BELEM

4. May 2011

Belem on the amazon river was only a short one day stop to organize the boat trip up-river. We arrived in the middle of the night in Belem and spent a view hours at the airport before going to the hostel in the morning. After checking in, we immediately set off to the harbor. We easily got two hammock spots in the air conditioned deck for a fairly big boat for the next day. Then we went to the market – Mercado Ver-O-Peso. Very interesting. Almost everything was sold - fruits, veggies, meat, fish and sea food, live and dead chicken, herbs and little bottles with natural medicine, crafts, hammocks and lots of other stuff. Business must be quite good for some of the vendors since they had flat screens hanging over their goods.
As almost everyday in the last few weeks we got caught in a heavy rain shower on the way back to the hostel. By now almost all of our clothes were wet.
Belem is not very touristy and besides the market and the Estação das Docas - old warehouses at the riverfront converted to upscale restaurants - there was not much to see.

RAIN AT THE BEACH IN PRAIA DO FORTE, BAHIA

27. April – 02. May 2011

We spent quite a lot of time in Praia do Forte, a small but very touristy town on the coast north of Salvador. Initially I didn't like it very much. It was quite "fancy" and everything was rather expensive. So, after one night in Praia we decided to check out the next beach town, Imbassai - only 15 km north. The only hostel there was nice and had a very green garden and there were little monkeys jumping around. But we were the only guests and it was very quiet. And the hostel was a long muddy walk away from town. Which seemed to be deserted as well - off season. The beach itself was very beautiful. White sand, palm trees and beach as far as the eye could see. Unfortunately it was raining most of the time. After one night "in the middle of nowhere" as Bine called it, we went back to Praia do Forte. There we spent another few days with too much rain. We walked along the few streets many times, started to get friendly with the locals, spent long hours on the internet, ate Acai (supposedly one of the most nutritionally dense berries) daily and hoped for sunshine. Saturday night we went out for Caipirinha and local live music. When the sun was finally shining we went to the beach for some snorkeling. There are natural pools and at low tide it's possible to snorkel right at the beach. Amazing. Lot's of beautifully colored fishes.
We left Praia do Forte after almost a week without spending much time at the beach as we had hoped.

SALVADOR DA BAHIA

26. April 2011

We arrived at the Salvador airport in the middle of the night and luckily it was easy to get a taxi. Of course the driver didn't know where the hostel was, although he said so. After driving around the block a few times he finally found it. After a few hours of sleep and a very good breakfast we started our walking tour through Salvador. Pelourinho, the historical part of the city is very beautiful. Cobblestone streets and old, colorful houses. And lots of churches (apparently there are over 100 churches in Salvador). We visited the Convento de Sao Francisco, an 17th century church almost completely painted in gold on the inside. Not beautiful but quite impressive.
Afterward we took the Lacerda Elevator down to cidade baixa (the lower part of the city) where we walked through the Mercado Modelo – an old building converted to a market where lots of touristy items are sold. Since nothing in Brazil is cheap we didn't buy anything. Afterward we went by bus (finding the bus station was the big challenge) to Barra, the neighborhood at the tip of the peninsula, surrounded by beaches. After enjoying a coffee we walked along the beach and to the lighthouse. Again, for a city the beach was really nice and clean.
For dinner we tried a typical local dish – Moqueca (fish or seafood stew) – very delicious.
After relaxing with a caipirinha at the hostel, we went to a free concert in the streets near the hostel. Very nice. Lot's of people drinking beer, listening to music and having a good time. Great atmosphere.
The next morning I went for a photo tour through Pelourinho before we left Salvador to check out the beaches north of the city.

RIO DE JANEIRO

21. April – 25. April 2011

I arrived at the airport in Rio around 2 am and since my friend Sabine's flight was scheduled to arrive at 6 am, I decided to wait for her at the airport. First of many nights in Brazilian airports. By bus we made our way to the hostel. It wasn't too easy since we weren't sure where to get off the bus. And Brazilian busdrivers drive like crazy. You have to hold on with both hands if you don't want to be flying through the whole bus. Luckily we got off at the right stop and only had to walk two blocks to the Arthostel (I really don't know why it is called arthostel since there was very little art in the hostel). We arrived a day before the Easter weekend and the hostel was quite full. We got two beds in a cramped 16 person dormitory. The biggest I have stayed and possibly the most expensive so far as well. But we were lucky to get anything at all over the busy holiday weekend.
After a short rest in the hostel we started to explore Rio de Janeiro. We started with checking out the area near the hostel. After walking around in the neighborhood Catete for a while and tasting the first fruit juices, we went to the beach. First of many beaches we visited was Praia Flamengo, where - under the shade of some trees - we planned the four weeks we would be traveling together.
After we didn't manage to find a metro stop, we took the bus to Copacabana. The beach was packed with people but very nice anyways. Long, wide beach, blue water, palm trees and a Caipirinha. This is Rio!
After walking around the city for a few hours we were both surprised how green and clean the city is. Many small parks and big trees in almost all streets.

The second day we wanted to take the cable car up to Pão de Açúcar (Sugarleaf Mountain), one of Rio's icons. But the line to get in was so long that we didn't want to wait in the heat. Instead we enjoyed an ice cream at the beach and walked along a nature trail. It was beautiful. A nice trail shaded by trees, the hill to the left and the bay to the right. We even saw capuchin monkeys. In the middle of the big city. After the walk it was time for the beach. This time we went to check out Praia Ipanema.

Not much different from Copacabana and beautiful as well. All beaches in Rio are great for people watching. And we were both a little shocked how little clothes people wear at the beaches - women (thongs) AND men (speedos). And it is quite normal to see people in their beach clothes walking in the streets. Not always a nice view.
Saturday morning we planned to go up to the Corcovado mountain with the famous Cristo statue. Again the line to get up there was so long that we skipped it and went to the city center instead. There we walked over a market before trying another time going to Pão de Açúcar. This time the line was very short and we got up there quite fast. Just in time for sunset! Amazing views of the city! We spent a long time just enjoying the views and taking pictures. Rio is located around many hills and there are beaches everywhere. It was great to see the city from above.
On our last day, we went up to the Cristo Redentor statue although the woman at the ticket counter advised us not to go since it was very cloudy up on the hill and supposedly it was not possible to see neither statue nor city. Luckily we did not listen to her and went up anyways. Just when we got to the statue the clouds opened up and we had great views of the statue and city. Amazing!
I really liked Rio de Janeiro and it is the nicest city in South America that I've been to. Some of the other cities in South America are nice and some have beautiful old colonial buildings. But none of the other cities are special. Rio is different and I don't think it can be compared to other cities. With the beaches directly in the city and it's many hills it's setting is spectacular. And it feels (and actually is) just a big beach town.

ALMOST BEING ROBBED IN MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY

20. April 2011

I only spent a little more than a day in Montevideo and that definitely wasn't the best day of my journey. The hostel was quite noisy and I didn't sleep very well at night. When I woke up it was raining and I didn't feel like walking through town. So, I spent a few hours in the hostel before I decided to check out the town. Beatrice and me took a bus to the Ciudad Vieja (Old town). The buildings were old. And deserted. Almost all stores were closed (if there were any) and there were few people around. We checked out the Mercado del Puerto, which is an old market building that now houses many restaurants with Parilladas (Barbeques) – a lot of meat. Since walking around in the rain wasn't too great we went for a coffee and lunch. It stopped raining and we decided to check out the waterfront. Well, not really beautiful. When walking back towards the city center, a guy on the other side of the street asked what time it is. Beatrice answered and I turned around to see who asked. The guy suddenly ran across the street (the area wasn't very busy), grabbed my purse and tried to take it from me. I fell to the ground and got dragged along a short way. I always carry my bag over my shoulder and it is not easy to take it. And thankfully my bag was strong enough to withstand this attack. When the guy noticed that it wasn't easy to get my bag, he ran off. In the end, nothing happened. I still have all my stuff and I'm fine. But it wasn't fun.
After I really liked Colonia and Punta del Diablo, Montevideo was kind of a disappointment. The city seemed very “gray” and the buildings are a strange mix of old and new but somehow everything seemed to be run down. Well, maybe it was the rain or it just wasn't my day and Montevideo can be a nice place. Just not for me.
In the evening it was time to say farewell to Beatrice - DANKE fuer die gute Zeit und den Wein – and take the plane to Rio de Janeiro to meet Bine. And the Montevideo airport actually was the one place in Montevideo that I liked (and since my flight was delayed for two hours I had time to enjoy it a little longer). Maybe the good engineering by Thornton Tomasetti helped make it a great airport. ;-)

RELAXING IN PUNTA DEL DIABLO, URUGUAY

16. April – 19. April 2011

Spending a few days in the fishing / surfer village Punta del Diablo was great. Very quiet and relaxed. No traffic, no street signs, no paved roads. Just beach, sun and the moon. Days were spend relaxing at the hostel terrace or walking at the beach. Nights were spend watching the moon and drinking Uruguayan wine. We couldn't see the sun set but watching the moon rise from the ocean was quite spectacular.
There was not much to do and that's one of the nice things about Punta del Diablo. We found a very nice hostel with amazing view. And I definitely got the best bed. Without leaving the bed, I could watch the sunrise and the beach in the morning and the stars at night. Awesome.

PUNTA DEL ESTE, URUGUAY

15. April 2011

Punta del Este was only a short stop on the way north. Originally we wanted to go to Uruguay’s capital city Montevideo but since it was raining there, we decided to go to the beach. Punta del Este is Uruguay’s most famous beach resort. There are a lot of hotel towers, wide streets, real estate offices, fancy stores and expensive restaurant. But most of the restaurants and stores were closed since it was low season. All together, it was not my favorite place to be and we stayed there less than 24 hours.