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.