Here we go again! Sorry for the delay – I'm on Brazilian time now... I made it to my host Renata's place after missing a few buses, hoping the only Portuguese speaking bus driver understood my Spanish on where I wanted to get off and walking on the empty and dark streets of Porto Alegre trying to understand the completely illogical numbering carrying two backpacks weighing about a ton.
Renata is a fellow-CS addict who made the perfect company for a couple of nights out in the city and took me to the local regular Thursday CS meeting with about 30 participants, about a dozen talented CS musicians, in total only three non-locals and one traveller.
Her cats drove me crazy by waking me up way too early in the mornings and following my every step in the apartment as well as trying play with all my stuff, including notebook power cords for example, but you still had to love them. I don't know why, but you had to. Just look at them there, sleeping like angels during the day when they've kept me up all night.
On Friday I took a bus to Florianópolis (73R, 30 €) and met there with my new host Raony, his mother and his tenants, the people he's rented the extra rooms of the house to, including his own. We went to a Friday CS gathering to see a familiar face (Bruno who surfed my couch in Stockholm) and many new ones; the vast majority still being Brazilian and the language used Portuguese. I tried to convince everyone to join me and Canadian Graham on a hike to the isolated beach of Laguinha do Leste the next morning but hangover got the most of them, and I was the only one ready to go up after 4 hours of sleep at 8am to take the three bus rides to the place Graham had told me to meet him at. After solving some issues with Brazilian phone number system (regional mobile phone codes, discount codes and extra zeros without any reason in particular) we found eachother and after many confusing pieces of advise also the track heading to Laguinha do Leste.
The hike up the hill across the jungle took a couple of hours, left me out a breath, with many mosquito bites and my shoes and trousers covered in mud, but was totally worth it. Playing in the huge waves and feeling the enormous power of the water pulling you in turns towards and away from the beach was shitloads of fun, and the crappy drink and the couple of pasties we had bought as lunch could not have tasted any better sitting on the beach afterwards.
On Sunday Raony hosted a barbecue with plenty of yummy food, live Brazilian music, caipirinhas and too many coconut liqueur & pineapple juice drinks for Elina.
The next day I found by chance the cheapest and the coziest hostel on the island,
Way2go (20R, 8,5€ per night), right in the heart of Lagoa da Conceição and stayed there for a couple of nights enjoying life, resting to get rid of a small cold I had caught in Laguinha do Leste, watching movies and waiting for the rain to end, only heading to Floripa once to take a short stroll in the centre and to buy a Brazilian sim card to be able to receive SMS from my locals hosts. Power cuts caused by a big storm on Tuesday night somehow only added to the charm of the place.
My host Leonardo met me on Wednesday and we biked along the Campeche beach making my cold worse. After a short night out with Leo's English speaking friends we made plans for me to join him at his research work interviewing farmers in the southern outskirts of Floripa the next day, but after waking up nearly unable to speak, muscles sore and with a terrible cough, I figured I'd spend my first day of pure sunshine on the island in bed instead. Since physical weakness too often comes with an emotional blue, the 18 minute call (19€) from my dear friend Minna was better than anything a doctor could've prescribed.
Language
For a people/CS/language addict like me staying in a country where I don't speak the language is both torture and a fascinating experience. Struggling to communicate with people around me on the streets, friends and family of the CSers I stay with and feeling often excluded in reunions and parties because only a few people speak English or have the energy to try to communicate in Spanish, is an important lesson to learn: it's okay to be an outsider sometimes. So far my language skills in Portuguese are similar to those I have in Norwegian; I know a few words and understand somewhat through another language I know if I really concentrate. When Leo asked his only Portuguese speaking friend to keep me company when I was at home sick and he himself at work, I didn't think we could actually bond and talk about some important life issues, but sometimes the need to communicate wins all obstacles. But it's a struggle, without a doubt.
Brazilian asses
I've never stared at so many womens' asses as I have here in Brazil. Not necessarily because of what they look like but because I want to know if this legend of the perfect ass being a typical feature here is true. Well, the answer, or my opinion of course, is yes and no. The Brazilians have big asses, which looks great on extremely skinny girls who can diet all the fat out of their legs and waist but still have plenty of roundness left on their butt (understand now why silicones are more popular here than anywhere else in the world?) On those who are not as skinny, having a bit extra on the back doesn't look quite the same. So Brazilians can have the perfect ass, but is it worth it, that's the question.
For big, non-Brasilian asses: food
My personal favourite of the regional delicacies here has been aipin,
cassava, which is a potato like root which is often served in bars looking exactly like chips (French fries to you yankees) but somehow just tastes juicier and more interesting. I wonder why it's not more common in Europe...
The next specialty is just as yummy: sequência de camarão, which is a mix of seafood, mainly shrimp cooked in different ways, and comes in a huge portion for two. The dish came with chips, rice, beans and a salad – like the couple of kilos of sea food would not have done the job on its own.
Good choice for a lunch is a buffet where you pay by the kilo. You can try many different courses and salads but avoid rolling home like I normally do after eating a buffet. Cheapest, and still quite good, lunch option I've tried so far is a big chicken filet hamburger called xis, which cost 3R (1,5€) at a friendly side street food stand in Porto Alegre. Jury is still out on barbecue delicacies such as chicken hearts and dipping all grilled pieces of meat in flour before eating them.
Temaki sushi isn't particularly Brazilian, but it's so good, that I might as well mention it too. This one came with salmon, chives, cream cheese and a Canadian dude.
Caipirinhas are of course a must in Brazil but it's good to know that the prices of cachaça start at 3R (1,5€) per bottle here and that the drink in the bar costs 5R (2€) minimum, so they won't be saving on the alcohol and you have to be a big fan of the taste of cachaça to fully appreciate that.
p.s. the stupid date/time markings won't appear on the pics of the next entry - I'm learning to use my new camera bit by bit slowly but surely
The parks were pretty, but surrounded by small very shady looking huts on the sea shore and at least 5 militaries guarding every decent looking building nearby. The incredibly amount of poverty and military power didn't look too good for me, but Rodrigo told me, that's how the people want to; they long for a new dictator who would make the streets safe again. No matter the price. Pigs running around in the trash piles and little kids flying their kites right next to them just one block from the city's top tourist attractions. Many streets look like those of a war zone filled with piles of rocks and dirt, while closed for repairs for 3-6 months depending on the weather. How many world capitals could close central streets for months and months just like that?
This, my cheap (5 reias, 2,5€) plate of the day dinner in Curitiba, shows you exactly how good Brazilians are at deciding what to have. Either they'll have an all-you-can-eat or a pay-by-the-kilo buffet or the dish they've chosen served not only with fries, rice, pasta, cassava, beans or vegetables but with ALL of those. Every kids dream, but the adult in me is not that convinced.
There and back
