Take Risk: Brazil in Bites

Bom Dia!

Gruta Azul, a cavern outside of Lencois

To “cover” Brazil in the short amount of time that remained of my trip, I had to make some decisions and take two planes. If you really want to do Brazil, I would recommend a few months as it’s about 90% the size of the US. Besides the Amazon, I visited Lençois, Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, Ilha Grande, and Foz do Iguaçu. For my progress, please click here.

Lençois - Brazilian Forest, Not Jungle
Out of the Amazon rainforest, I flew to northeastern Brazil and headed straight for Lençois, a small town close to the Chapada Diamantina National Park, a park named for diamonds discovered there and known for its beautiful, forested landscape. The park provides opportunities for treks and day trips to plateaus, caves and waterfalls.

Cachoeira da Fumaça - Smoke Waterfalls
I enjoyed dips in crystal clear waters, sunset views from one of the mesas, and my favorite, a trek to a waterfall which never touches the bottom of the valley that it adorns. The “Cachoeira da Fumaça” or “Smoke Falls” is Brazil’s second highest waterfall at 380 m (1000 ft). The most stunning part of seeing the falls was not the falls itself, but the view from the valley, lying on an overhang as the waterfall blew over and on me and then dissipated into the air.

Looking over a valley at the "Smoke Falls"

My last day in Lençois was spent with a group of travelers from around the world - England, Canada, India and Switzerland. As we were walking to a nearby natural lake surrounded by pink rock, we found a monkey taking advantage of some left over fruit and then upon arriving, watched a crazy tour guide slide down a rock waterfall on his feet. He threw himself forward about ten times and then asked us if we enjoyed the show. I also took a moment to learn some yoga from Ashu, one of the guys in our group who wants to be a yoga instructor. After six months away from my regular pilates routine, it felt great and was just what my muscles needed.

Salvador, a Different South America

Pelourinho in Salvador, Brazil

After Lençois, I traveled to Salvador, a city filled with African-influenced culture, a change in environment from the mostly Spanish countries. I also met a cool group of travelers, including two girls from London, Simi and Raman, and a girl from Canada, Fiona. We stayed in Salvador’s Pelourinho, a motley mix of dilapidated buildings, hideous functional architecture, and beautifully restored historic buildings. During the day, I took a walking tour of the city and that evening I met up with Emily (we were on the jungle tour in Brazil together) who was mastering Portuguese in Salvador as part of her studies at Dartmouth. She, her friend Lauren, a few of my new friends and I met up in Rio Vermelho for a few beers among the local crowd. The next day, I explored the city with Simi and Raman, winding our way through the main market, port area and all the way to Bom Fin, an interesting church where people give thanks for healing or say prayers through donating toy plastic body parts (those which need to be healed). Others simply leave small, colorful ribbons on the church gates to symbolize a prayer.

That night, we watched an energy-filled, emotional folkloric dance from the African Bahia culture. We marveled at fire eating, capoeira, drum-beating, and passionate yelling. Afterward, those of us who were still awake ventured out at 11:30 p.m. to a garage-themed night club. If it would have been daylight, the bar would have looked like a tacky, yet homey, restaurant with random decorations donning the room, but with the night lights, it was pretty cool.

After a late night and a few hours sleep, I caught a plane to Rio.

Rio de Janeiro - Girl in Ipanema

View from the favela

Is Rio as cool as everyone say it is? Yes, it is, even in the dead of winter (July to September is winter in South America). It’s a gorgeous city situated between mountains and beaches, right beside a national park. I settled down in Ipanema, one of the famous beaches (anyone remember the bossa nova song, Girl from Ipanema?), and from there, explored the city. It rained the first and second day, so I didn’t hit the beach until three days into Rio. However, I did explore a favela (Brazilian slum) and part of the city, including the historic center and the famous Lapa Steps.

Favela Tour - Brazilian Slums?
I was concerned that a tour of the favelas would be completely touristy (it was a little), but also wanted to understand what favela really meant. On the tour, we visited Rochina, the largest “slum” at 120,000 people and to my surprise, it was quite developed. It was actually difficult to determine where the favela ended and the city began.

Favelas were created as unregulated areas outside of the city, generally created by those who were unable to live within the city because of the high costs. Over time, many of these favelas were ruled by drug cartels and became unsafe areas for many residents. However, little by little, the government is penetrating favelas and trying to push out existing drug lords and add a police force to protect citizens. Generally, residents don’t mind the change, even though they have to legally pay for water and electricity, because it changes the drug lords from being the prime heroes for their children, thus increasing the odds of a better life for them.

Lapa Steps

With the artist of the Lapa Steps

You just have to see them. When a Chilean artist who was obsessed with a pregnant black woman moved to Rio and decided it was time for the world to pay attention to his art, he created the Lapa Steps. The stairs are decorated with tiles that he gathered from all over the world. However, instead of drawing attention to his art, he now is known for his work on the steps. The artist, Jorge Selarón, sits on the steps everyday outside his studio to greet tourists and to promote his art. As is his trademark, he sticks out his tongue in every photo.

After my Lapa adventure, two girls from Australia and I investigated the historic center of the city. The only noteworthy thing I found was a strange affliction of stray cats and agotis (giant rats without tails) in the park.

Cristo & Pão de Açucar

With everyone and the Christ statue in Rio

The giant Christ statue of Rio is a must. The statue is nice, but I enjoyed the view more than the flock of tourists stretching their arms out in front of the statue. However, I enjoyed Pão de Açucar (Sugar Loaf Hill) much more. I met a Brazilian friend Bruno, who I met in the Galapagos, and we climbed the hill and rode the sky cable car just in time for sunset . Honestly, the view was more beautiful than that from the Christ statue, even though it wasn’t as high. Afterward, Bruno and I sought out some good Brazilian food - stroganoff, cake, and cheese bread - and then went for a night walk on the beach where we saw surfers, body builders (working out on iron gyms on the beach!) and couples along Copacabana and Ipanema beaches.

Ilha Grande, an Island with Beautiful Beaches
Two hours south of Rio, Ilha Grande, a large island off the coast of Brazil, gave me some time to relax as I stayed two days snorkeling and exploring beautiful beaches. My favorite part was mixing with a Greek couple (both living abroad due to the economy) and being led around an outdoor aquarium of sea life - sea cucumber, starfish, etc. - by our guide. I also saw millions of crabs the size of nothing clinging to a black rock. Everything was absolutely beautiful, but due to it being winter, the environment was 10 degrees cooler than I would have liked!

Observations

Really, seat belts? - In Brazil, the chauffeurs ask you to buckle your seat belts on buses and even pre-buckle them in each seat as a reminder.
No solicitations? - No one sells food or sings on buses. After traveling throughout the rest of South America, this is confusing, yet relaxing. In Rio, I actually saw someone turned away while trying to sell something on our bus. Is this new or does it just apply to some buses?
Rio, a dangerous city - About 80% of the people I met talked about how dangerous Rio was and how it was inevitable that one would be assaulted or robbed. Luckily, never once did I feel threatened in Rio.
I miss the chaos - I actually became upset the first time I tried to hail a bus from a random place in the street and the bus didn’t stop. Instead, the driver showed me a sign that read, “BR2”. Initially I was confused, but then I realized that he was telling me which bus stop to go to. Bus stops? Go figure.
The face of Brazil - What does a Brazilian look like? Well, it just depends on where you go. But, really, a Brazilian could be anyone. I can’t tell you how many times I was mistaken for one.