Three exotic travel destinations

Over the Past 5 weeks I have made a few trips. The first was to Camboriu in Santa Catarina. Santa Catarina is a state to the south of Curitiba, Parana. Camboriu is a city that is situated right on the Atlantic Ocean.
On saturday we took a chair lift to the top of a mountain, took some pictures, and then went to the other side of the mountain which was a lagoon with many beach venders, restuarants, and beach goers. Attached are a few pictures.






Next I went to Ihla do Mel. This trip was a lot of fun, and was over my birthday weekend. Ihla do Mel is a very small island off of the coast of Parana. It is protected by the government and only a certain amount of people are allowed on the island at a time. Access to the island is by boat, which broke down on the way there. There are no roads and no cars. We saw an amazing sunset the first night, which included a double rainbow as well. At night we ventured off to a reggae bar where we walked through wooded dirt walking paths. The following night we went to a brasilian forro dancing spot near the beach. In the picures attached, There is a picture of the sunset, rainbow, lagoon off the hostel that we stayed in, the walking paths, and the beach on the other side of the island.







Lastly for Carnavel we went to Florianopolis which again was in Santa Catalina. We were in a small beach town about 12 miles from the Center of Florianopolis. Our Pousada(rented apartment) was about 40 yards from the beach. It was great. Brazilians serve their beers colder than the beers on the porch of the White bryer in Avalon. With the hot sun, week of vacation, body surfing and attempting to surf for real, I worked up quite a thirst for ice cold SKOLs(my favorite brazilian beer). I learned that the best cure for a hangover is a fresh Agua do Coco. It is simply a coconut that has been on ice for hours, they chop the top off of it, and put in a straw.
Carnavel was not what I expected it to be. It is basically a large dance competition where "samba schools" compete for the championship. They practice their routine all year while building big floats. The spectators watch and follow behing the floats, dancing in the streets and drinking beers that are served from venders with coolers are wheels.
I went running in the morning and the beach went on for about 8 miles. After the first 500 yards or so, it was a deserted beach, there were no people, just white sand, crystal clear blue waters, and junglish forrests on the other side of the dunes. I met up with a Johnny Nejman, his fiance Erin and their friend Emily. They all work in Brasilia. We had a great time and enjoyed a lot of beers served sub zero.
Lastly we went into town for a night and went to an irish pub that had a cover band that only played 70s funk music.

The pictures include the beach, agua do coco, and some carnavel activities at night. Enjoy!







Also included one picture with Erin...with a few "professionals" in the background.

Being a tourist

I had a chance to do the Curitiba double decker bus tour this past weekend. I stopped off of the bus three times. The first for the Botanical Gardens called Jardim Botanico, followed by the Curitiba Wire Opera House called Opera de Arame, and finally the Italian Village called Santa Felicidade.

Each was pretty cool in its own way. The botanical gardens had a lot of open space, a natural garden maze, and indigiounous plants of Brazil along with various wild life such as this duck or goose.




Next was the Opera House, it is no longer in use, because the town didn't like the traffic and noise. It was very cool, made of recycled metals and glass. It was built over a rock quary with a waterfall in the background.





I didn't take any pictures of the Italian Market, so I might have to make a trip back. It boasts the largest restuarant in the world which ironically had an hour long wait to get a table...it was that packed.

I've attached a link to see other photos from the trip. Enjoy.

http://picasaweb.google.com/steve.marino7

So far I haven't had much to post...however I'm in the process of planning some travel which will be much better to look at and read about.

Mexican food and Brazilian Dancing

I've learned that like in most places in South American, infrastructure is still an issue. Although Curitiba is considered one of the most livable cities in Brazil, it still has some holes, like uneven sidewalks, pedestrian cross walk signals, the way that you pay at bar (which I'll explain later, that is actually growing on me) and internet. My internet has been MIA for the past week, and I have been going up to the food court at the mall down the street to check emails.

How you pay at the bar in Curitiba. The bar has found a method that assumes no responsibiliy for themselves. You wait in line to get in and are issued your check. As you order, beers and drinks are tallied on your check. You can not leave the bar without the check having a paid stamp on it. If you lose it, you owe $200. You see the obvious downside of he $200 charge, but there are some hidden upsides that I am beginning to appreciate. You can order a drink from any waiter, you are free to leave your table as you wish, do not need to figure out how to split the tab, tip is not given until you pay at the end and it is also included and it is a running tally of how much you have had to drink.

My roomates and I have been doing a bunch of cooking. We were very proud of our creations.

Last friday night we went to a Bosa Nova dance club with some students from the Brazilian Business School that we attend called FGV. I learned how to do the Bosa Nova which is a very simple dance and was a lot fun. We were drinking the local brazilian drinks called caipirinha which is made with cachaça which is a sugar cane liquior. The best way to discribe it is as a lime flavored mojito. The bar was packed, everyone dances, and it was a live band comprised of five women. I've attached a few pictures from the night. And a video which was accidently taken of me and a friend dancing which I thought you would all get a good laugh at.

Please pardon the poor spelling, the spell checker doesn't work...and I'm lazy.

Curitiba

Today it is raining, like it does everyday in Curitiba during the summer. We are around 3000 ft above sea level or 900 meters. The tempurature doesn't get above 85 degrees, and the rain makes it constantly humid. The rain jacket I bought before leaving is a huge pick up.

After my first two days of classes, I am confident in saying that I am not that much better at Portuguese then when I first arrived. I have the basics down, where is this, what is that, my name, your name, how are you, please and thank you. It is very frustrating and most brazillians don't speak english. Although it is tough, it is great that people do not speak english because it is forcing me to listen harder and learn faster.

I think going to and getting to class is fun. We have a two block walk to a bus tube which is opperated like a subway. It is fairly cheap (about $2.50 a day round trip) and designated bus lanes allow to skip all the traffic. After the bus ride I have a 4 block walk through a free public zoo, and the University of Parana in Curitiba. Curitiba is a city within the state of Parana within the country of Brazil.

Last night we went out with a few locals that we have met. It was a fairly strange and older crowd. Picture a south american hippie with a side of hipster, tappered jeans and flanel short sleeve button downs. Everyone was very friendly and wanted to practice their enlgish with us, while we were trying to do the same.

We later went downtown to Batel. Batel is upscale, trendy, and where young professional party go-ers hang out late into the night. I was hit on two 19 year old brazilian dudes. Although it was uncomfortable, it was a good opportunity to practice some portuguese and hear about some fun places to go. They were asking if I'd ever been to San Fran...go figure.

At about 430am we arrived home after a taxi cab and some street meat from a vendor selling chicken on a stick for the equivalent of 50 cents a stick.

My Apartment / First days of class

Below are a few pictures of my apartment which is about 5 blocks from downtown Curitiba. We are on a pretty safe street above a dentists office who is our landlord.

Photos of Rio from the Air

Rio from the Airplane.

Finally Made it

Todo Bem (all is good)

My trip to Curitiba Brazil was very long. It was great to get here. Along the way I stopped in Rio. Rio is beautiful from the plane and sprawls for miles. The city is surrounded by mountains and beautiful beaches. I took a cab from rio's international airport to a regional airport. The ride between exposed Rio for the scary place that you hear about. I would have pictures to post showing the slums, however I felt guilty taking pictures of the extreme poverty. I've never seen anything like it before in my life.

Curitiba is fairly large city in Brazil and a large business center. It is known for a higher quality of life and higher personal income. Last night I went out in Batel. Batel is an upscale downtown area filled with young professionals, outdoor bars and restaurants.

Going to bed was the highlight of my day...after 29 hours of travel it was well deserved.

 
 
 
 

The Day Before

Today is the day before I leave for Brazil. I have not finished packing and I am really not sure what to bring or what to expect. I figured a blog would be the best way to keep people posted, and for me to keep a journal of my experience.