rio

For New Year's, we drove to Rio, which is about 250 miles away. The trip didn't start out smoothly - we got a late start due to a pain cashing traveller's checks (FYI - traveller's checks are nearly useless here), and halfway there the car started making a wierd noise and the A/C stopped working. We stopped by a small town mechanic and it was determined that the compressor was dead - it had burnt/fused and the noise was a belt slipping. Fortunately, we were able to get back on the road again pretty quickly (driving slowly, without A/C). Unfortunately, around this time Ana's friend called to let us know there were attacks on Linha Amarela, the main road to get into Rio. They had burned buses, with people inside. They also threw a bomb in a tunnel we drove through later. Welcome to Rio! Suffice to say, driving along this road was intense and Ana was a real trooper. I'm just glad we arrived when it was still daylight. (We didn't see any visual evidence of the attacks, they were already cleaned up by the time we got there.)

We got to the hotel, which was really nice, and I started hearing nearby strangers speaking English for the first time since I've gotten here. We were in Leme, a block from the beach, and an easy walk to Copacabana (the main tourism beach spot). We spent a couple days hanging out, eating good food, walking down the street with beer in hand, drinking coconut water right out of the shell, and browsing the outdoor markets. I expected it to be a little bit more "touristy" - but aside from all the prostitutes (seriously, all over the place), the beachfront resturaunts where suprisingly cheap (~$30 US for a meal for 2 with drinks), and the markets were selling some really nice stuff (we bought some christmas presents there). The beaches weren't overcrowded. There were plenty of foreigners to be found, but the people walking around were mostly Brazillian.

On the day of New Year's Eve, we went and did the tourism tour - visiting the Big Ol' Jesus (the famous Christ the Redeemer statue that overlooks the city), and Sugar Loaf Mountain (the highest point in the city). I saved a lot of money there - it would have cost about $200 US to take the guided tour, but Ana got us a taxi for the day to do the same thing for only $50. Thanks Ana! We did this early in the morning so that we'd miss the lines (it was already crowded at the "Big Jesus Statue").

At night, they shut down traffic along the main beach strip where we were, and things started getting crazy. There were a LOT of people there (1.5 million I heard). In Brazil, people traditionally wear white on new year's eve. It was easy to spot the gringos by just looking for color in the crowd (including myself). After fireworks, people went to the beach and "jumped" seven waves as they roll in and threw some roses into the water. I did this with Ana, then we walked along the surf to the free Black Eyed Peas concert (yeah, I know, but it was free). We came up from behind the stage. Ana wanted a beer, but instead of walking around behind the stage, we had the bright idea of cutting through the HUGE crowd instead. During a concert. Without shoes on. I'm suprised I still have feet. An hour and a half later, we finally got that beer we were looking for. It was warm. :-P

We left the next day, and had a thankfully uneventful drive back to São Paulo. I hear São Paulo has a great nightlife that I plan on sampling over the next few days, and then we have Celisa and Andre's wedding on the 6th.

Happy new years everyone, and enjoy the pictures!
dan

pictures from ibitinga...

We spent xmas in Ibitinga, a small town in the state of São Paulo, about 5 hours from the city. It's the "embroidery capital of Brazil", where Ana's mom is from. Ana lived here for a while too.

Some travel shots:







Some shots from outside of town. We ate dinner at a small bar by the river, roasted chicken and fresh fish. Then we had a few beers, you get a big 25oz beer for R$2.50, which is about US$1.25.








Some shots from around Ibitinga. The town was pleasant, and hot!! Ana thinks Ibitinga is "hicksville" but I was enjoying the peace and quiet.







We spent xmas eve at Ana's uncle's house, along with 5 cousins and their families. (Her mom is in the states right now.) It was a lot of people, but it didn't feel crowded because the house is big and open. We had a late, big dinner, had the official xmas celebration at midnight (kinda like new year's), the kids opened presents, and we left pretty soon afterwards (bellies full and eyes sleepy). We got together on xmas day for lunch and hanging out.



Everyone was really welcoming; those that could speak some English tried (and I tried to speak and follow along when I could). Between the cousins, wives/husbands, and kids, I was overwhelmed from meeting so many people. I was a little weirded out when I got there, but everyone was so nice it wasn't hard to feel comfortable.



This is Jose Guilherme Bersano, Ana's uncle, the head of the house. Everyone calls him "zay". I liked him a lot. He's a big guy as you can see, and he's pretty intimidating. He likes to grab firmly you by the arm and move you where he wants. On xmas eve, after I ate way too much for dinner (ham, pork ribs, turkey, chicken, potato salad, farofel, and rice), he ordered me to eat dessert...immediately. Pointing at the cake: "You...must...have some...now." Me: "Um, mais tarde, por favor?" Him: "No, now!"


He spoke English fairly well, though he started hesitantly - he told me he learned English 50 years ago in school and hadn't used it since. He was very welcoming and was grabbing people all night saying "you! talk to him in english!" haha.




We're back in São Paulo now. We leave for Rio on Thursday...everyone here has told me I'm going to have a blast, so my hopes are high!

more pictures

Here are some more pictures; I haven´t gone out a lot due to sickness, but I´m feeling a lot better now! You can buy antibiotics here without a prescription, how handy.

This is a traditional dish from Bahia, which a northeastern state of Brazil. It's called moqueca, and it's a yummy seafood dish. It came with rice, pirão (a squash puree), and farofa, which is this crumbly stuff. It came with some really spicy sauce that we put on top, yum!

I'm shy about my Portuguese, but I tried to ask the waitress where the bathroom was and she looked at Ana like "wtf is he trying to say?" Sigh.





Me drinking a caipirrinha. It has sugar, cachasa liquor, and basically whatever type of fruit you want (lime is the traditional).












Ana and Utama, one of her best friends in Brazil. She's a lot of fun. Interestingly, the way they count drinks here is by the number of coasters you have on the table. At the end of the night, you'll have a pile of coasters; they count them up and give you the check. People come up with lots of ways to hide or dispose of the coasters.

Ana and me with her friends Celisa and Andre. Ana and Celisa have been friends since 8th grade. Her and Andre are getting married on the 6th - we're going to the wedding!
This is outside of a resturant, a churrascaria rodízio, they have one in Boston, where it's all-you-can-eat, and the waiters come around the tables with big sticks of meat. Very yummy, though I was feeling pretty sick at this time.

Andre was kidnapped a year ago, he was held for nearly a month. He wants to live in the States now, no wonder!


Ana in front of a mango tree. We couldn't reach any.



















São Paulo.













Some quick pics I took today from the car.





































The facade for a well-respected university/TV station/radio station on Paulista, one of the main avenues of São Paulo.

Mom, there is a famous marathon that starts here called São Silvestre. Maybe you can run it one day!







I got a haircut today from one of Ana's friends, a hairdresser. I like it!

















Ana's friend, doing her eyebrows. She wanted me to document her pain.














That's all for today! We're leaving for the countryside tomorrow, so I might not have internet access until we get back (Tuesday). Then we leave for Rio on Thursday!!

have a merry christmas, happy holidays!!
dan