Archive for February, 2010

I strongly believe that the media is responsible for a lot of misconceptions around the world.  They love to dramatize stories, which creates unnecessary fear in many peoples minds.  A perfect example of this are the notorious Brasilian favellas.  These shanty towns have been labeled as the most dangerous places in the world.  I have sadly heard them referred to as “slums” on more than one occasion.  So, you might be asking yourself why on earth would I take a tour of one of them then?  Well, 1) I love exploring places that I am told not to and 2) I wanted to de-myth this idea that if you entered one you were basically asking for a death sentence.

My Israeli friends had met this man named Alex the previous night at their hostel who was rumored to lead one of the best tour’s in the city.  Within moments of meeting Alex for myself, I knew this would be quite an interesting tour, as he was incredibly passionate about his job.

From the hostel we walked about 10 minutes to the foot of a mountain.  Surprisingly, Alex was more scared of us being robbed on this walk then when we actually set foot inside the favela.  We decided to take a taxi up the mountain, since it was very hot outside and it would have been at least an hour long walk to the top.

My 1st view of the favela we would be touring.

As we drove up the steep incline I began to see poverty that was difficult to stomach.  I would like to note an observation though that I have made repeatedly throughout my experiences in shanty towns, especially in South Africa and Bolivia; while the residents are some of the poorest people in the world, they also tend to be some of most joyous and optimistic people I have ever encountered.  It is so inspiring to me, as these people do not have physical wealth, but their emotional wealth is abundant.

By the time we had reached the top, Alex had given us a complete history of the favela.  He explained that at 1st the police had tried to stop the crime and drug wars that existed within the favela with violence, which only resulted in more corruption.  Then, the police moved into the favela and had a strong peaceful presence, and everything began to improve.  Thus, this is one of the reasons why it is safe to take tours of most of the favelas.  Because Alex dedicated his entire life to helping his neighbors, they not only treated him with the utmost respect, but he was also considered to be an honorary mayor of sorts.

We had just gotten out of the taxi when the man on the right approached Alex, who is on the left, to show off his new necklace. He was a character to say the least!

Within minutes of the beginning of the tour I was reminded of the old adage, “Never judge a book by its cover.”  Alex had taken us to the home of his friend.  From the outside it looked like this:

Although, from the inside it had this view:

Me and my lovely Israeli friends.

Our next stop was to Alex’s hostel/restaurant/jazz club, which is very famous in Rio.  The Maze has been home to many beloved musical artists, such as the Black Eyed Peas.  Go to Youtube and type in “the maze” and I think you will be impressed!

The architecture of the hostel itself was a work of art, very Gaudi-esque.

The actual photo that Alex took.

And the views, well, let us just say they were by far the best in Rio!

The next stop was to Alex’s “school.”  I put this in quotations, as it is in the process of being built.  I thought that I was a pretty ambitious person, but Alex definitely wins the award for the most ambitious person I have ever met.  He spent about 30 minutes detailing his dreams of opening up a first-class school in the middle of the favela and while I hope with all of my heart and soul that his dreams do come true, I highly doubt it as he would need some serious financial support.  However, I must say that it is touching to meet someone who cares so deeply about their society and dedicates every minute of their day to bettering the world.  I wish that I had taken pictures, but I was so engrossed with his story that I simply forgot.

As we walked back to the taxi stand some men on their motorcycles stopped to talk to Alex.  One offered me a ride down the mountain.  I asked Alex if it was okay and he said of course.  So, I hopped on the back of one and bid my friends “tchau!”

If you would like to watch some videos of my ride down click here and here.

After our tour ended, we all went our separate ways to get ready for our final evening out in Rio. . .

This was one of those days where I spent countless moments feeling blessed for having discovered the path of exploration.  I truly live a life less ordinary!  I want to warn you ahead of time, there will be a lot of photos in this post and in the next.  Thankfully, I saw such an abundance of beauty, that I simply cannot leave out most of the photos that were taken.  So, grab a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy!

The night before, the Israeli’s and I decided to meet at 8AM next to the train station that would take us up to see Christ the Redeemer.  I arrived promptly, but did not see them anywhere.  Already by that time there was a 2-4 hour wait.  I was just about to give up on my friends 15 minutes later when I saw them pull up in a taxi.  The 3 of us decided that there was so much we wanted to do/see in Rio and if we waited that long, then we would not be able to fit it all into the day.  I saw some guys around the corner offering other tourists rides up the mountain in their cars for less than a train ticket would cost AND there would not be any wait.  It seemed a little sketchy, but I am always up for an adventure!  We paid for our ride and soon enough we were on our way up the mountain.

We stopped about half-way up at a lookout point that had magnificent views of the statue and Rio (if you take the train up, you do not get to stop at said lookout point).

A view of Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, along with Sugarloaf mountain.

I should say a little about my new friends.  Their names are Keren and Tamir and they are both flight attendants for an Israeli airline, which has them flying all over the world.  Yes, I am beyond envious of their lives as well!  They are 2 of the nicest people I have encountered throughout my travels.  I know I probably say that about everyone I meet, as I tend to love all travelers, however they really added a lot of sunshine to my already incredibly bright trip.

As we were walking back from the lookout point to the car, Keren spotted something in a tree.  She yelled, “Look at the hamster!”  I was so confused.  Then she said, “No, I mean koala!”  Then I was REALLY confused.  Seconds later, I saw a monkey swing from the trees and I realized what she was talking about.  I love those “lost in translation” moments!

It took us about another hour to make it to the top.  In all honesty, I am glad that I did not miss this experience, but I was not majorly impressed with the statue.  Maybe because it does not resonate with me on a religious level or maybe because I am bit jaded with my travels throughout Asia, where the statues are larger and older?  Nonetheless, the photos came out really well and now I can say that I have seen another Wonder of the World.  I have already seen the Great Wall of China, Machu Pichu, the Roman Colosseum, and Chichen Itza.  Next month I will be able to add the Taj Mahal to the list as well!

I think we only spent about 10 minutes at the foot of statue before starting our decent.  On the way back down the mountain we planned out the rest of our day.  First, we needed to refuel our energy with some acai though.  We made a quick stop at my friend’s hostel and then found a nearby cafe.  I seriously became an acai addict on this trip!

Now Keren and I with our acai.

After we were properly satiated, our next stop was to one of the notorious favelas, where I had an unforgettable experience. . .

Surprisingly, I did not wake up with a nasty hangover, which I would have bet a million dollars would have been the case (I consumed a bottle of champagne and 4 caipirinhas the previous night. . .and quite possibly some shots of cachaça, but my memory is a bit foggy).  Since I had already missed half the day sleeping, I decided to quickly get ready so that I could fit in some sightseeing before the sun went down.

Me leaving my pousada on New Year's Day!

I decided to walk to the train station that would lead me to O Cristo Redentor, or Christ the Redeemer.  It was about a 10 minute walk.  However, it took me about 30 minutes, since of course I had to stop and take pictures of every interesting thing along the way.  My 1st photo-op was the crumbling and colorful mansion outside of my pousada.  It just begged me to take its photo!

The owners of my pousada warned me that the people who lived inside the mansion were crazy and that I should avoid them.  I could not help but think though that I bet these people had some pretty fascinating stories to share.  Too bad I do not speak Portuguese!

My next photo-op was a graffiti covered wall that was simply too long to be photographed entirely.  Thus, I chose my favorite section.  If someone can explain the naked woman giving us the middle finger, I would love to hear your explanation.

When I finally arrived at the train station I was greeted with a gigantic line of people.  I was promised that the wait was only 1 hour long, so I decided to join the line.  I realized though after about 30 minutes of not moving, that in fact it was going to take many hours.  I found an attendant and after a little bit of flirting on my part he confessed that it would probably take about 8 hours.  8 hours!!!  He said that I should come back at 7AM the next morning to avoid the same situation.  I wanted to see this Wonder of the World, except not bad enough to wait 8 hours underneath the blazing sun.  I decided that I would return the next day like he had suggested.

I walked back to my pousada and made a couple of calls to my friends.  They told me that they had just arrived at Copacabana beach and that I should join them.  I hopped in a taxi and soon my next photo-ops presented themselves to me.

The sun began to set behind the mountains and the beach was illuminated with a myriad of colors.  I wish that I had brought my better camera with me, but I do not think any camera would have been able to really capture the beauty that I was witnessing.

I spotted my friends at a cafe on the beach and joined them.  Within minutes I had a caipirinha in my hand and I was one happy lady!

One of the friend’s I was with was my Brasilian friend, Alberto.  He and I had met each other 3 years earlier in NYC through Couchsurfing and had kept in contact through Facebook.  I  promised him year after year that I would visit Brasil.  I think he was starting to lose faith in me, especially when he saw my status updates saying that I was traveling in neighboring countries.  Nonetheless, I kept my promise, like I always do, and it was nice to catch up with him in person.

I also got to meet some of his other lovely friends.  I really connected with his 2 friends from Israel, so much so that we agreed to spend the following day exploring the city together.  We all then ordered this interesting dish called, “ice cream pizza.”  It is pizza that is fashioned to look like an ice cream cone; the crust is the cone and stuffed inside, like the ice cream would be, is cheese and various toppings.  It was an excellent compliment to the caipirinhas.

Before we left the cafe to meet other friends at a different bar, I was afforded one last photo-op.

Casa 32: Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

First Impression

After my flights and tours were booked, the last thing left to decide was where I would stay in Rio.  I searched tirelessly to find an affordable place near the beaches of Copacabana or Ipanema, however the cheapest room I could find was around $500/night and I would not have even paid $100 to stay at these places.  After much thought, I decided to search for either a boutique hotel or B&B further inside the city.  I figured I could just hop in a taxi whenever I wanted to go to the beach.  I am not sure how I stumbled across Casa 32, but thankfully I did, because it is hands-down the best place I have ever stayed in on any of my travels (and I have stayed in some pretty amazing places).  I was shocked that they still had availability when I inquired, as most places are booked almost a year in advance for New Years.  I knew that Casa 32 was special before arriving, but it definitely blew my expectations away!

Location

Casa 32 has an incredibly rich history that dates back to the 17th Century.  Some very famous people have owned it and several years ago an extraordinary man named Lucio bought the property and with the help of his equally extraordinary daughter, Joana, turned it into a pousada.  While it lies in the center of Rio, you truly feel like you have escaped the city when you are there.  It is located in a small picturesque square, Largo do Boticario, that lies off a main street.  Surrounding the pousada is the Atlantic rainforest and from the grounds you have a view of Christ the Redeemer.

The Room

There are 2 suites inside the neo-colonial mansion.  Each one features baroque hand-crafted ceilings and original hand-painted Portuguese tiles.  The pousada is both stylishly and luxuriously decorated.  As I walked up the sweeping iron and marble staircase to my suite I truly felt like royalty.

My suite consisted of 3 rooms: a living room with 2 couches and bar and a bedroom with a king-size bed, desk, and plasma-screen TV.  Unfortunately, I do not have any photos to share, but trust me when I tell you that the suite is nothing less than impressive.

The Bathroom

Not only did the bathroom contain one of the largest jacuzzi’s I have ever seen, it also contained a shower.

The Extras

In the morning a cook prepares delicious gourmet breakfasts and in the afternoon she bakes traditional cakes and sets out coffee and tea.  Upon arrival a cell phone is given to all guests.  Also, there are two glamorous pools on the grounds where I spent many hours taking in the glorious Brasilian sunshine.

Why It Is Andi’s Pick

The best part about Casa 32 were the owners, who treated me like family.  They invited me to meals and engaged me in conversations for hours.  At the end of my stay they even invited me to join them on vacation in Europe!

I failed to mention several things on my last post that happened after I arrived in Rio, because most of it occurred past midnight technically making it the next day.  It was about 11:30PM when my plane finally landed and it was also pouring rain.  My heart sank, as bad weather does not a happy New Year’s celebration on the beach make.  Though before I stepped foot in Brasil I promised myself a stress-less trip.  Whatever was to happen, would happen, and I was to just go with the flow.  So, now this was my 1st test.  I took a couple of deep breaths and a smile returned to my face…I was in Rio!!!

I hopped inside a taxi and it was past 12AM by the time I arrived at my pousada, or bed & breakfast.  More on my pousada later (it deserves its own post, trust me it is that special).  The co-owners Joana and Lucio (a daughter and father) greeted me with hugs and kisses and within minutes I felt like I was part of their family.  They showed me around the grounds and asked me about my plans for New Year’s Eve, since the weather forecast was rain for another couple of days.  I told them that I was supposed to be celebrating with friends on the beach, but that I was not sure what would happen if the rain kept up.  They told me that it had not rained on New Year’s Eve in about a century and that the mayor had spent quite a bit of money hiring of a famous spiritual guide who claimed that she could pray away the rain.  We all had a nervous little laugh about this.

I had been very tired on the airplane, however I experienced a burst of energy and did not want to go to sleep yet.  I called to my friend Katu, one of the organizers of the Couchsurfing Pan-American event.  Thankfully, he was still awake, as it was now around 1AM, and we went out for some late night drinks and conversation that lasted until about 6AM in the morning!

When I awoke around 2PM the next day (this day), it was still raining.  I spent most of the day getting to know my pousada’s owners better and catching up on e-mail.  I am not going to lie and say that I was not concerned about the rain, since my entire trip was planned around this night, but this was one time where I was absolutely powerless when it came to the situation and I refused to let it ruin my trip.  Around 6PM I was just about to call to my friends and see what the new plans were, when magically not only did the rain stop, but the intense humidity disappeared as well, making it one spectacular evening.  I think we were all in shock for about 10 minutes or so.  What an incredible turn of events!  I quickly ran to my room to get ready for the huge celebrations that were going to be taking place soon.  I donned my white dress, since wearing white on New Year’s Eve is a tradition in Brasil for good luck.

My 1st sip of champagne of the night.

Me and my white dress...bring on the good luck for 2010!!!

So, the plan was to 1st meet up with the Couchsurfers and then I would find my other friends.  I had specific directions, except the moment I arrived at Copacabana Beach, I was greeted with this scene:

A snapshot of the 2 million.

I was seriously overwhelmed by the amount of people I saw, but within moments the incredible energy of the city and the 2 million+ crowd infected me, and I was on such a high!  I felt super blessed to be experiencing this and I gave a quick thanks to the Universe (and the spiritual guide who prayed away the rain) for making it happen.  I walked along the promenade for about 20 minutes before finding the post that I was told the Couchsurfing tents would be in front of.

Posto 4 on Copacabana Beach.

The Couchsurfing tents.

I am certain that most of my readers have heard about Couchsurfing, thus I will not go into great detail about the amazing site.  I will say, however that Couchsurfers are amongst some of the greatest people in the world that you will ever encounter.  Almost instantly after finding the tents, I had made countless new friends from various countries.  I enjoyed their company so much so that I decided to not leave and look for my non-Couchsurfing friends.  I called them and told them that we could meet the next night.

Me with my new Couchsurfing friends!

I was lucky to meet Thyago, a Brasilian Couchsurfer, within an hour of arriving.  We had an instant connection and he kept me company for the rest of the evening.  I learned so much about Brasil from him.

Me and Thyago.

About 5 minutes before midnight, we all headed down to the water to get ready for the fireworks.  Another Brasilian New Year’s Eve tradition for good luck is to jump 7 waves, so people started to undress in order to get into the ocean.  Since I was wearing white, I chose to jump the waves that came in on the sand in order to avoid my dress becoming see-through (along with most of the other girls).  At midnight the fireworks exploded in the sky and it was pure magic!!!  For almost 20 minutes the sky was alight with color and sound.  What an extraordinary way to begin a new century!  Here are 2 of my favorite photos from the fireworks show:

Ater the show ended, Thyago and I walked about a quarter of a mile to see a famous Brasilian band perform.  I wish that I could remember their name, because I really liked them and would have loved to have been able to purchase their CD.

The night/day ended at sunrise.  To say that I will always remember this experience is simply an understatement.  I hope with all of my heart that I am able to come back to Rio again soon for another New Year’s Eve.  I cannot imagine a better city to celebrate it in!  HAPPY NEW YEAR WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unfortunately, my room was right above the restaurant, so I was woken up bright and early by the kitchen staff setting up breakfast.  On a positive note, I was the first to arrive at breakfast and therefore the first to arrive at the pool, thus I was able to get the best seat as witnessed by the following photo.

Not a bad view, huh?

The hotel pool.

I knew that the next week ahead was going to be filled with lots of activity, thus I decided to just relax for the entire day.  Around midday I went for a stroll along the beach.  Here are some photos from the walk:

One thing that I took note of is the incredible confidence Brasilian women have.  Every single one of them, no matter age or size, exude this enviable lack of self-consciousness.  Having grown up in the States, where girls from an early age develop all sorts of issues with their bodies, it was delightful to see a culture where all bodies are celebrated.  And I could tell that the men loved it too!  I decided that I was going to try and adopt this attitude for the rest of my trip.

My first attempt at acting like a Brasilian woman was to get photographed in my bikini.

The day came to an end way too quickly and before I knew it I was saying tchau to Porto and heading back to Recife for my evening flight to Rio.  I could have easily spent another week in Porto, but I was excited to finally experience Rio.  I have been wanting visit the infamous city for many, many years!

My trip had really begun the day before, thus I should say this is “Day 2,” but nothing too exciting had happened as I had been traveling for almost 24 hours to arrive at my ultimate destination of Porto de Galinhas.  Porto, as it is affectionately called by the locals, is a sea-side village about a 1 hour car-ride away from Recife.  Recife is a much larger city and it definitely deserves to be visited, however my time was limited and I opted to skip it and spend my time in Porto, which is known for its awesome scuba diving sites.  I had to wake up quite early on this morning, since my dive was scheduled for 7AM.  Normally, I am not a morning person, however the excitement from traveling erases all sense of time for me.  Plus, I had this view to greet me as I walked to breakfast:

Sunrise in Porto.

As I ate my first delicious breakfast in Brasil, which consisted of tropical fruit and Brasilian coffee, I wondered why more people do not travel?  I understand that there are things that get in the way at times, ie. finances, work, and family to name a few, but I firmly believe that if you make it a necessity, rather than view it as a luxury, then it becomes possible.  Life is magical when you travel.  Every day you wake up not knowing what adventure you will face or what person will cross your path.  The possibilities are endless!  Why people would not want to experience this from time to time, to break from their daily routines and live a life less ordinary, is something I will never understand.  Nonetheless, I feel blessed to have discovered traveling and I will definitely continue to make it an integral part of my life, a necessity, as previously stated.

Porto de Galinhas means “Chicken Port” in Portuguese.  According to my Lonely Planet guide it received this name because, “The original name was Porto Rico, but after the slave market was prohibited, slaves had to be brought secretly to Brazil.  In this port the buyers and sellers started a code; when there were ships with slaves in the docks they would say “There is new chicken in the port”, and that is why it was renamed to Porto de Galinhas.  I hate that the name is based in racism, though I cannot change history.

My first encounter with a chicken statue (these can be found all over town) was with 'Scuba Chicken.' How appropriate, since I was on my way to scuba dive!

The dive center that I used was called Porto Point and was located in the center of town, directly across from the beach.  None of the people in the center spoke 1 word of English, despite me being told otherwise.  I was a little alarmed and then I decided to just go with it.  I have dived about 30+ times and figured by now I know what I am doing.  I followed my dive guide to the beach and then proceeded to get on the most interesting “boat” I have ever ridden on before!

My ride to the reef.

Our gear on the "boat." I took this photo from the water.

Once we began the dive I found it quite humorous that while my guide and I did not speak the same language and could not communicate on land, under the water we did speak the same language of scuba dive hand signals and had no problem communicating now!  I descended about 20 meters on my 1st dive and 15 meters on my 2nd dive.  The most exciting spotting was of some sea horses.  Having dived in the South Pacific, Caribbean, and the Australian and Belizian Great Barrier Reefs I consider myself a bit of dive snob now.  So, it takes a lot for me to be impressed.  At least, I get to say that I dived in Brasil now though!  In addition, it was nice to have my guide to myself.

Me in my favorite place to be, under water!

After my dives, I returned to my hotel for some much needed sunbathing and caipirinhas.  If you have never had a caipirinha, then get yourself to your local watering-hole pronto!  This drink is simply mouthwatering, though I am certain it would not be as tasty if you were drinking it in Brasil.

What could be better than drinking a delicious caipirinha on a gorgeous Brasilian beach?

After I hydrated myself sufficiently I took a walk along the beach and thought about what New Year’s resolutions I would make for myself this coming year.

Stunning, right?

I could have stayed at the beach all day, but I was eager to go back into town to do some shopping.  Heads up ladies, Porto has some adorable boutiques.  I bought some sundresses and a beach cover-up that I fell hard for.  I was quite excited to wear it the next day.

An example of one of the boutiques.

I wish that I could say that I celebrated my first night in Brasil in style, however I was exhausted and retired to bed early.  What a first day though in a country I was already enamored with!

My trip to Brasil began to materialize last June when I discovered that USAirways was starting a new direct route from Charlotte (my hometown) to Rio de Janeiro the following December.  I had 100,000 points with the airline and had been waiting for the right opportunity to use them.  Plus, New Year’s is my favorite holiday and I made a pact with myself several years ago, after a particularly boring one, that from then on I would celebrate it some place fabulous.  The previous 3 countries that I was in were Spain, Australia, and Peru, thus Brasil seemed like the logical next country to go to!

Once the tickets were booked, I began planning how I would spend my precious 10 days there.  I knew that I would definitely be in Rio on the 31^st, but I wanted to see other places besides Rio.  I spent countless hours perusing websites and books related to Brasil, which in the end helped me become more familiar with the country, however they confused me even more on where to go, as every place looked like Paradise.

Finally, I came across a website that had travel agents who were able to put together specialized trips for no extra cost.  I emailed them stating that I wanted to scuba dive, spend New Year’s in Rio, and experience the Amazon…and that I only had 10 days to do all of this.  I thought they would say that it was impossible, although within 24 hours they responded that this would in fact be possible and within 1 week the entire trip was planned (and for an awesome price!).  One thing that should be noted is that if you intend to take a lot of domestic flights within Brasil you should consider buying the Brasil Airpass, which starts at 4 domestic flights for $500 and goes all the way up to 9 domestic flights for $1100.  I decided to purchase the 4-flight package, as it would save me a lot of money.

My itinerary was now: December 28-30 Porto de Galinhas , December 30-January 3 Rio, and January 3-6 the Amazon.

The cities that I would be flying to on my trip were: Recife, Rio, and Manaus.

Once my trip was completely booked, I decided to contact some people from Couchsurfing to see if they would like to meet up.  To my absolute delight I discovered that while I would be there the 1^st ever Couchsurfing Pan-American event would be held.  There would be around 600 Couchsurfer’s from around the world in Rio and daily events for all of us to attend.  Knowing this helped my slight anxiety of traveling alone.  This was to be my 1^st solo-trip in a country where I did not speak the language.  I had previously traveled solo in China, Argentina, and Australia.  Those trips sincerely changed my life and instinctively I knew this trip would to.

While I love nothing more than to be surrounded by friends when I am traveling, I do crave my solitude as well.  I truly believe that nothing teaches us more about ourselves than solo-traveling.  It pushes us in ways that are unimaginable and we learn things about ourselves that we never knew.  Traveling alone is its own little niche of touching into a culture and most times you will attract more interactions amongst the locals that way.  Besides you are never really alone; there will always be people around you.  Do not get me wrong, traveling with someone, especially your partner, has its benefits as well.  Sharing those once-in-a-lifetime moments with another person is priceless.  However, I think it is necessary for the growth of the soul to every once in a while pack your bags and go on a journey by yourself.  And this is exactly what my trip to Brasil was all about!