Posts about Brazil
Marathon Traveling
37 hours en route to Australia… and that, ladies and gentlemen, is what I call “Marathon Traveling.”
Our adventure included everything from riding in Brazilian taxi shuttles that look like squashed Land Rovers,
to passenger drop-off areas at airports,
to chugging bottled water before going through security lines,
to being patted down by a-bit-too-friendly female security guards,
to power walking on moving sidewalks and feeling the superhuman need for speed,
to gates and terminals,
to duty-free shopping (both Casey and myself in need of some duty-free Febreeze),
to planes,
to surprisingly delicious plane food,
to perusing the new movie releases on the screen in front of us,
to testing out the complimentary eye mask and ear plugs,
to sleeping with our mouths shamelessly hanging open losing the battle to gravity,
to more airports,
to middle of the night lay overs,
to metal benches-turned-beds,
to multiple breakfasts as we tested out the best coffee/ danish combos that Buenos Aires offered,
to the endless search for power outlets to charge computers,
to more terminals and gates,
to more planes,
to drifting in and out of sleep consciousness,
to more delicious plane food almost every two hours (like we are talking apple pie crumble and chocolate ice cream bars here… yes),
to jolting awake as the plane hit the ground in Sydney at 4am Buenos Aires time,
to waiting for our hostel shuttle to pick us up as we wearily sat on top of our luggage in the Sydney airport letting delirium set in,
to FINALLY arriving at the vibrant Westend Nomads Backpackers hostel in downtown Sydney,
where we ended our 37th hour of travel by collapsing onto bunk beds at 8:30pm Australian time.
We are officially down under.
Visiting Iconic Rio de Janeiro
When arriving in Rio, I was determined not to like it.
“This place stole the 2016 Olympics from Chicago, and I am going to find reasons why it doesn’t deserve it,” I thought to myself when we arrived.
In the bus ride to the iconic Christ the Redeemer I looked out the window at all of the passing buildings and people. The Copacabana beach flew past us as our tour guide attempted to explain the significance of the city.
“Chicago’s still better,” I thought to myself as we arrived at the Corcovado mountain.
We took another van to the top of the hill and were allowed to walk the 222 steps to the summit. When I arrived I was dumbfounded. I was in awe. The statue, which had been funded my public donations in the early 1930s, was a masterpiece. Its art deco style made it seem even more powerful atop the mountain.
Our guide told us that the weather had been lousy lately and they had been doing a lot of construction work so we were very fortunate to see it in its full form. I tried to take it all in while simultaneously digesting an incredible panoramic view of the city itself.
“Okay. This place isn’t that bad,” I conceded as we made our way back to the van.
Next we visited the main Catholic cathedral in town which had been built in the style of a Mayan temple. The ceilings rose dramatically and were lined with a variety of stained glass and religious symbols. I snapped about a thousand photos and moved on.
“Well that was…amazing,” I thought to myself while getting back on the bus. The Olympic win seemed more and more plausible with every stop.
We made a few more detours in town before arriving at Sugarloaf Mountain. This was another sight that took me by surprise. We rode in two cable cars between the large landforms before arriving at what had to be the best vantage point for a sunset that I’d ever seen. Natalie and I took pictures and wandered all around the top of the mountain before sitting for a moment to have a hot chocolate to warm up. It was truly stunning.
“Well I suppose the Olympic committee knew what it was doing,” I thought as were dropped off back at our hotel. “I can’t wait to see all of this again in 2016.”
Visiting the Favelas of Rio
We never thought we’d ever be involved in a high speed motorcycle chase during this internship.
But GAP Adventures threw us a curve ball today.
Our tour guide, Marcus, led us through the favelas of Brazil, which are essentially the city slums.
As he began to give our group a run down of what to expect, Marcus mentioned the current omnipresence of drug lords and automatic weapons and the 200,000 people who live their lives in such conditions. We weren’t sure what we had gotten ourselves into.
“Our tour begins at the top of the mountain,” he told us. “In order to get there, we need to ride these.” He pointed to a group of motorcyclists who were idly waiting for us. We all hopped on the back of one these rickety motor vehicles and hung on to a complete Brazilian stranger for dear life. We took off racing up the crowded mountain, zigging and zagging between trucks and other bikes, all completely uphill with no helmet.
When we eventually screeched to a halt at the crest of the hill, Marcus said, “Now up here at the entrance, you will see young men who have guns and drugs. Do not be alarmed. These are my friends and I follow the rules. We will be fine,” Marcus calmly stated.
Sure enough, we passed men holding automatic weapons and getting rowdy in the local bars on Sunday morning. “They are harmless,” he explained as we walked by. “But absolutely no cameras in this area… We don’t want anyone to get shot.”
Our group proceeded into the labyrinth and stopped periodically for Marcus to explain certain aspects of the village. He showed us local artisans, introduced us to children who lived there and pointed out a local child care center that was run by volunteers.
“This is important for you to see,” he told us, “because there is hope that lives here too.”
Despite the weight of the place, he envisioned a better future for this place. He told us of ongoing municipal projects to better the space as well as other grassroots efforts to raise the standard of living.
As we walked out, our heads were spinning from witnessing that side of the city, but we were appreciative to have our eyes opened to reality. It is enlightening for tourists to see all sides of humanity that exist in a place like Rio to get a more holistic understanding of its culture.
Casey & Natalie
This Is Where Rainbows Are Made
Have you ever wondered where the Lucky Charms leprechauns live?
Well Casey and I found them today. Right at the intersection of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil.
After seeing over 14 rainbows in one sighting of the massive Iguazú waterfalls, I am convinced that this is where those leprechauns call home. I wish someone had let me in on this secret when my eight-year-old self savored the rainbow marshmallow cereal, contemplating the whereabouts of these little men.
I can truly say that seeing Mother Nature shine in all her powerful splendor today through these roaring falls proved to be one of the most soul-shaking experiences I have had to date.
I first caught a glimpse of the beautiful expanse of water through a helicopter ride from the Argentinian side. I love heights and had never ridden in a chopper before, so I guess you could say this was a big moment for me. When I hopped in the co-pilot seat with my touristy HD cam in hand, I gave my pilot an excited pat on the shoulder “hello.” Apparently this enthusiasm did not go over too well because he sneered at me with disgust and did not speak the entire flight. Maybe the shoulder pat is more offensive in this country than America. Who knows.
So up, up, and away we went, and my eyes poured over the sea of lush greenery. About five minutes after take-off, I spotted the magnificent falls. If you’ve seen Avatar and remember those floating Hallelujah Mountains with the waterfalls, that’s about what this felt like… minus the floating part.
Then we took a high-speed boat ride up to the base of the Falls and we came face-to-face with the immense beauty. We were speechless. We had never seen anything like it. As we ended the day on a walking tour through the vistas, I could have sworn I saw a short green figure dart away into the forrest out of the corner of my eye. That’s when I knew that experiencing this natural wonder will forever be more valuable to me than 14 pots of gold at the end of rainbows.
