There’s no denying that Brazil is hot right now. A strong, growing economy, the upcoming FIFA World Cup the food, the people, the accent…what’s not to love? While in Rio I spent a few hours at the Botanical Gardens. It’s a great setting with a mix of manicured, well-protected orchids to these sorts of overgrown settings that you see in this week’s Suh-Weet Shot. While there’s a lot of things to compete for your attention in Rio, don’t miss the chance to get away from the craziness of the rest of the city and enjoy the peace and tranquility of the Botanical Gardens.

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Overgrown Walkway at the Rio Botanical Gardens is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

View of Rio from Sugarloaf Mountain. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

On Saturday, the 28th and headed off to catch my bus to Sao Paolo.  This megaopolis has something like 20 million people and maybe upwards of 26 million.  No one’s really sure.  But, everyone was clear – be careful in Sao Paolo.  I arrived at the bus station and jumped on the metro which had a stop close to my hotel.  I packed light and left the heavy bags behind.  The weather was really cold, wet and windy.  So, I hung close to the hotel.

On Sunday, the weather improved somewhat.  It was at least dry and sunny.  But, the wind and cold made for a chilly day.  I only planned to stay 2 days in Sao Paolo so I headed out on foot to see some of the sights around.  I stayed on Avenida Paulista which borders the very tony, Jardims barrio.  Along Paulista is the MASP (Museu de Arte de Sao Paolo) museum which contains several works of the European greats.  There were two special exhibits of Toulouse Lautrec and, surprisingly, Darwin.  Actually, it was art from the period that Darwin spent in Brazil.  The museum was small but delightful.  I especially enjoyed the Darwin exhibit because the works were of the Brazilian coastlines, including Rio, painted around early 1830s.  I moved on along Paulista to check out an exhibit called, “Memoria Do Futuro”, aka Memory of the Future, at the Itaú Cultural Museum.  This was a very cool interactive, virtual exhibit that blew my mind.  I’ve never played with my art like this.  My time in Sao Paolo was short and I was fine with that.  Maybe with better weather I would’ve explored more.  But, was happy to spend a good deal of my time in a cool bookstore cafe I found close to my hotel.  I have to say, I never felt unsafe in Sao Paolo.  Of course, I stayed in fairly nice neighborhoods.

Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

On Tuesday, I got up early, jumped on the metro and caught my bus to Rio.  With all the issues Brazil is having with its internal flight system, I was happy to take the bus.  Plus, it only cost me $85 to go from Piracicaba-Sao Paolo-Rio-Campinas-Piracicaba.  And, the buses are actually pretty nice, especially the long-haul buses.  And, for a few bucks more, you can ride in seats that almost recline fully (which of course I did).

Anyway, when I left Sao Paolo, it was about 8 degrees C/46 degrees F.  When I got to Rio, it was in the mid-20s or upper 70s F.  I headed to my hotel which was in the center of town, not on the beaches.  I wanted to save a few bucks so I  stayed offshore.  Wednesday I blocked off to deal with a payment issue for my hostel in Bariloche, Argentina.  The hostel required a 50% deposit and I was having trouble getting money sent from Brazil to Argentina.  Sao Paolo is the financial capital of the southern hemisphere and I couldn’t get money out of it.  Western Union in Brazil was completely useless.  Unfortunately, I had the same issues in Rio so I sent a nice note to the woman at the hostel and hoped for the best.

Christ the Redeemer. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

I did manage to walk around Copacabana beach and have lunch on the beach.  With the school break over and the Pan-American games having concluded, Rio was fairly quiet.  But, the beach was beautiful.  The highway runs between the hotels and the beach.  But, on the other side is white sand and blue-green waters waiting for you to indulge.  There were a fair amount of people out.  But, the area could definitely handle more people.  For all the warnings I had received about walking along the beach, I never felt unsafe.

Thursday I struck out on the town.  I had my list of things I wanted to see.  I got into a private care service waiting outside my hotel.  When the driver heard what I wanted, he agreed to take me around to everything on the list.  We agreed on a price of $75 and off we went.

The first stop was Pão de Açúcar or Sugarloaf Mountain. I jumped on the teleferico to get up.  There was an intermediate stop where we changed cars and eventually went up to Sugarloaf.  The view of Rio was stunning.  The day was clear, sunny with no clouds and the pollution tucked behind the far mountains that surround the city.  Rio looked like a mix between Cape Town, Honolulu, Miami.  And, that still doesn’t capture the beauty that Rio possesses.  I can see why this has been a popular destination for decades.

After descending we headed off to an unexpected find in the city guides – the Carmen Miranda museum.  I knew she was from South America, but never realized she was Brazilian (Portuguese by birth).  I was a little surprised at how modest the museum was.  Given her larger than life personality (and headgear adorned with fruit, flowers or feathers, I expected something much more, well, flamboyant.  But, there was a nice, if small, collection of her outfits and a small video of her greatest hits.  So, after feeling the “Chica Chica Bun Chic” vibe, we moved on.

View of Copacabana Beach. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

Next up, was one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, the Christ Redeemer statue.  One of the best parts of this was the drive up to the statue.  The entrance is on a large mountain behind the city.  On the way up you pass through a mix of old, tony neighborhoods and favelas (the poor neighborhoods of Rio).  The houses were built right into the mountainside similar to what you would find in northern California in Sausalito but markedly different architecture.  Big beautiful trees and a lush landscape bordered the road as we ascended the mountain. We parked and had to take a shuttle bus to the top.  We could’ve walked the 2-3 kms, but it was really steep and the bus was cheap.

We got to the top with swarms of people crowded around the statue. The view was equally amazing as from Sugarloaf.  I got my picture in front of the statue with my arms extended out like Christ…because I am soooo saintly.  Anyway, I grabbed a quick bite and enjoyed the view of Rio from above.  The site was amazing, but I have to say that Easter Island is much more impressive and should have been named a 7 Wonder if Christ the Redeemer won.  But, I suspect that Christ the Redeemer is better known and more frequently visited.

Finally, we headed off to the Botanical Gardens.  I hate gardening myself.  But, I do appreciate the work of others.  The gardens were huge and very impressive.  I believe they were started in the early 1800s.  Some of the large trees date back to then.  I was struck by the number of species from all over the world. So many places restrict the import of foreign species.  And, I would think that in Brazil’s climate, almost anything would grow.  Maybe the gardens are controlled well enough to prevent the foreign species from pollenating where they shouldn’t.  Anyway, it was one of the most impressive gardens I’ve ever seen.

It was late in the afternoon and I still had 2 things to see.  One would be impossible to see.  But, the other, the cathedral, was right next to the hotel.  So, we stopped off at the cathedral for a couple of quick pics and I was dropped off at the hotel.  I was exhausted and stayed in for the evening.

Ipanema Beach. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

The next day, I slept in too late and missed my tour to one of the local favelas (or slums).  I was really interested to see this side of Rio.  But, nature kept me in bed.  So, when I did arise, I headed off to Impanema beach.  I found a great sushi place then walked around the beach.  This beach had even more beautiful people on it than Copacabana and the beach wasn’t bad either.  I haven’t seen that many bodies that belonged in speedos since my last trip to South Beach.  And most of these guys were straight.

I camped out for a while on a large rock that separates Impanema and Copacabana beaches.  I sat next to a guy from Valencia, Spain.  It was great to speak to someone who I could communicate with easily.  I think being around Portuguese for a while has actually helped my Spanish.  Now when my brain hears Spanish, it is processing it much more naturally than before.  A big part of it is just time and practice. But, I also think that my brain is so happy it doesn’t have to work as hard as it does when I’m trying to communicate with a Portuguese speaker, that it’s flowing much more naturally.  Who knows.  My time in Rio was great.  And, this is a place I would love to come back to – especially at Carnaval time in February.

View from Ipanema Beach. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

On Saturday, I took the bus back to Piracicaba via Campinas.  That night, Helo invited the family over and a few friends for a sendoff meal with me.  I really got to know these people.  And, they adopted me as one of their own immediately.  After 4 months on the road, it was nice to have a place surrounded by friendly faces.  I now have an adopted Brazilian family to add to my international adopted families.

On Sunday, I was up early to go to Sao Paolo to catch my plane to Argentina.  I thought I had flown into and would be flying out of the airport that had the crash a few weeks ago.  But, I found out that the airport with the crash was only the domestic airport, not the international.  So, with a sigh of relief, I boarded my flight and headed off to ski country – Bariloche, Argentina.

Originally Published August 9, 2007

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Rio Baby! Rio! is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

Trindade, hippy beach town south of Rio. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

On Friday morning, we got up to head out to the beach.  We headed to a stretch of coastline known as Costa Verde, or Green Coast.  This area is located between Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro and is dotted with small cities and fishing villages.  To get to the coastline, we had to drive over a mountain ridge covered in lush, green tropical vegetation.

We first hit the coast in the town of Caraguatatuba.  From there we followed the coastline north through Ubatuba and eventually to our destination, Trindade.  This little town is known as being a hippy beach.  The town is very laid back and is filled with lots of young people just hanging out, happy to be at the beach and away from everything else.

View of the beach just off the shore in Trindade. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

We got in town just in time for a quick dinner on the beach and to enjoy the evening’s festivities, the “Miss Trindade” pageant.  Eight local girls vied for the fiercely competitive title. Beauty pageants here are much more sensual and sexual than in the US.  Before the competition, the judges (male and female) came out scantily clad and walked the runway.  I think if something like this was held in the US, the freaky religious types would start beating the bibles to have it shut down.

Hanging out with friends on the beach. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

Saturday was beach day.  And, after a week of rain and cold weather, we were all ready to be outdoors. We headed down to the beach mid-morning and staked our claim.  The beach was in a protected cove and just a few feet on all sides, the mountains rose up covered in lush, green vegetation.  It was easily one of the most stunning beaches I’ve ever been to.  We boarded a boat to cross the bay to a private swimming spot surrounded by huge boulders.  The water was friggin’ cold.  But, as long as we stayed in the direct sun, it wasn’t too bad.  I hiked back to the beach along a path in the mountains that skirted the beach.  I felt like I was back in the Amazon again – except this time, I wasn’t worried about any strange creepy crawly things making an appearance.  We hung out on the beach all afternoon and did a small hike to to see some nearby waterfalls.

On Sunday, we got up and headed further north to the colonial town of Paraty.  We headed off to the docks and jumped on a boat for a 5-hour tour, a 5-hour tour.  Luckily, the weather didn’t get rough and we enjoyed 4 beaches in perfect sunshine.  I just sat stunned by the beauty surrounding us: tons of little lush green islands sitting in beautiful clear blue water.  I didn’t want to get off the boat as we docked just before sunset. We stayed in town and walked around.  As one of the first Portuguese colonial cities, Paraty has held on to its historical past and preserved it’s beautiful old buildings.  There was a festival going on and the town was filled with people and, to my delight, desert carts on every block.  We had a nice seafood dinner before heading back to our hotel.

On Monday after breakfast, we headed into town to walk around a little more.  We then headed south along the coast towards our next destination, Ilha Bella (Beautiful Island).  We drove through Ubatuba and stopped off to see a turtle sanctuary, aquarium and have lunch.  We continued on and reached the ferry that crosses over to the island right at dusk.  Unfortunately, a strong storm blew in – and was still blowing when we arrived.  The ferry couldn’t cross so we stayed on the continental side for the evening in São Sebastão.

Taking a boat tour in Trindade. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

We got up in the still morning and crossed over to Ilha Bella.  We checked into our hotel and before I knew it, Helo had booked her nephew, Tiago, and I on a 4×4 excursion across the island.  While the wind had calmed down, there was still plenty of rain on the mountains that lay in the center of the island and in our path to the beach across the isle.  It’s been a long time since I went 4x4ing, probably since I had the Land Rover and lived in Colorado.  We made the bumpy, muddy, 1.5 hour trek with 2 couples.  We finally arrived to our destination which was, unfortunately, covered in mist and fog. This beach is considered one of Brazil’s top beaches.  Give the shear number of stunning beaches here, I think that’s an impressive achievement.  And, even in the misty rain, I could see why.  We made the trip back after a lunch a walk on the beach.  I skipped out on the snorkeling today.  I have a strict “No snorkeling in cold, wet rain” policy.

On Tuesday, we had to head back to Piracicaba. But, I’ve sworn to come back to Brazil just for a beach tour.  There just isn’t anything like it anywhere else I’ve found.  The closest is probably the beaches of Hawaii, especially Kauai.

Trindade beach. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

Upon returning to Piracicaba, I went with some of Helo’s friends to a book signing in Sao Paolo. Then, on Friday night, we went to a fund raiser for a local children’s shelter.  The main act was a samba band of some fame within Brazil.  But, the opening act was a Brazilian country band.  I’m so not a country fan, with a few exceptions.  And, hearing it Portuguese didn’t make it any more palatable for me.  I didn’t know that the southern US accent could be transported and used in Portuguese songs.  And, the people actually knew how to two-step.  Wow, the things I am learning about the world…

With my Brazilian sisters, Heloisa and Ligia. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

The samba was great fun.  Leigh, a friend of Helo’s, was not shy about getting me on my feet and getting me on the dancefloor.  The venue was similar to what I’ve seen back home in the US.  The difference was that the crowd transformed from a subdued, but polite set of people to a crazy, lively crowd reliving their samba days singing the songs of the Brazilian Carnaval. The energy in the room was great.  Unfortunately, we forgot to snap some photos of us dancing.  But, I will survive.  As long as I know how to dance, I know I’ll stay alive.

Originally Published July 23, 2007

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Brazilian Beach Tour is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

On Tuesday, July 10th, I finally landed in Sao Paolo.  While it took me a while to get there, I did finally arrive – exactly one week and about 2 hours before the terrible plane crash on July 17th.  But, I made a two-hour drive to the northwest of Sao Paolo to Piracicaba – the hometown of my Brazilian sister, Heloisa (former exchange student in our home).  I arrived a little after 8:30PM and saw Helo for the first time in 20 years.  I met her husband, Regis, and her son, Victor.

Barbeque - Brazilian style! Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

The week proceeded fairly lazily yet I continued to get sick throughout the week.  I slowly met the group of family and friends.  One thing I’ve learned already is that the Brazilians love to socialize and usually over lots of food (typically something grilled) and beer.  And, if there’s a good sporting match on, that will be playing in the background.  During my first week, I think we had a barbeque most every night.  I’m not sure how much grilled meat, cheese and beer one person can consume, but I think I’m going to find out while I’m here.

Late on Friday and all day Saturday, I was out cold.  I couldn’t move a muscle.  But, miraculously on Sunday, I woke up feeling refreshed and well.  Luckily, I became well just in time for an all-day pork barbeque.  And really, what better way to send a cold/flu on its way than pork and beer?  The day ended with the finals of the Copa America football match between Brazil and Argentina.  Brazil easily won 3-0 as the beer continued to flow.

Monday started the countdown to leaving for the beach.  It started raining so the day of our departure changed daily.  Monday night was another social event, this time at the in-laws.  We didn’t have barbeque, but feasted on a huge homemade Lebanese meal.  It was the best Lebanese food that I’ve ever had with several dishes that I never had.  Still nursing a slight cold, I began to recognize my symptoms as allergies and started taking my Claritin.  By Tuesday morning, I was golden again.

Helo’s family is very tight knit and everyone seems to travel from house to house each night with someone different hosting the meal.  This is no small feat given that the group with kids includes about 20-30 people.  And, this is the core.  But, everyone seems to have a good time judging by the noise level at the table.  And, there seems to be no shortage of stories.  Most have to be translated by Helo for me.  But, a lot of the time I just look around, smile and nod my head.  Knowing Spanish is helping me with the Portuguese.  But, in large groups, all bets are off.

Family dinner time! Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

We headed out Tuesday afternoon to Campinas, a large city in between Piracicaba and Sao Paolo, to the shopping mall.  On the way home, the rain was heavy and so was the traffic.  When we got home, we heard the breaking news about the TAM flight that went down at the airport.  I was thankful that my next flight in Brazil would be leaving the country, not arriving into it.  The rest of my travel in Brazil would be in car or bus.

As the rain continued, so did our delay in leaving for the beach.  The week passed slowly with the only real highlights being the Rotary meeting I went to with Helo’s brother and sister-in-law and getting my teeth cleaned.  I spent the afternoon at Helo’s mom.  She made a quick batch of peanut brittle and asked me how it was.  I gave her two big OK signals with my hands since my mouth was full of the yummy gooey stuff.  Helo slapped my hands down laughing.  Apparently, the OK sign is the Brazilian equivalent as giving some the middle finger in the US.  Well, everyone’s had a good laugh at that one here.

On Wednesday night we went to a birthday party at one of Helo and Regis’s friends.  We had a good time.  But, the highlight was a very drunk woman, recently divorced (or so she thinks, but she’s not sure) hitting on me relentlessly.  I got a kick out of it at first and then I just felt sorry for her.  Hello dog, this is the wrong tree; so stop barking.  Later, we said our goodbyes and Helo and I had a good laugh over the incident.  Now we could focus on more important things, like packing up to go to the beach.

Originally Published July 21, 2007

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Barbeque, Beer and Lonely Women is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures