More Rio, Salvador and a taste of paradise

We leave Brazil in three days, and as much as this country is an absolute BURN money-wise, I'm going to miss it so much; I've loved it so much more than Argentina and Uruguay. I've said it before but I really wish they spoke spanish here because I want to be an Anglo-Brazilian and live here!! And since I already speak un poco de espanol it would make life a lot easier.

So, last time I blogged, I was despairing about the poverty in Rio, and how it seems to be pointedly ignored by anyone who isnt suffering from it. Well, I'm not going to take back my words because I was very moved, and not in a good way, by the troubles in the otherwise amazing city, but I am going to add to my thoughts: I am by no means denying that there is a HUGE distinction between rich and poor in Brazil (because its no different anywhere else in this country - there is an enormous gap) but maybe I was unfortunate to see some very bad situations that made me react in a way that maybe others would be shocked to hear of about Rio. Seeing the police attack those children is a terrible part of life there, but I think things arent quite as bad as they first appeared. People are poor everywhere, that's the hard truth, and in retrospect I think I reacted very emotionally to a problem that is not as bad as it seemed at the time. Having said that, if I could do something to help anyone who is even half as worse off as some of those we encountered, I would. Poverty comes to a whole new level in South America to anything I've encountered anywhere else in the world.

Moving on, we just spent the past week in Bahia, a state in the north-ish part of Brazil. We came to Salvador first; an awesome city with an incredible afro-brazilian culture. It was the biggest slave port in the Americas at one point, hence the lasting African culture, and its been really interesting for Josh, with his family being from Ghana, to see the similarities in lifestyle. It rained a lot here our first few days so we didn't get to leave our hostel for very long, but we managed to catch an awesome live music festival with samba bands, and dancing in the streets. Every Tuesday night there is a big street party right by our hostel, and we saw a live reggae band (incredible) and a huge room filled with people samba dancing, drinking cocktails made at little stalls in the street, and eating kebabs barbecued off little braziers on the pavement. It was so much fun!

On Wednesday,  we went to an island near Salvador called Boipeba. I say 'near' but to get there we had to take a bus, a ferry, another bus and another boat! Worth it though, because I've actually seen a glimpse of paradise now. It was gorgeous! White beaches, turquoise water, hammocks swaying in the breeze... you get the idea. We stayed in a tiny little pousada, which is basically a b&b, and we had fresh mangoes and papaya for breakfast everyday, it was amazing. When the tide went out in the middle of the day, you could swim across to another uninhabited island, and sunbathe there for a while, but the tides change very quickly so you have to keep an eye out or you could end up marooned! The island had no cars, and so few lights on at night that we lay on the beach and could see more stars than I ever knew were visible to the naked eye; you could actually see the Milky Way!

We came back to Salvador yesterday to collect our bags that we had been lucky enough to leave at our hostel while we were in Boipeba. Tomorrow we fly to Iguaçu Falls, huge waterfalls that straddle the border of Brazil and Argentina.  Its supposed to be beautiful, so that's taking the sting out of leaving Brazil a bit. Cant believe its been two months already, time is flying by! Bring on the next three I say...

Rio de Janiero: A Tale of Two Cities

It is the best of times, it is the worst of times, here in Rio. Brazil is prospering more than ever before, and all eyes will be on this country for the next few years, as it is hosting the World Cup in 2014, and the Olympics in 2016. The city of Rio is a flurry of activity, and you can see progress, albeit slow progress, everywhere you look, preparing for these events.

However, lurking in the shadow of these grand occurrences is an underlying problem that Rio will find difficult to hide once the world looks their way more closely: the rampant crime and poverty that is being determinedly ignored while the wealthy prosper.

Of course, this is a tale as old as time; citizens of a developing country don´t all benefit from the strengthening economy; not everyone can grow richer at the same time. However, the level of poverty in a city that is pouring billions into two international sporting events is a terrible thing.

When we first arrived in Rio, our bus from the airport to the hostel took us past a favella (a Brazilian slum or shantytown). These favellas sprung up all over cities much the same as the ghettos in the US and Europe did, back when the cities were newer, and people were looking for a fresh start in a flourishing place, hoping to pursue success and wealth. Of course, an overwhelming majority of these people never accomplished the success they dreamed of, and it is the ancestors of these people, plus many more that wished for the same thing since then, that now occupy the favellas of Rio, Sao Paulo, Brasilia, etc. The communities are normally built in areas of the city which the wealthy have shunned, such as on steep hills (Rio is very mountainous). They are overcrowded, the building are in terrible shape, and the streets are filthy with rubbish and waste. Some people have constructed tents for themselves out of bin bags, and that is where they call home. When we drove past this particular favella, I couldnt help but look; these people are suffering so much, and yet the majority carry out their daily tasks with a cheerful attitude. It made me want to cry. We then drove maybe only 3 or 4 minutes more before passing an enormous church, very newly renovated from the shiny look of it, covered in gold and marble. And that made me feel worse. Rich and poor; successful and suffering; live but a stones throw away from each other, rubbing shoulders, yet never quite coming into contact with one another.

Later that night, we went out in an area of the city called Lapa, which is quite a bohemian neighbourhood, for a street party. After about an hour, we were suddenly surrounded by police officers, armed to the teeth, rushing past us to a spot only 50 metres away. We turned to watch (how could you not?) and I was half expecting to see someone with a gun, or a brawl, or God knows what. But no, the threat that required a dozen or more armed police officers to rush together for, was a group of twenty five or so children, between the ages of 10 and 15. According to a Brazilian boy we were with, these kids stole from crowds to buy drugs. But from the way they were being attached, assaulted, and hauled around by grown men with guns, you´d think they were the drug lords themselves. They were lined up along the wall and patted down. If any resisted, or tried to run, they were thrown to the floor or against a concrete wall. And they were just children!

I understand, they were breaking the law, and the police obviously have to be seen doing something about the problem of these drugged up kids, but throwing them around and essentially just abusing their power over them is hardly going to make them change their ways. All it does is increase then tension between the police and the people in the favellas; they see the police as as much of a target to hate as the wealthy people outside of the slums. The problem doesn´t lie in the fact that some kids are doing drugs and must be stopped, the problem started way before then, when these children were brought up in such poverty that drugs seemed like a better option to them than anything else. Can you imagine what it must be like to be addicted to drugs and being so desperate to score, at any age, let alone 10 years old? And Brazil is so corrupt that I would bet anything at all that the very same police officers beating up these children are being bribed to look the other way by the men high up in the drug dens. In fact, I´d put my life on it.

Sometimes we walk past someone sleeping in the street and I get an overwhelming urge to give them all my money. Of course this is not sensible, and it´s always better to give a homeless person a drink or some food than money, as chances are they will not spend the money you give them on something that will help them. And yet who am I to judge what´s ´good´for them? I don´t have to sleep under a piece of cardboard, I don´t know what it´s like to not eat for a week; who am I to tell them not to drink or take drugs, if that´s the only pleasure they get from life? It´s just so sad. And truth be told, even if all the money that´s going towards the World Cup and Olympics was not being spent on these things, chances are it still wouldn´t be put towards helping the millions of people that need it.

And it´s such a shame because I still love this city. It´s beautiful both architecturally, and in the natural landscape. Built on the beach, and surrounded by tropical islands, it is an incredible place to explore. Josh and I spent today just wondering around, going nowhere in particular but stopping to look at everything. We went up to the Christ the Redeemer statue the other day, with stunning views over the whole city; we caught the final parade of Carnaval 2013 on Saurday night, and saw all the floats and costumes and samba dancers; we went up Sugarloaf Mountain at sunset and watched as Rio turned its lights on in the darkness... It´s such a exciting, exotic, colourful, lively place. The areas of Ipanema and Copacabana are thriving, full of tourists and rich Brazilians, with beautiful men and women strolling around like they own the place. (Perhaps they do?) But there´s so much wrong with it, too many people suffering wherever you look, that you feel guilty for enjoying yourself too much.

I have loved and hated Rio. It´s opened my eyes to the state Brazil is in, and I hope hope hope that as it becomes a bigger player on the world stage, as the 8th strongest economy in the world now, that it takes a look at where the money and aid is really needed, and tries to better itself socially, as it has now managed economically. Rio is a beautiful place, but it needs to stop basking in the attention of the world, and focus on the more pressing issues at home.

Brazil take 1: Rio Grande do Sul

I love Brazil.

I don't think I've ever been anywhere hotter than Porto Alegre. The heat we experiened in our first few days was ridiculous, we couldn't move it was so hot. It's actually the humidity that gets you, not the heat itself, but still. We have been staying at our friend Fernanda's house, a girl we met in Albuquerque on our year abroad. It's so good to have friends from all over the world because you have an excuse to travel so you can go visit them!

Her family have been so welcoming, and we have been very spoilt this past 10 days and behaving not at all like real backpackers. Her mum absolutely point blank refuses to let us help in either preparing the meals, or washing up afterwards, insisting that we are guests, which is very polite considering we've been here for 10 days and before last Wednesday,  she didnt know us from Adam, whoever he may be. Her brother is on his summer holiday from uni at the mo, so he's been our tour guide while Fernanda has been at work.

We went to her beach house at the weekend, and met her huge family, who all talk at once, shouting over each other, and don't stop to listen. It made me feel very at home - if anyone has ever met the Fernback side of my family, you'll understand :) Unfortunately it rained all weekend, but we still managed to eat almost an entire herd of cows on Sunday when her dad cooked churrasco, which is Brazilian bbq. It was delish, although a bit overdone for my taste. People in South America cook their steaks to well-done, and I'm more of a 'eat it while it's still mooing' kind of girl. We also went on a quad bike on the sand dunes at the beach, and aside from a minor capsize where the bike somehow ended up on top of us, it was so much fun!

We were unlucky with weather again this week, when we went to the little mountain town of Gramado, which looks like a village in the Alps. All the architecture is very German/Swiss, and makes you feel a bit like  you're in the Sound of Music, minus the spontaneous bursting into song. It rained a lot there too, but was very hot and stuffy when we came back to Porto Alegre again, so maybe it was a sign that we shouldn't have stopped being freeloaders? Who knows.

Today we are heading further north to the state of Santa Catarina, to a beach town called Garopaba. This is where we will be spending Carnival, Brazil's most (in)famous festival. Am very very excited! We'll still be with Fernanda,  as well as her boyfriend and some of their friends. Apparently the plan is to spend all day on the beach, eat churrasco and drink caipirinhas (Brazilian cocktails) all eve, and party all night.... sounds good to me!

The trouble with buses

"How long does it take to get to Punta del Diablo?" Josh asked the lady who we bought our bus tickets from.

"Una hora o algo," she replied. One hour or something.

We were moving on from La Paloma, a small beach town which had not stopped raining for the two days we were there. Punta del Diablo was forecast to have better weather, and it was going to be Lucas and Eliana's last weekend in Uruguay before heading back to London, so we decided to see what a new place had to offer.

Obviously, we were expecting to get there after about an hour, as directed by the lady at the bus terminal. Unfortunately, 'one hour or something' doesn't mean what we had expected. In fact, the journey took just under 3 hours in the end!

This was not the first, and by no means the last, in a series of bus company representatives having no clue of what was going on. Josh had asked one woman how long it took to get from one town to the next, having just bought the tickets from her, and she cheerfully told him, "I have no idea!"

We had a nice, if uneventful, weekend Punta del D, and decided to extend our trip there by a few more days after Lucas and Eliana left. We moved to a different, cheaper (but way better) hostel, and decided to take a walk round the huge National Park about 10 mins up the road on Monday. Ten mins by bus that is.

We set out at 10.30am, having asked the driver if this was the bus that went to La Fortaleza (the fort, a big landmark in the park). He nodded, we climbed aboard and waited for him to shout out the destination once we stopped, as is custom in Uruguay. Sadly, our driver was a grumpy old man, and although he stopped in many, many places, he didnt shout out where we were. We'd been looking out for a fort, and so far had not seen one, but aftrr about 25 mins Josh asked the driver when we'd get there, having been assured by our hostel owner that it was no further than a 10 minute drive.

The driver said something in very fast Spanish, and refused to speak any slower when asked. I specifically asked him if this was the stop for la fortaleza and he said yes, pointed at a shop on the side of the road, kicked us off the bus and sped off.

We were 16km north of where he said we were.

After waiting just under an hour, another bus driver took pity on us and let us ride with him for free, as far as the National Park entrance. The fort itself was a 5km walk from the entrance, and it was sweltering, but we decided to brave the burning heat and set off. When we finally got there, after a nearly 3.5 hour journey altogether, we were told that the fort is closed on Mondays, and that we had to turn around and walk back again. Fantastic.

That was our last day in Uruguay. Much as I'd loved it, I was very ready to move on! We bought our bus tickets to Porto Alegre in Southern
Brazil through our hostel, and the instructions were simple: get a local bus to the border town, wait at immigration for the bus from Montevideo to stop, get on that and go to Brazil.

The local bus took us right to the border, even though we'd asked to be dropped at the immigration building (when will we learn?!). We had to get a taxi back to immigration and passport control, where we were told to sit and wait outside because 'we are not a bus ticket agency'. Our hostel owner hadnt actually given us the tickets himself, telling us a woman would meet us at passport control with them. It all sounded very dodgy but eventually the woman showed, and gave us our tickets. She then happily informed us that the bus would be coming through at 'about 12' and left. It was 10pm, we'd been there since just after 9. The bus actually came at 1.15am, four hours after we had arrived!

All in all, it was a bloody nightmare. Border towns are notoriously dangerous anyway, and we weren't even allowed to sit inside the building with all our stuff. The temperature had dropped to about 15○C so it was quite chilly, and all we could do was wait.

Thankfully we are now at our friend Fernanda's house, a Brazilian girl we met on our year abroad in New Mexico. We're staying with her and her family for about a week, then heading north with her and her friends for Carnival next weekend, so excited!

Urugusy was lovely, but definitely got the feel we'd outstayed our welcome.

Uruguay

It's raining.

This is my second week in Uruguay, and so far it has been lovely. Our first stop, after the freezing cold night bus from Rosario, was the capital city of Montevideo. The city has a population of about 1.5million, and is right on the coast, with a huge beach just metres from the offices and restaurants. We stayed in an apartment for a few days, then moved to a hostel for one more night before heading out.

We pretty much went to the beach everyday; the sun is ridiculously intense here and I'm having to reapply my factor 30 suncream very frequently but have somehow avoided burning (except my scalp which is very pink). Josh's friend Lucas from London is here, with his sister, as their dad lives in Uruguay, so we've been seeing a lot of them.

After Montevideo, we went to the small town of Colonia Sacramento. It has cobbled streets, and claims to have the oldest church in the country, so we had a look around at the old ruins and few sights it had to offer, but it only took us half a day! It was a really pretty place though, and our hostel was a nice place to spend the evenings meeting other travellers.

We are now in Punta del Este, the most popular beach resort in South American. Obviously it's currently Summer here, so the normally quiet town is overflowing with visitors from all over Latin America; our hostel is full of Brazilians and Argentinians. Lucas and his family are here too, so we've all been going to the beach together in the day, and drinking together at night!

Today is potentially our last day here though; it's an expensive place, even if you buy food from the supermarket and cook at the hostel, so we might move further along the coast to one of the smaller, less touristy resorts like Cabo Polonio or Barra de Valizas. Then we're spending the weekend in Punta del Diablo which is meant to be a fun party town, before heading to Brazil next week! Very excited!

Un poco mas...

Josh is sleeping so I thought I'd take advantage of the time and write a quick update.

On Tuesday, we took a trip to the hospital to see what the Argentinean healthcare system is like. I've had a kidney infection of sorts for about 10 days but kept ignoring it (very sensible) until it was actually giving me backpain, and Josh insisted we see a doctor as my method of 'pretend it's not there and drink lots of water' was pretty ineffective. Healthcare is free for all in Argentina, whether you are a citizen or just a visitor, but they don't take appointments, so you just show up at the hospital and it's a first come first served system.

The nearest hospital was only a ten minute walk from our hostal in Rosario, so we headed over early Tuesday morn. Josh spoke to the guy on reception and we were directed to the clinic for non-emergency patients, only to find there had been a 'fault' (their word) and there were no doctors there. All day. Yep, no doctors at the doctors surgery! They told us to come back the next day, but I was feeling pretty crappy by this point so we went to another hospital a bit further away.

We only had to wait about 20 minutes, which is really good for a walk-in clinic, and the doctor was really excited to practise her English. I was poked and prodded and asked questions, and then she gave me the sacred prescription for antibiotics! I was very excited by this point as I felt awful. We walked over to the pharmacy and handed over the prescription.

You know how normally when you go to get a prescription, they take about 5-10 mins to prepare it etc? Not in Argentina apparently! The woman at the front desk literally just reached under her table, pulled out the antibiotics and handed them over, not even in a box or bag! Feeling much better already, have to take them for a week though to be sure.

Last night (Wednesday) we left our wonderful hostel in Rosario to head to Uruguay. The bus to Montevideo was 10 hours, but we had the semi-cama seats again so we were expecting to just sleep most of the night.

That was the plan anyway.

It was freezing. Not chilly, not cold, but freezing. I sat there shivering uncontrollably and feeling pretty miserable, until we got to the border at about 5am. We got off the bus and asked the driver to turn the temperature up, which he did, but just by 1 degree. I hadn't managed to sleep at all at this point, and josh had only managed a few hours, so we had to beg to be allowed access to our bags in the hold, so we could get towels out to use as blankets. The woman who was the equivalent of an air hostess had a go at Josh for holding up the journey! He was like, it's freezing upstairs, I don't care how long it takes, I need a hoody!

We were allowed to our bags, and I got some socks and a towel to cover me, and thankfully managed to get an hour or two of sleep before we arrived in Montevideo, but it was a really miserable journey overall. I'd worn jeans and a hoody cos I was expecting it to be cool, but this took the A.C. to a new level!

We're now staying in a little apartment in Montevideo until Monday, then we might go to the beach resorts, or to another city. Who knows! It's lovely and sunny, about 28 degrees (which is 84 fahrenheit I think) so we''ll probably go for a walk along the beach this afternoon! Such a hard life :)

More from Argentina

I'm already getting bad about writing this!

We left our hostel in Buenos Aires on the 2nd and moved up the road to an apartment belonging to a friend called Nico, who we met on a night out. Nico is from a suburb of BA, and really kindly offered us a place to stay for a few more days in the city for free, so he coukd show us around some more, with another friend we made called Martina, who goes to uni with Nico.

We dropped off our enormous backpacks at his place, then headed north to San Isidro which is the town Nico grew up in. It was quite a small place, and obviously a very wealthy area, all the houses were huge and the restaurants looked super posh! We sat on the riverfront and drank maté, Argentina's favourite beverage. I'm growing to really like it!

We stayed for two nights at Nico's, then headed 4.5 hours north to a city called Rosario. Our bus was an hour late to arrive, but we'd bought tickets for 'semi-cama' seats which means they recline really far back and are pretty comfy, so at least the journey wasn't too bad.

Our hostel here is really nice. Everyone gets introduced to everyone else by the owner when you first arrive, and there's a huge garden where everyone congregates in the evenings. There are a few English couples here, as well as many other nationalities, and it's a very social place. We had a huge BBQ on the second night, with the best steak we could buy at the butchers. Argentina is a pretty expensive place to travel but there are two things you can buy here for very cheap: wine and beef. Could be a lot worse!

Yesterday we took a boat across the river to a beach on an island, and spent the afternoon sunbathing, but it wasn't that nice a beach and we probably wont bother going back. The river water is technically clean enough to swim in but its quite grey/brown, and it doesn't look particularly appealing!

We're planning to stay at this hostel for another few days, then get on a 12 hour overnight bus to Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. Not so excited about the long journey, but we're getting semi-cama again so it hopefully won't be too bad!