Vila Nova Hotel Ponta delgada

Well today was always going to be the most arduous of my entire trip and so it proved to be! It took 31 hours to get from Foz do Iguacu to Paraty including a 3 hour lay over in Sao Paulo. Not even enough time for a pilgrimage to Interlagos!

The traffic jams in SaoPaulo take some beating and our guide was a bit edgy about taking us out of the bus station telling ...

... a dorm for 6 people, we could only assume that most back-packers are midget size. But it did the job and everyone in our hostel was ridiculously friendly and, best of all, the sun had decided to come out.
After some much-needed showers we popped out for lunch and did a quick recce of the area en route. Colourful little cafes and shops lined the hilly streets, and we eventually sat down in a typical Brazilian kilo restaurant called Bambu. The idea is that you load up your plate ...

... Christmas Eve party. The party didn't start until midnight, an all-you-can-drink affair (as long as it's beer, rum or vodka) with a DJ that lasted the night. Drinking games were soon underway, King of Beers and High to the Prince, with some Aussie blokes also staying at the hostel. We played King of Beers with Gentlemen's Rules which the chaps found a bit hard to grasp , although they fully embraced the rule that you ...

... ready in my pocket, the girl took my passport without even looking at me and gave me a big stamp, handing it back to me without a word. I could have been there for any reason. At least they dont make you go through the charade of "why are you here" like in the USA. I love Brazil. However if my bag got stolen, it would be better to be in the USA than Brazil, for sure... Anyway I got to the arrivals gate and there was Joana's mum, waiting for me. She is so great!! The weather was ...

... un sol de terre rouge sang. Passer de l'Argentine au Brésil se résume par ces quelques exemples. Quelques similitudes... et tellement de différences. 30 minutes top chrono sont nécessaires pour rallier Puerto Iguaçu a Foz de Iguaçu. 30 minutes pour passer de l'Argentine au Brésil. 30 minutes pour s'aperçevoir de tout ce qu'on va retrouver de l'autre côté. 30 minutes pour sentir le fossé qui sépare ces deux peuples et ces deux contrées ...

... him of excess use of soap and detergent, and personal hygiene was probably not one of his obsessions. Yet, it belonged in the domain of very personal things. For the first minute or two he pretended he was minding his own business. That's about how long his patience held. And then he addressed me. Of course, in Portuguese which - as widely known - I don't speak at all. But as many times before, particularly in South America, it was no obstacle to a friendly chat. Bit by bit, word ...

We had planned our itinerary so that we would be in Sao Paolo the night before our flight to avoid any "rushing to the airport" situations. Of course, that was before we looked again at our tickets and discovered that the 1:25 was not 1:25 in the afternoon but 1:25 in the morning, a full 12 hours before. I had squeezed the favela tour in that morning at 10 ...

Bom Dia! Brazil has been a blast, I can't believe I have only been here fro 3 days and that I have to leave, I love this place. The first day I was a little scared, I had to take a taxi to tehhotel because my flight was late so I missed the shuttle. As a side note, I left Mexico City at 2 am, Not pleasant! In the ride in to town I was so scared of the city. I have never lived or really been in a city with so many tall buildings, literally as far as the eye can see, there are ...

... i muh-ko, men i en lang raekke af mennesker, en kõ) i to-en-halv time, forst i paskontrollen og saa i tolden. Og det jo helt uden min bagage, den bliver jo sendt direkte til Buenos Aires. Da jeg var ude betalte jeg en taxa (her i landet betaler man taxaen inden man saetter sig ind for ikke at skulle have problemer med chaufforen. Smart!) og satte mig ind. Min chauffor hed Lucio, talte ikke et ord engelsk eller spansk, men vi kunne da nogenlunde kommunikere, lidt ...

... d barely written one another the past sixteen months - how we still loved and cared for each other. It was a big burden off my shoulders. I was friends again with the girl I once loved more than anything. The night felt great. Even if I was sleeping in a restaurant. Geórgia and I said a sentimental good-bye, and she arrived fine in her home. Four hours later, the happy, funny cooks of Feijao Brasil were whistling as I let them in the restaurant doors for work. Yalonda ...