Manaus - The AMAZON.

Myla was great a drove me to the Airport, as Danni was sick and Jacki was going to sit an enternace exam for university. While I waited for the plane, I purchased a coffee and some cake. Wosrt coffee and worst cake ever. I think I have turned into a coffee snob, but I think that there are those out there who already think I am one... While I sat at my gate, a guy who had had to much amber ale, kept asking me if this was the flight to Manaus (in Portuguese) I said yes and that I was a foreigner and didn't speak to much Portuguese. That didn't stop him. I think it was more of an invertation for him, in his mind. He started to tell me his life story and how he was a Federal Police Officer and that he had been a member of Interpol. Mind you the occasional "Is this the plane to Manaus?" question thrown in... I think I answered that question 5 times in 30mins... the plane was delayed. He was sitting 2 rows behind me... great...

Anyway on the flight he met some lady and then introduced me, as if we were two of his long lost buddies and we should know eachother. She was visiting family and told me stories of the Amazon. She also asked where I was staying and how I was getting there. I said a hotel in the centre of town and I was going by bus. "NO! You are not going by bus, it is to dangerous and being a Gringo, you will get mugged." So I did the most stupid thing I have done in Brasil, I accepted a ride from her unmet sister and nephews. Now I was in a strange place, in a strange car, with 4 complete strangers. I felt a little uncomfortable. Sorry M&D for not telling you about it earlier, but I thought it best not too. After all that, they finally got me to my hostel all safe and sound. She actually ended up being a Christian and was starting an evangulism routine, when I said, "It's all good, I'm a Christian too". Load cheers and 'Praise the Lord' statements were said. So, I guess in the end, it wasn't to bad.

At the Hostel, I checked in, found my bed and started to met some of the other people who were staying at the place. There were a few from Germany (3 girls and 1 guy called Udo), a Frenchmen (Bastian) who lives in Canada and a guy called Rob from England. That night we all went out to dinner to a little resturant and ate to much food. The waitress asked if we liked Forro and as no one else knew what it was I asked if she had any DVD's to play. A big smile with a gleam in her eye followed and the DVD was changed. Everyone else complained, as they were liking the current playlist of music, until the Forro music got swinging. History lesson - Forro started in the North of Brasil, by the British, of all people. It is called Forro (pronounced Foho) as the local Brasilians tried to call the dance by it's English name "For all" and as their pronunciation was bad, it was called Forro by the locals. It was a lot more of a nicer dance in the old days but like all things here in Brasil, it was made sexual. There are a few bad conitations that go with Forro because of the way you dance it. Maybe when I next see you, I'll show you what I mean. (I'll only dance with the Ladies, Guys can watch).

I mainly hung out with Udo and Bastian. Udo had grown up in the Black Forest and had been kicked out of home at 14. He was always telling stories about various holidays he had taken, as he works for 9 monthsof the year and then travels for 3. Bastian hadgrown upin France, but didn't like French people, especially those fromParis. He lives in Canada and I think is studying. For his birthday, his friends had all chiped in so he could go to the Amazon for a month. He loves Insects. Nice friends... They were great guys to hang out with and it seemed that everywhere we went, it turned out to be an exciting adventure. I guess the saying "never a dull moment with the Leroy" is true. We went on a self guided city tour together, by bus. That's because we caught the wrong bus, the 120 and not the 121. So we went all the way out to Ponto Negro. That is where there is a big beautiful beach on the last bend in the Rio Negro (Black River) before it goes on to join with the Rio Salamonies, which when combined form the Rio Amazona. We had actually been trying toget to the Military Zoo, so we where a little off. At Ponto Negro we saw some locals in action... Working hard, as most Brasilians do during the middle of the day. Check out the photo above...

We finally made it to the military zoo. We started walking arround checking out the animals, when we saw a vet section of the hospital. I asked a solder if we could enter and was given a stern, "NO". We just watched as some staff helped a young family take Christmas photos with some Sloths anda baby Jaguar. One of the female Doctors came over to us, and we asked her if we could take photos. It wasn't long until we were holding and patting these animals too. It is amazing what some Brasilians, especially the girls, will do when you say in broken Portuguese that you are from overseas and love their country and could we have photos with the animals. Check me out with my little buddy... At zoo, met a girl from Switzerland. Renata. She joined our little group and we were now four.

Later that night all four went to the Amazon Theatre to watch 2 movies for free, as it was "O AMAZONAS FILM FESTIVAL - MUNDIAL DO FILME DE AVENTURA"(rough translation... The Amazon Film Festival - World of Adventure Films). The first one wasthe Brad Pitt movies, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" (Note...This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen) & the second movie was a real old one where an American Family move to Brasil and the son is kidnapped by Indians and grows up with them. He parents are always looking for him and they find him and then the dam he was building gets washed away in a big rain storm. I can't remember the name of the movie, but I remember watching this movie when I was about 10. We finally arrived home at 1am, only to need to be up the next morning at 5 to catch the 6am bus to Presidente Figueiredo. P.F. has a lot of small rivers / creeks with waterfalls. We had arranged with one of the guys at the hostel to wake us at 5, as that is the time he gets up.

I woke at 5, out of luck and lay in bed waiting for the guy to turn up. 5mins went by and no sign of him, so, I woke Udo and Bastian and we left, no sign of the guy. Anyway, we arrived at the Rodoviaria (Bus Station) and caught our bus. It was a 2 hour ride and we thought that we could get some sleep, yeah right, this is Brasil. The guys sitting arround us talked the whole way and at the top of their voices. I think that there is no real sence of respect for others. On arrival, at P.F., we found the local supermarket and brought some supplies. We made our way to the tourist office, only to find out that it was all to be in Portuguese, No English... That's ok... been there before. Basically it was a pay everywhere you go place... We went to arrange a taxi and had a driver tell us that it would cost 30Reais. We knew that it should be more like 20. Anyway we did a little talking and we were soon on our way for 20. There is the usuall attitude of "Gringos... Money, let's double everything..." I am getting sick of arguing down prices all the time... The best experience was listerning to a local get something for 10Reais and then when I asked how much it was in my Portuguese, I was told that I had to pay 25. I laughed at the guy and then told him off and asked why I was to pay 25, when the other guy got the same thing for 10? I soon paid 10. Anyway, the waterfalls were great, just annoying that every waterfall you go to, you need to pay 4 or 5 Reais, as each location is owned by a family, who do nothing to try and preserve the environment that they live in... they sit arround and wait to collect the cash.


We had been told that there was a really good Grota to go and see, which was about a 30min walk into the jungle. The tourist office had told us that we needed a guide and that it would cost us 40Reais. After hitching a ride to where the trail starts, we couldn't find the trail enterance. We asked a local who asked us where our guide was? We said that we didn't need one and asked where the trail started. She was not happy that we didn't have a guide, but showed us where the trail started. We started our jungle walk and after 50m noticed that there were markers every 10m, indicating the distance to go. Who needs a guide for that? We arrived, were impressed, took photos and then walked back along the trail. We saved ourselves 40 Reais. We signed the visitors book and started to walk back to town. After about 30mins and several tries later, we managed to hicth a ride back to town, get some food and then jump on the bus for the return journey to Manaus. All in all it was a great day of Sun, Water and Jungle walks...

I also did a self guided tour of Manaus. I went back to the Teatro Amazonas, for a guided tour and then went onto the Catherdral and the various Markets that are about town. I was careful in some of these places as I was doing this solo. The Catherdral gardens looked like they were the local Prostitute station and the markets had people moving everywhere. I finally made it back to the Hostel,where I paid my bill. I had noticed that the owner, a fellow Aussie, was always on everyones case about paying the right amount. One guy got charged for an extra 6 hours, as he was leaving after 'official check out time'. When I said that I wanted to settle my bill and store my bags, he told me that I didn't need to worry about that. It was a little strange, I think. He was a bit of a strange guy. I felt he only cared about people paying their bills. When asked about tourist information or locations of places, it was like getting blood from a stone and that we were asking the worst questions ever. The hostel and location was great, just not the people. Soon after I left and headed for the River Port to catch my boat and home for the next 5 days. I was to cruise the Amazon River to its mouth and the city of Belem.

Brasilia.

The first stop, on my trip to the Amazon, was Brasilia (my second visit). I planned to stay in Brasilia for the weekend, but it ended up being a little longer. I had caught the overnight bus, which was late from Sao Paulo, due to the heavy rains. The bus also arrived late in Brasilia, about 3hrs late. I went and had lunch with Mylana and Maura and then went and settled into Myla's appartment, the same one as before. It was great to reaquaint myself with all the people that I had met from my first trip to Brasilia.

Word quickly spread and a BBQ was arranged with about 3hrs notice and most of the friends that I had made before, came. It was great fun, just chilling out with people. I even danced a little Forro, which was great fun, even though I am not that good at it. Jacki had dubbed the BBQ as "Leigh's Party" and told everyone that it was my birthday. It was a little hard trying to explain to people that it was not the case. I received a few strange looks. I also hung out with a guy called Robson. He is the son of a Pastor and is the church office administrator. He took me to a Churrascaria, one of the all you can eat meat resturants. Ohhh, I think that I ate to much, but when the food is good, what can you do... Later on that day we went to a Sports Club and went swimming in the pool there. Before I could swim, we need to go shopping for some new bathers, as they do not allow people to swim in shorts... Yes, a pair of 'speedos' were purchased. It was a good thing that we went swimming, so I could try and work off some of the food that I had eaten. All the Sports Clubs here a private. When I said that we have public swimming pools in Australia that you pay a few dollars to enter, it was like I was talking another language. It is just not done here in Brasil.

That night, the church was involved in an Artistic Night. Various churches were getting together to dance and praise God through various styles of Dancing. Now I usually don't like this kind of dancing. I never really have. The first people to dance were those from the Church that I go to, here in Brasilia. They were represented by Fernanda and Anderson. They danced with passion and enthousiasm. It was not until Fernanda sat down, that I could see the happiness and joy in her face, that I realised how involved people can be in worship through dance. I think that I am beginning to change my mind on the matter. The wheels move slowly. After the dancing was done, it was off to have Pizza, at an all you can eat Pizza resturant... I think that this is becomming a theme, for returants here in Brasil. I also chilled out a lot during my time here. Going to bed late and getting up late.

I hung out with Jacki and Dany, as Myla was at work. So when the girls went places, I went too. It was great fun to experience their lives. One night, we all went to Pontao and had dinner. I ate way to much ice-cream, but it was hot and I didn't care. I was having fun. One of their friend's Kelly brought her Guitar, so we all sat arround and sung songs, next to the lake. It was great. A very relaxing night and it made me think of all the sings that we normally sing on a Sunday night, back in Oz. I also watched loads of DVD movies. It was a great enjoyable and relaxing time. I really needed the time to stop and rest.

On one of the weekends here, I went on a Church Camp. I have always felt at home here at this church, from the first service I went too during my first visit to Brasilia. Everyone has been just so warm and welcoming, even when they know that there is a language barrier, they still come over, smile and give a hug and say hello. Anyway, the camp cost 20 Reais (about $14 Aussie Dollars). There was some great teaching (if Myla translated correctly) and loads of singing and dancing. I just enjoyed being involved. I got involved in the soccer game that was played and although I didn't score a goal, I gave off a few good passes, which set up a few. I was happy with that. As all the guys were now so hot, it was swim time. They had a pool there, which we swam in for about an hour and then we all walked to a waterfall the swam some more. That night some of us played 'WAR' a great game of luck. I ended up winning, which was a first for me at WAR. All in all the weekend away with the church was great. The only down side was that we orded some bad food and a few people got sick, well most of the girls and a few guys were visiting the toilet often. It was a shame that this happened, but no one really complained about it.

So many more things happened in Brasilia, to many to write about each. It was like the Gringo had arrived and everyone wanted to show me off to their friends and to show others that they knew someone from Australia. I went bowling with Robson and Andre. I went to a family BBQ with Laura's family. Thiago, Gabi and Raphael also came, which was great. As a group from church, we went bowling (at a different location) where the pins were on strings. It was one of the strangest things I have seen. I was also invited to have Fondue at Gabi's house. Fondue is a big thing here in Brasil. It seems that everyone loves it. I also went to Fernanda's house for her Mum's birthday. I was asked 20 questions by various family members and I gave my responses in Portugues. I thought that I was doing well until I heard Fernanda repeat my answers with a few more Poertuguese words thrown in and in a much better accent. It saw the funny side of it, as I guess I have done that with people speaking their broken English here.

My last night in Brasilia was spent at the Tagutinga Shopping mall, as I needed to buy my plane ticket for Manaus. I had been a little lazy in going earlier to purchase it. I didn't care all that much, as I was spending the evening with friends. My farewell dinner was Pizza and red wine... We needed to keep a check on on person, to make sure they didn't have to much, as they were driving me home. Anyway the night was full of great conversation, sharing of moments and statements of how they plan to visit me in Australia. I will miss them all.

Campinas – Danny’s farewell.

I arrived back in Campinas after a very long bus journey. I think it was about 24hours in total and I travelled on 4 different buses. The walk from the bus station to Paulo and Lorena’s house was one of the fastest I have ever done. I think it was due to the looks I was getting from various peoples and the questions I would be asked along the way. I think one guy asked me for money and when I said I didn’t understand him he gave me a very angry look. He followed me for about 100m, but I think his friend called him back.
It was great to be back in familiar surroundings. The boys were happy to see me and it was great to be able to spend time with Danny before he was to return to Chile. He had been here learning Portuguese, as he wants to study Medicine at University and to be able to do that in Brazil, you need to be proficient in Portuguese. He was returning to Chile to sit an Examination in both written and spoken Portuguese. (Post writing: from what I hear he went quite well). I think it will be sad to see him go, as he has been a companion for my time here in Brazil. We have talked most nights until late, as we have almost always slept in the same room, hung out, spoken about things, even the differences he notices with the culture of Brazil and how it varies from Chile. At first I thought that they were very similar, but as time goes by, I have noticed the differences. Honestly, I think some here can be very two faced, they say one thing, while thinking and doing another, and they can turn on you in the blink of an eye. However, I think that is similar to people in the rest of this world… human nature and not God nature!
We had a “Goodbye Party” for Daniel, were most of the family came to eat and drink and spend time with him before his departure. Something that I find a little embarrassing here is that everyone gets a chance to say some positive and negative thoughts about the person leaving. I am not sure why you would say bad things at someone’s going away party, but you do. Basically everyone spoke about how they had noticed some changes in Daniel from when he first arrived in Brazil, how he had matured in his thoughts and actions. I just know that I will miss our times of talking and discussing various issues from family to love lives to what we would do when I visit him in Chile. I know that I had difficulties understanding him at the start of my time in Brazil but I think that we have developed a good friendship over the time.


Saudades Amigo!

I drove Danny to the bus station at 4am and made sure that he was on the bus by 5, as he had a flight at 9am. The airport in Sao Paulo is terrible, so you need to allow 3hours to get through check-in, security and customs and then your plane may be delayed because of the Air Traffic Controllers and you have to accept it. I have heard stories of people spending 3 nights in the airport because their domestic flight has been delayed. It was a lonely drive back to the house, a feeling that I had not had for some time.

I had also met another guy a few weeks earlier and he had become friendly with Daniel too. His name is Raphael and his Dad is English and his Mum is Brazilian. We started to hang out a bit, which was great, as I could speak to another native English speaker and not have to choose my words, as he understood what I said. I met some of his Brazilian friends in a bar one night, as he is in a church group that is reaching out to non-Christians, through discussion groups and pub visits, meeting with them, at their level, like Paul in Athens. I guess it is an extension of the concept of ‘Counter-meal Friday’. It was great to be able to chill out and talk about differences in culture, as he can see it from both sides, having a mixture of both in his own family. After discussions with his Mum, it turns out that she is 2nd cousins with the parent’s of my friend Mylana in Brasilia. It is such a small world. She actually started to describe Mylana and her family in detail. It is a small world.
During this time I also branched out and spent time with some local Brazilian people that I had met. Hanging out and having ice-creams, juices, going to the various Shopping Malls around Campinas (note: people use the Shopping Malls for social gatherings as they are safer than meeting in the streets. There is less of a chance of muggings, theft, etc.) We would also went to the centre of town, where I had my watch battery changed and a new wrist band put on, all for the price of 7 Reais, about $4.50 Aust. Now where can you get that done in Australia?

I also went to the local theme park, called Hpoi Harry, with Alex, Karen and Andrea. I had a load of fun, but as I am a little scared of heights, ohh, some of the rides were not good for me. There is one rider, where they strap you in and you go vertically up for about 70metres, very slowly. Once you reach the top, you are there for what seams to be an eternity, when they just let you go. You fall for about 2-3 seconds reaching a top speed of about 90Km per hour. I am still trying to find my stomach and all my muscles are still aching. I dreamt for a week that I was falling and would wake up in cold sweats... However it was a very enjoyable day. That's a photo of the tower.
I also spent time researching information for my upcoming trip to the Amazon, the North and the North-East regions of Brazil. I like to be prepared, especially when you are travelling solo. I wanted to make sure that I had the right information before I left, so I cross-checked the facts that I found. Some was a little bogus, while others, it seems, was spot on. I can’t wait! It has been a dream of mine for many years to travel to the Amazon, to go to “The Lungs of the World”

The Pantanal.

After Foz, I caught the bus to Campo Grande, with Stewart. We had spoken to the 2 Irish guys about their time there and had the heads up that we should only need to pay 300 Reais for our time there. The bus was long and tiring. At one bus stop, at a local take away store, the owner’s niece was suggesting to her uncle how to ask, in English, what countries we were from. In my bad Portuguese, I said, “ Eu soy Australiano e meu amigo, Inglaterra.” Which basically means, “I am Australian and my friend, England”. Like I said, bad Portuguese, I should have used the word ‘Ingles’. However people here love it when you try and speak Portuguese. They look at you funny and then they smile and repeat what you said, but in the correct form.
Anyway, we arrived in Campo Grande just after 10am and we were very tired. As soon as we got off the bus, we were mobbed by tour operators wanting to sell us their package, as it was in this newspaper or this travel book and was the best in the area. They were surprisingly polite about it and each one took their turn to talk. We had already decided what we were going to do. We were going to check into the Youth Hostel, eat and shower and then spend time in Campo Grande sight-seeing and looking at what all the packages cost and include. We got the spiel from the guy who owned the Youth Hostel, as he had a tour package as well. After his spiel he said 350Reais each… Stew and I looked at each other and said, we will have a look around because some other guys told us 275 (it was actually 300, but you need to do this to get the right price). He said “ok, 325 final price”. We said OK, we will go and talk to other operators, see what they have and we may come back to you. We went to our rooms to get our wallets and as we were leaving the Hostel were told that the guy wanted to talk to us again. 300Reais it is and we get the night in the Hostel for free. Not bad, but we already knew that the night for free was included from the Lonely Planet Guide Book. That done it was off to walk around town. We watched a local fair, which I found out, was actually “international, no use your car day”, so people were playing music and dancing in the streets and there was also a soccer game being played…typical Brazilians… We found a place to have lunch and a little later I had a haircut. We then went on a guided tour of the city on an open air Double Decker bus. It was all in Portuguese, so I tried to do my best to say a few things to Stew about what we were looking at and why. I don’t think I did a very good job, as I started to chat to the 2 Brazilian girls that were sitting behind me. We later went and had dinner with them. Steward said that he was a little frustrated because of the language barrier. Not to worry, we were off to the Pantanal the next day, which is one of the biggest wetlands in the world.
We spent 3 days there in conditions that were worse than the very bad scout camps that I went on as a kid. My tent never let in bugs the size of small dogs and mozzies. Anyway, the food was good and the conditions were not all that bad. It was actually quite relaxing and reminded me of the times that my family went fishing by the Murray River, as a child, where the farmer’s house was in much the same condition as this place. We had a full itinerary for the whole time we were there. We went on a boat cruise, which was just a metal dingy with an outboard motor. The good thing was that we got to see a wild Jaguar. Another big cat struck off the list of cats to see in the wild. No, I am not a cat lover, I love dogs, but the ‘big cats’ a different. I even got to touch a wild anaconda on that cruise, as well as swim with what I thought were Piranhas biting me, which was confirmed when I asked the driver of the boat. We also went on walks and Jeep Safaris, which happened to be the same thing, they drove us to one place, we then walked a few kms and then were driven back, so that was our Safari. We also did a little fishing for Piranhas, which was exciting, as they just suck the meat off the hook, they don’t really bite it. After catching one, I think I just was really feeding the local population, as I had no more luck. I think the one I caught was a fluke, as he was hooked near the eye and not even in the mouth. I caught it and it was the first one caught, so I’ll claim it… On the morning of the day we were to leave, we went horse riding. It was very slow and very tame. I could imagine the first white people on horseback exploring the country, killing everything they saw or being killed by what they saw. It is very unforgiving country. For a wetland area, it was very dry but then again they had not had rain for about 3 months. I had told the operators that I needed to be back in Campo Grande early, so that I could catch the bus back to Campinas, that night. Like always, ‘Yeah no worries, all is under control, no problem’. Well, the mini-van driver, who we were told would take us all the way to Campo Grande, only took us half way. We then had to organize another bus, which got me to Campo Grande about 5mins before the Bus to Campinas left. So I ran like the wind, paid for my ticket and jumped on the bus. I had to change buses half way, at about 3:30am, but that was alright. I finally arrived in Campinas about lunch time and walked the 5kms to Lorena and Paulo’s house. I was back in Campinas, ready to say goodbye to Danny, who was about to travel back to Chile.

Foz Do Iguaçu.

On the Sunday night I caught the overnight bus to Foz do Iguaçu (The Iguassu Falls). It took about 16hrs on the bus and I even managed to get a few hours sleep. The buses are comfortable here, but you can pay more and get an even better bus, where the seat becomes a bed, I think for the price of these buses, I would rather fly. I left at 7pm sharp on the Sunday and arrived at about 11am on the Monday morning.
I caught a local bus to the city terminal and then another bus to the local McDonalds where I then walk about 5 minutes to the HI Youth Hostel, which would be my home for the next few days. Thank goodness Mum suggested that I take ear plugs with me, when I traveled, just in case. I needed it being in a room with 7 other guys. We were a very multicultural bunch. 2 Aussies (me inc.), 1 x Englishman, 1 x Swiss, 1 x Frenchman, 1 x Spaniard and 2 x Brazilians. The Frenchmen, Antonio, and I got on very well. I think that it was due to this reason... There was an Australian (me) who naturally speaks English, a Frenchmen, who naturally speaks French, both in Brazil, where Portuguese is the official language, communicating with each other in Spanish. Go figure that one out... Antonio´s third language was English, so I guess he enjoyed talking to me about things, that the others could not understand. We also had similar thought patterns and ideas on certain social things. He told me that he travelled around parts of the world for 6 years, taking photographs of himself and friends on motorcycles for a Magazine in Europe, to help pay the bills. He now lives in the South of Spain, hence why his Spanish is so good. We also went out for a meal one night to a Churrascaria, where we were joined by 2 Irish lads and a guy from Finland, who told us stories about how he has fun with his mates. Sitting in a Sauna, at very high temperature, drinking beer and then running out into the snow and jumping into the hole in the ice, swimming around for a minute only to run back into the Sauna to drink more beer. This is done naked…with male friends…hmmm, not really my idea of fun when you do it for a few hours on end…
While in Foz, I went to Itaipu. This is one of the largest Hydro-electrical power generating plants in the World. It supplies 95% of the energy requirements for Paraguay and 25% of Brazil’s power requirements. This place is huge. There are 20 turbines in operation and they have enough space and water to add more, if and when necessary. Yes, they are buses in the photograph attached. They also built an artificial water course for the fish to migrate and they have a whole education programme that revolves around the artificial stream and the plant and animal life that is around it. I think that it is a wonderful display of man’s imagination and determination to obtain electricity in a more environmentally friendly manner, even if they did put a lot of forest under water in the process.
I also traveled to Paraguay for the day and I felt a little more comfortable, even though I was in a much more dangerous environment. Security guards here carried automatic machine guns, pistols and batons. I wondered what the police carried, if they were the Security Guards. I also felt comfortable because I was with the English guy, Stewart. Now Stewart is from up near Yorkshire, he is about 6 foot 4 and is a bricklayer. He is traveling South America, before he catches up with a mate in NZ. They will then work in Australia for 6-12 months. Cuidad del Este, which is the Paraguayan town over the border, is a market town. It thrives on the Brazilian tourists who come and purchase cheaper products. This is due to the high taxation rate that the Brazilian Government puts on technical items and other goods, to protect the Brazilian manufactures and IT companies. Not a bad idea, but when the tax is about 30 – 40%, you can see why the tourists like to visit Paraguay. I even purchased a T-shirt in Paraguay and got searched by Brazilian customs because of it. I was on the bus looking out the window with the T-shirt in a plastic bag on my lap, when all of a sudden I felt someone grapping at my T-shirt. He was about to get a knuckle sandwich, as I thought he was getting a little too familiar, when I realized he was a Customs Official and decided against any form of ‘retaliation’.
The main reason why I travelled to Foz, was to visit The Iguaçu Falls. I had seen photos of these falls in books when I was little and remember seeing them in the movie, The Mission. They were fantastic. Awe inspiring… I can´t express what they were like in words. All I can say is, if you get the chance to go and see this work of God, then you should go. I hope that some of these photos do justice to what I saw. I also went on a boat ride and got very wet. My advice is to go and spend more time on the Argentinean side of the falls. I think that their National Park is far superior, with more things to do and see, for free. The Brazilian side charges for everything, I think even the air you breathe.

Campinas.

I returned to Campinas, by bus, and with my limited Portuguese was able to get the bus driver to stop and let me off close to Karen and Alex’s apartment, at Shopping Campinas. It is about a 5mins round trip from their place, instead of the 40mins to the main bus station in the centre of town. MickyD sundaes taste really good when it is stinking hot. Just thought I would let you know that… I had one while I waited for Karen to collect me.
I stayed for a few days with them, helping out around the apartment, watching a little TV and doing a few other bits and pieces. It was a bit of a relaxing time. We went to the Movies, to the "The Simpsons", in English. Other members of the family went and saw it in Portuguese, and we had to explain a few things to them, such as when Homer is swinging between the Rock and the Hotel called “A Hard Place”. Makes perfect sense to the English speaker, but try explaining it in another language... it looses something in the translation.
Basically my time in Campinas was just chill out time. I went out to the movies, went for walks in the park, ate to much cake and sweet foods… just the usual sort of thing. I went to church where Alex translated for me, which was great or I would have understood only words here and there, as the pastors usually speak loudly and at a very fast rate, when they get excited about what they are talking about. We also went to Sao Paulo for the day, as it was a long weekend and the street markets were on. The main street was packed with people selling and people buying. You could buy all manner of toys, clothing, pirated games and DVD movies… anything you wanted. It was good fun, but I made sure I was in constant contact with my camera and wallet, I didn’t want them to go off walking without me…
I also went to ‘Wet and Wild’, a water theme park, which is similar to the one on Queensland. I think the Aussie one is better. That said, I had a great day in the sun and water. I went with Paulo and Lorena and the family, along with good family friend’s of theirs. All day I went without my T-shirt and surpissingly I didn’t get burnt, I did use a lot of sun-tan lotion, so I think that helped. It was a great day running from one water slide to the next and jumping into pools and eating overpriced food and drink… It was a very relaxing day and I was very tired in the end.
Danny (the cousin from Chile) and I rode the push bikes around town and even got into trouble for ridding the bikes around Taqarual Lake. The police didn’t like us. One guy was really going nuts at me, even after I said “Eu não falo Portuguese”. I don’t think he cared, he was power tripping. The other cop, who Danny was chatting to, was a lot nicer and once Danny told him about our situation, he explained that you could walk your bike but not ride it in the Park. It is just another little adventure in the life of Leigh in Brazil. During this time I also did a little research for my up-coming trip to The Iguassu Falls.

Ilha Grande

After being in Campinas and saying goodbye to Ana and living a weekend without a change of clothes, it was off to São Paulo to my friend Andrea’s house. I stayed overnight there, meeting her Parents and her Grandfather. They were wonderful people and really tried to help me fit in with their family. Andrea had asked the parents to speak in Portugues very slowly to me, to aid with my understanding, but I think they were a little excited and spoke at their normal rapid pace. That said I still had loads of fun.

The next morning we started our road trip to Ilha Grande. It would take us about 5 hours to get there, stopping a few times to change drivers and to get a bite to eat. I even had the chance to drive. At one point I was driving through the mountains on very windey roads, with loads of fog and rain. I think I was getting a little carried away with I was imagining I was a rally-car driver. I think Andrea got a little nervous when I started talking like it... 30m, 90 right, 25m Hairpin left... I was having fun... It was the first real time here in Brasil that I had a little fredom and was able to drive a car and get a feel for how it is done here in Brasil.

We crossed the main straight on the only boat of the day. While on the boat, a guy approached us to tell us about the hostel that he ran. This is very common in Brasil. When we got off the boat, we were mobbed by other hotel owners/operators trying to get you to stay at their hotel/hostel. Some included breakfast, other didn’t. Andrea, being a local Brasilian, did all the talking so that we could get a better deal. It worked, as others (foreigners) were being charged 10-20 Reais per night extra. It pays to travel with locals here. We finally decided to stay at the hostel where the guy had approached us on the boat. He wasn't a pushy as others and was very laid back in his approach. We were able to watch DVD's (as they had a huge library of copied DVD's - standard her in Brasil) and the breakfast were good. Cake, Fresh fruits, breads and spreads, coffee or Tea. The usual sort of breakfast that people have here in Brasil.

This was our daily routine. Get up, have breakfast. Walk to the beach of the day, sunbake, swim, eat, sleep, sunbake...I think you get the idea. It was a very tranqual life. We also went on boat cruises to various parts of the island to see some of the natural attractions. Some I would reccomend to others and some I would not. Even the locals were saying that some were not value for money and when they say it, it must be bad. I think it was one of the most restful weeks I have had here in Brasil. How much more restfull can it be, sitting on a beach watching the world go by? Hopefully the photos can show some of the sites and delights I had on the island. I had never really enjoyed the beach in the past, but as I didn’t get burnt, I think that my attitude may just have changed. Mind you, it was winter and not summer...

I also saw loads of wonderful sunsets, which got even better every day. It is even better when you are sitting by the beach eating freshly cooked fish and chips, while watching the sun go down. It was great!

This is me standing next to a palm tree on the island. Yes I am only a dot next to it... I think that this tree must have been planted when the church was built. The church is about 300 years old, so my guess is the tree is something similar, only because of its size.

Alright, I am a few weeks behind now on my blog page. I think it is eight, so I will have to just skim over the events of the last few weeks and just give the main details and not the little funny stories that go with them. This looks like it is becoming a common theme…

OK!

Brasilia

After the national park, I stayed with a friend of mine in Brasilia. Her name is Mylana and I met her in Sydney through my friends there. Anyway, I returned from the national park and managed to get dropped off at her apartment by the driver, who was a really great guy to do it for me. I would have been completely lost if he hadn’t.
I went to church that night with Mylana and her flat mates, Jacki and her cousin Danni. Three great girls. Mylana translated the message for me and I really felt God’s presence. The next day was one of the funniest I have had in Brasil. Asking a lady for directions to the tourist information centre in three languages, English, Spanish and Portuguese and getting nowhere was just the best. She still didn’t understand me, but I think that has to do with bad pronunciation and the lack of vocabulary. When I pointed to the security guard, it was like someone had turned her lights on… No doubt I will tell it many times… but it is funnier to Portuguese speakers, who understand English. It looses something in the translation.

I also met one of Mylana’s friend’s, Dario. I stayed at his house for the rest of the week. The joke there was that I went to the Bahamas every time I went to Dario’s place… That was the name of his apartment block. I think that we hit it off right away. However, Dario being a policeman meant that I had to hit it off with him or end up in goal… joke. We would chat in the morning before he would go to work and I would walk the streets of Brasilia. People her could not believe how much I walked around town. I walked everywhere and saw just about all the sights within the centre of town. I had to walk to the observation tower 3 times and 3 times I was unable to go up and take photos for various reasons. On the 4th visit, Mylana, Dario and I all went up and it was worth the effort. All in all my time in Brasilia was great. I started to branch out on my own and started to use the very poor Portuguese that I have picked up. I struggled, but it was a good test to put myself through.

I said my goodbyes and caught the bus to Goiania. A town about 2-3hrs away, where my friend Caroline lives, she was the girl from the plane.

Goiania.

Things here didn’t start off well. I was a little late on the bus and had written down the wrong mobile phone number. After calling the wrong number and chatting to some random guy for 5 mins, I hung up and went and found an internet café and realized my mistake. I called Caroline and arranged to be collected. I think I caused her to be late to a meeting in Caldas Novas that night. She was to have a meeting at 6, but we didn’t get there until 7:30… my bad. Anyway the 2 hr drive to Caldas gave us a chance to get to know each other a little better.

Once we arrived, Caroline told me that we were off to visit her parents in Uberlandia the following day. Ohhh, just another place to visit, here in Brasil. Uberlandia is about another 2 hrs south of Caldas. I had a great time talking with Caroline’s family and her parents were really interested in my photos from East Africa. It turns out that Caroline’s father is the pastor of a local church in Uberlandia. I even went to church with the family on Sunday and Caroline translated for me… I think that is becoming a common theme here in Brasil and I really do appreciate it. We went out one night and I met some of her friends from Uberlandia, which was great. We also went to a local bare called "The London", which I think was one of the worst night outs I have had for some time. The venue was great and the setting was good too, just the music was shocking. I think that they need to re-think their choice of bands. Even Caroline said it was bad.

We returned to Caldas Novas, where I spent most of the time sitting in a hot pool. That is what Caldas Novas is famous for, hot water springs. We also chatted and walked the local parks and really started to form a good friendship. It was a very relaxing time for me and it was something that I think I needed and that is why I think God brought us together. The same attitude was taken to Goiania. I think I just enjoyed my time walking around parks and shopping centers. Quite relaxing, even if you do order one thing and get another at Bob’s Burgers and then try and explain to them that you have received the wrong item. Meeting Caroline’s friends in Goiania was great too. I even got to chat in English with some of them. Most people here understand English and can speak a little, but a nervous to do so. We went out one night to do a bit of ‘Forro’ (pronounce foho) dancing. Forro is a traditional dancing style from the north of Brasil and of course you need to be close to your partner, or it doesn’t look good at all. I had never done it before, so I got a few quick lessons and in no time, I was strutting my stuff on the dance floor. I wasn’t that good, but at least I was giving it a go.

I had a great time with Caroline and I thank her for looking after me for the week. I really enjoyed being able to chat and watch movies and sit in the hot pool and talk. Very relaxing. Caroline also helped me get onto the bus to return to Brasila, which was a great help or I could of ended up in Lima, Peru.


Brasilia and Campinas

I returned to Brasilia and sent my last 2 nights at Mylana’s house. We had great fun talking and watching movies and going out with friends. It was good to be able to spend time with her and her flat mates, as I couldn’t when I was there beforehand, as they were working. I think it was one laugh after another…
The only sour note was that I was my first ever pedestrian be hit by a motorbike. For me it was bad, but I think it is a common thing here in Brasil. Dario was with us when it happened, so he jumped out and took control of the scene, until the ambulance turned up. It was the lady’s fault for crossing the street between stopped cars and not at the pedestrian lights.

I then returned to Campinas, as Ana, Alex’s Mum was returning to Chile in a few days time, for a little while and then onto Australia. I wanted to return to say goodbye and wish her the best for her travels, in person. I think it is nicer to do these sort of things in person. It was a tranquil week, spending it with Karen (Alex’s wife but you should know that now), Danny, the cousin from Chile and of course Ana. I guess it was just a matter of trying to spend as much time with someone before they leave, as you don’t know quite when you will see them again. It was a bit of a strange week, as I think with Ana leaving, it made me think of Family and friends in Australia and other places in the world yet to go to on this trip.

Karen and I drove Ana to the Airport and said our goodbyes. It left us both with a bit of a hollow feeling, but that was soon fixed by buying chocolate in gridlock traffic and driving up the emergency stopping lane, just to get closer to our exit. I think we had fun doing this type of activity. Karen said it was the first time she had driven the emergency stopping lane. We went to her friend, Carol’s apartment in Sao Paulo, where Alex came too and we all had Noodles for dinner. We got back late to Campinas, so I stayed at Karen and Alex’s place. Only to miss out on collecting my suitcase from Karen’s sister’s house, as no one was home for the weekend and I was going to be staying at Karen’s other sister’s house. This makes for a funny story.


Vinhedo

Alex and Karen dropped me off at Natasha’s house where we had lunch. I was to stay there for the weekend. However, as I said, I had no change of clothes, as my suitcase was at Lorena’s. I didn’t even have a toothbrush with me, so Alex gave me his new one he was taking away with him for the weekend. Well I managed to survive the weekend without a change of clothes. I just washed them at night, so they would be ready in the morning. Mind you, I only had a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, jocks and a pair of thongs (flip-flops, for the non-Australians). I got a little cold at night. It made for a laugh when Natasha asked why I hadn’t changed my clothes.

Going to church on Sunday night was even funnier. It was all hands on deck to work out what Leigh could wear to church. I ended up wearing the following.
T-shirt from Luis (Natasha’s Husband)
Jeans from Danny about 2 sizes to small
Socks from somewhere
Shoes from Victor (Natasha’s eldest son)

The only thing that was mine, I was wearing was my jocks. I didn’t really want to wear anyone else’s jocks… it’s a personal thing.

I think that these sorts of stories just add to the fun of traveling and you look back on them with a smile. I know that I will.

On the Monday, Natasha drove me to Lorena’s house, where I was able to get access to my suitcase and get a clean change of clothes. It was also the same day that I was to travel to Ilha Grande with Andrea, one of the girls from the group that went to the National Park north of Brasilia. I first had to catch the bus to Sao Paulo.

National Park - Chapada dos Veadeiros
Sao Jorge, Goias (Brasil)

This was the first week that I spent travelling by myself in Brasil. I had left my comfort zone and entered the real world of Brasil, well sort of… Going to a national park like I did is not an everyday thing for Brasilians. Ok, the national park is about 250km north of Brasilia, the capital of Brasil. It has the same sort of beginning as Australia’s capital, Canberra. Sorry for people out there who thought it was Sydney. It is surprising how many people from outside Australia think that Sydney is Australia’s capital. Anyway, Rio was Brasil’s capital until about 50 years ago, when the President of Brasil, at the time, Juscelino Kubitschek or JK to the locals, decided to move the capital to the centre of Brasil and build a city from nothing. Basically it is the same idea as Canberra, after the capital was moved from Melbourne. OK, enough of the history lesson… I flew into Brasilia, with Guiletta (Lorena’s friend) and where we were met by the tour operator and other members of the group. Quick introductions and we were on our way to the park, some 3hrs drive away. The countryside is so dry here and it reminds me of being around Swan Hill, never ending paddocks of dry grass with the occasional hill and valley. I think it is beautiful country, but many here don’t like it as it is to dry. Here is a map of the state of Goias, showing the Federal District and the National Park to the north.

The week was full of fun and I think that I have seen enough waterfalls to last me for some time now. That said, I am planning on seeing one of the world’s biggest and best, Foz de Iguaçu. (The Iguaçu Falls, for the English speakers reading this…). Being the only non Portuguese speaker in the group, I had a bit of trouble understanding what was going on, but it is surprising the number of people who can speak English in Brasil. All in the group could, I think even those who said they couldn’t speak English, could still say a few words. However I managed to get by and even managed to understand what was being said about the plants and landscape at by the end of the week. It is amazing how much your brain will understand, when put to the test. Some in the group thought it was very funny when I started taking off the tour guide. I hope that you enjoy the photographs of me either in or next to water.

While at the National Park, we stayed in a small village called Sao Jorge. Now SJ has a constant population of around 500 and most of the time they are either in 1 of 3 states… 1. working in a local shop or acting as a tour guide (working), 2. Sleeping off the effects of No.3. and the last state of 3. high on the wacky tabacky… They are an “alternative lifestyle” community. About the only sane ones in the community are the Bomberios (Firefighters and Lifeguards from the Park, as they have to be switched on.) That said, it was a lovely little town with dirt roads, small restaurants that catered for a maximum of 20 people and little hotels and not to mention the small craft market. They also had a musical festival while we were there, but I think the local acts were a little off key and they went late into the night, which meant I caught up on sleep next to the pools… what a life…

During the week we had a standard routine of getting up, breakfast of cake and coffee and various fruits and fresh fruit juice. (I left the bread, cheese and ham alone, but the breakfasts here are just great. After breakfast it was on the road or should I say track. We would walk for a couple of Km’s, take a few photos of ourselves, waterfalls, plants, etc. and then all jump into a natural pool in the river for about an hour. This would be repeated 3 or 4 times per day and by the end I was just about running between pools, as it was so hot and the pools were so refreshing. I didn’t get sun-burnt either and this photograph shows why… Stupid Gringo…hehehe

Enjoy the photos, as they tell you more than I could.

My traveling group...

After the wedding – Week 2
Campinas (Brasil)

Alex and Karen returned from their honeymoon and we were treated to a session of viewing photos from their time away. Very nice. It is very tropical in the north of Brasil, somewhere I think I would like to visit. I think seeing the photos made it more clear to me that I should go, if I get the chance. We, as in Nashi plus Sophie, E with Victoria and Michael, Lori, Alex, Karen, Daniel and I (maybe one or two more), also spent time at a small village near Sao Paulo, called EMBU. It is a small artest village, where there are loads of stalls, arts and crafts and of course food and drinks. We also spent an afternoon at a doctors resort near Campinas, where we swam, played tennis and just chilled out. It was a lot of fun.

What else did I do for the week….

I was staying at Paulo and Lorena’s house and it was a full house. There were people everywhere. Alex and Karen were downstairs, as a few more things needed to be done at their apartment, Ana in one room upstairs, Daniel and I in another and the three boys wherever they could find a place to sleep. It was a very multi-cultural house, people from Brasil (of course), Chile and Australia. Fun times… I think I was the butt of most of the jokes, as I didn’t quite understand what everyone was saying. We also went out for Ice-cream and it was great. Yoy take a bowl and help yourself to as much ice-cream as you can eat. The catch is, you pay by the weight, which is a typical way of paying for food here in Brasil. That said, it was fantastic ice-cream.

I was introduced to a friend of Lorena’s, who was travelling to the north of Brasilia, the capital of Brasil, for a week to go walking in a national park. I was asked if I wanted to go, I was given 10 seconds to think, like the TV show Temptation (Aussie viewers would know what I mean). I think I even heard the chime sound. An answer was given and I decided to go. Get out and see a bit more of Brasil. It is just a little bigger than Australia in land size, so there is a lot to see here.

We also celebrated Andrea’s birthday. (Andrea is Karen’s sister, one up from her). It was a lovely night at the folk’s house and Rogerio, Andrea’s fiancée did a wonderful effort of organising things. He made it a very special night for everyone and the food was great. I think that this is typical me, always remembering the food that I ate. They make these fried cheese balls, which are just delicious. If you ever get the chance to eat them, you must, even if you are on a diet. However, be warned, once you start eating them, you can’t stop... take it from me…

I also organised my trip to Brasilia with the travel agent, all in very bad Portuguese. So now it's off to Brasilia.

After the wedding
Campinas (Brasil)

Alex and Karen were on their honeymoon and I was able to spend a bit of time with Paul, Danni, Natalia, Papi and the boys before they were to return to Chile. Brasil was playing Chile in the soccer, Copa America, which is a very good competition. You have all of South America playing, plus all of North America. It is a very good competition. So we went to a local pub to watch it and had fun giving and taking banter from some locals, who were supporting Brasil, of course. It was good fun, even if I did struggle to understand what people were saying.

I also had to do some work at Alex and Karen’s Apartment. Someone had fixed the plumbing for the upstairs apartment’s shower and never repaired the hole in the ceiling. A hole about 50cm by 60cm in size and right in the corner, which makes it harder to repair. I had spent a bit of time with Alex buying some items to repair the hole and Karen’s sister, Lorena, had a few other bits, so in total we should have had it covered, but as always, there was a few key items missing, which always makes a job harder to finish. Not to worry, Daniel, Karen’s cousin from Chile, gave me a hand to get things going and after a day or two, we had the majority of the hole fixed. Here is Daniel and I working.

I even managed to get out by myself and go for a walk around the local park, called Parque Taquaral. It is a bit of a tourist attraction for Campinas. Apparently they have big rat like animals (they have a special name, but I don’t know what it is) that live in the park, but I haven’t seen any, so I don’t have any photos. I enjoyed my walk, as it gave me time alone to think and ponder life. It was also the first time that I had been alone in Brasil and I really enjoyed the space. I had a wonderful time walking along the paths, seeing people running, walking, talking and sharing a kiss or two. There was even a homeless guy, who wanted to have a chat with me. I think that the people here know the dangers that could fall upon a gringo, but I think I know when to walk fast and when to shut up.

So all up, it was a bit of a quiet week. I even went to Sao Paulo for a day visit but I think I would have preferred to stay in Campinas and relax. Go and have coffee with new friends, instead of going to a big city of something like 15-20 Million. Ohhh Yeah, I even went out and ate FROG!!! I think I may just be the first in my family to eat frog. I can tell you that it is a mixture between Chicken and Fish. (I just kept saying, it's only chicken...)

Wedding - Campinas (Brazil)

Yes, I have been a little slack with my Blog updates. So all you people out there who are complaining that you haven’t received your latest fix of El Mundo de Leigh, well here it is…

The Wedding… What a wonderful day/night. We had gone through rehearsals about 2 hrs before and things were starting to shape up. I was partnered with a friend of Karen’s from University, whos name is Gabi. The photo here is of her and I at the end of the ceremony. We didn’t say much to each other, as I think that both of us were freighted by the language barrier, plus being introduced as the Gringo who doesn’t speak any Portuguese doesn’t help. I found out later on that she understands a little English and can say a few words her and there.

OK, less about me and more about the wedding, what it looked like and how things went.

Firstly I must state that Karen did a fantastic job at arranging everything, with a little help from those around her. Various people running garden lighting cables, wiring up BBQ houses, building platforms over pools, Wait, that was me….Sorry Focus…
The girls helped out with the tables, chairs, flower arrangements, fire poles, screens, etc… Although this picture is a little fuzzy (night shot) it gives an indication of what the scene was like.

The wedding party was large. I think that there were 10 couples, 5 on either side. On Alex’s side were his parents (Luis & Anita), Paulo and Lorena, Paul and Danni, Gabi and I and Coki and a cousin of Karen’s from Chile. On Karen’s side were her Parents, Her eldest sister Natasha and her husband and 3 friends from University and partners. Her other sister, Andrea and her brother Alex performed musical items. They are all very talented. It was a lovely ceremony, even if I understood 1 word in 10 (my Portuguese is bad, but getting better and it is a lot different to Spanish. I now understand 2 words in 10). Karen’s little nephew, Andre was the page boy and her niece, Sophie, did a little dance to Guy Sebastian’s “Angels Brought Me Here”. Being part of the Party, means that I don’t have to many photos, but I hope the ones here do justice. Hopefully if I get a few more from other sources, then I will add them to my blog.

I think that the photos of Karen and Her Father tell the story of what the night was like. By describing her dress, I would only do an injustice, so I hope the photograph tells the story. Even Alex scrubbed up for the event and looked the part. Everyone looked great and I think that everyone enjoyed themselves. I know that I did. Check out Anita (mami) and I. Typical me, am I ever serious???

It was a lovely evening and I even had to give a speech, with 5 minutes notice. I gave it in English and Karen translated for me into Portuguese. Thinking back, there were so many other things that I wanted to state, but just did not think of them at the time. Karen said that she thought what I had to say was perfect, but I know I missed a few topics that I thought were important. I met a lot of wonderful people at Karen and Alex’s wedding.
Please click on the following link for more photos of the wedding, www.akneumann.blogspot.com