought some yellow Team Havaianas - we all match now and headed back to the apartment where Riki and I enjoyed some caipirinhas before preparing a dinner of pasta and chicken for everyone. We all then enjoyed the delicious Brigadeiro (dulce de leche with chocolate mixed in) made by Gigi, and Peter and I had a Brigaderio off. Nadine won of course.
The boys cleaned up and then we prepared for the night ahead...
We all drove out to a bar called Casa da Matriz where we danced the night away with Frozen Grape flavoured vodka juices, with random people wandering around with Jelly Shots. The bar was situated in an old house with multiple rooms and dance floors.
We then bought some yellow Team Havaianas - we all match now and headed back to the apartment where Riki and I enjoyed some caipirinhas before preparing a dinner of pasta and chicken for everyone. We all then enjoyed the delicious Brigadeiro (dulce de leche with chocolate mixed in) made by Gigi, and Peter and I had a Brigaderio off. Nadine won of course.
The boys cleaned up and then we prepared for the night ahead...
We all drove out to a bar called Casa da Matriz where we danced the night away with Frozen Grape flavoured vodka juices, with random people wandering around with Jelly Shots. The bar was situated in an old house with multiple rooms and dance floors.
sábado, 13 de enero de 2007
13 jan
So after waking at midday and enjoying a refreshing cold shower, never mind making sense of the floor of our room, ie tidying up our mess we headed out the door to find a laundromat and something to nibble on. After handing over our smellies and dirties we were taken to Horti-frutti which is this fabulous taste-as-you-go market which gives 'pick and mix' a whole new meaning. So as Bean and Riki scuttled around tasting and trolleying, the boys stood shaking their heads. Breakfast was a joy consisting of guava juice, watermelon, rockmelon, mango, green grapes, passionfruit and in Tomaz' case coke and ham cheese pastries. The luxury of being amongst friends and in an actual home situation was one we were both loving especially on such a lazy Sunday type rainy day. Alex we OWE you -hopefully not to the dteriment of his exams!! Gigi joined us not long after and we waited for Pieter to join the crew. Waxing was the number one priority and around four we headed to shopping mall in search of putting smiles not only on our faces but those submitted to being around us. The boys used the waiting time wisely and found a beer. The rain had returned and we soon concurred to go and have....you guessed it....FOOD!!!
I'll tell you what though, Porcão the restaurant we got treated to by Gigi (star team player) is one very special place. Located on the Harbourside of Rio, you may call it a buffet but it is so much more and so much better. Green grape caipirinhas to knock your socks off, and then sushi to impress even the conoisseurs and a salad bar never mind seafood selection to write reviews about. And this was but the beginning.
When you sit down the waiters bring around fries, cheesy pastries, onion rings, pão de quejo (cheesey puffballs), fried banana (no idea either) and farofa(the buttery fried manioca stuff they put with beans and rice here). Then came the meat, they give you a little card one side red, one green which one turns according to whether one wants the meat to come or stop coming. The meat for fear of challenging Argentina's red and whites was amazing and abundant. As our iniciation team challenge we did extremely well...TOOOO well in fact and after various fits of laughter and groans we faced dessert with want rather than will. Ice-cream with mashed bombon, passionfruit mousse, cheesecake, brigadero(chocolate powder mixed with condense milk) and icecreams...team decision to rest and recover saw us leaving not long after and crashing in front of CNN at Alex's apartment. What to do next ...what to do....
I'll tell you what though, Porcão the restaurant we got treated to by Gigi (star team player) is one very special place. Located on the Harbourside of Rio, you may call it a buffet but it is so much more and so much better. Green grape caipirinhas to knock your socks off, and then sushi to impress even the conoisseurs and a salad bar never mind seafood selection to write reviews about. And this was but the beginning.
When you sit down the waiters bring around fries, cheesy pastries, onion rings, pão de quejo (cheesey puffballs), fried banana (no idea either) and farofa(the buttery fried manioca stuff they put with beans and rice here). Then came the meat, they give you a little card one side red, one green which one turns according to whether one wants the meat to come or stop coming. The meat for fear of challenging Argentina's red and whites was amazing and abundant. As our iniciation team challenge we did extremely well...TOOOO well in fact and after various fits of laughter and groans we faced dessert with want rather than will. Ice-cream with mashed bombon, passionfruit mousse, cheesecake, brigadero(chocolate powder mixed with condense milk) and icecreams...team decision to rest and recover saw us leaving not long after and crashing in front of CNN at Alex's apartment. What to do next ...what to do....
Jan 12
We woke early to find breakfast was delayed due to the non arrival of bread at the hostel. ByY the time we had packed our stuff up we caught a 10am boat out to go to Praia Lopes Mendes, docking at Pousso Mangues Beach first. We walked the 30mins to Lopes Mendes and had a refreshing swim at one of the most beautiful beaches in Brazil. Our relaxation was slightly inhibited when a group of loud speaking Brazilians sat right next to us - out of the entire beach! So after some sunbaking we walked back to Pousso Mangues beach and had our first wrong meal order.
So thinking that calabresa would be something similar to calabaza (pumpkin in spanish) we ordered a plate..only to be creeped out by the plate of grilled oily sausage and onion concoction slapped in front of us. Nadine piked and decided that maybe a chicken empanada would be a better idea. We then decided to swim in the calm bay and we floated out to where beautiful boats were moored, after swimming around various boats we headed back to shore. The sun was in full force and Nadine managed to burn her butt, with Riki smartly staying in the shade. At 330pm we jumped on a boat going back to Abraao and ran up to our hostel for a speed shower and a fast hike down to the ferry ticket line. After we realised there was a line to board we bought out tickets and sat and chilled out with an icecream until practically everyone was on board except us. We then leisurely boarded, securing a position near the exit. Two uncomfortable hours later of sitting on our packs, we finally arrived in Mangaratiba and claustrophobically fought our way OFF the ferry. There is no courtesy involved, it was hilarious because people would try and push past us, and we were thinking, what dorks, do they not realise we have 15kgs extra strapped to our back that will hurt if they try anything! Guess not..
We then ran to make certain we could get on a bus to Rio, and after arriving first there was a mixup, with one guy pointing to Nadine certain seats were ours, yet 3 mins later realising they had overbooked. They tried to pawn us off onto another bus, then decided to cancel that one, and Riki threw a hissy fit which succeeded. Except she ended up sitting on a small plastic stool in the aisle. Consequently she slid around corners and the relief on her face when someone got out of the bus and she claimed a chair was priceless. We got dropped at the door of Alex's flat where we quickly got changed and met Gigi and Tomas. We then all drove out to Pao do Acucar and caught the cable car up where we went to Nando Reis (kind of like a Brazilian Ben Harper) concert on the hill. Very cool indeed. It started raining but we enjoyed our passionfruit caipirinhas under cover in the concert hall. We found a photo stall and got into bizarre costumes and took some crazy photos. Riki and I got hungry and enjoyed a Caroline cheeseburger and eventually we managed to get throught the rain safely and down the cable car again and back to Alex's apartment to sleep.
So thinking that calabresa would be something similar to calabaza (pumpkin in spanish) we ordered a plate..only to be creeped out by the plate of grilled oily sausage and onion concoction slapped in front of us. Nadine piked and decided that maybe a chicken empanada would be a better idea. We then decided to swim in the calm bay and we floated out to where beautiful boats were moored, after swimming around various boats we headed back to shore. The sun was in full force and Nadine managed to burn her butt, with Riki smartly staying in the shade. At 330pm we jumped on a boat going back to Abraao and ran up to our hostel for a speed shower and a fast hike down to the ferry ticket line. After we realised there was a line to board we bought out tickets and sat and chilled out with an icecream until practically everyone was on board except us. We then leisurely boarded, securing a position near the exit. Two uncomfortable hours later of sitting on our packs, we finally arrived in Mangaratiba and claustrophobically fought our way OFF the ferry. There is no courtesy involved, it was hilarious because people would try and push past us, and we were thinking, what dorks, do they not realise we have 15kgs extra strapped to our back that will hurt if they try anything! Guess not..
We then ran to make certain we could get on a bus to Rio, and after arriving first there was a mixup, with one guy pointing to Nadine certain seats were ours, yet 3 mins later realising they had overbooked. They tried to pawn us off onto another bus, then decided to cancel that one, and Riki threw a hissy fit which succeeded. Except she ended up sitting on a small plastic stool in the aisle. Consequently she slid around corners and the relief on her face when someone got out of the bus and she claimed a chair was priceless. We got dropped at the door of Alex's flat where we quickly got changed and met Gigi and Tomas. We then all drove out to Pao do Acucar and caught the cable car up where we went to Nando Reis (kind of like a Brazilian Ben Harper) concert on the hill. Very cool indeed. It started raining but we enjoyed our passionfruit caipirinhas under cover in the concert hall. We found a photo stall and got into bizarre costumes and took some crazy photos. Riki and I got hungry and enjoyed a Caroline cheeseburger and eventually we managed to get throught the rain safely and down the cable car again and back to Alex's apartment to sleep.
viernes, 12 de enero de 2007
Jan 11
After a night filled with buzzing sounds and flying phosphorescence(fireflies)we awoke at 8 to fall inline for our breakfast and search for prison ruins. After asking about four different people and finding another set of ruins - Lanzarote the initial quarantine/political prison we were skeptical until we saw a sign saying ´Dois Rios´. We stocked up on some supplies and then we headed inland, torch ready and bodies quaking for some physical exertion. They say the walk takes 2-3 hours but we dominated the steep and jungley walk in 1.5 hours. Our bodies didn´t know what had come over them. All the way up to the top and then all the way down the other side. Thick and lush vegetation, moments of intense odours and fragrances of nature decomposing and the occasional ´crikey´ (due to Giant Snail Crossings) made for a power pace uphill, various overtakes and the ingenious setup of a shop at the top of the peak selling frozen juices was just the ticket. The savage beauty of the island is rather breathtaking although we concluded that one is as likey to see a car on this island as one is a jaguar as there is rumour of one....and we saw tracks alright!!!!
On our descent we stopped to take in the prsion ruins of Dois Rios, not nearly as old or vine entwined as we were hoping and decided solitary confinement with a view of paradise was hardly punishment. The sky opened up beautifully and we basked in the sunshine. The two rivers feeding the bay´s green and mellow seawater on either end provided a nice change from the very salty seawater. At first wanting to head to the big rocks shaping the bay we made a quick call against that idea due to the quantity of bugs inhabiting the area.Instead we headed for a river bank, after a little nibble and nap we decided to do some snorkelling...... however that was a non-event and we took to beachbats(still leaving much to be desired) and a lengthy swim out into a cove.
We finally splashed and stroked our way back in and took to the return with chocolate dosages and enthusiasm. Stopping midway up the hill again we were beaded up and sweaty- ready for a refreshing swim in a river pool. Out and up through a shortcut which was bound to leave Riki´s gluteus maximus agonizing the following day we motored. And came out beside our favorite refreshment selling stall looking very dishevelled and dripping with sweat.
The good news was it was all downhill from there and as we frolicked back to Abraão we were very satisfied with our day's activities. Dined at the same restaurant...good value for money- budgeting backpackers that we are, proceeded to have our nerve systems shot by the waterfront as some Iiidiotttt decided to light a WHOLE box of fireworks at the same time. So after various attempts to calm our nerves...ie cake...(gelatinous!) and ice cream we headed home for a early night of R&R(reading and recovery hah from exercise and eating).
On our descent we stopped to take in the prsion ruins of Dois Rios, not nearly as old or vine entwined as we were hoping and decided solitary confinement with a view of paradise was hardly punishment. The sky opened up beautifully and we basked in the sunshine. The two rivers feeding the bay´s green and mellow seawater on either end provided a nice change from the very salty seawater. At first wanting to head to the big rocks shaping the bay we made a quick call against that idea due to the quantity of bugs inhabiting the area.Instead we headed for a river bank, after a little nibble and nap we decided to do some snorkelling...... however that was a non-event and we took to beachbats(still leaving much to be desired) and a lengthy swim out into a cove.
We finally splashed and stroked our way back in and took to the return with chocolate dosages and enthusiasm. Stopping midway up the hill again we were beaded up and sweaty- ready for a refreshing swim in a river pool. Out and up through a shortcut which was bound to leave Riki´s gluteus maximus agonizing the following day we motored. And came out beside our favorite refreshment selling stall looking very dishevelled and dripping with sweat.
The good news was it was all downhill from there and as we frolicked back to Abraão we were very satisfied with our day's activities. Dined at the same restaurant...good value for money- budgeting backpackers that we are, proceeded to have our nerve systems shot by the waterfront as some Iiidiotttt decided to light a WHOLE box of fireworks at the same time. So after various attempts to calm our nerves...ie cake...(gelatinous!) and ice cream we headed home for a early night of R&R(reading and recovery hah from exercise and eating).
miércoles, 10 de enero de 2007
Jan 10
After pulling into Sao Paolo bus station at 7am in the morning Riki and I raced up to the ticket counter to get ourselves tickets to Angra Dos Reis - where the ferry leaves from for Isla Grande (Ilha Grande). At the escalator there was a huge line so Nadine decided to race the escalator up the stairs, and proudly with a 15kg pack on her back she bet those suckers there. To our dismay we found the 8am bus was sold out (its a 7hr trip) and therefore the next at 10 would get us there too late for the ferry across. So, gutted we waited until 10. But before that we had a healthy breakfast of fruit salad, Açai (berry smoothie made with an Amazonian berry) donuts, and cheese bread. All washed down with coffee/green tea.
The next 7hrs was spent on a bus cruising up the Costa Verde, which is very pretty, with coves, inlets, and clearly - Green. On arrival, we found out that it was possible to get across and we wouldn´t have to spend the night in that crusty town, it just meant paying 40Reais instead of 6. But we figured by the time we factored in accommodation and other stuff, it was just better to get to the island. So we walked the ´brazilian´kilometre to the docks. To our glee we found the area, only to be shut down by Tour operators 15mins before our departure time and told to walk somewhere else. Eventually we got on our boat -with 8other tourists and made our way across. We arrived, checked into our hostel ´Overnativa´and then had a por kilo dinner of yummy salads before heading back to the hostel, commandeering another dorm´s bathroom and then crashing out to bed.
The next 7hrs was spent on a bus cruising up the Costa Verde, which is very pretty, with coves, inlets, and clearly - Green. On arrival, we found out that it was possible to get across and we wouldn´t have to spend the night in that crusty town, it just meant paying 40Reais instead of 6. But we figured by the time we factored in accommodation and other stuff, it was just better to get to the island. So we walked the ´brazilian´kilometre to the docks. To our glee we found the area, only to be shut down by Tour operators 15mins before our departure time and told to walk somewhere else. Eventually we got on our boat -with 8other tourists and made our way across. We arrived, checked into our hostel ´Overnativa´and then had a por kilo dinner of yummy salads before heading back to the hostel, commandeering another dorm´s bathroom and then crashing out to bed.
Jan 09
We woke up and enjoyed our last breakfast with Team Ray. After a lazy day emailing, and eating cheesy crepes Riki and I packed our things and said farewell to Bell´s Company Hostel and Praia Armaçao. Typically as we waited for half an hour at the bus stop it began to rain, and getting on the first bus was hilarious. Each bus has a turnstile at the front, and as Riki and I entered the bus we literally were too fat to get through. After various attempts of shoving and pushing we decided the only thing was to take them off and throw them over. At this point the line of locals behind us were getting grumpier and grumpier yet Riki and I could barely muster enough strength to heave them over due to fits of laughter. Similarly at the changeover depot instead of that happening, there was a line a mile long as Riki and I decided to be naughty and jump the line to the back door while being pushed and shoved by little old Brazilian ladies who thought they would be able to get past 2 of us with backpacks on. Yea right... We showed them and those annoying small children who took up far too much bus space. By the time we arrived at the bus station in Flori we were exhausted, and our epic trip had only just begun.
Afetr buying ´Leito´bus tickets to Sao Paolo we saw and had a drink with Team Ray before they got on their bus to go to Iguazu Falls. At 8 we boarded our Leito class bus. We didn´t plan to go Leito but all other buses were full. And in the end what a decision... comfy chairs, space, blankets, pillows, and a treat bag. Riki and I promptly fell asleep and even slept through the dinner break. Leito class all the way baby!
Afetr buying ´Leito´bus tickets to Sao Paolo we saw and had a drink with Team Ray before they got on their bus to go to Iguazu Falls. At 8 we boarded our Leito class bus. We didn´t plan to go Leito but all other buses were full. And in the end what a decision... comfy chairs, space, blankets, pillows, and a treat bag. Riki and I promptly fell asleep and even slept through the dinner break. Leito class all the way baby!
lunes, 8 de enero de 2007
Jan 08
Today the sea was beautifully calm - the first time since we arrived due to a high moon tide, consequently Team Ray went for a swim from our hostel steps (its right on the beach) to the fishing boats. Glorious in the early morning. This was followed by our wonderful hostel breakfast, and a walk along the beach with 3 Ray members...Riki, Santha and Nadine.
Riki and I had a brainwave and went and bought a 12kg Watermelon to soak with Cachaça (sugar cane spirit) and the walk back from the supermarket was the longest 500m of Nadine´s life. A rotund 12kg watermelon is not the easiest thing to carry!
We set about filling it with cachaça and left it to soak while Beanie and Riki walked to Praia Matadieros for a swim and a vicious game of beach bats with Baywatch inspired dives and runs featuring. David Hasselhoff eat your heart out. We headed home and had a nice shower, Jackson a friend of Riki´s who she met in a hostel in Chile had joined the hostel roster and the Rays and J decided pizza was the dinner desire. So after a melon inspection, ´banter´(aka Dan´s euphemism for abusing Riki) and a lot of doubt over how the melon was going to turn out we relocated ourselves down the road and eagerly awaited three pizzas- making compromises and finding flavours everybody wanted.
We then bought some limes, something sweet, ice and came home to find after an exceptional team effort that the watermelon cachaça/ caipirinha creation was infact very tasty.
Various finger games and a farewell on ´P´point we went to bed not without a fight. D and R took to a water fight that was of premium quality with low blows which left both parties wet, wet, wet and with soap and toothpaste smeared everywhere.
Riki and I had a brainwave and went and bought a 12kg Watermelon to soak with Cachaça (sugar cane spirit) and the walk back from the supermarket was the longest 500m of Nadine´s life. A rotund 12kg watermelon is not the easiest thing to carry!
We set about filling it with cachaça and left it to soak while Beanie and Riki walked to Praia Matadieros for a swim and a vicious game of beach bats with Baywatch inspired dives and runs featuring. David Hasselhoff eat your heart out. We headed home and had a nice shower, Jackson a friend of Riki´s who she met in a hostel in Chile had joined the hostel roster and the Rays and J decided pizza was the dinner desire. So after a melon inspection, ´banter´(aka Dan´s euphemism for abusing Riki) and a lot of doubt over how the melon was going to turn out we relocated ourselves down the road and eagerly awaited three pizzas- making compromises and finding flavours everybody wanted.
We then bought some limes, something sweet, ice and came home to find after an exceptional team effort that the watermelon cachaça/ caipirinha creation was infact very tasty.
Various finger games and a farewell on ´P´point we went to bed not without a fight. D and R took to a water fight that was of premium quality with low blows which left both parties wet, wet, wet and with soap and toothpaste smeared everywhere.
Jan 07
We spent the day in bed, only venturing out at 4pm to enjoy games of cards, a yummy margarita pizza, and self serve icecream. Asshole was the game of the evening, with Dan tending to end up as the Scum, and Riki and Santha dominating. Riki and I decided after all our partying that a green tea would be great to calm our nerves, so instead of the standard caipirinha we were kind to our livers and had tea. The ´Ray Five´ was also invented that evening by Riki.
sábado, 6 de enero de 2007
Jan 06
Awoke today with the sun out, but Riki gave the bad news that storms are on their way...
We shall see.. After an exhausting game of beach bats on the beach and another coco gelado later we went back to the hostel to see if our laundry had arrived back. But no, the laundry gods seem to hate us and want to smite us with continually dirty clothes.
So we decided the only thing for it was to go have a por kilo lunch. The beauty of this place was its location - it was sitting right over the beach - and the great food. Fresh salads, meat, fish, rice, beans, everything really and you only pay for what you put on your plate. Great for preventing over eating, and super cheap too. We followed this up with a relax on the hammock and then we caught a bus to the town of Lagoa de Conçao where we found ourselves a ATM, thank goodness, and Beanie purchased her first Brazilian havaianas. A lime meringue pie later we made our way back to the hostel by bus. On arrival we were ELATED to find our washing had infact come home, clean and fresh and we bee-lined for some hot showers. By the time we were preened there was a jug/plastic jar of kiwi-perfected caipirinha awaiting us outside. Dan ,Santha and Christian have mastered the art, and I fear we are all becoming rather infamous for our drink. Geecko- the guy on hostel duty at night kept saying "kiwi-caipirinha" and chuckling to himself. After a ´messy´first night some took it on themselves to be on toilet paper duty, maintain a bit of law and order and aim for remembering the night the next day. Kiwis!!!!
We dinnered on cheesy crepes....move over toasties and empanadas......
The night was free from the concept of time (no watches permitted), a bus trip into Flori itself, various taxi rides leading to non-events we found a bar in Lagoa de Concepçao and spent some time talking and teaming- Leading to the founding of ´the Rays´. During our bus ride into Flori itself we were kept well entertained with a little sing-song. Each Ray had to start singina song and carry it for atleast ten minutes until everyone would joing in. This bought out some real classics such as ´wrong way´, `In the jungle´and ´Give me oil in my lamp´- this one in particular didn´t go down to well with the male Rays nor ´Non- Columba-ites ´ But hey it´s only natural we suffer from some side-effects of going there. This little game ended on a high note as Dan gave us a taste of what he learnt while saving the children from AIDS in Africa. ´Camares..........CAMARES!!!!!!!!´ At four we got turned away from everything and decided to taxi back to the beach by our hostel and await the morning. Sitting on a hill in Brazil taking in a new day and this beautiful life we were all rather dumbfounded. Various young couples kept appearing, cows on one side , fishing boats out at sea and various fruit offerings to the seagoddess Iemanje accompanied us into a new day which we topped off with a swim in the sea in our underwear. The highlight by far! Finally feeling slight fatigue we made our wet ways wandering back to the hostel for some breakfast, showers and sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet sleep!
We shall see.. After an exhausting game of beach bats on the beach and another coco gelado later we went back to the hostel to see if our laundry had arrived back. But no, the laundry gods seem to hate us and want to smite us with continually dirty clothes.
So we decided the only thing for it was to go have a por kilo lunch. The beauty of this place was its location - it was sitting right over the beach - and the great food. Fresh salads, meat, fish, rice, beans, everything really and you only pay for what you put on your plate. Great for preventing over eating, and super cheap too. We followed this up with a relax on the hammock and then we caught a bus to the town of Lagoa de Conçao where we found ourselves a ATM, thank goodness, and Beanie purchased her first Brazilian havaianas. A lime meringue pie later we made our way back to the hostel by bus. On arrival we were ELATED to find our washing had infact come home, clean and fresh and we bee-lined for some hot showers. By the time we were preened there was a jug/plastic jar of kiwi-perfected caipirinha awaiting us outside. Dan ,Santha and Christian have mastered the art, and I fear we are all becoming rather infamous for our drink. Geecko- the guy on hostel duty at night kept saying "kiwi-caipirinha" and chuckling to himself. After a ´messy´first night some took it on themselves to be on toilet paper duty, maintain a bit of law and order and aim for remembering the night the next day. Kiwis!!!!
We dinnered on cheesy crepes....move over toasties and empanadas......
The night was free from the concept of time (no watches permitted), a bus trip into Flori itself, various taxi rides leading to non-events we found a bar in Lagoa de Concepçao and spent some time talking and teaming- Leading to the founding of ´the Rays´. During our bus ride into Flori itself we were kept well entertained with a little sing-song. Each Ray had to start singina song and carry it for atleast ten minutes until everyone would joing in. This bought out some real classics such as ´wrong way´, `In the jungle´and ´Give me oil in my lamp´- this one in particular didn´t go down to well with the male Rays nor ´Non- Columba-ites ´ But hey it´s only natural we suffer from some side-effects of going there. This little game ended on a high note as Dan gave us a taste of what he learnt while saving the children from AIDS in Africa. ´Camares..........CAMARES!!!!!!!!´ At four we got turned away from everything and decided to taxi back to the beach by our hostel and await the morning. Sitting on a hill in Brazil taking in a new day and this beautiful life we were all rather dumbfounded. Various young couples kept appearing, cows on one side , fishing boats out at sea and various fruit offerings to the seagoddess Iemanje accompanied us into a new day which we topped off with a swim in the sea in our underwear. The highlight by far! Finally feeling slight fatigue we made our wet ways wandering back to the hostel for some breakfast, showers and sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet sleep!
viernes, 5 de enero de 2007
Jan 05
So yay! I awoke with Riki´s crazy grin in my face this morning at 7am in the hostel so we had a cup of tea, a walk and then hit bed once more until 11. When we woke up again we had our first Brazilian hostel breakfast. Our hostel is situated right on the beach, with a restaurant, net cafe, and massive dorms of like 30people which makes for an interesting social environment. Lots of fun and easy to meet people. Weird to get changed in though..either you try to preserve your modesty, or just give up. We enjoyed our breakfast of fruit, mango juice and bread with dulce de leche and then consequently went for a walk along the beach to burn it off. We then enjoyed our first swim and then sat and enjoyed the sunshine and humidity sipping our first coco gelado in Brazil! The water was suprisingly cold - but my oh my refreshing. We then walked back to our hostel and caught a bus to the supermarket to buy some juice and shampoo. The joys of a foreign supermarket! We got caught in a downpour on the way back, and when we arrived back at our hostel Beanie was astounded to see fellow Otago Law Faculty comrades! Christian (formerly known as ´Black Leader´) Santha his girlfriend and their mate Dan!!!! Such a small world!! So before we got stuck into caipirnihas Riki and I had a healthy dinner of icecream (their icecream is a self serve buffet, it is so much fun..the guy who weighed it when we paid did not look too impressed ahah) and salad. Dan, S and C made massive jars of lime caipirinhas and we got stuck in and enjoyed the evening, with a live music band in our hostel. Let the good times roll! We also discovered the amazing "crêpes on a stick" with beautifully cheesy filling, an amazing feed to soak up remainder alcohol.
miércoles, 3 de enero de 2007
03 Jan
So last morning/day in Punta before we head to our next destination - Florianopolis Brazil!!! A quick pack and we said farewell to Ryan as he got onto the Buquebus back to BA to meet up with the others (he stayed behind just to have a dinner date with Beanie) and we almost had a heart attack as we turned up back to 1949 Hostel to collect our clean laundry, only to find it had not yet appeared. Luckily it was quickly remedied by a phone call and Riki's face visibly relaxed! We then got our obligatory photo by the giant hand in the sand on Playa Brava and then ended up in the internet cafe killing time until our bus trip.
Our last afternoon consisted of catching up with the must-do´s in Punta. This included getting a photo or two with the ´hand in the sand´, eating Beanie´s last Freddo icecream and Churros…Now for those of you unfamiliar with churros they are deeepfried bits of dough filled with custard, chocolate and B´s fave dulce de leche. Naturally we tried all and naturally paid for it for the remainder of the afternoon as we waited for our washing and our bus out of Punta del Este , Uruguay to Florianopolis(´Floripa´), Brazil.
The laundry service/hostel conveniently marked our bag with a whiteboard marker and consequently the bag got lost, remained unwashed and nameless. We got our stuff back and waddled to the bus station…packs on backs and foodbabies onboard.
IN no way surprising our bus was late and after various hours waiting and reading we started the first of many ´random places to play beach bats challenge´. The bus drivers were a tough crowd and the passengers a rather uncheery lot even despite the wind´s attempts to lift our skirts mid-game- apparently sex doesn´t sell in sport. We boarded the bus smug, full and satisfied with our ´puta´I mean Punta week- just kidding!!!
Dinner was initiated with peanuts, doughey sticks, chips. Followed by eggey-cheese quiche, a sausage roll, a bread roll, ham and cheese sandwiches, a bread and buterpudding meets flan (´congealed egg creation´) and an old slice with jam!!!! Before I come down to harshly on the overdosing of carbs, sugar and use of egg and cheese there were vegetables and here I refer to the mashed potato which was the hot dish….mashed potato and CRUMBED meat( can´t be safe to specify- Uruguay have goat as a traditional dish!!) schnitzel. And noooooooooooooooooooooooooo we didn't eat all of it, in fact we hardly ate any just sat there staring at it horrified. I mean Jamie Oliver thought school lunches were an issue!! The meal was enough to conjure oasis like visions of lettuce and asparagus frolicking!!! As we neared Chuy we neared Brazil and customs and immigration.
When I visited Brazil earlier in the year with my mom, we got a fine upon leaving as we had lost the SEPARATE i.e NOT ATTACHED piece of paper they call a visa. There is a reason the rest of the world attaches it to your passport!!! Anyway, aware of this I went out of my way to eliminate problems with crossing the border. In the end getting a friend in Brazil to pay the fine at the Brazil bank as that is the only way to resolve the situation and of course the embassy in Buenos Aires doesn't have a branch at the embassy…FAR TOOOOO LOGICAL. At this point I would like point out I spent four different and frustrating days at the embassy trying to ELIMINATE any problems whatsoever….the Señor helping me informed me that ´technically´ all would be fine. So after passing through customs-where the power went out in the middle of the checking and me and B about to pop some champagne celebrating our entrance into BR. I came to know what ´technically´South America meant.
Technically left me kicked off the bus at the border, waving goodbye to Beanie, again facing the federal police of Brazil who excusing my rant are the biggest and meanest, rudest, motherless , insensitive, self-importantizing creatures ever. No , I didn´t have proof of paying the fine and of course all the codes both fine and passport and computers have NO relation to one another. ANYONE? So there I was a backpack, my rejected passport a pack of cookies, the dust of the bus crossing into Brazil and me in Chuy at midnight.
After tossing up catching a bus back to a bigger city or rather just A city I caught a taxi and thought I would find a computer in order to get my friend to send me the receipt.
People if I called this place a hole, I would be giving this place grandeur…Thankfully I found an internet café, phones however no. The taxi driver was also kind enough to point out some accommodation. So after frantically trying to make contact with my friend and no luck…the only option was finding a roof for my head Thankfully I had a toothbrush with me other than that….earplugs. So the ´hotel´ for that's what they dared call it gave me the second last room. Two single beds, different and well past their use by date sheets, a fan-without a plug and a bedlamp-without a bulb and mosquito's. No bathroom…no no that I would have to share…not only with the rest of the guests but mosquitoes. I finally ended up closing my eyes and only by the grace of god for I had no watch and I was certain the mosquitoes were going to carry me off in my sleep and awoke without too many casualties. So between splashing myself with cold water and soap, swatting at the well-settled community of mosquitoes( having decided to avoid the shower after turning on the light and seeing something scuttle across the floor. )
So 7am I set out to get some money out, find the bus station( again overstatement as I know barnyards that are bigger and more functional). Nothing opens here till at least 8.30, so I loitered, ate my cookies and read my book. There are no buses to my exact destination which means I will have to take two…YIPPY!!I am laughing all the same…I think in the scale of 1-10 of places I would least like to live this place scores a 15, o ok maybe a 14 the fact that they speak Spanish makes it a bit better but I cant begin to do justice to the situation nor location!!!
Nadine´s version of the event. So once Riki disappeared into the dust of the Uruguayan border I spent the next 15hours of my life trying to sleep and learn portuguese from the Lonely Planet. These were interrupted by the bus hostess offering toffees for breakfast in the morning and then dulce de leche biscuits. Real healthy! And when I asked for a tea, naturally it came loaded with sugar and I had to request another one for fear of contracting diabetes out of one bus trip.
Arrival in Flori less one Riki Small Smith and plus her backpack I doubled up and muled it to the next bus station where I had to catch 2 crowded buses with two massive packs on..one on front, one on back. I got some weird looks...sort of pity, plus what the??!!!
Consequently when I arrived at Praia Armaçao I was exhausted and needed to nap before doing anything else. However the hostel had different ideas as no fresh sheets were available so I ended up going for a 3hr walk along the beach to discover the area and then enjoyed a mango juice (amazing) and a worry about where in Brazil Riki is!!!!???? Where is she??
So after printing the damned receipt and especially journeying out to the border to make sure that was all they required....would like to point out it was but a mere code...not even a barcode...i was given the clear and so headed back into my beloved Chuy to await my bus to Porto Alegre .Naturally when we got to the border they hardly even blinked in the direction of my receipt...the last time i felt so ripped off was after having turned 18 and no-one wanting to see proof that i was old enough to buy alcohol. So yay atleast i was allowed entrance to Brazil....Beanieless and bubbly-less a far cry from my inicial imaginings.After a 10 hour bus trip through torrential rain infact at times it felt more like we were boating along the road at times we made it to our destination. A portuguese speaking destination...so let me set everyuone straight...although they are neighbouring countries and share a lot of similarities they are in fact SEPERATE languages and thanks to different rhythyms and pronunciation very lost one me. SO usually i speak forth in Spanish and they more or less understand me and then reply and i understand nothing. Thank goodness i found a friend in an Uruguayan kid who helped me get not only a ticket but my first dinner in Brazil. A all you can eat setup upstairs in the bus station. So yes, just 24hours later wearing the same clothes and a whole new person i boarded a bus in the direction of Flori and my beloved Bean.
Our last afternoon consisted of catching up with the must-do´s in Punta. This included getting a photo or two with the ´hand in the sand´, eating Beanie´s last Freddo icecream and Churros…Now for those of you unfamiliar with churros they are deeepfried bits of dough filled with custard, chocolate and B´s fave dulce de leche. Naturally we tried all and naturally paid for it for the remainder of the afternoon as we waited for our washing and our bus out of Punta del Este , Uruguay to Florianopolis(´Floripa´), Brazil.
The laundry service/hostel conveniently marked our bag with a whiteboard marker and consequently the bag got lost, remained unwashed and nameless. We got our stuff back and waddled to the bus station…packs on backs and foodbabies onboard.
IN no way surprising our bus was late and after various hours waiting and reading we started the first of many ´random places to play beach bats challenge´. The bus drivers were a tough crowd and the passengers a rather uncheery lot even despite the wind´s attempts to lift our skirts mid-game- apparently sex doesn´t sell in sport. We boarded the bus smug, full and satisfied with our ´puta´I mean Punta week- just kidding!!!
Dinner was initiated with peanuts, doughey sticks, chips. Followed by eggey-cheese quiche, a sausage roll, a bread roll, ham and cheese sandwiches, a bread and buterpudding meets flan (´congealed egg creation´) and an old slice with jam!!!! Before I come down to harshly on the overdosing of carbs, sugar and use of egg and cheese there were vegetables and here I refer to the mashed potato which was the hot dish….mashed potato and CRUMBED meat( can´t be safe to specify- Uruguay have goat as a traditional dish!!) schnitzel. And noooooooooooooooooooooooooo we didn't eat all of it, in fact we hardly ate any just sat there staring at it horrified. I mean Jamie Oliver thought school lunches were an issue!! The meal was enough to conjure oasis like visions of lettuce and asparagus frolicking!!! As we neared Chuy we neared Brazil and customs and immigration.
When I visited Brazil earlier in the year with my mom, we got a fine upon leaving as we had lost the SEPARATE i.e NOT ATTACHED piece of paper they call a visa. There is a reason the rest of the world attaches it to your passport!!! Anyway, aware of this I went out of my way to eliminate problems with crossing the border. In the end getting a friend in Brazil to pay the fine at the Brazil bank as that is the only way to resolve the situation and of course the embassy in Buenos Aires doesn't have a branch at the embassy…FAR TOOOOO LOGICAL. At this point I would like point out I spent four different and frustrating days at the embassy trying to ELIMINATE any problems whatsoever….the Señor helping me informed me that ´technically´ all would be fine. So after passing through customs-where the power went out in the middle of the checking and me and B about to pop some champagne celebrating our entrance into BR. I came to know what ´technically´South America meant.
Technically left me kicked off the bus at the border, waving goodbye to Beanie, again facing the federal police of Brazil who excusing my rant are the biggest and meanest, rudest, motherless , insensitive, self-importantizing creatures ever. No , I didn´t have proof of paying the fine and of course all the codes both fine and passport and computers have NO relation to one another. ANYONE? So there I was a backpack, my rejected passport a pack of cookies, the dust of the bus crossing into Brazil and me in Chuy at midnight.
After tossing up catching a bus back to a bigger city or rather just A city I caught a taxi and thought I would find a computer in order to get my friend to send me the receipt.
People if I called this place a hole, I would be giving this place grandeur…Thankfully I found an internet café, phones however no. The taxi driver was also kind enough to point out some accommodation. So after frantically trying to make contact with my friend and no luck…the only option was finding a roof for my head Thankfully I had a toothbrush with me other than that….earplugs. So the ´hotel´ for that's what they dared call it gave me the second last room. Two single beds, different and well past their use by date sheets, a fan-without a plug and a bedlamp-without a bulb and mosquito's. No bathroom…no no that I would have to share…not only with the rest of the guests but mosquitoes. I finally ended up closing my eyes and only by the grace of god for I had no watch and I was certain the mosquitoes were going to carry me off in my sleep and awoke without too many casualties. So between splashing myself with cold water and soap, swatting at the well-settled community of mosquitoes( having decided to avoid the shower after turning on the light and seeing something scuttle across the floor. )
So 7am I set out to get some money out, find the bus station( again overstatement as I know barnyards that are bigger and more functional). Nothing opens here till at least 8.30, so I loitered, ate my cookies and read my book. There are no buses to my exact destination which means I will have to take two…YIPPY!!I am laughing all the same…I think in the scale of 1-10 of places I would least like to live this place scores a 15, o ok maybe a 14 the fact that they speak Spanish makes it a bit better but I cant begin to do justice to the situation nor location!!!
Nadine´s version of the event. So once Riki disappeared into the dust of the Uruguayan border I spent the next 15hours of my life trying to sleep and learn portuguese from the Lonely Planet. These were interrupted by the bus hostess offering toffees for breakfast in the morning and then dulce de leche biscuits. Real healthy! And when I asked for a tea, naturally it came loaded with sugar and I had to request another one for fear of contracting diabetes out of one bus trip.
Arrival in Flori less one Riki Small Smith and plus her backpack I doubled up and muled it to the next bus station where I had to catch 2 crowded buses with two massive packs on..one on front, one on back. I got some weird looks...sort of pity, plus what the??!!!
Consequently when I arrived at Praia Armaçao I was exhausted and needed to nap before doing anything else. However the hostel had different ideas as no fresh sheets were available so I ended up going for a 3hr walk along the beach to discover the area and then enjoyed a mango juice (amazing) and a worry about where in Brazil Riki is!!!!???? Where is she??
So after printing the damned receipt and especially journeying out to the border to make sure that was all they required....would like to point out it was but a mere code...not even a barcode...i was given the clear and so headed back into my beloved Chuy to await my bus to Porto Alegre .Naturally when we got to the border they hardly even blinked in the direction of my receipt...the last time i felt so ripped off was after having turned 18 and no-one wanting to see proof that i was old enough to buy alcohol. So yay atleast i was allowed entrance to Brazil....Beanieless and bubbly-less a far cry from my inicial imaginings.After a 10 hour bus trip through torrential rain infact at times it felt more like we were boating along the road at times we made it to our destination. A portuguese speaking destination...so let me set everyuone straight...although they are neighbouring countries and share a lot of similarities they are in fact SEPERATE languages and thanks to different rhythyms and pronunciation very lost one me. SO usually i speak forth in Spanish and they more or less understand me and then reply and i understand nothing. Thank goodness i found a friend in an Uruguayan kid who helped me get not only a ticket but my first dinner in Brazil. A all you can eat setup upstairs in the bus station. So yes, just 24hours later wearing the same clothes and a whole new person i boarded a bus in the direction of Flori and my beloved Bean.
martes, 2 de enero de 2007
Jan 02
And so the final day in our hostel, grey skies and a late breakfast leaves us wandering the streets and taking it easy. We missioned it over to the boys place with our backpacks, and the grey skies had one advantage..that it was sligthly cooler than carrying them in the blazing sun and humidity! Riki and I went on a long walk around the point and discussed various life topics, and managed to see an ENORMOUS sea lion berthed up at the harbour. We then had a salad for lunch and talked in English about various filfthy topics until the horror set in when we realised that 2American guys had been sitting right beside us listening the whole time..woops...
Hung out at Hotel Azul until Beanie and Ryan went on their date at 9pm to Hotel Mantra - restaurant Zaffarini out in la Barra. B felt very spoiled with a nice sauvignon blanc to start the night with hazelnuts, fresh bread and nibbles, followed by a prosciutto melon entree, an amazing bottle of Chilean Red and a divine chicken dish as a main. This was all followed by dulce de leche icecream and coffee at about 2 in the morning with darling Ryan picking up the $200usd tab plus the 400peso taxis there and back. Riki spent the evening chilling out with music, watermelon and fresh fish in a local restaurant and lucky girl got an early sleep and even managed to make it up for breakfast the next day :)
Hung out at Hotel Azul until Beanie and Ryan went on their date at 9pm to Hotel Mantra - restaurant Zaffarini out in la Barra. B felt very spoiled with a nice sauvignon blanc to start the night with hazelnuts, fresh bread and nibbles, followed by a prosciutto melon entree, an amazing bottle of Chilean Red and a divine chicken dish as a main. This was all followed by dulce de leche icecream and coffee at about 2 in the morning with darling Ryan picking up the $200usd tab plus the 400peso taxis there and back. Riki spent the evening chilling out with music, watermelon and fresh fish in a local restaurant and lucky girl got an early sleep and even managed to make it up for breakfast the next day :)
lunes, 1 de enero de 2007
Jan 01
Happy New Years!
So the day dawned beautifully as it always does in Punta, and after sleeping until about 2:30pm the boys came around and Riki and I showed our gratitude to them by cooking them french toast with dulce de leche, yoghurt, fruit salad and champagne and orange juice. We then walked to Conrad Jupiters and enjoyed the aircon while sipping a fruitshake, and the boys organised some dune buggies, nicely named 'Raptor'. With a maximum speed of 60km/h we ripped it up along the main street. Upon returning to the hostel we decided that the New Year had infact not been started off as it ought to and treated ourselves to our ´FIRST´ ice cream of 2007 resolutionally sharing the ice cream of super dulce, mora, and coco marmolado. A nap, a read and a preen later we headed out the door to meet up with the boys and eat at a place called ´Los Negros´. After a mammoth taxi ride out along the coast with the sun going down on one side and the full moon above us I didn´t think it was going to get much better but I was sorely mistaken. The restaurant is set on its own beach with a a view down the coast on the one side and a conveniently perfect lighthouse on the other side. The moon made the perfect side order and I would be lying if it was not one of the most beautiful and perfect little settings in my life. It is basically a house on the beach turned restaurant with big wooden furniture, heavy creamy white linen and red and white striped canopies. Naturally set to serve people eating outside, the kitchen is little but the smells and the serving style....to die for. As with all good things there is a price and I think Beanie's face when she looked at the menu can only be described as priceless. Jars of white sangria whetted our appetites and we ended up sharing various plates between four such as a wood oven pizza, aubergine slivers with bread crumbs, fig pulp and goats cheese and a zuccini sliver 'dance' of mint, lemon and parmesan as a starter. For mains we did the seafood tin box- prawns, baby lobsters, scallops, various squidbits and a heavenly lemon flavouring. Bean risked a bit or two...tentatively trying the frutos del mar, and sharing the steak with the boys.....the bill is another day's story and as we both concurred this morning the overall price was not ridiculous but as backpackers LUDICROUS. $117 nz per person- now before parents want to shoot us...we were kindly treated to dinner and no we were not required to sell any bodyparts or work in the kitchen. We taxied home or rather I slept and we continued that trend. Tummy full , eyes shut.
P.S when and if we ever get married, note this down as the address for the receptions!!!
So the day dawned beautifully as it always does in Punta, and after sleeping until about 2:30pm the boys came around and Riki and I showed our gratitude to them by cooking them french toast with dulce de leche, yoghurt, fruit salad and champagne and orange juice. We then walked to Conrad Jupiters and enjoyed the aircon while sipping a fruitshake, and the boys organised some dune buggies, nicely named 'Raptor'. With a maximum speed of 60km/h we ripped it up along the main street. Upon returning to the hostel we decided that the New Year had infact not been started off as it ought to and treated ourselves to our ´FIRST´ ice cream of 2007 resolutionally sharing the ice cream of super dulce, mora, and coco marmolado. A nap, a read and a preen later we headed out the door to meet up with the boys and eat at a place called ´Los Negros´. After a mammoth taxi ride out along the coast with the sun going down on one side and the full moon above us I didn´t think it was going to get much better but I was sorely mistaken. The restaurant is set on its own beach with a a view down the coast on the one side and a conveniently perfect lighthouse on the other side. The moon made the perfect side order and I would be lying if it was not one of the most beautiful and perfect little settings in my life. It is basically a house on the beach turned restaurant with big wooden furniture, heavy creamy white linen and red and white striped canopies. Naturally set to serve people eating outside, the kitchen is little but the smells and the serving style....to die for. As with all good things there is a price and I think Beanie's face when she looked at the menu can only be described as priceless. Jars of white sangria whetted our appetites and we ended up sharing various plates between four such as a wood oven pizza, aubergine slivers with bread crumbs, fig pulp and goats cheese and a zuccini sliver 'dance' of mint, lemon and parmesan as a starter. For mains we did the seafood tin box- prawns, baby lobsters, scallops, various squidbits and a heavenly lemon flavouring. Bean risked a bit or two...tentatively trying the frutos del mar, and sharing the steak with the boys.....the bill is another day's story and as we both concurred this morning the overall price was not ridiculous but as backpackers LUDICROUS. $117 nz per person- now before parents want to shoot us...we were kindly treated to dinner and no we were not required to sell any bodyparts or work in the kitchen. We taxied home or rather I slept and we continued that trend. Tummy full , eyes shut.
P.S when and if we ever get married, note this down as the address for the receptions!!!
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