Goodbye Brazil

My month in Brazil has come to its end. I have appreciate the help and hospitality all my hosts have shown to me as well as enjoyed living and seeing the sights of a small part of Brazil during my stay.

If you are considering travelling in Brazil here are some tips:

1. Brazil is more expensive than you think so budget accordingly. If you live in Canada or the US be prepared to pay similar prices for goods, though services such as haircuts or manis and pedis are dirt cheap.

2. Always be careful of your possessions and smart about where you choose to go especially if you are travelling alone.

3. Book your flights with Gol or Tam at least one mont in advance to save more than 50% of the last minute flight cost.

4. Try CouchSurfing to meet locals, stay safe and save some money while travelling.

5. Be sure to visit a mix of interior and coastal cities so you can enjoy Brazilian beaches as well as some more industrial parts.

And here are some last minute 'weird facts' about Brazil:

Motorcylce drivers are crazy in this country. I am shocked at how little motorcyclists and their passengers wear and at how recklessly they drive. I was even more shocked to learn in Rio that there are 'moto boys', people that not only at as in town courriers but also as motorcylce taxis! The 'moto boys' are identified by a blue lightweight vests. I can't even imagine who would agree et alone pay to zig zag through traffic on the back of one of the motorcylces.

In Rio on the subway there are carts that are specifically reserved for female only passengers. This is to prevent men using the crowded rush hour time as an excuse to grope women in the carts.

In many of the apartment buildings I visited there are two entrances, and sometimes even two elevators to access the appartments. This is because one door is the main entrance and the other door is the service entrance. The service entrance usually leads into the kitchen or laundry room for maids to use or to be used when you are bringing in groceries so as not to drag a mess through your home.

When we were in the streets at carnaval, a little boy not so shyly came up to my buddy to ask him some questions and then started feeling his pockets to see if there was anything in them. My friend told the boy he had already been robbed so he wouldn't find anything at which point the little boy returned to his father. The father then told us and the boy that it is important he tell his victims that he is a cop looking for guns so they don't think he is a thief.

In Brazil, kids don't eat at school every. Instead in elementary school they either go to school in the morning or in the afternoon so that they can be home for lunch. In highschool, the school buses bring them home and then collect them after lunch.

That's it! Off to Paraguay and Argentina. Tchau

What is Couchsurfing?

This is Eliane. Before arriving in Brazil she was a complete stranger to me. Eliane and I connected on the internet when I contacted her from Canada to see if I could stay at her place while I explored the city in which she lives, Curitiba. The network that made this possible is called CouchSurfing.

CouchSurfing is an international network where people who travel or like to host travelors can connect. The network is English speaking, so all members around the world have some English speaking capability. A person can join for free and create a profile to share personal information about their likes and dislikes, the languages they speak, their travel experience as well as the kind of couch they have to offer if they are interested in hosting. Currently on my profile I am listed as travelling, so I do not have a description of a couch available. People can also join even if they aren't travelling or have a couch to offer. Such individuals join because they would like to meet a travelling person and show them around ther town or to sit and have a coffee.

I had heard of Couchsurfing from some of my BC friends in Canada, but I had never had reason to try it. When a friend in Brazil recommended the network to me as a cheaper accomodation option, I started to seriously consider joining. Obviously meeting people online is still considered taboo for many. There are safety concerns, fear of fraud, fear of having your identity stolen and generally being conned. I will admit that I have for the most part only had good experience with meeting people online. In my social circles, I or people I know have found friends, boyfriends, husbands, domestic and international roomates and more through online connections which I believe normalizes the process for me. The only factor that is a little different with CouchSurfing is you are not just meeting a stranger but staying in their home, their personal space, upon first meeting them.

For individuals who are open to all living situations and know that they can be open, pleasant, positive and flexible to all experiences for the duration of their stay with a host, I would strongly recommend CouchSurfing. If you know you have very particular needs, I would shy away from staying with a host and instead meet CouchSurfers for coffee to get some tips about their city.

Eliane is my first CouchSurfing host and I am her first couch surfer. I am staying in her closet on a blow up mattress in her quaint and delightful appartment. When I first arrived, Eliane was concerned that I was staying both on a blow up mattress as well as in a closet space, but I gladly explained that this is the third time I am staying in an air mattress/closet situation on this trip and it still doesn't bother me in the least. I am grateful to have a safe place to stay with a person that knows and is excited about showing off their city.

I approached Eliane online because I preferred to stay with a woman rather than a man for obvious reasons (CouchSurfing tends to be male dominated and there have been stories of inappropriate behaviour between male hosts and female guests which I wanted to avoid), and I liked the personal information she shared about herself which indicated to me we might be a good match. There are all types of people on CouchSurfing - young and old, male and female, quiet and loud, smokers and non-smokers, singles and families, urban and rural dwellers - which means it is important to take the time to make sure the people you are approaching or are considering to host will in fact be a good fit for you.

Neither Eliane or I smoke or do drugs, which was important to both of us, and we both like music! In fact on the first night here, we went to a metal concert at Crossroads, a rock/metal bar where we rocked out til early in the morning to The Elders, a popular Curitiban rock band which plays covers of bands like Metallica and System of a Down. We ended up at this bar as a result of an invitation from one of Eliane's friends, Marcos, whom she also met online. Apparently Eliane said she became very popular with her friends and family when she let them know she was going to have a Canadian staying with her for four days. :)

All in all my experience has been very positive and I will plan on doing it again later in my trip. The fact that between aquaintances and CouchSurfing hosts I will not have paid for even one night of accomodation in Brazil during my four week stay, makes reaching out to people a very attractive travel option. My biggest advice when doing this kind of travelling is to accept anything your hosts offer to you - activities, food, social events - because it will expose you to things you would otherwise not know about, and it shows appreciation to your hosts for putting effort into making your stay enjoyable. If you have a very specific idea of what you want to do during a visit, please stay in a hostel or hotel. CouchSurfing is not about using hosts to save money, but about connecting with people. The touring and the money saving aspects are the bonuses.

Be safe, have fun and good luck with your first CouchSurfing experience.

Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais: Pets and Animals

My experience in Minas Gerais is that everyone has a dog! The love of outdoor places and animals here is widespread. People really enjoy having their pets to get outside or to enjoy in their country homes. It has been really nice for me that there are so many pets because when the conversation gets too fast or I can't understand Portuguese anymore, I generally attract the dogs to pet while observing the conversation rather than participating in it. Plus animals really seem to like me - likely because I have been giving them so much attention and smell like a ton of other dogs.
This is a French Bulldog, my new favourite kind of dog, from my first dinner party in Brazil.
This is Coco, Carol and Lucas' old dog who limps everywhere contently.
This is Gigi's brother's pet monkey! Last Sunday we went to Roni's country home to have some afternoon tea and pao de queso and to meet his pets.
I particularly liked his two pet tucans. Tucans are native to Brazil though I haven't seen any in the wild. I don't think I have even seen a Tucan in real life before this visit. Normally he lets the Tucans fly free during the day in the neighbourhood and then they come home to sleep. He kept the birds in for me the day we visited.

Roni used to have two pet Macaws that he also let fly freely, but apparently they flew too far one day and were likely trapped by poachers to be sold at market again. That was a sad story. You would think it would be safer to keep these birds caged, but even on Roni's property there is so much room for them to fly and enjoy the tree fruits (there are 54 different fruit trees at his home) that the birds wouldn't otherwise be able to enjoy.
On our way into the condominio where Roni lives on weekends, I saw these weird animals in one of the lakes and on the shore. None of them were moving so I thought that they were some artistic statue feature for local residents. However at Roni's he showed me pictures of these animals and I said I saw them and thought they were statues!! He laughed, so on the way back we found them again, and their collection of offspring, so I was able to take a picture.

All dogs are great but this one was hilarious. His name in Portugues means Smiley, because as you can see he is smiling constantly when he is happy. Basically as soon as his tail starts wagging, the teeth come out.

I also have two dogs at the house where I am staying, Jaco and Juca, and will add a photo of them later. Jaco is very hyperactive and can jump like he has springs in his hind legs - though he is good friends with the sick cat Nene that weezes all the time and you'll often find them playing together or sleeping side by side. Juca is fat and more calm likely because he is epileptic and takes medication daily.

Citizenship and Travel

I have arrived in Brazil. The country is in full summer bloom, the temperatures are warm and the energy is alive. As I sit writing in the airport, there is a large group of thirty- to forty-something-year-olds jumping up and down chanting in unison, throwing their arms in the air, blowing whistles and generally showing their excitement for their upcoming trip – Voce Diamond. They have been making so much noise that I am sure was not the only one who thought a fight had broken out with one of the guards when this group came through security.

Getting to Brazil has been relatively easy. I decided to fly directly from Canada to Brazil to avoid any immigration problems in the Unites States. To get into Brazil as a Canadian citizen (or American) you need to get a travel visa which I understand takes at least 10 days to process. For this reason, to even get on my flight from Montreal to Toronto, I was required to show that I had the proper documentation to enter Brazil since it was my final destination.

This is where I encountered my first problem. You see I am also a German citizen, and as such I am not required to have a travel visa to enter Brazil. So when I was asked to scan my passport for the Montreal – Toronto leg of my journey, I assumed my Canadian was required. (I had had trouble entering the German information into the Air Canada system the night prior for my pre-boarding online which is what led me to assume I should show my Canadian information while still in Canada.) But, when I scanned my Canadian passport, the system then asked me to scan my travel visa for Brazil which I of course did not have. My file was flagged. I was able to clarify the confusion easily at the special assistance desk and was advised to only shown my German passport from that point forward which has worked very well.

In fact, when I arrived in Brazil, the immigration officer said, ‘Oh, I love you!’ when she saw I was German and not Canadian because it is much easier for her to process my entry into Brazil than for those who have a travel visa. I think karma is on my side.

When it comes to travelling internationally, citizenship affects your planning in many ways. For example, living in Canada I was unable to book any of my flights with TAM Airlines through their online system. Instead I needed to call their North American dispatch to make my reservations which was easy enough. However, with Voel Gol airlines, not only was I unable to book my flight online as an ‘international’, but the airline also doesn’t have a North American call center to make my reservation by phone. When I researched my options online, one forum advised me that if I registered as an Argentinian on their website, my payment would go through, though the process and confirmation would be entirely in Spanish as a result. Sure enough it worked. I don’t know why the credit card payment requirements are different for different countries, but I am glad people share this information. It can be very frustrating to find a flight you want to book online and be unable to book it in advance.

I have always enjoyed planning and preparing for this trip has been no different. So I spent a fair amount of time reading travel tips for backpackers, individuals on a budget, and for solo women travellers which I will share with you over the coming weeks.

One piece of advice I read is that travellers tend to over pack which is not desirable when backpacking. To curb this trend, it is recommended that you lay everything out on a bed that you want to bring with you and automatically reduce it by half. Then pack your bag to see what fits in the allotted volume and do your best to cut your possessions in half again. Apparently then you will be closer to what is reasonable for your trip.

I decided to follow this advice and laid everything out on my bed, which is what I normally would do anyway. I made sure to cut a few items that felt very thick or heavy when I was rolling them out, but otherwise I kept most of what I had wanted to pack. Well, I think I have been travelling for too long to head to the recommendations I have been getting, because all my possession fit into my bag. (I also feel that I have prepared for most eventualities which is likely as my friends will attest to the fact that I am usually the person that has what someone needs.)

Packing taken care of I made sure to leave a copy of all my important documents with my family as well as a travel itinerary with contact information. I also sent the same copies to myself electronically and made hard-copies to carry with me.

Packing for the summer was easier than for winter climates because you don’t need bulky coats. I am also fortunate that when I return to Canada it will be summer. I am not returning to Montreal until September at the earliest, which means I will be living out of my backpack for the next 7 months. I am unsure if this will encourage me to lighten my load faster or hold on to my possessions that much more tightly.

As a last note, I think it is important when you pack for a trip like this to be prepared to lose everything. It will suck, yes, but hopefully you will not have brought items with you that are irreplaceable. Really the only sentimental items I have with me that I will want to hold on to forever are my picture files – make sure to back these up before you travel and also while you are travelling. The rest you can replace.

Safe travels!

My parents seeing me off at the airport. Thanks Mum and Dad!