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Melee on La Copacabana
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The Copacabana is a 3km stretch of sand where many of Brazil's top footballers were first spotted. All roads in Rio lead to the Copacabana - every second bus ends up there. We were there on a Saturday - and the local league was in full swing. They mark out probably 10 or so three-quarter size pitches and the games are played all day. We sat down to watch a match and a fight broke out. Within 2 minutes, guards arrived from all corners of the beach with guns. The shouting and pushing continued for about 15 minutes, then the match continued and the guards went away.
Corinthians - The Champions
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Corinthians are the new Brazilian football champions. The won the league in the last game of the season. We were watching the game in an area of Rio called Flamengo - another famous football team. After the game was over, the guy at the next table, Maurizio heard our accents and started singing "Whiskey you're the Devil" - a song we think the Clancy brothers wrote. Fair play to Maurizio - he knew every word of every verse.
Wrong turn in Rio
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Chocolate cake for breakfast
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In August 2007, Karen met a Brazilian student - David. Despite his poor English (and it was very poor at the time), David was insistent that the Brazilians ate chocolate cake for breakfast. Three years later, David was proved correct - the Brazilians do indeed eat chocolate cake for breakfast. We met David and Marianna in Sao Paulo for a great night, and they brought us to a Samba Carnival rehearsal organised by the Corinthians football team - 100 people plus banging the drums with backup dancers and spectators.
The long and windy road to Pantanal
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After a hectic few days in the party city of Rio it was time to take a time out in the beach/arty/hippy resort of Paraty. Visions of beach side huts, hammocks and coconut drinks faded when we asked for directions to our posada - a type of bed and breakfast....the taxi man smiled a wide smile and made sure to tell us it was going to cost us 20 Real (about 9 euros) to get there because it was very, very far away. His smile sporadically turned into a giggle as he continued to tell us in his pigeon English that there are no shops close by.....no restaurants close by.....no bars close by!!!! We arrived to find that the taxi man had painted a very glum picture of a place that we ended up have four of the most relaxing days of our lives in.
With Patricia in Sao Paulo
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Patricia, a friend of Kathy from Sunway, put us up for a few days in Sao Paulo in the most amazing apartment right on the 'Grafton Street' of Sao Paulo. During our time with her we experienced rubbing shoulders, chests and every body part imaginable with the Brazilian families that came to Avenida Paulista to have a look at the Christmas decorations, over crowed bakeries, outstanding views of the city from her brother's penthouse apartment on a full stomach of his new bride's four cheese pasta, a sweaty room full of people dancing the folha (a type of salsa from the North of Brazil) and a bar called striker's with the unusual combination of Samba music and mixed martial arts in the background! There really is something for everybody in Sao Paulo - the fourth biggest city in the world.
Bargaining for a Christmas Tree
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Patricia was so good to us, we had to get her the present she wanted...a Christmas tree. We went into a shopping centre in Sao Paulo and were directed and re-directed here, there and everywhere...but there was still no sign of a tree. Until eventually, we saw a tree in a shop tucked away on the second floor of the centre. In a mixture of English, Spanish and Portuguese, we tried to ask them where we could buy a tree. Next thing, they were wrapping it up in 2 bags for us. We didn't really know what was going on, but any questions on price, or even what was going on, were dismissed. The bill came for the tree - and a fine tree it was. 28 reals. About 12 euros. Happy days.
Up in the Mountains
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From Sao Paulo, we headed to Campos do Jordao - a mountainous area about 3 hours from the madness of the city. We stayed with Alex and Lu and their children Hugo and Dante. They made us feel completely at ease and we lived a typical Brazilian family life for a few days. Campos is a winter getaway for the Paulistas (people from Sao Paulo). It's probably one of the most liveable places in Brazil with a big European influence on the city architecture. We had a great cultural night on our last night there, with Alex on ukulele, Fionn on guitar and Karen and Lu singing like there's no tomorrow. Alex and Lu have great musical taste - they even have a 1988 Hothouse Flowers LP.
The first all-nighter
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In area size, Ireland is about 250 times smaller than South America. So, when we headed on a 19 hour bus journey from Campos do Jordao to Foz do Iguacu in Brazil, it was probably a bit like going from Howth to Dun Laoghaire.
The trip was fine. The long distance buses in Brazil have lots of space between the seats, and you can recline to your heart's content without disturbing the person behind you. The buses stop every 4 hours or so for about 20 minutes, so you can get some food or stretch the legs. We reckon this will be the longest trip we'll do, though - 19 hours on a bus is long enough.
