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

Curitiba, Parana: Orchid Farm and Rural Tourism

When Eliane learned that I was interested in agriculture, she reached out to her friends and family to get ideas of acitivities that might interest me. Luckily, one of her best friends, Elisangela, is a biologist and one of her friends from university now owns and runs his own orchid farm in a rural polish colony area just outside of Curitiba. Sunday we drove out for lunch and a day on the farm named RF Orquideas.

The best part of the visit was learning about how orchids are produced given that they are such complex plants. The only knowledge I have of them in Canada is that people marvel at their beauty, they sell for $20 and up per plant and that they die easily.

Here you can see an orchid pod. Each of those white particles is a seed. The seeds are first sanitized in a solution for a few months to ensure that there is no bacteria or viruses that would compromise the growth of the plants. Next, the seeds are tranferred to a sugar, banana, coconut water jelly solution for four plus months to germinate. During this time the jars are kept sealed so that no external particles can disrupt the growth of the orchids. At 8 months, the seeds have turned into an algae like growth, still not at all resembling a plant. Thereafter they are fed again and this process occurs in jars until the plants are two years old at which time they are separated and put into a moss/nutrient starter and allowed to start growing.

Rogerio, the farmer, is actually a biologist by trade. For this reason, he says the seed harvesting, growth and development, when the plants are most fragile, is the part he enjoys most. I definitely felt like I was in a science lab. Once the plants are able to grow on their own in natural conditions, he interest waynes though he is still able to make a good sell to his customers at markets and the majority of customers that buy right from the farm.

In order to fertilize the flowers, Rogerio demonstrated 'flower sex' for me. The orchid has both male and female components on the same flower. You remove the pollen with your finger from a flower and put it at the base of another flower so that the seed pod can form and grow. You can create a variety of hybrids by mixing the flowers, though Rodriego keeps certain rare varieties pure to help preserve their species.

Orchids are very diverse. At the farm alone there are about 1000 varieties grown. Some are large planted orchids, others are small tree side orchids, and some too are hanging varieties that don't even need soil. Rodriego apparently has an orchid that is 30 years old.

At lunch I also got to try some different foods including cactus fruit from a gigantic cactus the grows in the front yard and herba matte. This drink is served very hot and you drink it out of this special vessel with a metal straw that prevents the larger particles from being consumed.

Curitiba, Parana: Bus Tour, Oscar Niemeyer Museum and Sunday Market

Three days in Curitiba. Known as an eco-friendly city because of the work past mayors have done to promote responsible waste disposal and ample green space within the city, this town of 2 million does have a lot to offer tourists. I am no longer on the coast of Brazil, but inland. The climate here is much cooler though it has rained a lot more than the other cities I visited. The vegetation is dense and lush - a tropical rain forest.

On the first day Eliane suggested that we do a bus tour of the city. For 25R you get to ride on a hop-on hop-off double decker bus that has stops at 23 locations. You however only get to choose 4 locations to disembarque and embarque from the tour. Because the sights are so far apart and some at which you could stay for a significant amount of time, you can use the tickets over multiple days or all in one day.

My favourite destination was the Oscar Niemeyer Museum. Designed by the famous communist Brazilian architect, it houses many art exhibits. Upon entering the museum, Eliane and I agreed we wouldn't spend more than an hour there, so that we had ample time to visit other destinations. I then shared with her a story about how my Mum and Dad were meant to tour together, because they have a similar approach to museums, which is to read every panel in a museum. As a result, going to a museum with my parents is usually at least a half-day committment.

Eliane and I breezed through the first exhibit, primarily modern art, and then upon entering the second exhibit my interest skyrocketed - it was a seemingly never ending collection that has been amassed by the Itau bank in Brazil about the discovery and documentation of Brazil and the Americas.

The first room consisted of original maps from the 1500s showing the various bays and hazards along the Brazilian and South American coast to be used by European navigators in their explorations. It was particularly interesting to how the maps became more refined and those that included Canada. In all maps, Canada's west was a big questions mark and in one particular map, California was documented as an island because voyageurs had not gone far enough north to know it was attached to North America.

After the maps, in the 1600s and 1700s the focus of investigation turned to documenting the flora and fauna of the country. The images of the birds, reptiles, flowers and trees were exquisite. Once the 1800s was reached, focus turned to studying the native groups and last the end of the 1800s and early 1900s focused on city planning, culture, society and slavery in Brazil.

The exhibit was so fascinating I couldn't leave!! I loved it so much and must have spent at least two hours viewing the collection. I apparently am turning into my mother.

We still hadn't even seen the rest of the museum designed by Niemeyer himself, which we decided to race through in 30 minutes.

Other destinations on the bus tour included the botanical gardens, the downtown square, the Italian quarters and many other ethnic neighbourhoods.

This is the provincial tree. It is protected by the state and so you are not allowed to cut them down whether they are on public or private land. I saw a number of properties that were half covered in these trees which certainly makes the property value decrease since the land cannot be used to build or cultivate as long as the trees exist.
On Sunday morning we started at the famous Curitiba Sunday market. Below you can see a man squeezing the liquid out of sugar can stalks for a popular beverage served here - sugar cane juice.
At the market, I got to see lots of tropical fruit including these jabuticaba of which I had heard lots about but was advised their season was only in November and December. They are so popular that in Brazil it is a complement to be told that a person has dark brown eyes like a jabuticaba.

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.

Florianopolis, Santa Catarina: Beach Days and Firemen Lifeguards

In Florianopolis I spent a lot of time at beaches. Sara loves going to the beach, so she was happy to accompany me and show me some of the more hidden spots so we could get away from the crowds - which turned out to be difficult because there seems to have been people everywhere on the island during my week stay.

One day we took a bus to the south of the island, to Patano do Sul, where the development is not as advanced. There we got off in a small fishing village that was inundated with surfers, fishermen and beach goers. We crossed a small river by bridge while others took a more direct route a waded through the thigh-deep water to get to a surfing haven full with beach side huts and homes, a bar and artisanal vendors. Exploring the island with not-only a permanent resident, but one who has studied the water ways extensively, I was often advised which beaches and rivers I should avoid because of undocumented pollution levels. I definitely felt sorry for the others that didn't have my inside knowledge.

One day we took a 40 minute hike over a hill from the lagoon side to the ocean side of the island. We arrived at a secluded beach opposite one of the more popular Praia Mole where the beats that could be heard for kilometeres were bumping for Carnaval. Our beach became quite busy for its size, but we had arrived early enough to position ourselves in one of the two ideal tanning zones.

We spent the morning reading, listening to music, (I danced in the ocean a number of times),gossiping and enjoying the scenery. The water was very turbulent which made it cold and a little dangerous to swim out very far. The cold was enough to keep us safe, however others were not as deterred by the frigid waters, much to their dismay.

As we sat on our beach towels, we saw a paddle boarder and two swimmers in the water drifting towards the rocks between our beach and the larger Paria Mole on the other side - from where they have come. Apparently the swimmers had been dragged out by the current and unable to navigate the large waves, a lifeguard had come out to try and help them unsuccessfully. It was at this time that we saw two other lifeguards jet over in their jetski to help with the rescue.

I was very impressed with the lifeguard service on all the beaches. In Brazil, the lifeguards are actually firemen. Yes you read that right, firemen lifeguards! I will let your imagination complete the rest of the picture but these men were impressive.

So what hapened is the jetski first grabbed the two tired swimmers and got them to shore on the beach from where they came, over a kilometer away. Then the jetski came back for their colleague and his paddle board since the waves were so large he was unable to stay upright. Unfortunately the leg strap from the board got wrapped up in the motor of the jetski which killed their ability to propel themselves. As a result, the three firemen lifeguards had to paddle the jetski and board to safety on our tiny beach, get a knife from the isolated neighboring resident, cut the cord loose, then push the jetski and board back through the raging waves to get back on duty at their beach.

It was all very entertaining to watch and to see the efficiency and ability of the Brazilian lifeguard force.
The last memory of note, other than the fact that despite hiding in the shade and wearing a long sleeve shirt my skin, unlike the beautiful afro-native golden brown skin of many locals, turned red under the hot Brazilian sun, was learning about the owls that live at one of the beaches. I was sitting (in the shade) enjoying an acai drink, one of my new favourites, with Sara, when I saw an owl! Owls are usually a rare sighting in my experience so I told her to look quickly at the owl on the fence pole. Sara then told me that they were common here and the sign to the right of the owl which says 'toca da caruja' actually means 'home of owls'. Then when I looked more closely I saw two more owls. Apparently they live in holes in the sand and brush behind the beaches. If you don't know how awesome owls are, watch this video.


Thank you Sara and Mario for making my stay in Florianopolis so special!

Florianopolis, Santa Catarina: Downtown

In Florianopolis I lived in a very safe, low-rise apartment neighbourhood near the center of the island. It was right across the street from a park where people can exercise and children can play, and a five minute walk from a grocery store. One of the best features of the location, and I guess the Floripa transportation system, is that the bus stops right in front of its door. In Florianopolis, the buses are run by three private companies to service the whole island. The buses are either blue, indicating regular service, or yellow, indicating executive service. Executive service means that there is air conditioning and more seat room. The prices vary for each bus so you need to pay attention as the bus approaches to the fare amount.



One of my days I spent the afternoon walking around the historical downtown core of Florianopolis. The 15 of November Square is surrounded by historical Portuguese buildings, at its center is the largest Figuero tree in Brazil (so large that its branches are being held up by metal supports), at the head is the municipal cathedral and to the left is the Mercado Central.



The Mercado Central, though not as elaborate as the one in Belo Horizonte, did feature the local seafood very well. For example you can bu 1 kg of shrimp for $6!

My favourite part of the day though was visiting an exhibit on medieval torture devices. To preface my review and description of the exhibit - I'm sorry I forgot my camera - I would like to share that I have always had a strong fascination with witchcraft and its cultural histories around the world. So much so that when I was a child I was convinced that there were spell books in all libraries that the librarians had forgotten about and that if I looked for them hard enough I would find them and be able to study their magic. I never did find the books, but my fascination never did di, which is why I did a project on medieval torture devices used to help discover women who were witches in highschool.

Well Santa Catarina is known as the Island of Magic and has a history of witches. The medieval torture devices exhibit was being put on to promote Italian-Brazilian international relations and most of the pieces were from Europe. There was only 30 pieces in the exhibit and they were all original. Though this may seem underwhelming to pay money to see so few pieces, when you consider that you are seeing, touching and imagening devices that were used to kill and torture people, trust me that you are sufficiently depressed no matter how interesting you find the artifacts after seeing them all.

It is amazing how cruel humans have and can be. Also, how creative humans are whether it is for good or for bad. The exhibit had classic devices we have all seen in movies such as stretching table, a saw to cut people in half vertically while being hung upside down, a male and female chastity belt (male for slaves in artistocrat mansions not to fraternize with the women and female for wives of men who are travelling) and more unusual devices such as a padlock for bad musicians which is a clarinet shaped device which is locked around the neck and with the musicians hands locked in place as if he were playing as punishment for his poor performance.

I would recommend visiting Florianopolis on a Brazilian vacation for sure.

Florianopolis, Santa Catarina: Island Escape

After a crowded and busy stay in Rio de Janeiro, it was a great pleasure to escape to Florianopolis on the island of Santa Catarina in the province of Santa Catarina. I flew south on Monday February 20, 2012, which was right in the middle of the Carnaval holiday to meet my hosts for the next few days, Sara and Mario. Again I was very lucky (karma), because my trip to Florianopolis was a last minute decision. While in Belo Horizonte, all the young people I met said I had to go to 'Floripa', because that is where 'it'is happening these days. The island has gorgeous with dozens of white sandy beaches and all the ocean sports that you can imagine can be found (read fishing, surfing, kiteboaring, sandboaring and boating).

My luck is that while I was in Brasilia, I mentioned that I was going to go to Florianopolis to Gigi's brother at a dinner he hosted. After a quick and secretive phone call, he advised me that his godson's girlfriend, Sara, lives in Floripa and she would likely be able to host me! Sure enough, Sara was a wonderful and graceous host, and Mario, the godson, was even in town visiting and to hang out as well.

We started the visit the afternoon of my arrival with a water taxi ride along the shores of Lagoa de Conceicao, a large lagoon from which lots and lots of shrimp are fished. The water taxis are old wood boats that become jam packed with people trying to access different parts of the island that aren't accessible by road.

We stopped at maybe the third dock to have lunch at a local water front restaurant that serves typical food, namely fish and shrimp. We obviously went for the shrimp platter that featured shrimp prepared four ways and fish too.

Over lunch Mario (27), who graduated with a law degree and is currently studying full time for the Concourso Publico, the tests to gain federal government positions in Brasilia, Sara (25), who recently graduated with a degree in environmental engineering with a specialization in water waste management and is finishing a coop term in Florianopolis before moving to Brasilia, and I talked about politics, careers and life. We paid special attention to the difficulties being faced by educated young people in both countries with relation to access to desirable jobs and housing.

As we took the water taxi back to the lagoa town center, I couldn't help but smile at the beauty of the landscape in which I had once again found myself. There is something to be said about mountains climbing out of the ocean - it makes me feel alive.

Closer to the shore, the kitesurfers were out in full force. My heart raced as I watched them skip across the water and sly into the air. I love the sport and it made me really sad that I do not have enough experience to feel comfortable joining the Brazilian lot that have taken to the sea. But, I have already made plans to come back to play in the waters and sands of Florianopolis - one day.

After the lagoa, we decided to walk to the sand dunes on the ocean side of the island. Only a 45 minute walk from where we were, I was able to see more of the beaches, bars, restaurants and hostels en route to give me a better appreciation for life on the island.

The sand dunes were soft and silky. They still had warmth from the day's sun, but were pleasant to walk on after the cement and bricks en route to the dunes. The island has many protected vegetaion types, including the coastal Atlantic-forest we saw along the lagoon and the sand dune vegetation that fixes the sand from spreading and eroding. Sadly, island development is threatening both of these ecoregions. Along the lagoon, we saw many homes which 10 years ago were not present. According to locals, the houses are being built on land that is protected and the government is not properly monitoring this development - basically if a person has the money, they can do what they want in Brazil. Near the dunes you see housing encroaching as well making it difficult for the landscape to shift and change in its natural rythms. It is amazing that bushes, grasses and even small trees are able to exist in a soil that retains essentially no water, and it is sad that these plants will become less and less effective, though they are vital, as development nears. Sara felt strongly, as an environmental engineer, about these facts, but shared that it was the first time she visited the largest portion of the dunes in her six years living on the island.

The sand dunes in Santa Catarina have allowed for sand boarding to become very popular on the island. Apparently one of the slopes on the backside of the dunes is the longest (or steepest) sand boarding vertical in South America. The slopes don't look very intimidating in comparison to even the most mild ski hills in Canada, but apparently, since sand has much more friction than snow, and since you are not fully strapped into your board, sand boarding is much more difficult. The sport basically consists of stepping into a board and bombing straight down a slope without falling. Once I realized this, the slopes looked much more frightening than they had before.

Mario, Sara and I were all happy with our first afternoon together and the time we got to spend on the water and in the sand.