Caxias do Sul - An unexpected find
Trip Start
May 17, 2008
1
30
40
Trip End
Ongoing
Caxias do Sul,
Brazil
Friday, September 26, 2008
As much as I enjoyed my time in Cambará do Sul, I was glad to be heading out. It seems I do my best thinking on the road. While in the city, I can only seem to just be in the moment ... and this balance seems to work for me very well. I actually have a rough schedule until October 15th (something that I haven't had in a while.) I needed to coordinate with other people in Curtiba, Rio, and Sao Paulo and to do that you need to set some dates and some times.
It has become apparent to me that I really don't like schedules. I already find it not to my liking. I can just feel the time clicking away until the date of my arrival as if that date was where I am suppose to be instead of this moment in time
01-Cambara-Breakfast at Hostel
.On a lighter note: Early this morning in the street near the bus stop the dogs were making their rounds. Yes dogs!!! Saying good morning to all their dog friends. Gathering together to start their day and figure out all the fun that their going to have. It was obvious that this was their daily ritual.
It's quite common to see animals walking down the street socializing with other animals just like people do; the sight of it makes it them seem all so human.
Late last night there was a Bull walking down the street as I was leaving the restaurant, heading back to my hotel. I decided to just cross the street and let him be. He seemed okay with that as we noticed each other and went on our way.
This morning it was a horse. A horse came trotting down the street (as if free from his leash, overly excited to do some exploring, but not knowing quite what to do with himself. He stopped to eat some grass from the yard of a dog that was barking at him. You could see the horse wasn't hungry. His actions were for the sheer entertainment value of agitating the dog
02-Cambara-Porch of Bus Station
. Not too much time had passed and a small young boy slowly eased up with a rope hidden behind his back.[Everyone on the porch of the bus station smiled as we started to become aware of the drama that was unfolding].
The horse let the boy get about 6 feet away from him, then stopped eating, looked the boy directly in his eyes and then ran off with seeming delirious internal laughter. The horse wasn't having any of it.
Although chuckling myself, I felt for the boy in all this. You could see the despair and dread on his face. He so wasn't going to catch that horse (at least not until the horse either got bored or became hungry) and the boy knew it.
Caxias do Sul - For someone who wasn't planning to be in Caxias do Sul, I found it a most delightful city. So, how did I end up here in the first place?
11am - Upon arriving in Caxias do Sul, I went to purchase the first ticket to Curitiba. The next bus to Curitiba would be at 7:30pm which (plus the 9 hour bus ride) meant I would arrive in Curitiba around 4:30am tomorrow morning
03-Caxias-Inscription on Wall of Church
. Not cool! I don't like to arrive anywhere at night.Actually, the best time to arrive anywhere is between 11am and 2pm. Why? Because 1) It's early check-in at most hotels and hostels and this time gives you the best chance of getting a room. 2) It's during daylight, so it's safer and if you have any problems either with the hotel and/or traveling, you still have plenty of daylight to move on and/or figure it out. 3) The last thing you want to do is to be trying to figure out where you're going and what you're doing all the while carrying large bags at night, especially if you want to keep your bags.
So, I decided to get a later bus, the 10:20pm which (plus the 9 hour bus ride) meant I would arrive in Curitiba around 7:30am. Much better! I could put my bags with Guarda Volumes (a place at the bus stations where you pay a company to keep your bags safe for the day) hit the city, check-out my hotel, get some lunch, and pick up my bags afterwards without missing a beat ... and during DAYLIGHT! (Important).
So what to do from 11am till 10pm. Hmm ... explore the city, of course. Hey, since I'm here, right. Gotta admit, I really liked this city. It was surprisingly very, very modern; with a lot more leisure activities and parks than Santa Cruz do Sul. It also had a rhythm to the city. This is difficult for me to explain. It's like a New York or DC, there was a balance between grit and beauty, commerce and leisure and with that I could get the sense of a rhythm, a heartbeat, a life-force. It seemed more alive or rhythmic than any other city I've visited in Brazil thus far (understanding of course that I haven't visited that many north of Florianopolis)
04-Caxias-Festival in City Central
.Now the city is not overly impressive ... it's not like over the top, but on more than one occasion I thought how much I would like to live here. I even checked out prices on apartments. So what did I do with my day ... what I always do in a new city.
Find a good place for lunch, window-shop, check out the markets, (they had a really interesting festival going on the their Central Square ... I felt lucky, it was filled with street vendors), visit the churches (always impressive), hit the museums (only found one that was in the Central Area), hit the parks (ohh ... they had this really nice park), and find a LAN (internet) house to check in with my peeps. If only I could have found a cinema or a good bar with live music, but before I knew it, the sun was beginning to set and I decided to make my way back to the Rhodavaria (bus stop), pick up my bags from Guarda Volumes, and catch my bus to Curitiba. Oh, and this overnight bus has seat-like beds in them or bed-like seats (one or the other). God I love the transportation system in Brazil. It makes life so much easier and friendlier.
