Brazil blog
February 4, 2016
My 2016 travels have been off to a great start, and I was
able to take a BONUS trip that was completely unplanned – to Brazil! Through my
role as a management consultant I often travel to the site of our clients, and
this case happens to include clients Tin Porto Alegre, Brazil that we were able
to go and speak with.
Unfortunately my job also demands long hours, so I knew that
in order to actually see Brazil, I would need to spend my weekends there as
well. As I write this section I am in a cab on my way to my hostel in Rio, and
have already been in Brazil for 6 days. Morgan (a colleague) and I flew into
Sao Paolo on Saturday afternoon, then continued to Porto Alegre on Monday
morning for work. The travel work week has ended, so I’m on to my next stage of
the journey to Rio on my own.
Sao Paulo was a really fun experience, but what strikes me
the most about the city is just the pure size of it. I have NEVER seen such a
populous place. You cannot pick out a skyline in Sao Paulo because there simply
are too many tall buildings. It’s one big concrete jungle, composed of many
different neighborhoods and ethnic groups.
We stayed on Av. Paulista, which is known as a nicer area of
town. On Saturday we walked down the street, ate lunch at a street food vendor,
and then walked around in search of a “bloco” – the pre-party street festivals
to Carnaval. Carnaval is Brazil’s biggest holiday and celebration, and it’s
similar to Madi Gras in New Orleans. We were told by the hotel that there were
many blocos in the area, because our language skills were limited we had a very
difficult time actually finding them. Finally, we gave up on trying to map one
out and just looked in the street for people wearing costumes. We figured that
if we just followed them, or someone who was drunk from all of the day
drinking, that we would eventually happen upon a party. We were right!
We stumbled upon a small Bloco about 5 blocks away from our
hotel. The street was shut down, there were streamers and banners hung between
the buildings and draping across the road, and there were very jolly people
dancing and singing in the street. And, there were drinks. It reminded me of a
frat party at UT to an extent, and it even had a bit of a Round Up flare to it.
The street was full of discarded beer cans, and the bar on the corner looked as
if an elephant had trodden into it. Needless to say, it promised of a good time
but was also a bit intimidating – this group was active and liked to have fun,
and we didn’t speak the language.
However, I’m not one to let little barriers prevent me from
playing, so I grabbed a beer and jumped in the street and started dancing. I
was a little timid and stayed near the sidewalk, since everyone else was
wearing matching shirts and clearly dressed in costume, but Morgan and I still
had fun. At one point the music stopped, and all of a sudden a band emerged
with trumpets, trombones, and drums! I thought that they were just going to
play in the square that we had been dancing in, but instead that lead the
entire group from our block on a march! We walked all around the neighborhood
singing, dancing and chanting. I was able to pick up on a few of the words, and
luckily we made a group of friends. There were about five guys who were just
CRUSHING it with their dance moves who were kind enough to befriend the awkward
Americans. They danced with a small rainbow umbrella, and would keep passing it
to us and telling us to dance with it. By the end of the night, Morgan got to
keep it! We also learned how to flave (a popular dance move). Only one of them
spoke a little English, but I learned that Daniel had lived in Spain and was
able to have a conversation with him in Spanish. After the bloco ended, they
took Morgan and me to get ice cream at a place called “Alaska” and then treated
us to Arabic street food from the restaurant down the street. We said our good
byes around 9 and planned to meet up the next day at another party.
Sadly, Morgan and I were not able to find them on Sunday.
Instead, we had lunch at a GREAT restaurant with a GIANT fig tree in the middle
of it, and then walked about 10 miles in search of the meeting spot with the
guys. We found it, but not them. On our way home we stopped at another bloco,
which was actually a massive street party with thousands of people. It was a
little too crowded for my taste, and our state was far more sober than the
crowd’s, so we didn’t stick around for too long. We had dinner at a recommended
pizza place, which apparently Sao Paulo is famous for, and then called it a
night. Very fun weekend, and a great introduction to our time in Brazil.
In Porto Allegre we actually didn’t do that much in the
city. We worked our tails off from the morning until late at night. Morgan and
I went out for food twice, but each meal was within a block of the hotel and
lasted under an hour. The city was really cool though, it was located on really
large rivers and when you crossed them everything was completely natural – no
buildings, huts, or man-made developments of any kind for large stretches of space.
We also caught a couple of beautiful sunrises and sunsets over the river while
we were commuting to and from the client site. Definitely a nice pick-me-up
after a long day.
February 8, 2016
I’m home! My trip to Rio was fantastic. I couldn’t have asked
for a better two days. After our really long week of work it felt great to kick
back and enjoy the sun, the parties, and new friends.
I arrived at my hostel on Thursday night and quickly made
new friends who were hanging out in the lobby area. They were going out to a
girls night at one of the clubs that night and invited me to join. The club was
fun, not the best I’ve ever been to, but good music and plenty of dancing. For
some reason I thrive in environments where I don’t know anyone. I guess it’s because
I like the challenge of needing to get out there and make new friends. There
were a couple of dance circles happening that made me flash back to my middle
school days. The highlight of the night was when an older couple (50-60 yrs
old) made it into the circle and just crushed it with some old school moves.
There daughters were there with them, and had pushed them into the circle to
perform. What cool parents.
We made it back to the hostel pretty late, but I was up
again by nine the next morning ready to explore. As I walked down into the
lobby, however, my plans changed. I ran into a guy who asked what I was doing
that day and said that he was taking a group out surfing. I’ve always wanted to
learn how to surf, so it wasn’t too difficult to persuade me to join. The group
took a while to form (Oh Brazil time), but once it did we set off towards West
Rio to a number of beaches that are visited only by the locals. The first place
we stopped to surf had the perfect riding conditions with the smooth water and
well spaced waves, but unfortunately it was a pretty crowded beach. Instead, we
went a little further down to the coast to a spot that was practically
abandoned. The scenery here was much more beautiful than the other spot. Across
the road from the beach was a nature preserve, and in the waters off the cost
were a couple of different islands. Just feeling the summer sun on my skin was
enough to make me ecstatic, but the water and nature made it even better. There
were two guides for 5 of us, and we had paddle boards and surf boards to use.
Two of the group started out on the paddle boards, so the remaining three of us
started surfing. The two guys with me got one instructor and I got the other,
so I ended up with a private lesson! My coach was great, and helped me to
navigate the rough waters and learn the right board positions. After one missed
attempt I was able to pop up on the board and ride the wave into shore. Once I
was up it felt a lot like wake surfing, but getting out into the line up and
paddling to catch the wave are very different experiences. I was surfing on a
big long board, so I wasn’t able to turn it well, and most of the waves I rode
straight towards shore instead of along the base of the wave horizontally. Oh
well, I have something to work on next time. The feeling of riding the wave was
amazing, but it’s definitely not without work. The area we were surfing in was
really windy, so we battled a lot of chop getting out into the lineup. Most of
the times it was ok, but every once in a while I would be hit by a wave with
such force that it knocked me off the board and sent snakes of salt water
throughout my entire body. After about an hour and a half of trying, I was
satisfied with my progress and ready to spend some time on the beach. The rest
of the afternoon passed without too much excitement, and was full of
relaxation.
I worked when I got back to the hostel, but that night we
all went out together to the Bloco down the street. Upon arriving I wasn’t sure
if it was something that I really wanted to participate in – the street was
packed full of people, and countless sweaty groups of individuals kept pushing
their way past us. It was a little bit overwhelming. However, once the parade
became parallel with us, we started to walk with it and the crowd. We could
hear the music from the band better, so each step was accompanied with a bit of
a samba. I learned that apparently in Brazil kissing complete strangers that
walk past you during carnival is a common practice…
The Bloco ended at Ipanema beach, so we spent some time
hanging out by the water and then dancing by a DJ in the sand. Around 1:30 or
2:00 we decided to call it a night and head back to the hostel.
Saturday morning was tough. Not from a hangover, but from
the sunburn that I got while surfing the day before. I was RED. What made
things worse was that one of the friends I had made in Rio wanted to meet up
for the day… at the beach. Friendship trumps skincare, so I made my way down to
the waterfront and enjoyed a second day of sand, sun and waves. While we were
there we meet up with another group of people from Australia, and created an
impressive fort of sorts with our chairs and umbrellas that we had rented from
the vendors. I was content to stay there all day, but I realized that while I
had enjoyed the vast beauty of Brazil’s beaches, I hadn’t yet seen the city.
With only a couple of hours left during my trip, I decided to leave the group
and head back to the hostel to regroup for exploring the town. Crazily enough,
there were two guys from my high school who were in Rio at the same time.
Luckily things aligned with wifi and we were able to get in touch to meet up.
They came to my hostel and we set out to explore the Lapa stairs. We attempted
to go via the subway, but quickly learned that it wasn’t the best idea – the subways
were completely flooded with people chanting and singing traveling to the
different parties. We even witnessed a couple of different fights among men who
were waiting in line and somehow managed to insult one another. It was exciting
in a way, but also pretty overwhelming. What made it worse was the fact that
there wasn’t a way to purchase tickets down in the subway station, and so after
our attempt to travel with the crowds we found that our entrance was blocked
and had to back track about a quarter of a mile in order to go back above land
and purchase tickets. Instead, we decided to just splurge on a cab.
Lapa was a really cool part of town. There was beautiful
architecture, impressive street art, and a completely different demographic of
people. We immediately ran into a bloco that was a completely different style
than the ones we had been to before: people were older, there was a live band
playing local favorites, and the party was stationary. We even tripped a couple
of times over people’s lawn chairs that they had set out to enjoy the show.
Despite the demographical differences, this party was just as packed as all the
others, so we didn’t stick around terribly long. Instead, we grabbed a seat at
sidewalk café to enjoy a pizza and a couple of beers while comfortably watching
the madness of Carnaval.
After dinner we finally found our way to the steps. The
neighborhood they were tucked into was slightly shady, but we met other
tourists along the way and had a large enough group to be able to avoid any
harm. The steps themselves were really cool. They are much larger than I had
thought, and the art work is a really unique blend of local artists and
tributes to the travelers who have visited them. You can see tiles that pay
homage to Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and other far places. I really appreciated how
collective of a space it was. Beyond the inclusive artwork, the steps also
presented an eclectic mix of locals and travelers. People lined the stairs
hanging out, drinking and talking with one another. It was more than art, it
was a place that people could congregate, share stories, and feel the energy of
community.
The Lapa steps were the last big adventure I had in Rio – we
returned home by subway (after figuring out how to buy tickets and go with the
flow of the crowds), and I left for the airport after a couple last hours
hanging out at the hostel. Having the opportunity to travel to Brazil was an
amazing experience. I got to work with people from other cultures, adventure to
new places, and try new things. Mostly, I was invigorated by the energy and
aspirations of the other travelers I met on my journey. Travelers take risks,
cultivate empathy, seek adventure, and constantly refine perspectives. They
understand that life is malleable, but also have a great appreciation for the
challenges that it can present and the obstacles that prevail. A traveler has
grit like few others, and understands the balance between struggle and reward.
Yet, when all is said and done, the experiences one has while traveling alone shapes
who they are far beyond the trip. For these things I am constantly grateful,
especially when this type of opportunity comes as a result of work.
