The festival blew my mind. I'm honestly not sure if I can describe it. I'll give it a go later, but if I don't like it then I'm not posting it - you'll have to come ask me instead!
I'm off on a little diversion from the plan right now, but I'm still planning on heading to Manaus and the Amazon in a bit.
Missing y'all!
Tuesday 29 July 2008
Wednesday 16 July 2008
5. Chapada Diamantina
Sunday 12th
So, at 5am, I finally arrived in Lencois. Centre of Chapada Diamantina. In total, I had been travelling non stop, on sweltering, shaky buses for more than 32 hours! I was ready to crash, so I put up in a cheap little pousada and passed out for a bit.
When I woke up, I opened the shutters of my room and was blinded by the dazzling sun. The north of Brazil is very different to the south in many ways, and the weather is no exception. Pulling on some shorts, I stepped out into the gorgeous day.
Lencois is a great little town. It's right in the middle of the vast national park and very isolated. It's a beautiful place, and I started getting good vibes the second I stepped out the door. I went for a wander around the town, looking for information on Fazemda Campina and perhaps for an outfit that would help me do some rock climbing. My guidebook recommended a place called Extreme Tours or some such, so I asked for directions and started walking. Unfortunately, everyone I asked seemed to point me in a different direction! I was wandering down a little side street, when I noticed a place with a climbing wall built into it's office. Not Extreme Tours, but it definitely looked like the kind of place I wanted! I wandered in.
I stepped into an office lined with climbing handholds, and a gorgeous girl (who, I later discovered, pretty much ran the place) asked me in excellent English, what I was looking for. I explained and she gave me some options. In the end, I ended up booking some climbing, and a two day trek in the park. Everyone I met hanging out and climbing in the small office was really excellent and, as I left, they invited me back for some beers that evening.
As it started getting dark I pulled on some longer trousers and headed out. Turns out there was some kind of festival going on that day in town, so I headed in to check it out. Sitting down at a little bar to watch the music, I fell into conversation with a couple of local guys. I'd just finished a great book on recent Brazilian history and was really interested to see what the average Brazilian thought of Lula, the union leader who had finally, after 3 elections and much opposition from Roberto Marinio and his Globo media empire, become president with a majority of more than 70%. Turns out the guys loved Lula, and they loved even more that I, a tourist, would ask such a question. After the music finished we headed to a couple more great little bars, and I hung out with them and their friends for a couple hours.
Eventually, I wandered away in search of the agency group and their promise of a free beer. I found them spread out in front of the office, sprawled around on yellow plastic chairs. After a couple of drinks we headed inside, shut the doors, and rolled up some of the most excellent weed I have ever smoked. Good times...
Monday 13th
As part of the trips that I had booked with her agency, Val had offered me a free night in her pousada, and I had gladly upped sticks from the grotty little place I was staying and moved over. I woke up to a breakfast impressive enough to top all the others so far. Everything you could imagine from eggs to freshly baked cornbread was spread over the table. I swear, the more time I spend in Brazil, the bigger the breakfasts seem to get!
Stuffed full, I wandered over and found the group I'd be climbing with. Enrique was leading us - a man of indeterminable age and sun wizened skin, he scaled the most difficult overhangs in nothing but shorts, a harness and flip flops! Climbing with me was a friendly Brazlian guy and two gorgeous girls.
We had a fantastic time - the trek to the slopes we were scaling was stunning, and I'd completely forgotten how much I missed climbing. It's been about four years, but I was pretty pleased with how I got on. You learn a lot about your body when you're 50 meters up and hanging by two trembling fingers! All in all a great day.
Tuesday 14th & Wednesday 15th
The next day we packed our bags, stuffed ourselves once more, and piled into a rusty old jeep in preparation for some trekking. I was with a much bigger group this time, alongside the guys I'd climbed with, there were about three more Brazilian couples (there are very few foreigners travelling off the Rio-Sao Paulo tourist trail in Brazil). We stuffed food into our packs and set off, climbing the steep terrain of the Chapada Diamantina.
Trekking was amazing. The park was full of rivers - all the same deep brown as in Ibitipoca - and we stopped near some amazing waterfalls, rainbows dancing in the spray. I managed to take a couple of photos along the way, and I'll let them speak for themselves once again.
That evening we set up camp near a roaring river. The weather was wonderful and warm, without a cloud in the sky, so camp pretty much consisted of rolling out the bedrolls on some dry rocks! We pulled out the food and wine that we'd stashed in our packs and set about whipping up a delicious dinner, topped off with more of Enrique's smooth, home grown hash.
The next day we left our packs at the camp and started down the river towards another set of falls. Jumping from rock to rock was great fun, and some of us ended up trying a really difficult traverse over the water, rather than swim. I made it the one way, but on the way back the rocks decreed that I would be swimming, like it or not! These falls were equally beautiful, the water cascading down a vast ladder of rocks, and we relaxed - swimming in the deep, dark water.
The trek back was hard work, and felt really good once everyone had gotten into their stride. We piled into the jeep, exhausted at the end of the day, and I was just settling in for a nap on the way back when Enrique tapped my shoulder and, speaking in Portugese, excitedly gestured for me to get out. I complied, confused, only to see the jeep race off without me! Turns out I'd volunteered to run the 5km back to town alongside Enrique and one other guy! I am sore today...
Thursday 16th
So here I am! Today is definitely a day of rest for this lion. I am exhausted. I'm using the day of slobbing around to try and work out my next move. The festival is in 7 days and, despite my best efforts, I've been unable to secure either transportation or a ticket! I should have it sorted soon though - I see many more nights on buses ahead of me! In question, however, is whether I can make it to Fazemda Campina and still be on time to make it to the festival. Apparently some of the dudes from the agency have been there, so I'm going to ask them for some advice. One way or another, it ain't gonna be boring!
Chapada Diamantina Trekking
If you have a 4x4 and it does not look like this then you are USING IT WRONG. (i.e. in Chelsea)
My bed for the night.
I liked these waterfall photos so much, I'm posting two of them. Lucky you!
Our impromptu wine cooler
So, at 5am, I finally arrived in Lencois. Centre of Chapada Diamantina. In total, I had been travelling non stop, on sweltering, shaky buses for more than 32 hours! I was ready to crash, so I put up in a cheap little pousada and passed out for a bit.
When I woke up, I opened the shutters of my room and was blinded by the dazzling sun. The north of Brazil is very different to the south in many ways, and the weather is no exception. Pulling on some shorts, I stepped out into the gorgeous day.
Lencois is a great little town. It's right in the middle of the vast national park and very isolated. It's a beautiful place, and I started getting good vibes the second I stepped out the door. I went for a wander around the town, looking for information on Fazemda Campina and perhaps for an outfit that would help me do some rock climbing. My guidebook recommended a place called Extreme Tours or some such, so I asked for directions and started walking. Unfortunately, everyone I asked seemed to point me in a different direction! I was wandering down a little side street, when I noticed a place with a climbing wall built into it's office. Not Extreme Tours, but it definitely looked like the kind of place I wanted! I wandered in.
I stepped into an office lined with climbing handholds, and a gorgeous girl (who, I later discovered, pretty much ran the place) asked me in excellent English, what I was looking for. I explained and she gave me some options. In the end, I ended up booking some climbing, and a two day trek in the park. Everyone I met hanging out and climbing in the small office was really excellent and, as I left, they invited me back for some beers that evening.
As it started getting dark I pulled on some longer trousers and headed out. Turns out there was some kind of festival going on that day in town, so I headed in to check it out. Sitting down at a little bar to watch the music, I fell into conversation with a couple of local guys. I'd just finished a great book on recent Brazilian history and was really interested to see what the average Brazilian thought of Lula, the union leader who had finally, after 3 elections and much opposition from Roberto Marinio and his Globo media empire, become president with a majority of more than 70%. Turns out the guys loved Lula, and they loved even more that I, a tourist, would ask such a question. After the music finished we headed to a couple more great little bars, and I hung out with them and their friends for a couple hours.
Eventually, I wandered away in search of the agency group and their promise of a free beer. I found them spread out in front of the office, sprawled around on yellow plastic chairs. After a couple of drinks we headed inside, shut the doors, and rolled up some of the most excellent weed I have ever smoked. Good times...
Monday 13th
As part of the trips that I had booked with her agency, Val had offered me a free night in her pousada, and I had gladly upped sticks from the grotty little place I was staying and moved over. I woke up to a breakfast impressive enough to top all the others so far. Everything you could imagine from eggs to freshly baked cornbread was spread over the table. I swear, the more time I spend in Brazil, the bigger the breakfasts seem to get!
Stuffed full, I wandered over and found the group I'd be climbing with. Enrique was leading us - a man of indeterminable age and sun wizened skin, he scaled the most difficult overhangs in nothing but shorts, a harness and flip flops! Climbing with me was a friendly Brazlian guy and two gorgeous girls.
We had a fantastic time - the trek to the slopes we were scaling was stunning, and I'd completely forgotten how much I missed climbing. It's been about four years, but I was pretty pleased with how I got on. You learn a lot about your body when you're 50 meters up and hanging by two trembling fingers! All in all a great day.
Tuesday 14th & Wednesday 15th
The next day we packed our bags, stuffed ourselves once more, and piled into a rusty old jeep in preparation for some trekking. I was with a much bigger group this time, alongside the guys I'd climbed with, there were about three more Brazilian couples (there are very few foreigners travelling off the Rio-Sao Paulo tourist trail in Brazil). We stuffed food into our packs and set off, climbing the steep terrain of the Chapada Diamantina.
Trekking was amazing. The park was full of rivers - all the same deep brown as in Ibitipoca - and we stopped near some amazing waterfalls, rainbows dancing in the spray. I managed to take a couple of photos along the way, and I'll let them speak for themselves once again.
That evening we set up camp near a roaring river. The weather was wonderful and warm, without a cloud in the sky, so camp pretty much consisted of rolling out the bedrolls on some dry rocks! We pulled out the food and wine that we'd stashed in our packs and set about whipping up a delicious dinner, topped off with more of Enrique's smooth, home grown hash.
The next day we left our packs at the camp and started down the river towards another set of falls. Jumping from rock to rock was great fun, and some of us ended up trying a really difficult traverse over the water, rather than swim. I made it the one way, but on the way back the rocks decreed that I would be swimming, like it or not! These falls were equally beautiful, the water cascading down a vast ladder of rocks, and we relaxed - swimming in the deep, dark water.
The trek back was hard work, and felt really good once everyone had gotten into their stride. We piled into the jeep, exhausted at the end of the day, and I was just settling in for a nap on the way back when Enrique tapped my shoulder and, speaking in Portugese, excitedly gestured for me to get out. I complied, confused, only to see the jeep race off without me! Turns out I'd volunteered to run the 5km back to town alongside Enrique and one other guy! I am sore today...
Thursday 16th
So here I am! Today is definitely a day of rest for this lion. I am exhausted. I'm using the day of slobbing around to try and work out my next move. The festival is in 7 days and, despite my best efforts, I've been unable to secure either transportation or a ticket! I should have it sorted soon though - I see many more nights on buses ahead of me! In question, however, is whether I can make it to Fazemda Campina and still be on time to make it to the festival. Apparently some of the dudes from the agency have been there, so I'm going to ask them for some advice. One way or another, it ain't gonna be boring!
Chapada Diamantina Trekking
If you have a 4x4 and it does not look like this then you are USING IT WRONG. (i.e. in Chelsea)
My bed for the night.
I liked these waterfall photos so much, I'm posting two of them. Lucky you!
Our impromptu wine cooler
Thursday 10 July 2008
Onward and upward
The trip to Congonhas was great. Seeing the 0rigional statue of Daniel was even more amazing - the pockmarks left by wind and time lent weight to the aura of both strength and conviction, as well as love and compassion. This statue is, for me, the greatest work of Baroque art I have seen in Brazil. Here he is:
The rest of the church was fantastic - in little stone rooms Aleijadinho had carved extraordinary wooden scenes from Christs crucifixion, and in a side room, people had sent in thousands of ex votos - tributes to the church for perceived miraculous healing. There were crude pictures of people sick in bed, and even an elaborate drawing of a bus crash!
I've had a lot of fun in Minas, but I've had my fill of religious and colonial art for now. I'm gonna head up north to this hippie community around Chapada Diamantina, near Lencois, and see what I can see! Yep, that's a journey of 1500km in one day on a whim folks!
The rest of the church was fantastic - in little stone rooms Aleijadinho had carved extraordinary wooden scenes from Christs crucifixion, and in a side room, people had sent in thousands of ex votos - tributes to the church for perceived miraculous healing. There were crude pictures of people sick in bed, and even an elaborate drawing of a bus crash!
I've had a lot of fun in Minas, but I've had my fill of religious and colonial art for now. I'm gonna head up north to this hippie community around Chapada Diamantina, near Lencois, and see what I can see! Yep, that's a journey of 1500km in one day on a whim folks!
Tuesday 8 July 2008
Plans are meant to be changed, right?
So I was exploring Ouro Preto today, visiting the various churches and museums, when I found a piece that stopped me in my tracks. Normally, despite it's beauty, religious art bores me - the subject usually being either a display of the suffering of christ, designed to inspire shame and guilt, or a display of the wealth of the church, designed to inspire inferiority and meek submission. This piece, however, was different. It was one of Aleijadinhos last and most brilliant works - a larger than life stone statue of the prophet Daniel. Rather than bowing and scraping to images of the light, the figure stood tall, embodying the things I respect about religion - the pride, self respect and inner peace that it can inspire.
I discovered that the piece is actually a replica; the real work, and it's 15 brothers, surround a church not too far from here. I'm heading there tonight. Colegio do Caraca can wait!
I discovered that the piece is actually a replica; the real work, and it's 15 brothers, surround a church not too far from here. I'm heading there tonight. Colegio do Caraca can wait!
Sunday 6 July 2008
4. Belo Horizonte and Ouro Preto
Thursday 3rd
I woke up, in Tiradentes, to one of the most sumptuous breakfasts I had ever seen. They get their eating done early in Minas Gerais, and a large table was literally covered with food - all for me!
Stuffed full, I made my way out to explore the town. Tiradentes is famous for it's large and excessively gilded church (one of the richest in Brazil), so I made a beeline for it. Finding it certainly wasn't hard - the sleepy little town is tiny! Tucked into a small valley you could easily walk across it in an hour, negotiating the crazily steep streets as they climb the mountain sides.
In all honesty, I wasn't that impressed with the opulence of the church - it was nothing like the beautiful little Irmandade de Nossa Senhora da Glòria I'd found on a small hill in central Rio. There was gold everywhere, winking in the light, but the art it framed had nothing of the life I've come to expect from churches in Brazil - the church was built before the Baroque movement swept across Europe.
Tiredentes is a nice enough small town - large parts are almost perfectly preserved from colonial times, the streets are all cobbled and I honestly saw a couple of horses making their way across town with no human handler in sight! I was getting tired of the outback however, and was feeling like spending some time in a big city. In this mood, I made plans to head into the centre of the state the next day.
Friday 4th
Rather than take the bus out of town, I headed to the station. Tiradentes and Sao Joau del Rei have an amazingly well preserved old steam train route between them, and I felt like checking it out. It was a hell of a lot of fun - I'll post up a couple of photos. From Sao Joau, I jumped on a bus to the capital city of Minas Gerais - Belo Horizonte.
When I arrived it was Friday evening, so I got myself checked in, chucked my bag down and went out looking for adventure.
So I basically hit the streets in the student district, looking for a place to start the night. As I was sauntering down a side street I stumbled on a tiny little place - only a couple of meters of bar space under a little roof - that was spilling out, not only all over the pavement, but into the street! Cars were having to dodge round hammered students in their yellow plastic chairs! I dived in.
At the bar I was having a little more trouble than I'd anticipated. I'm pretty adroit at ordering myself a beer now (Bohemia is my current fave), but there were complexities. Brazilians like their beer cold. Really cold. They keep the bottles in freezers hovering just above zero degrees, then, when they're taken out, immediately wrap them in cooling sleeves, pouring into and drinking out of tiny glasses which are finished before they heat up in the slightest. The friendly barman was trying to ask me if I wanted one of these sleeves in the rapid-fire Brazilian Portuguese, and I wasn't getting it.
A pretty girl just down the bar from me was chuckling at my confusion and, after enjoying my plight for a minute, dived in and saved me. Armed with my Skol, she promptly (and without saying a word) dragged me over to her cramped little table of friends - a bunch of straight girls and gay guys. This lot found me alternately fascinating and hilarious - the idea that someone would be stupid enough to travel for three months in a country where his linguistic resources amounted to a 90s Linguaphone tape and a pocket phrasebook seemed to boggle their minds. I had loads of fun, and after an hour or so they demanded I come party with them at a club round the corner.
Clubbing was crazy fun. Turned out the place, while not a gay club, was pretty popular with the local gay scene, which made for hilarious times - I narrowly escaped recruitment for a famous local transvestite's singles auction and quickly learnt the Portuguese for "Nope, I'm straight thanks!" There were as many straight guys and gals as gay there, and I was reminded again how beautiful the average Brazilian is. I find it interesting that perhaps the most attractive group in the world springs from a happy mixing of African, Caucasian and Indian genes. Says something nice about racial unity I think - I wonder how they'd look if Chinese/Japanese and Arabic blood had been thrown into the mix. I ended up separating from the guys I'd come in with and meeting a stunning girl named Christova and her 4 roommates. It was getting to late morning by this point, so I went back with them and crashed at their place for a few hours.
After we all rolled out of bed, me and Chris headed into town, and she showed me a locals eye view of Belo Horizonte. It's nothing like as crazy and beautiful as Rio, but it's a lot of fun! That evening I said goodbye and struggled back to my hostel, and the next morning I packed up and moved out to Ouro Preto.
Monday 7th
I woke up this morning in my beautiful little pousada, a far cry from the crazy hedonism of Belo Horizonte. Ouro Preto is basically Tiradentes scaled up. The crazily steep cobbled streets are even steeper (the pavement on my street is actually a huge flight of stone stairs!), the sense that the city is desperately trying to fit in the small space afforded it by the local geography feels much stronger, and then there's the churches. On one 2km stretch of road there are nine churches. Just so we're clear, I'm not talking little 30 person chapels, I'm talking huge, magnificent, gold-encrusted works of the finest baroque art. Each able to seat a congregation at least 100 strong. I've been unable to wrangle permission to photograph the interior of any yet, which is killing the photographer in me! The beautiful, and mostly tasteful, gilding, frames fantastic paintings and some of the finest carvings by the famed Aleijadinho. They're gorgeous. At first I was a little put off at this huge expenditure, all for the sake of telling the person in the street that "god's house is a hell of a lot nicer than yours". More recently however, I've started to look at them, not as religious symbols, but as celebrations of the beauty man can create.
I've got another night here, then I'm going to venture up into the mountains to see if I can find this elusive monastery-turned-school. I'm also trying to contact this exciting bunch of guys camped out somewhere around Chapada Diamantina. It's proving tricky though, and I don't know if it's going to work out. Plus I've got to be hundreds of miles up north for the festival in only 16 days! Wish me luck!
Tiradentes
There was actually noone looking after these horses. They were making their way across town and even obeying traffic rules - waiting for cars and giving way!
...chufchufchufchuf...
Ouro Preto
I woke up, in Tiradentes, to one of the most sumptuous breakfasts I had ever seen. They get their eating done early in Minas Gerais, and a large table was literally covered with food - all for me!
Stuffed full, I made my way out to explore the town. Tiradentes is famous for it's large and excessively gilded church (one of the richest in Brazil), so I made a beeline for it. Finding it certainly wasn't hard - the sleepy little town is tiny! Tucked into a small valley you could easily walk across it in an hour, negotiating the crazily steep streets as they climb the mountain sides.
In all honesty, I wasn't that impressed with the opulence of the church - it was nothing like the beautiful little Irmandade de Nossa Senhora da Glòria I'd found on a small hill in central Rio. There was gold everywhere, winking in the light, but the art it framed had nothing of the life I've come to expect from churches in Brazil - the church was built before the Baroque movement swept across Europe.
Tiredentes is a nice enough small town - large parts are almost perfectly preserved from colonial times, the streets are all cobbled and I honestly saw a couple of horses making their way across town with no human handler in sight! I was getting tired of the outback however, and was feeling like spending some time in a big city. In this mood, I made plans to head into the centre of the state the next day.
Friday 4th
Rather than take the bus out of town, I headed to the station. Tiradentes and Sao Joau del Rei have an amazingly well preserved old steam train route between them, and I felt like checking it out. It was a hell of a lot of fun - I'll post up a couple of photos. From Sao Joau, I jumped on a bus to the capital city of Minas Gerais - Belo Horizonte.
When I arrived it was Friday evening, so I got myself checked in, chucked my bag down and went out looking for adventure.
So I basically hit the streets in the student district, looking for a place to start the night. As I was sauntering down a side street I stumbled on a tiny little place - only a couple of meters of bar space under a little roof - that was spilling out, not only all over the pavement, but into the street! Cars were having to dodge round hammered students in their yellow plastic chairs! I dived in.
At the bar I was having a little more trouble than I'd anticipated. I'm pretty adroit at ordering myself a beer now (Bohemia is my current fave), but there were complexities. Brazilians like their beer cold. Really cold. They keep the bottles in freezers hovering just above zero degrees, then, when they're taken out, immediately wrap them in cooling sleeves, pouring into and drinking out of tiny glasses which are finished before they heat up in the slightest. The friendly barman was trying to ask me if I wanted one of these sleeves in the rapid-fire Brazilian Portuguese, and I wasn't getting it.
A pretty girl just down the bar from me was chuckling at my confusion and, after enjoying my plight for a minute, dived in and saved me. Armed with my Skol, she promptly (and without saying a word) dragged me over to her cramped little table of friends - a bunch of straight girls and gay guys. This lot found me alternately fascinating and hilarious - the idea that someone would be stupid enough to travel for three months in a country where his linguistic resources amounted to a 90s Linguaphone tape and a pocket phrasebook seemed to boggle their minds. I had loads of fun, and after an hour or so they demanded I come party with them at a club round the corner.
Clubbing was crazy fun. Turned out the place, while not a gay club, was pretty popular with the local gay scene, which made for hilarious times - I narrowly escaped recruitment for a famous local transvestite's singles auction and quickly learnt the Portuguese for "Nope, I'm straight thanks!" There were as many straight guys and gals as gay there, and I was reminded again how beautiful the average Brazilian is. I find it interesting that perhaps the most attractive group in the world springs from a happy mixing of African, Caucasian and Indian genes. Says something nice about racial unity I think - I wonder how they'd look if Chinese/Japanese and Arabic blood had been thrown into the mix. I ended up separating from the guys I'd come in with and meeting a stunning girl named Christova and her 4 roommates. It was getting to late morning by this point, so I went back with them and crashed at their place for a few hours.
After we all rolled out of bed, me and Chris headed into town, and she showed me a locals eye view of Belo Horizonte. It's nothing like as crazy and beautiful as Rio, but it's a lot of fun! That evening I said goodbye and struggled back to my hostel, and the next morning I packed up and moved out to Ouro Preto.
Monday 7th
I woke up this morning in my beautiful little pousada, a far cry from the crazy hedonism of Belo Horizonte. Ouro Preto is basically Tiradentes scaled up. The crazily steep cobbled streets are even steeper (the pavement on my street is actually a huge flight of stone stairs!), the sense that the city is desperately trying to fit in the small space afforded it by the local geography feels much stronger, and then there's the churches. On one 2km stretch of road there are nine churches. Just so we're clear, I'm not talking little 30 person chapels, I'm talking huge, magnificent, gold-encrusted works of the finest baroque art. Each able to seat a congregation at least 100 strong. I've been unable to wrangle permission to photograph the interior of any yet, which is killing the photographer in me! The beautiful, and mostly tasteful, gilding, frames fantastic paintings and some of the finest carvings by the famed Aleijadinho. They're gorgeous. At first I was a little put off at this huge expenditure, all for the sake of telling the person in the street that "god's house is a hell of a lot nicer than yours". More recently however, I've started to look at them, not as religious symbols, but as celebrations of the beauty man can create.
I've got another night here, then I'm going to venture up into the mountains to see if I can find this elusive monastery-turned-school. I'm also trying to contact this exciting bunch of guys camped out somewhere around Chapada Diamantina. It's proving tricky though, and I don't know if it's going to work out. Plus I've got to be hundreds of miles up north for the festival in only 16 days! Wish me luck!
Tiradentes
There was actually noone looking after these horses. They were making their way across town and even obeying traffic rules - waiting for cars and giving way!
...chufchufchufchuf...
Ouro Preto
Thursday 3 July 2008
Wednesday 2 July 2008
3. Tiradentes
Wednesday 2nd
Waking up in Juaz de Fora (good god, hotels feel like luxury after camping!), I jumped on the next bus over to Sao Juao del Rai, gateway to the colonial town of Tiradentes. I took the opportunity of the long journey to start listening to some of the Linguaphone Portuguese course I'd copied onto my iPod.
Linguaphone's courses, if you have never listened to them, are hilarious. They are just about the most English thing I have ever heard. The course was delivered, in clipped British accents, by a woman, and a man who I honestly mistook for Bazil Fawlty! After I had completed my first test, they cheerfully chirped "go ahead and give yourself a treat!", advising me to go and drink some Portuguese wine in the bath! I had trouble not bursting out laughing on the bus.
After more buses - luxurious and run down - I made it into the sleepy little colonial town of Tiradentes. I've checked in to a beautiful little hostel, and am looking forward to exploring tomorrow!
Missing all you guys and gals. How are you all?
P.s. Hell. Yes.
Waking up in Juaz de Fora (good god, hotels feel like luxury after camping!), I jumped on the next bus over to Sao Juao del Rai, gateway to the colonial town of Tiradentes. I took the opportunity of the long journey to start listening to some of the Linguaphone Portuguese course I'd copied onto my iPod.
Linguaphone's courses, if you have never listened to them, are hilarious. They are just about the most English thing I have ever heard. The course was delivered, in clipped British accents, by a woman, and a man who I honestly mistook for Bazil Fawlty! After I had completed my first test, they cheerfully chirped "go ahead and give yourself a treat!", advising me to go and drink some Portuguese wine in the bath! I had trouble not bursting out laughing on the bus.
After more buses - luxurious and run down - I made it into the sleepy little colonial town of Tiradentes. I've checked in to a beautiful little hostel, and am looking forward to exploring tomorrow!
Missing all you guys and gals. How are you all?
P.s. Hell. Yes.
2. Ibitipoca (28/06 - 01/07)
So I made it back to civilization!
Saturday 28th
I got up early and made my way over to Rio Norde's gigantic rodoviaria. A sprawling chaotic mess of a place, finding the right bus felt like an achievement in itself (No, Brazil, 18-22 is not a platform number. Especially when 20 and 21 are on opposite sides of the station!). The trip was nice and comfortable - the buses on Brazil's bigger routes are actually pretty luxurious! The comfort stopped abruptly however, when one of the many psychotic drivers on Brazils roads took exception to something about our sedately travelling bus. He nipped in front of us and started weaving, blocking our every attempt to turn. At 5mph. On the motorway. Yeah.
Anywho, we arrived in one piece and, after a couple more buses, I found a place to pitch camp just outside Ibitipoca.
Sunday 29th
When I woke up, I discovered that the 'Adjacent Campsite' that I'd pitched in was, in fact, a good 4km away from the park. This may not sound like much, but with a massive bag pearched on your back, it's a bit of a pain in the ass. Fortunately, two excellent guys who were also camping, overheard my stuttered Portuguese conversation and offered me a ride. I ended up hanging out with them, and two girls we met along the way, for the rest of the day as we headed round one of the more sedate routes of Ibitipoca.
The national park is simply stunning. From the huge sun-drenched golden rock faces, to the lush forest, to the Coca-cola coloured (seriously) rivers and pools, the whole three days were amazing. Bonita indeed. I won't bore you with any more wordy descriptions though, I'll post some pictures and let them talk for themselves!
That first day we traversed the series of lakes and grottos that lay near the campsite. It was fantastic, and we ended up swimming in one of the (fucking freezing) bizarrely coloured lakes.
That night, I pitched my tent in the park grounds and literally everyone left - it was the end of the weekend for all of them. Me, and the one guy manning the little restaurant were the only people in the whole vast park! Of course he spoke no English, and me no Portuguese.
I wandered away from the campsite, as the sun descended over the mountains and the stars came out, one by one, in all their amazing multitudes. It was the most breathtaking view of the night sky I've ever experienced. There were no people in the park, and no city for miles and miles to produce any kind of light pollution. Just me, the sounds of the forest, and a vast starscape, stretching to either horizon. Just as a shooting star shot by overhead, it hit me what a beautiful world I live in, and I was suddenly so happy to be out exploring it!
Actually, it's amazing how much you can communicate with even a couple of words! I wandered back over to the restaurant and got on famously with the old dude working there, over a bowl of soup and a delicious mix of honey and cachaça. After an hour or so, his wife, brother and niece turned up too. The niece, a sweet little girl of 11, and the best English speaker of them all, promptly deciding to teach me Portuguese!
At 8, they all packed up and headed home, and I was left the only person in the whole gigantic park. It was a wierd experience actually - a little lonely, but I kind of enjoyed the solitude. I headed back to my tent in preparation for an early start. During the night I heard loads of animals and glimpsed what I assume was one of the huge scavenger wolves that were said to inhabit the place at night. It was exciting stuff!
Monday 30th
I started early as planned and made a circuit of the whole park - a good 20km trek. Beautiful scenery abounded, and I had great fun playing around with my camera trying to capture it, and the resident wildlife.
Tuesday 1st
Another beautiful trek filled my day, this one to see all the deep caves and grottos around the park. I wandered into one cave that took 5 minutes to find the back of! I'd never experienced such darkness. At the deepest point, I added to the little cairn started by those who'd made it there before me.
At 3pm, I headed back to camp and packed up my stuff, ready for the next leg of my journey. As I was humping my bag the 4km back to the bus stop, this great couple stopped and offered me a lift. They were both doctors, working in Rio, and spoke excellent English. Good thing too, as 5mins down the road we were confronted with a gang of about 20 men, and a huge pile of bricks! They were literally building the road ahead of us, and we ended up waiting for about an hour before we could get by!
I made it back on the jumbling, rusty, rag-tag bus, to Lima Duarte and got on the next bus to Juaz de Fora. On the way I met a fantastic Portuguese lady who, despite the language barrier, managed to give me loads of advice about Ouro Preto. Advice which I was still writing down as I checked into a cheap little hotel.
Ibitipoca Photos
I'm just uploading a few here, as uploading loads to blogger is a pain in the ass! Enjoy.
Saturday 28th
I got up early and made my way over to Rio Norde's gigantic rodoviaria. A sprawling chaotic mess of a place, finding the right bus felt like an achievement in itself (No, Brazil, 18-22 is not a platform number. Especially when 20 and 21 are on opposite sides of the station!). The trip was nice and comfortable - the buses on Brazil's bigger routes are actually pretty luxurious! The comfort stopped abruptly however, when one of the many psychotic drivers on Brazils roads took exception to something about our sedately travelling bus. He nipped in front of us and started weaving, blocking our every attempt to turn. At 5mph. On the motorway. Yeah.
Anywho, we arrived in one piece and, after a couple more buses, I found a place to pitch camp just outside Ibitipoca.
Sunday 29th
When I woke up, I discovered that the 'Adjacent Campsite' that I'd pitched in was, in fact, a good 4km away from the park. This may not sound like much, but with a massive bag pearched on your back, it's a bit of a pain in the ass. Fortunately, two excellent guys who were also camping, overheard my stuttered Portuguese conversation and offered me a ride. I ended up hanging out with them, and two girls we met along the way, for the rest of the day as we headed round one of the more sedate routes of Ibitipoca.
The national park is simply stunning. From the huge sun-drenched golden rock faces, to the lush forest, to the Coca-cola coloured (seriously) rivers and pools, the whole three days were amazing. Bonita indeed. I won't bore you with any more wordy descriptions though, I'll post some pictures and let them talk for themselves!
That first day we traversed the series of lakes and grottos that lay near the campsite. It was fantastic, and we ended up swimming in one of the (fucking freezing) bizarrely coloured lakes.
That night, I pitched my tent in the park grounds and literally everyone left - it was the end of the weekend for all of them. Me, and the one guy manning the little restaurant were the only people in the whole vast park! Of course he spoke no English, and me no Portuguese.
I wandered away from the campsite, as the sun descended over the mountains and the stars came out, one by one, in all their amazing multitudes. It was the most breathtaking view of the night sky I've ever experienced. There were no people in the park, and no city for miles and miles to produce any kind of light pollution. Just me, the sounds of the forest, and a vast starscape, stretching to either horizon. Just as a shooting star shot by overhead, it hit me what a beautiful world I live in, and I was suddenly so happy to be out exploring it!
Actually, it's amazing how much you can communicate with even a couple of words! I wandered back over to the restaurant and got on famously with the old dude working there, over a bowl of soup and a delicious mix of honey and cachaça. After an hour or so, his wife, brother and niece turned up too. The niece, a sweet little girl of 11, and the best English speaker of them all, promptly deciding to teach me Portuguese!
At 8, they all packed up and headed home, and I was left the only person in the whole gigantic park. It was a wierd experience actually - a little lonely, but I kind of enjoyed the solitude. I headed back to my tent in preparation for an early start. During the night I heard loads of animals and glimpsed what I assume was one of the huge scavenger wolves that were said to inhabit the place at night. It was exciting stuff!
Monday 30th
I started early as planned and made a circuit of the whole park - a good 20km trek. Beautiful scenery abounded, and I had great fun playing around with my camera trying to capture it, and the resident wildlife.
Tuesday 1st
Another beautiful trek filled my day, this one to see all the deep caves and grottos around the park. I wandered into one cave that took 5 minutes to find the back of! I'd never experienced such darkness. At the deepest point, I added to the little cairn started by those who'd made it there before me.
At 3pm, I headed back to camp and packed up my stuff, ready for the next leg of my journey. As I was humping my bag the 4km back to the bus stop, this great couple stopped and offered me a lift. They were both doctors, working in Rio, and spoke excellent English. Good thing too, as 5mins down the road we were confronted with a gang of about 20 men, and a huge pile of bricks! They were literally building the road ahead of us, and we ended up waiting for about an hour before we could get by!
I made it back on the jumbling, rusty, rag-tag bus, to Lima Duarte and got on the next bus to Juaz de Fora. On the way I met a fantastic Portuguese lady who, despite the language barrier, managed to give me loads of advice about Ouro Preto. Advice which I was still writing down as I checked into a cheap little hotel.
Ibitipoca Photos
I'm just uploading a few here, as uploading loads to blogger is a pain in the ass! Enjoy.
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