Bicicletada Sao Paulo!

Critical Mass in Sao Paulo. For those who have never heard of Critical
Mass. It is an event that started in San Fransisco and spread to
cities around the world. Last Friday of every month, cyclists get
together and take over the streets without any route in particular.
The idea is the promote cycling and remind motorized vehicle drivers
that the roads are for bikes too. Look it up on wikipedia for more
info!

Foz Iguacu

Some photos from Iguacu Falls.

The best smaller moments

Upon arriving in Curitiba, I caught a nasty cold. While getting sick
while traveling is never any fun...it couldn´t have happened at a
better time. Here in Curitiba, I have found myself in the home of
Giraldo and his wife Marcia. For the time being I am calling Marcia,
Mom Number 2. She has made sure to give me lots of homemade teas,
medicines, honey mixed with herbs, fruits...everything the body could
possibly need to recover from a cold.

While I have highlighted the main events during this trip so far. I
began thinking about some of the little things. The little things that
really add to a trip. So I came up with some I´ll share here...

-Montevideo...playing cards on the patio of the hostel, while drinking
mate (a popular tea drink in Argentina, Uruguay and Southern Brazil)
and watching the sun set.

-Iguacu: One night...after asking a couple old ladies for
directions...one of them simply interrupted with ´no´ before I could
go any further...then proceeded to pull her friend to a store window.
The store was closed...and I could see one of the ladies trying to
discretely check if I was looking at them. How not to get robbed while
traveling? Become the thief.

-Florianopolis: I decided that Julie and I should take a trail, hoping
it would get us to another beach. After walking through mud, flies,
mosquitoes, angry dogs, crazy ants...the trail simply ended on the
mountain. After that adventure...Julie said she was prepared for
anything.

-Getting excited with some cheap 4 Real wine ($2CDN) we found. Buying
two bottles only to realize it tasted more like grape juice than
anything else. We had to give away the second bottle, it was so hard
to drink it.

-Renting bikes in Montevideo...going 200m and Julie´s pedal ripped
off. After walking back and getting a new bike, we cycled out some 5
km before her bike got a flat (if only i had my gear i could fix that
in 2 min...!). Luckily it was right beside a beautiful lookout point.
We managed to have a wonderful picnic before walking back to the
hostel. They didnt charge us for the bikes...so we were happy!

-Eating so much delicious ice cream...Julie unable to get anything
other than vanilla and chocolate! Come on!!! lol

-Realizing we got discounts at iguacu falls since I am Brazilian and
Julie is Argentinian! I was so happy!

-Floripa: Getting sick of eating cheap lunches of bread and
cheese...yet not wanting to spend much money on a meal...problem
solved when we almost magically bumped into a 5 Real ($2.50)
all-you-can-eat buffet. You could only eat one piece of meat! haha.
The food wasnt that great...but it definitely beat bread and cheese.

-Iguacu: a woman we asked to take photos of us. She seemed to
endlessly have to adjust the camera...and she moved her whole body
sporadically until she found the ´perfect´ position...ended up being a
pretty lame photo.

-Montevideo, Uruguay...Julie and I rushed to buy pizza before our bus
left for Porto Alegre, Brazil. We bought 4 pizzas. (By the way...if
you dont ask for cheese and tomato sauce in montevideo...you honestly
just get dough). Anyways we rushed on to the bus with our pizzas only
to learn that the bus ride included 2 free meals (dinner and
breakfast). Since then I have always asked if a bus gives
complementary meals. I have only got amused looks by people in Brazil
when I ask that....nowhere else have meals been provided on the
bus....

-Floripa: recalling some memories with my cousin Guillherme. He had
spent a month in Canada some 10 years ago in my home. Its funny what
things you remember and what you dont. We were filling in eachothers
gaps. Apparently, I had charged him $1 so that I would bike with him
to Future Shop so that he could buy a Gob CD....I didnt know I was so
greedy back in the day!

-Iguacu: Taking a boat right under the falls...and getting drenched.
One of the best feelings of the trip!

This is for my sister.

This photo is for my sister, Gabriela.

Floripa beaches

Some of the beaches in Floripa.

Florianopolis

Kicking back a beer with my cousin in Floripa and remembering some old times...

Getting Up-to-date

Ive been in South America now for 3 weeks. This time has been a
whirlwind of activities, lots of beautiful sights and a lot of laughs.
This morning, I took Julie to the airport where she, as I write this,
is probably already on a flight returning to Buenos Aires where she
will spend a few days with her family before flying back to Canada.
As for me, the next 2 months of my trip will take a completely
different pace. From tomorrow on, I will always be staying in homes,
no more hostels. Also, Ill be staying in each place for longer periods
of time. Time to eat more heathily, go for a run on a beach as the sun
rises, read a book at a cafe.
Today, though, im going to try to get this blog completely up to date.
I have 6 hours before I catch my bus to Curitiba.
So here goes:
Porto Alegre:
We were extremely comfortable in the home of a family friends brother.
The house was up on top of a hill and offered an amazing view of the
city. You could see one of their soccer stadiums in the distance, and
during a soccer match, from the house you could hear the chanting from
the stadium. We stayed with Rubem and Magali, as well as their
daughter Julia and their small dog Nina.
While Porto Alegre can probably be seen in one day, we ended up
staying 4 thanks to our amazing hosts. Our hosts were so welcoming,
friendly and made delicious meals...we couldnt help but stay for 4
days.
Exploring the downtown area of Porto Alegre was made easy since Julie
needed to find an international calling card...and it seemed that no
shop offered such a product. We went from store to store for a good
hour before a friendly woman escorted us to a place to buy the cards.
One of the highlights was definitely Sunday night where Julie and I
found ourselves sitting out on the street in front of a small bar,
where a guy was playing/singing some bossa nova with his acoustic.
Around him it was an open circle where anyone could grab a percussion
instrument and keep the rythm going. Music, drinks, dancing, night
sky....it was a beautiful conclusion to our stay in Porto Alegre.
Canela
From there we made our way to Canela, where as I have already shown in
a couple photos...it was cold but worth it for the view we got of a
waterfall...thinking about it now though...now that ive been to
Iguacu...that view was nothing. Even Niagara falls is nothing compared
to Iguacu...
Florianopolis
We arrived in Florianopolis at 530 in the morning. Grabbed a taxi to
my cousin´s apartment. The last time I had seen my cousin he was about
14 years old...now he is 20. It was so different to see him
now....almost strange to have a beer with him! He is studying
gastronomy in Florianopolis and invited us to his college where we
tried some amazing dishes (from the north east of Brazil).
Florianopolis is actually a city on the Island of Santa Catarina...but
the entire island is simply referred to as Florianopolis. It reminded
me a lot of San Fransico: Lots of hills and beaches....some of the
best beaches of Brazil, truly spectacular...and both Florianopolis and
San Fran are represented by a bridge. Unfortunately the weather wasnt
very spectacular for swimming or even wearing shorts at the beach.
Most days were cloudy...and several days it rained.
Id like to go back to Floripa some day...in the summer though. Its an
absolutely beautiful city...heck I wouldnt mind living there some day.
Its got everything I want from a city...and way better weather than
any city in Canada.
Iguacu Falls
From Floripa we moved away from the coast, right to Iguacu...where
Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina meet. You come here to see the
falls...which are competing as one of the new 7 natural wonders of the
world. To see all of the falls you have to visit Iguacu Park in
Argentina as well as in Brazil. Words cant begin to describe the
amazing feeling of being so close to so much water thundering down
infront of you...all within a semi tropical environment. Its a
paradise...at times you feel like you are in a prehistoric age...I
will post some photos...i really cant describe it. Definitely worth
the 13 hour bus ride. It puts the waterfall in Canela to shame...even
Niagara falls seems insignificant compared to the beauty of this park.
Soon I will get some photos posted up of al these places. Tonight Im
grabbing a bus to Curitiba...and beginning the next chapter of this
journey.

Canela

While it was cold in Canela...this view alone made it worth the trip.

Cold Weather in Canela

We hit 10 degrees in Canela....with rain and wind. The buildings have
no heating...i had to sleep with nearly all my clothes, a hat and a
pair of gloves!

Elis Regina

Julie and I beside a statue of Elis Regina in Porto Alegre. Elis
Regina was a popular singer in Brazil. Her voice is amazing..but I
discovered that she wasnt very good looking!