Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, 6/23/2005
I am about to get on the "bonde" - the tram that takes you into the old historic section of Rio, Santa Teresa. It reminds me of the old time car rides ad Disney land. You wait in line, go through the gate, and get on the car on the railroad tracks. This Sammy Hagar like Brazilian just gave me a Sol Musica Brochure. Cabo Wabo has nothing on this place.
Welcome back to another traveling Sherman episode. This one takes place in Rio, or "He-Oh" as the locals say. We are going to the dangerous area, according to the hotel guide. So I figure there was no better way to start of us.
This starts day 2 of our trip to Brazil. I am joined by Traveling Lisa (aka girlfriend). She has been a very agreeable traveler. We start our stay at the Ipanema Plaza. I am reminded by her just now to look out for the kid behind me, more on this later.
Thoughts on Brazil thus far:
There are beautiful people here. I'm honest, the ladies are hot and they're not afraid to show their stuff off. The men have the bodies Fabio dreamed of having. Even the old ladies have buns of steel. The minimum requirement for heels must be 3 inches tall.
Ipanema Beach is definitely full of young bohemian capitalists. One hippie tries to sell me a bong. I tell him that I have stopped recently. He tells me that he has not, and wishes me a good trip.
There is more Churrasco (shaved beef) here than in all of Texas. The barbecue plate at the local restaurant comes with sausage, chicken, pork and steak. It also comes with fries and rice. This meal is large enough to feed myself, Lisa and 4 other homeless street-singers as I feed them through the window. I'm sure the manager must have been very proud of me.
6/25
Dig it; our first bus ride of the trip is about to happen. We are embarking on a trip to the Ihla Grande through a Town called Angra Dos Reis. Now we're beginning to travel. After three days at the Posh Ipanema Plaza, we are ready to hit the road. But before I get you on the bus, I should catch you up on the previous days events.
We saw Jesus standing right in front of us. A great miracle has happened. He was 132 ft. high and make of soapstone. He is none other than Corcovado. Check it out here if interested. Corcovado translated means hunch back, but there's nothing hunched about this guy.
The Corcovado status is Rio's version of the statue of liberty, Golden Gate Bridge, or Washington monument. It was finished in 1931 after 9 years of construction. It was considered the gift from the church. JC's left hand points to the north of the city, and you guessed it -- the right hand will point to the south. You see, Jesus gives you guidance in an otherwise misdirected life.
Today's tour guide is none other Gerrardo. No, not the talk show host -- much better.
Our tour consists of going to this Corcovado and the Tijuca forest. Rio is quite the green city with 20% of its square area covered in national parks. After Corcovado, we hake into the Mata Atlantica - the Atlantic forest - to take a closer look inside the park.
There is this waterfall called the Cascatinha Waterfall. (Check it out if you want) It was named after him because he lived there. The government put him up here because he was the official painter of Rio back in the day. We take a look. I splash my face with some bath water as we hike down the creek. I see some Hibiscus flowers, which Lisa tells me are from Hawaii. These are the flowers the hula girls wear I guess as you get off the plane to Hawaii.
We see Lapia (Brazilian fish). It is the same size as carp, but more of a dirty color. There are endless amounts of creeks and ponds. Gerrardo tells us that this is a fragile ecosystem. He says that much of Rio's water supply comes from this forest. That prevents me from urinating in the local creek for the remainder of the day.
I ask him about this Brazilian coffee. Do the Brazilians make good coffee? Gerrardo tells us that back in the day, Rio had plantations everywhere full of coffee. They tried cultivating the coffee plant in the Tijuca forest and others nearby. It turned out that the coffee plant took in so much water that it destroyed many of the other plants and prevented the natural water flow to the city. You see, it's all about the flow - dig? Whatever. Ok, so they eliminate the plantations 100 years ago and begin to plant more native plants in order to save the trees. All you tree huggers would be proud.
So when you order Brazilian coffee today, most likely it doesn't come from Brazil. It was most likely made in Arabia. However, the dark Brazilian roasting method is still a tried a true one. So when you buy Brazilian coffee, it's simply Brazilian style, made in Arabia, and packaged by starbucks. 1 million yuppies served.
Lisa is making some sort of comment about makeup. Another girl is putting on gobs of it on the bus. The mascara drowns her face as the 3rd speed bump hits.
We make it back to the hotel and have a good stay in Brazil. Some other quick highlights:
If you enter a restaurant with people dressed up from Salvador, run the other way. It's just a front for a Long John Silver's restaurant. The restaurant was called Yamanja. I think that translates to "terrible fried seafood".
The first and only theft/losing of luggage occurs at this point. I lose Lisa's camera. Although we think that the make-up lady that Lisa points out may have stolen it when we were not looking. About 1 roll of film lost and a lesson learned. Someone please tell me what that lesson was.
We go to a really good Sushi restaurant called Sushi Leblon. Lisa bums a cigarette of off a lady named Marianna. It later turns into a one-hour-and-a-half conversation. Her and Vincent are on a 3-night stand. They are both married and are having an old fling. She used to live in Santa Cruz and misses the "right on" expression so much. I learn that Smoking causes cancer but makes friends.
Brazilians are just sexy people. The lady's voice at the airport says the number "Nine" like she just read a penthouse forum letter.
One hour later.
We get off the bus; take the taxi to a boat. There's no sign, no uniform, just a Carioca (Brazilian local) and his boat telling you he's going to Ihla Grande. Why not, just hop on and take a chance.
The boat ride is fantastic, a sea of green everywhere. This was the Brazil I was thinking of. Good Samba music and laid-back people. Lisa - again with the cigarettes - befriends Reginald, the local Language teacher and chess master. He talks about the island, retirement, and the meaning of life. The conversation lasts 20 minutes too long. It's good to know that we have someone we can go to in case we get into trouble. I can't write anymore, I'll tell you how it is later.
6/29
So we are leaving the island today. I finally get the time to tell you about it.
This place is a 25 square km area of paradise. From the beaches to the mountains to the views. All here is unreal.
People we meet:
Paes (Pah EES). He has been our guide for the trip. We found him in the tour company next door to where we have been staying. He reminds me of a young Redd Foxx, if he had lived on an island. He is cool and savvy. He speaks only Portuguese, but between a broken English-Spanish-Portuguese broken hybrid, we get by just fine.
Smiling Black Pizza Man. I never got his name. The first gentleman we meet on the island. He looks like a Brazilian kid-n-play. We stop for a chopp (draught beer). He is watching a kickboxing match on the local television and tries to tell us about it. I understand nothing other that he is happy about it.
German Hosts at the Pescador. Great people. The local German couple runs this pousada. One guy has a throat problem from too many cigarettes. Their daughter married a Brazilian years ago. Their parents decide to buy this place and move to Brazil. I think they'll get along just fine.
Rudimentary map of Ihla Grande.
Key:
^ = Mountains
W = water
Boat = boat.
Angra Dos Reis ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Rio de Janeiro
(nasty, polluted, ATMs)
|
|
Boat
|
| -------|
|
Ihla Grande
Beautiful, Pristine, Cars, No ATMs.
From Rio, you travel through what is called the Costa Verde, or the Green Coast. You travel by bus as your stomach turns more times than a Rotisserie Chicken. You come to Angra Dos Reis, which if you enjoy oil tankers and nuclear power plants would be a wonderful place to stay. You then hop a ferry to Ihla Grande. A big place indeed. We stay in the main village called Abraao. Here you can get necklaces, find places to eat and stay, and hear the locals pounding nails into the pillars to make more structures.
Some random facts about the island:
No building can be more than 2 stories high.
Originally discovered 4 centuries ago. Pirates (yarr!) lived here for a while, but couldn't find the treasure.
In the 19th century, Brazil used this island as a leper colony and a prison. On one of the hikes, we see the prison ruins. It's over 6 square km. Huge concrete pillars separate over hundreds of cells. It's a disgusting place. Like many other island based prisons it becomes too expensive to maintain and gets shut down in the 1980's.
There are 105 beaches. We went to 4 of them. We visit a beach on our first day here called Lopes Mendes. The sand is white and crunches like fresh snow powder. It's white because of the high salt density in the water. No ships go here, you must travel in by foot.
The water is about 78 degrees and the waves form perfectly for surfers and body boarders alike. I buy a new pair of brightened Speedos for the trip. I see a lunar eclipse as I emerge out of the water.
Traveling Lisa can hike. I'm so relieved. She sets the pace this whole trip. Super cool and patient the whole time, even with the camera and everything.
There is an aqueduct on the island built in 1898. It is still used today to take the pure water from the mountain waterfalls and deliver it to the villages. However, by the time it reaches Abraao, it is slightly toxic. It is good enough for bathing, but not good enough for us gringos to drink.
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On the 2nd day, we reach this waterfall led by Paes, the tour guide. First of all, Paes is the coolest cat around. He picks up random native trees and says,
"Here, For Health". "Here, for moscas (mosquitos)",
"Here, orange". "Here, papaya".
He whistles at birds and squirrels. His favorite sayings are "ta bon" (all right) and tranquillo. We talk about the island, the prison ruins, and the beach. We get to the waterfall and it is 30 ft. high. The water temperature feels about a cool 70 degrees as I shower up. I could have stayed there forever.
The hiking on the island can get pretty strenuous. The mountains are fairly low in elevation (300 ft) but some stretches are fairly steep and tricky. For example, on our trip into the waterfall, there is one passage that is purely steep mud. When I get to the top, I am grateful for my life.
I've discovered that sautéed octopus either with Salsa or with Paella is quite tasty. It tastes like a milder version of tuna fish. Lisa, Paes, and I grub out at the Praia de For a (beach) at this local restaurant there. Then I go swimming. I later find this beach is probably the most polluted on the island. A good day was had as we take the local ship back to the Abraao village where we are staying.
The Parrot's Peak (Pico de Papagaia)
Lisa and I walk 12 miles today and climb to about 2500 feet. Paes, our tour guide is back picking apples, bushwhacking trails, listening to squirrels, and smelling eucalyptus. As Lisa and I are sweating up the only road on the island, Paes points towards this narrow, steep path. "This is where we begin", he says. A long, perilous journey is ahead of us. Lisa and I scamper ahead for about 2 hours. We then meet up with 2 guys also on the trail. They warn us about this poisonous snake. Paes, being himself says "es Normal". We walk by unharmed. I soon realize most animals are scared shitless of us, and won't attack you until provoked.
I find this to be helpful as we pass some tarantulas. One of the guys we meet is a photographer for a newspaper where he is doing a feature story on the Ihla Grande. He swaps some pictures of these tarantulas as he gets some nature footage.
We continue climbing. The group has grown to 5. Lisa, Paes, myself, Andrea (the photographer) and his friend with the Limp Leg. I don't remember his name, so let's call him Limp Leg. Limp leg is a reporter for the same newspaper as Andrea. They are working together on this story.
Limp Leg does not like to hike, he says. You can tell with his adidas hiking shoes and black socks. He does manage to get great cell phone reception, as he has no problems using it all along the trail.
What could you be possibly be talking about on your cell phone as you are trying to forge ahead of danger on your way to the island peak? Well I thought of some scenarios…so hear they are.
Scenario 1: "Shit, bitch. I know my crabs would flame up as I walked through the jungle. I need 2 bottles of calamine lotion right away!"
Scenario 2: "I would like a large pizza with pepperoni and mushroom. 45 minutes"
Scenario 3: " Can you get me up to speed on the last 3 episodes of '24'? My Tivo just broke down and I can't get any reception up here."
Scenario 4: "Baby, I love you so much. Why do you keep calling me Antonio?"
We finally reach the peak of the parrot and the views are incredible. 360 degrees of mountains, beaches and sea. To the west, you see Sao Paulo state. To the east you can see the Mountains of Rio. We park ourselves on the rock and answer some questions from Limp Leg. Andrea takes some pictures of us like we are Louis and Clark. I ham up the story as this savage mountain man, climbing 14,000 ft. peaks every weekend.
So the reporters tell Lisa and I that we would be in the Rio newspaper on Sunday. They say it may even be one of the lead stories. I am overwhelmed. Either my ego is getting bigger, or it's a slow news day. I'll let you know if anything comes of it.
I am sad to be leaving this island, but happy to have finally started to enjoy Brazil. We are on the boat back to Angra Dos Reis, catching a bus to another beach town - Parati. As always, you will hear everything that happens first hand from me, none other than Traveling Sherman.
