What first struck us at first as a sketchy hostel turned out to be one of our favourite accomodations so far. One of the staff members is a guy from North Carolina so we don't have a language barrier. He is a really nice guy and we have been hanging out with him at the hostel quite a bit. There is also a younger girl from Australia who we have spent time with. Our first day back in Rio we slept in, ate breakfast and walked along the beaches of Copacabana, Leblon and Ipanema. We watched the waves crash near our hostel, they were exploding over 40 feet in the air and spraying us with mist.
We made angel hair pasta and sausage with salad for dinner. It was actually really tasty and we finished it off with way to much chocolate for dessert. We spent the evening watching english movies with our new friends until 2am.
Oh and we also spent more than five hours at the bank. It turns out that at the ATM in Paraty someone used a sophisticated copying device planted in the machine to copy our debit card and pin number. They had stolen almost 2000 reals ($1100 US) out of our account over the last few days in several transactions. We found out because when we tried to take out money the reciept said "withdrawal limit exceeded" which was quite suspicious since we had yet to use an ATM that day. Anyway the bank was more than gracious and helped us to call our home branch and block our card and get us emergency money. They began an investigation into the stolen cash and said it would be returned within a couple of weeks. When we got back to the hostel, the bank had also sent a follow up email saying they would be mailing out a new debit card. The next day, we checked our account and the money was returned. Although it was a scary and inconvenient situation we are grateful for all the prompt and efficient work of the bank.
The next morning we woke up to a dozen small monkeys in the trees outside our room. We fed them bananas which they gently took from our hands. They were so small that from a distance I thought they were squirrels but when they came closer it was visible that they were monkeys. They had long striped tails and cute little faces. I would love to have one as a pet! They were jumping around the trees and posing for pictures.
Our plan was to hang out in Rio for a few days since we had moved around so much but one thing lead to another and the next morning we found ourselves on a bus to Petropolis to visit our new Bahai friend that we met a couple weeks ago. The only problem was that we missed the bus we told him we would be on and left him waiting for forty minutes. Also the ATM at the bus station was not working so we were cash-less. The bus ride was about 1 hour and forty minutes during which we ate and slept. It occured to us that for some unknown reason every time we left Rio the weather cleared up and became beautiful.
When we arrived to Petropolis our friend was thankfully still waiting for us at the bus stop. He had ridden his bike into town so we caught a bus and he rode ahead of us. I'll take this moment to make a reccomendation; do not try to cut up and eat a very juicy soft mango on an extremely crowded bus in a short amount of time. There was mango and stickiness everywhere, it was uncomfortable for everyone. Anyhow we got off the bus and walked through town, this is an imperial town so all the roads and buildings are ancient. There are beautiful palaces and mansions everywhere. They are now mainly museams and hotels but the architecture is magnificent. There is water flowing in the middle of the streets because they followed the river when they constructed the roads. There are mountains surrounding the city from every side. It is a city of about 200,000 but it seemed that everyone knew everyone.
After walking through the city we caught another bus back to our friend's home. When you take a bus here they do not give out transfers so even if you get right back on a different bus ten seconds later, you must pay for another trip. Also, when you get on the bus you pay a person who collects money and then you go through a turn-style. After paying, I walked through the turn style but Tyson accidently turned it when the bus stopped without actually going through so we got charged for an extra person. We were slightly choked but later understood that the number of people who go through the turn style has to match the dollars the staff member hands in, if the numbers do not match he or she must pay it out of their own sallary. Anyway the conclusion is that we paid five bus fares in about 10 minutes of travelling. To be fair, no one ever said being a tourist in Brazil is cheap.
Our friend lives in a very large home on a huge lot that is quite private. There are fruit trees and plants everywhere, a tree house that they call their "favela", and a pool. It is a beautiful home in a wonderfully warm city. We relaxed in the sun by the pool for a while and then had a traditional Brazillian lunch with rice, beans, pumkin salad, fruit juice and pumkin cake. It was delicious and we were stuffed. After lunch we fulfilled our vacation duties and napped. Then later that night we rode bikes into town. All the magical buildings that stood with grandeur were lit up in pink to celebrate breast cancer awareness. Apparently normally they are all lit up in different colours that represent different categories. The streets were riddled with young people in halloween costumes going to parties. The costumes were quite elaborate and creative. Unfortunately we forgot our camera at home or I would have snuck photos of this. As our friend explained to us, halloween is for adults here and kids do not trick or treat or dress up. We left our bikes unlocked in the city and walked around, apparently this is safe and sure enough we found the bikes hours later untouched. We got ice cream and walked around to see the sights. We saw the statue of the person who Brazilians believe built the first airplane (not the same person we were taught built it).
As we were picking up our bikes, I turned my head and saw a car stop at a light and the driver behind her smashed his car into hers. It was the first accident I have seen on my travels. Since I was also in an accident recently, this stirred up some anxiety and I had nightmares about car accidents. The handlebars on Tysons bike broke so he had more of a challenge riding home with all the hills and cobblestone roads.
I have noticed that most people here sleep in single beds, as opposed to my experience in Vancouver that one person (myself) sleeps in queen or king size beds. I had a guest with four legs in my bed last night, his name is doo doo and he is the cutest kitten. They have two cats and its nice to see a cute animal that you can actually pet here. Their other cat caught a small bird and was running around with it all day. We have also been seeing small monkeys everywhere. They are so cute and I really want to hold one but for some reason they do not come to me.
This morning we woke up and our friend's whole family was over including one sister, grandparents and parents. His grandparents had just come back from a trip to Peru and his mother had been in Rio for arm surgery. So we all had breakfast together and the family went to a funeral for a family member and dropped us off at the emperor's museam. We saw crowns, gowns and other royal things. We could not take any photos inside but the gardens are beautiful and we have posted photos of this. Outside on the road we saw many horse and carriage forms of transport. We got picked up and all went home for a huge brazilian lunch with chicken, potatos, beans, rice and herbs with salad. We had paveh and jello for dessert with fresh fruit juice and espressos. We all sat together in the living room and played music for hours into the afternoon. Everyone but me had a musical ability or two. I clapped and cheered for my part.
Then our friend and his two sisters took us to see all the attractions of their city. We took many pictures and had lots of laughs. At night we had another Brazilian meal consisting of tapioca flat bread filled with butter, parmesan cheese, cream cheese and other wonderful things. We also had tapioca balls filled with mozzarella. Then we filled the flat breads with chocolate, oatmeal and coconut for dessert. It was so nice of them to prepare all of this for us!
The next morning we got a ride from our friend's father back to the bus station in Rio for our last day in Brazil. It was of course rainy but we still took the bus to Santa Theresa which is an older part of Rio filled with great views of the city and old colourful buildings. We have posted pictures and they explain why this is one of the main tourist attractions in the area. We walked along the beaches again and took photos of sugar loaf mountain.
We feel that there was so much more to see here. What an amazing place!
This morning we caught the bus around 5am to the airport. Even though we were early getting there, somehow Tyson managed to have his name repeated over the loud speaker several times as "the last person to board". I had to get off the plane and find him, the airline staff were not pleased but at least he got the pastries, cakes and cookies he was looking for.
We flew to Uruguay and then to Buenos Aires. In Argentina the first thing we did was take the bus to the Indian Embassy to get our Indian visas. I had prepared everything possible to prepare but still the guy with the power said that "it can't be done in 15 days". We paid him the 420 pesos (110 USD) and took a chance anyway so please pray that it all works out....
Then we walked through Centro to our hostel. The city is filled with huge great old buildings. Tyson kept saying that it reminds him of Vancouver. It is busy, the streets are crawling with markets and people. The food is more expensive here than anywhere else so far but the accomadation and other items for sale are more inexpensive. We have not taken pictures of the city yet but we are both in love with it already. We went out for a dinner full of meat as this is apparently what one is meant to do in Argentina. It is all its cracked up to be.
Sorry for the long post....
"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"
We made angel hair pasta and sausage with salad for dinner. It was actually really tasty and we finished it off with way to much chocolate for dessert. We spent the evening watching english movies with our new friends until 2am.
Oh and we also spent more than five hours at the bank. It turns out that at the ATM in Paraty someone used a sophisticated copying device planted in the machine to copy our debit card and pin number. They had stolen almost 2000 reals ($1100 US) out of our account over the last few days in several transactions. We found out because when we tried to take out money the reciept said "withdrawal limit exceeded" which was quite suspicious since we had yet to use an ATM that day. Anyway the bank was more than gracious and helped us to call our home branch and block our card and get us emergency money. They began an investigation into the stolen cash and said it would be returned within a couple of weeks. When we got back to the hostel, the bank had also sent a follow up email saying they would be mailing out a new debit card. The next day, we checked our account and the money was returned. Although it was a scary and inconvenient situation we are grateful for all the prompt and efficient work of the bank.
The next morning we woke up to a dozen small monkeys in the trees outside our room. We fed them bananas which they gently took from our hands. They were so small that from a distance I thought they were squirrels but when they came closer it was visible that they were monkeys. They had long striped tails and cute little faces. I would love to have one as a pet! They were jumping around the trees and posing for pictures.
Our plan was to hang out in Rio for a few days since we had moved around so much but one thing lead to another and the next morning we found ourselves on a bus to Petropolis to visit our new Bahai friend that we met a couple weeks ago. The only problem was that we missed the bus we told him we would be on and left him waiting for forty minutes. Also the ATM at the bus station was not working so we were cash-less. The bus ride was about 1 hour and forty minutes during which we ate and slept. It occured to us that for some unknown reason every time we left Rio the weather cleared up and became beautiful.
When we arrived to Petropolis our friend was thankfully still waiting for us at the bus stop. He had ridden his bike into town so we caught a bus and he rode ahead of us. I'll take this moment to make a reccomendation; do not try to cut up and eat a very juicy soft mango on an extremely crowded bus in a short amount of time. There was mango and stickiness everywhere, it was uncomfortable for everyone. Anyhow we got off the bus and walked through town, this is an imperial town so all the roads and buildings are ancient. There are beautiful palaces and mansions everywhere. They are now mainly museams and hotels but the architecture is magnificent. There is water flowing in the middle of the streets because they followed the river when they constructed the roads. There are mountains surrounding the city from every side. It is a city of about 200,000 but it seemed that everyone knew everyone.
After walking through the city we caught another bus back to our friend's home. When you take a bus here they do not give out transfers so even if you get right back on a different bus ten seconds later, you must pay for another trip. Also, when you get on the bus you pay a person who collects money and then you go through a turn-style. After paying, I walked through the turn style but Tyson accidently turned it when the bus stopped without actually going through so we got charged for an extra person. We were slightly choked but later understood that the number of people who go through the turn style has to match the dollars the staff member hands in, if the numbers do not match he or she must pay it out of their own sallary. Anyway the conclusion is that we paid five bus fares in about 10 minutes of travelling. To be fair, no one ever said being a tourist in Brazil is cheap.
Our friend lives in a very large home on a huge lot that is quite private. There are fruit trees and plants everywhere, a tree house that they call their "favela", and a pool. It is a beautiful home in a wonderfully warm city. We relaxed in the sun by the pool for a while and then had a traditional Brazillian lunch with rice, beans, pumkin salad, fruit juice and pumkin cake. It was delicious and we were stuffed. After lunch we fulfilled our vacation duties and napped. Then later that night we rode bikes into town. All the magical buildings that stood with grandeur were lit up in pink to celebrate breast cancer awareness. Apparently normally they are all lit up in different colours that represent different categories. The streets were riddled with young people in halloween costumes going to parties. The costumes were quite elaborate and creative. Unfortunately we forgot our camera at home or I would have snuck photos of this. As our friend explained to us, halloween is for adults here and kids do not trick or treat or dress up. We left our bikes unlocked in the city and walked around, apparently this is safe and sure enough we found the bikes hours later untouched. We got ice cream and walked around to see the sights. We saw the statue of the person who Brazilians believe built the first airplane (not the same person we were taught built it).
As we were picking up our bikes, I turned my head and saw a car stop at a light and the driver behind her smashed his car into hers. It was the first accident I have seen on my travels. Since I was also in an accident recently, this stirred up some anxiety and I had nightmares about car accidents. The handlebars on Tysons bike broke so he had more of a challenge riding home with all the hills and cobblestone roads.
I have noticed that most people here sleep in single beds, as opposed to my experience in Vancouver that one person (myself) sleeps in queen or king size beds. I had a guest with four legs in my bed last night, his name is doo doo and he is the cutest kitten. They have two cats and its nice to see a cute animal that you can actually pet here. Their other cat caught a small bird and was running around with it all day. We have also been seeing small monkeys everywhere. They are so cute and I really want to hold one but for some reason they do not come to me.
This morning we woke up and our friend's whole family was over including one sister, grandparents and parents. His grandparents had just come back from a trip to Peru and his mother had been in Rio for arm surgery. So we all had breakfast together and the family went to a funeral for a family member and dropped us off at the emperor's museam. We saw crowns, gowns and other royal things. We could not take any photos inside but the gardens are beautiful and we have posted photos of this. Outside on the road we saw many horse and carriage forms of transport. We got picked up and all went home for a huge brazilian lunch with chicken, potatos, beans, rice and herbs with salad. We had paveh and jello for dessert with fresh fruit juice and espressos. We all sat together in the living room and played music for hours into the afternoon. Everyone but me had a musical ability or two. I clapped and cheered for my part.
Then our friend and his two sisters took us to see all the attractions of their city. We took many pictures and had lots of laughs. At night we had another Brazilian meal consisting of tapioca flat bread filled with butter, parmesan cheese, cream cheese and other wonderful things. We also had tapioca balls filled with mozzarella. Then we filled the flat breads with chocolate, oatmeal and coconut for dessert. It was so nice of them to prepare all of this for us!
The next morning we got a ride from our friend's father back to the bus station in Rio for our last day in Brazil. It was of course rainy but we still took the bus to Santa Theresa which is an older part of Rio filled with great views of the city and old colourful buildings. We have posted pictures and they explain why this is one of the main tourist attractions in the area. We walked along the beaches again and took photos of sugar loaf mountain.
We feel that there was so much more to see here. What an amazing place!
This morning we caught the bus around 5am to the airport. Even though we were early getting there, somehow Tyson managed to have his name repeated over the loud speaker several times as "the last person to board". I had to get off the plane and find him, the airline staff were not pleased but at least he got the pastries, cakes and cookies he was looking for.
We flew to Uruguay and then to Buenos Aires. In Argentina the first thing we did was take the bus to the Indian Embassy to get our Indian visas. I had prepared everything possible to prepare but still the guy with the power said that "it can't be done in 15 days". We paid him the 420 pesos (110 USD) and took a chance anyway so please pray that it all works out....
Then we walked through Centro to our hostel. The city is filled with huge great old buildings. Tyson kept saying that it reminds him of Vancouver. It is busy, the streets are crawling with markets and people. The food is more expensive here than anywhere else so far but the accomadation and other items for sale are more inexpensive. We have not taken pictures of the city yet but we are both in love with it already. We went out for a dinner full of meat as this is apparently what one is meant to do in Argentina. It is all its cracked up to be.
Sorry for the long post....
"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"
I'm still reading :D - faran
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