THE GRAND ISLE

Ilha Grande.

The Grand Isle... okay. It really means The Big Island in Portuguese, but it was more than just big. It was Grand! (And it's pronounced Eel-ha Graan-ge too).

This is where I end my  trip. 3 days in paradise. The island is only a 2 hour drive and a 45 minute boat ride from Rio, but it might as well be a world away. (Other than the distant smog seen at sunset drifting out over the ocean). It was once a leper colony. Then the home of two prisons. As a result there is very little development. There's no roads. Only trails. You either walk or take a boat around the island. Which at one point I heard had 903 km of coastline. (Which seems like WAY to much for it's size. So maybe I heard wrong). There are a couple of villages, and over 100 beaches, ranging in size from a few dozen meters to curving away into the distance. Supposedly it has one of the top 8 beaches in the world... I was determined to find out.

I arrived in the late afternoon to Che Legarto Hostel. I booked online. It has a common area deck over the bay. That's cool. It has rooms that look out at the ocean. Cool too. I didn't get one of these. I got an 8 bed dorm on the side of the house that had no space and a tiny bathroom and no view. By the time it filled with 6 boys the first night it was uncomfortably crowded and filty. (4 were guys from Dallas, TX. Yep. Travel all the way around the world to hang out with Texans.) By the second night 2 girls from Argentina were added. When I first saw them their expression was just like mine: This place is disgusting and way to small. Where do I go?

The hostel never cleaned the bathroom even though we asked. And keep in mind in South America you put your poopy toilet paper in a bin by the toilet. You don't flush it.

After two nights, for my final night, I moved on to a kick ass Pousada with my own room for the same price. And I thought: I can not BELIEVE I haven't had my own room in 23 days. That's not how I usually travel. I like to have some ME space to regroup and rest. I think the continuous dorming has worn on me a bit.

On top of the crappy room Che was filled with wifi addicts and flashpackers. It's so depressing. (more on that in the next and final update).

BUT... Fear not! I got out and saw it! The Grand Isle!

Day one I went for a hike to Lopes Mendes. (Yep, with S and not Z. Spanish is Z. Portugese is S.).
The hike was 7 km. No mention of the fact it went up about 1500 feet to start with. Given my still unhealthy bronchitis condition, this was a bit of a push in the hike department. But I was so tired of NOT getting what I wanted for the last week, of having to curb my adventures that I said: "I don't care if it takes me all day and I see the beach for 10 minutes before I have to get on a boat to come back, I am finishing this hike."

And once I got to the top, and had a beautiful view across the straight the the endless coastal mountains, things started to get good. My versions of the song "Pompeii" and "Wake me up" kicked on in my head, and I bound down the jungle path with a new feeling. A good feeling. Because it occured to me, that strangely, most of the trip was guided. That this was one of the few solo adventures, where it was all me. Even when I was with Devin, because he had arrived first and had been to World Cups before, I let him lead us to destinations, start most conversations and such. In the Pantanal and Bonito it was ALL guided. all controled. And in Rio, the game and night in Lapa was with Kim who spoke Portugeuse, and then the tour of Rachina. So basically... this was all a very safe trip. And that's now how I generally like to do things. It's really strange that it took this whole time for me to truly get my "see legs". Being sick didn't help.

At the bottom of the slope was a beautiful beautiful beach. A dozen people or so on it. A little shack of a place to eat. I decided to have lunch and take a dip and drink from a coconut. I could have stayed here all day...

But Lopes Mendes awaits!

So I hiked through the jungle to another beach! Still not the destination. But totally beautiful.

On through more jungle. This path had many people on it, going the opposite direction. Hiking from Lopes Mendes back to the water Taxi's to take them home for R$25.

It wasn't long before I heard the surf and came through the trees to the curved stretch of sand. Rocks at one end. Palm trees all along the back. A few stands to buy a drink or rent a board. A good number of people. It was wonderful.

I sat down and nearly dozed off. Bronchitis sure has taken me out. But I wandered out into the water, only stomach deep, as I would cough wildly if I went all the way in. I left my stuff on the sand. No one bothered it. The water was like LA in the summertime. The temperature was like LA in the spring and fall. Not bad at all. (In the summer it's REALLY hot in Ilha Grande).

I sat on the rocks and watched the waves come in. I watched the beach clear of people. I never saw a single boat come to pick anyone up. I enjoyed the peace and quiet. The ocean. The waves... and thought: I'm not getting stuck here and having to walk back. There's only about 6 other people on the beach, I better go.

I walked off the rocks and up to the final 3 people... and it was 3 cool guys from my hostel! So we walked out together, and got on the last boat back to town.

It was a 20 minute, sunset boat ride around a perfect tropical island. The waves were low. The sun glowed orange off the water. The dark green trees loomed perfect all around us. Trust me, it's Paradise.

One of the guys from the hostel said it was the most beautiful boat ride he's ever been on...

The next day I spend on a round the island, all day boat tour. It was great. Got to see many other wonderful beaches. Ones with natural pools, one with a big rock I just HAD to jump off of. Despite mad coughing fits when I hit the cold water.  :)  Surfing beaches. Snorkeling beaches. The boat ride was a blast. I met two kick ass German guys, an Israeli gal and a Belgian gal. All super cool. We had dinner that night and even did some dancing in town. Where a guy on an accoustic on a tiny outdoor stage played Brazilian songs, as well as classic dance hits. Even a Portuguese version of "Another Brick in the Wall". Great fun.

My final day was hanging with Belgium on a short trek through the jungle and a day on a nice beach. Frisbee. Lunch. Swimming. Good chats and travel stories. And a final water taxi ride back.

Which beach was the best? Was it Lopes Mendes? I liked Adventura better. I think it's all up to taste.

Oh, a quick mention of Martin! He's a kick ass guide I met and talked to multiple times. I wasn't able to go on any of his hikes and tours because I didn't have the energy for it, but he was a blast to talk to. He had a fabulous energy and excitement. He loves to guide and loves the island. I think if I'd spent more time there, we probably would have been pretty good friends. He's one of the great people I met on the trip from Brazil. And I feel like I always have to say his name like: "Mar-teen!"

My fairy ride back to the mainland was during yet ANOTHER amazing sunset on a slow boat. So I stood up, listened to travel music I love, watched the sun set and the Brazillian flag blow in the breeze...

Even though I only feel like I went on half a trip because of the Bronchitis, it was still a good one. And a strange one too. And that, my friends, will be the final tale in the next email…


NOTE: (5-16-15)
I can’t find any more emails. I know I never wrote “Requiem for the Backpacker” because I didn’t have the heart. (Strange that I didn’t find the courage to face my fear?).  But I’m not sure what the next story would be. I don’t think I ever wrote another email about Brasil….

Another Note:  Devin is down in Brasil right now with Nanda. :)

BLAME IT ON RIO…

Okay, you can't REALLY blame it on Rio. It's not Rio's fault. I just like that title.
After Bonito and Pantanal and sickness I headed to Rio where I.... was sick.
Yep.
Bronchitis bit me in the ass, and though I am finally FINALLY feeling mostly better, I pretty much lost Rio in the process. As I did Bonito really, even though I tried to play it down. Much of my time was spent in a cloud of fatigue and hacking up nasty phlegm. Sleeping lots and losing my voice. It made for a very lonely, dark couple of days honestly. Very dark.

I was at the Pura Vida hostel. I booked it online off the Lonely Planet recommendation. It's in Copacabana, 600 feet from the beach in an old Mansion! How cool!... kinda. It was kinda gloomy and dark. Wifi addicts sat around the lobby texting all day, and it lay at the bottom of a Favela, which meant the whole street leading up to it was really gritty. In fact, GRITTY is the word I would use to describe Rio. I know, not what you might expect. But it really is a gritty town. Now, this isn't bad by any means, but behind the very thing fascade of glamour and beaches is a whole lot of GRIT. Homeless people. Drugged out folks stumbling around. Dirty sidewalks. And that's just in the normal areas...

This isn't to say it's a pig sty. Just that it's Gritty.

Now, I met some cool folks at the hostel. Kim, Jonas and Sylke, all Dutch and all great. It led to some nice dinners and a few adventures.

Such as a MARACANA FUTEBOL match.
It was a couple of the local Rio teams, but this is like seeing a game at Wrigley Field or other classic stadiums. We were all really excited, until we arrived and stood in a 1 1/2 hour line to buy tickets which led to us missing most of the first half of the game. And we were there early!  And there were people who were in the line WAY after us. I have no idea why they were still standing there.

The game we saw was fun. The fans have lots of songs and sing and dance around. We were in the less crowded side, which was a bit of a bummer, but we made it work!

After we headed to Lapa, which is a heavy nightlife area of rio. (And realllllly gritty. Tranny hookers on the corner, some very homeless folks who have seend better days sleeping all about. Some sketchy dealings on dark corners. Oh, and the raw sewage pouring out from a drain and running down one street. That was fun!) (Jesus, it sounds like the biggest shit hole written like that. It's a lot like Bourbon Street in New Orleans. If that gives you any indication). There were some girls who wanted to hang out with us.... back in our rooms.... likely for a price. Since it only took 2 minutes of chatting to get to "Let's go back to your place", we kinda figured there MIGHT be some sort of business exchange that they were desiring. We declined and headed to a Samba club.

It was fun! TONS of energy and dancing and singing. I did the best I could with my limited energy. And I wasn't drinking thanks to antibiotics and wanting to get better. But I lasted a couple hours before I had to head home. It really is fun how much dancing is part of Brazilian life. They dance and let loose and I love it.

The Next day I slept. Rested. Talked with Skype. Slept. Bought medicine. Finally the right stuff... Amoxicillian. And I'm on the healing path.... whew. Thankfully the Pura Vida folks let me have a 4 person dorm room to myself for the last two days I was there. I really needed it. To sleep, and also to have my own space. I haven't had ANY of it since I arrived. First rooming with Devin, then all these dorms. (Normally I wouldn't do so many dorms, but the difference in price to a private room in most places is quite significant).

But all in all I didn't get to do most of what I wanted in Rio. No Sugarloaf, or museums, or really beach days. Or... or.... or... It rained most of the time I was there. I feel like I kinda of missed much of what Rio had to offer.

However, on my last day I went on a FAVELA TOUR.

To Rachina, The largest one in south America. It was fascinating. Our guide was 27 and grew up there. He told us about how in 2009 the Brazilian government began the Pacification Police Force, which is essentially what has cleaned up many of the Favela's in Rio. The thing is, it's all the ones in the South (Rio has 765 Favelas!). As in, all the ones the tourists might see, or that might affect tourists. Though you see Rio a million times on TV, you really are only seeing a small part of it. The amazing hills, beaches, lakes, bay, bridges etc. There is a huge amount of Rio that is north of the mountains that's endless sprawl. Graffitti. Run Down. Dirty. The Real Rio if you will. The divide of rich and pour is very clear.

Especially in a place like Rachina. See, in Rio back in the 50's and 60's as the migrants came from the pour rural areas of the nation seeking opportunity, there was no place for them. So the gov't said: You can build cities and homes, AWAY from the beaches. Away from the rich folk. So they built up the hills. So ironically, the best views in Rio are from the Favela's. The Slums. The Shantytowns. And MAN it has  a great view. IT's a fascinating, beautiful patchwork of totally random buildings stacked on top of each other towering up to the sky. I loved the twisting roads, the stairs and walk ways twisting between homes and shops. It's a true maze, much like the Medina's in Morocco, or Venice in Itally. But even more so. No planning. No logic. Just determination and ingenuity to build these places. That on the outside look run down and hodgepodge, but inside have wifi, bigscreen TV's and everyone has a facebook account. Because, the thing about Favela's, at least the Pacified ones, is that they aren't all dirt broke people. They have jobs, they have some opportunities, they have a community. Some of them choose to stay there because they don't pay water, electricity, property taxes. It's cheap to stay there. So some choose to. Some have no choice.

There are dangers too. There are no rules. So driving is wild. Stairs are broken and random. The sewer is an open concrete ditch that runs down the side of the hill, with houses build on and around it. So the "river front property" here means you have shit running outside (or under) your house. And MAN did it smell like.... well, you know. Also, the electrical and phone lines are just tapped in. However you want. So when it rains there are places where you get shocked because the electricity is live and open. And of course, there are drug dealers.

Now, they've lost their power in some favela's. Been forced out by the Pacifying Police Forces. (Which look like full tactical cops. AR-15's. Bullet proof vests walking in pairs around the streets). The drug dealers uesd to extort money from folks and have gang wars. Now many are gone, but drugs are still sold. Our guide told us to not take pictures in a couple different spots because that's where drugs were sold... and he even said hi to some of the dealers. They're his friends, and he hates that they won't change their ways.  In the Favela it's Marijuana and Cocaine. That's it. No Crack or Meth. Nothing that makes you lose your mind. They want repeat customers after all...

So glad I got to do the tour. It made something real that I've known about and not understood for so long. I'd've liked to see more and explore more and get to know people there, but my illness took my energy away. This will have to do for this trip.

And finally.... with the last day of the Favela tour I felt mostly better. SO I rallied with the hostel folks and headed to one of those Hostel Dance Party Nights at a club. And honestly... it was a TOTAL BLAST.
Man did I need to dance and have fun. I even said "why not!" when it came to the free Caipirinha's too!  The hostel folks were great. We met lots of other travelers, and also lots of Brazilian's too. Including some lovely ladies who danced with us all night and showed us some mad Samba moves. It was really really fun.

Perfect... now I'm mostly better..... and the trip is almost over....

Hmmm.

Ain't gonna lie, having 10 days of a 23 day trip eaten up by an illness sucked. I know these emails I show the positive side of it. But in truth, it's been a hard 10 days. Yes, I've had fun, and seen some amazing things, but I've been dragging myself through each step. Losing my voice. Spitting up phlegm. Coughing fits that hurt my stomach and caused my eyes to water up so bad I couldn't see. Having to pause going up stairs because I was so exhausted. 

Now, I don't want to be ungrateful for the fact that I'm here in this amazing place with amazing people. But when I felt as bad as I did, everything was through a fog, and it wasn't until yesterday that I finally fully woke up and came alive since the illness kicked in. It makes me a little sad that this trip will always have this huge tainted piece of it.

 But I guess that's life. Sometimes everything comes together. And sometimes the obstacles mount up, and we have to push through and keep going. Because there really isn't any other choice.

BEAUTIFUL BONITO

BEAUTIFUL BONITO.

That's redundant.
Since Bonito means "Beautiful" in Portugese.
But it is!

It's a great little "mountain town" that's not in the mountains. When
we drove in it felt like a small US town with houses and a main street
with shops. And the best part: Totally Safe. Like, leave your car
unlocked and don't lock your bike safe. As in, walk anywhere, anytime,
all alone, and you're totally safe. Love places like this.

This is the eco tourist capital of Brazil. Everything is about nature,
water, caves, waterfalls etc. It's supposedly very organized and well
run, and all of the tours are. But booking is complicated, and for
some inexplicable reason, Transport is NOT included in the price. So
you have to separately arrange transport to the attractions (some are
60km out of town). This costs a LOT, if you can't team up with people.
Or get on the "group transport" that leaves once a day and is full
weeks in advance. Most of the tours fill up, and thankfully I booked
everything days before getting here so I was able to do what I
wanted...

Except it rained. The first two days. It rained a lot. So many of the
activities close and don't operate. And last night it was COLD. Like
40 degrees cold. And wet. And no one is ready for it. No really warm
clothes. No heaters in the dorm. And of course I'm sick. So it's been
a bit of a challenge.

Today was sorta sunny. I spent the day doing the Rio De Prata, which
is a river you SNORKEL IN that is CRYSTAL CLEAR. I mean, aquarium
clear. Totally full of fish and springs that feed up through sand that
looks like something from an alien planet, churning, wild. If someone
hadn't told me it was a spring I might have had no idea what it was.

And yesterday... ABISMO ANHUMAS.
This is the king daddy of tours here, and I was lucky enough to book
it. It's limited to 18 people per day. Starts with a 72 meter (230
foot) Rappel straight down into a cave that's filled with water. On
the floating dock inside, you go snorkeling (or for A LOT more money
you can do a single scuba dive. If I were to do it again, I'd do the
scuba. I didn't because the thing already costs almost R$600, and with
scuba it's almost R$900. Now I'm not a broke student doing this, but
that is really pricey).

And it's awesome. The rappel was surreal. You lock legs with the
tourist on the rope next to you, and drop into the Abyss. The snorkel
is some alien world, lit from sun (or gloom) coming in the opening at
the top. You even get a boat tour around the underground lake (Which
like most tours in Brazil, if you don't speak Portugese, it loses a
lot of it's meaning. I did get some translation with the cool folks I
was on the tour with, but it was like that scene from "Lost in
Translation" where the guide would talk for 3 minutes, and the
translation would be something like "The cave is four million years
old". I love them for the translation, but it was pretty funny).

The thing about this, is you had to train the night before in town to
prove you could rappel. And then that you could climb out, on your
own, using an ascender on the rope. Which means you are sliding the
hand portion up, and "standing up" in the web looping, then repeating
hundreds of times while you climb up the free hanging rope to the
surface. It's pretty wild. The rope bounces like crazy and I kept
stopping to look around and think: This is nuts!

And totally awesome. The bronchitis didn't ruin that trip, but I sure
was exhausted when I got back to town. No doubt.

Well, tomorrow it's back to Rio and more adventures in the south. I
wasn't planning on writing so much. I usually like to give you a
shorter report more often, but the feeling ill and the persistance of
wifi everywhere has effected the email reports. Just as wi-fi did last
year too. There will be more on that subject later, but for now, I'm
off to visit with all my new friends one more night before I fly away
and start the next adventure.

Hope you are all well and having a fabulous summer.
CraigO

NO SLEEP TILL… PANTANAL!!!

Yep. The good old overnight bus.
Okay, they suck.

Thanks to the overnight bus last Saturday night, I'm STILL sick. Yep.
Had a cold the first day (because this lady was coughing on the bus
all night... pointing herself right at the row of seats I was in.
Really? COVER YOUR MOUTH). The cold has turned to bronchitis and I'm
hacking up phlegm on a regular basis. And naturally that stopped me
from doing anything fun, right?...

No way.

I traveled 22 hours to get to the Pantanal. And then another 5 to get
to Bonito. There's no way I'm going to skip out on things I've been
looking forward too.

So I've sucked it up, and rallied. I've visited the pharmacy here in
Bonito three times, and even though they don't speak English I was
able to get some stuff to help. And just now I started taking some
Antibiotics thanks to a nurses recommendation. If all goes well, I'll
be feeling better shortly.

As for activities...

The Pantanal is a large swampy grassland area the size of England.
Yep. England. On the western edge of Brazil. (It's also in Paraguay
and Bolivia, since, you know, Nature doesn't care about where our
borders are. :)

The purpose of a visit here is to see wildlife. Camen's. Birds of all
colors. (Some that were nearly extinct and have been reintegrated).
Piranha's. And, if you are lucky, Jaguars. (I was not lucky in that
respect). But it was fun and relaxing. I was at a Pousada (Kinda of a
Safari camp, but permanent) called Santa Clara. It's well run, has
good food, and regular tours throughout the day. (All included in the
day price). Due to my being the only 2 night person in the dorms at
that time, I was sort of forgotten about and not shown a lot of how
the place worked. But I made sure to not miss any of my activities.
The first being a night safari that left without me, so they drove me
at break-neck speed down dirt roads in the dark to catch the truck. It
was actually more fun than the night Safari. :)

The next day had a peaceful horseback ride, a peaceful swamp walk
safari, a peaceful boat ride. Basically the whole thing is really
peaceful. Wish I'd felt 100%.

And even though wildlife was the theory, I didn't feel overwhealmed by
it. But the domestic pigs in the compound that acted like dogs were
great. They even barked!

Met some cool travelers. It's been really fun, because the
Pantanal/Bonito circuit is something many people do. So folks from the
Pantanal have shown up all over Bonito, and it's allowed for some
actual traveling friendships which is nice.

Folks from Nepal, Holland, Germany, USA, Colombia, Australia, Brazil,
Brazil and Brazil.

Yep, unlike anyplace I've ever been, well over half the travelers are
actually Brazillian. Which is super fun. It's let me get to the know
the coutry a lot better. (I was told by one couple that 10 years ago
you wouldn't have seen so many Brazilian's. But the economy has been
great, and there has been a general philosophy change in the country
that travel, both within and outside of the country is very valuable
and worth doing. It's great to see.) A lot of the folks are from Sao
Paolo (Brazil's New York), but by no means all of them. They come from
big towns and small, near and far (mostly far, it's Brazil. It's
huge). It's been great. I've learned Samba dancing, various cultural
and historical things, etc.

A quick note on the food:
Brazilian food...
Burgers, Fries, Chicken, Burgers with cheese, Burgers with egg, Burgers with...
It's weird. For the first week I would have thought the whole place
ate American food. That has changed more as I've traveled more. But I
can tell you, meat is a part of nearly every meal. Which of course is
great for me, but would make it a bit tough for my Vegan friends.
Still, Pray-esh, from Nepal, is vegatarian, and he has made it work
everywhere.

So eat up!

IGUAZU VS. ITAIPU

Iguazu Falls.

Everything you've heard is true.

They are massive, magnificent, huge-normous, loud, wild, wet and fabulous. Devin and I went there our first day here in Foz do Iguazu. It was raining most of the day, but that was the day we went. And it was great. Hell, we're going to a waterfall, so if we get wet, that's cool. Ironically, that day was warmer than the next two have been, so even though it's sunny today, it would have been a much colder experience.

We took the local bus for R$6 (that's about $3USD, roughly half price! :). And then you pay for the park (R$50). We added on the zodiac ride to the base of the falls too (R$170).  Ahh Brazil, the local costs for food and buses are very good. The cost for tours is not so cheap. (More on that in a different email).

The Waterfall trail walks along the ridge overlooking the falls. We saw the first view, and it's pretty far away, and we thought "Well, that's big and cool".  We walked along the trail, and views of another set of falls appears. Closer, louder. Nice! This is great. We kept walking and there was ANOTHER set of falls, the Devil's throat, the big curve of falls you've probably seen in pictures. And here you could go out on boardwalks over the water itself. It was awesome. So much water. You can even walk right up next to the cascade and hear/feel the water blasting past you.

Now the thing about Iguazu, is the tiny part we walked out over, felt like it was enormous. And that is just a FRACTION of how big this thing is. It was awesome. Wonderful and wow.

We grabbed some lunch... and the sun came out.

So we ran back to the boardwalk area and took the killer pics of the day. Sun, clouds, rain, awesome. There was lightning and thunder too, but we didn't get any of those shots.

We then hopped the bus and headed to the Zodiac tour. Well, the last tour of the day is at 5:20pm, and we were the last tour. Just us. Of course, the sun is going down. The rain has returned. And it was a pretty wild boat ride. We even got hailed on as we blasted up the river towards the base of the falls. Thunder booming. Wind blasting past. Walls of water so thick you couldn't breath from all the water in the air. Awesome. We cheered and laughed. The guides were fabulous, they were having a blast too. I said "Let's do it again! " so we went back into the falls for more water soaking action.

Now, you don't get into the devil's throat, because it's too wild, but it was a blast.

And we were on the last bus back to the visitor's center, and then back to town. Soaked, but happy.

The thing about the park that is funny, is that half is on the Brazil side and half is on the Argentina side. And they have a pissing match about which side is better. Brazil has better views. Argentina you get closer. Brazil has more this. Argentina has more that. Is it worth going to both sides? Couldn't tell you, as it costs US Citizens an extra $160 USD to cross the border, and then you have to pay for the park. So we stuck with Brazil, and had a blast. (This also gives me something else to see if I ever make it back.) One of the big selling points of Aregentina is that you can walk out to the top off the Devil's throat on a boardwalk.... when it's there. 3 weeks ago, the water level was 30 times normal, the river was 30 meters deeper and the whole thing got washed away. As did Brazil's rafting and rappeling activities and a bunch of other stuff. One more thing that says... "Oh yeah Human's, I'm Mother Nature, and you are a guest in my house. Remember that."

Then you goto the Itaipu Dam, and see something else entirely.

The next day, we went for a "Special Tour" of the Dam. I'd never heard of it before I got here... It was only the largest dam in the world until 3 Gorges was finished in China. And Itaipu is still the biggest power producing dam in the world. It provides 75% of the power for Paraguay. And 17% of Brazil's. And Paraguay is selling 3/4 of it's power back to brazil. It's 8 km long. 600 plus feet tall, and has more concrete in it than a highway from from Moscow to Lisbon. It was built over 15 years, and frankly... is pretty awesome.

The tour takes you inside the dam, where you can see the 35 foot diamaeter pipes. Feel the water shaking the ground. Watch the turbines spin, which just one can powere 2.5 million homes. And the scale of the whole thing is inhuman (Just as Iguazu is). Everything looks like a hanger for giant robots or something. I really want to shoot a movie here.

Strangely there seems to be very little security or military presence. They never checked our ID to take the tour. There are no tanks or army garrison's or anything. It seems like a pretty important place to be so open. If this was the USA we'd have so much military might nearby to keep it safe. Well, even in Brazil, that's all an illusion. We were told that fighter jets could arrive in 4 SECONDS to shoot down anyone on approach. And that both Paraguay and Brazil have soldiers and more stationed right nearby. (The Dam is on the border and split evenly between the two countries. Technically I have been to PARAGUAY on this trip now. I walked in the country for at least 20 minutes. So... do I count that on my list? :)

Itaipu is the type of thing that says "Oh yeah Mother Nature, humans rule this planet, and can make you do what we want."

It is a fascinating contrast: One of the worlds largest waterfalls and a wonder of the world so close to one of the worlds largest hydro-electric dams and a wonder of human engineering.

Contrasts.
Sounds a lot like other parts of Brazil as well.

WELCOME TO BRASIL

Whew!  6 days into this thing and I feel like I've been gone for months. But that's the rule of backpacking after all
1 day = 1 week of normal life.

First things first: WORLD CUP MANIA!

The Fifa Fan Fest was a blast. There is one in every host city for all the games. It's a big festival with music and vendors and giant screens with the games on. It was a total blast. A great vibe and one hell of a game! We were there for Germany (Deutschland or Alamenha (?) depending on your language of choice). Devin had on a German jersey from when he saw world cup there a few years back. And as a result everyone thought we were German. Which wasn't a bad thing, as it meant we had our photos taken with no less than 30- different random groups of people from the time the game ended until we got home. After all, Germany won, and I guess that made us superstars by some connection. It was super fun.

Watching the game was exciting and full of such great energy. There were some Argentina fans there, but most of the Brazilians cheered for Germany. Every almost goal brought forth cheers and gasps. And when Germany scored the place blew up in a giant frenzy of jumping, cheering and gerneral joyous mayhem. It was fabulously fun!

And after a band played and a DJ. We met some cool Brazilian's who wanted to dance with us. Pretty much the Brazilian's love to dance, and are happy to teach you if you don't know. As people are often surprised, I have a few moves up my sleeve, so that was fun. But I definintely learned more.

Next up: ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

Yep. Zombies. Okay, no actual Zombies, but Brasilia is a gov't town, so when the weekend hits it's like a ghost town. I mean, completely empty subways. Empty streets. Was very cool.

Brasilia is an interesting town. It's completely designed and built to design, so it's clean, spacious, has wide roads and minimal traffic issues compared to other cities of 2.5 million. The archetecture is wild. Domes. Cathedrals made of all stained glass. There is one that is all blue glass and the light shines through on a giant Jesus. It really is unlike any building I've ever seen.

And also... RIO BABY!

The day after the final we flew to Rio. And I have to say..... Rio is awesome, and totally familiar. Even though I've never been there, I've seen it SOOOOO many times that it's hard to believe I haven't. The views from the mountains, the beaches, all of that is so photographed, it's crazy familiar. Reminds me of New York or London or other places that are in movies and pictures all the time.

We stayed in a house near the Christ the Redeemer statue. (Well, not the statue, but below it with views). Cris and Antonio were super nice. The view was fabulous, and it was fun to stay someplace off the tourist track. It was a real middle class neighborhood and not what I expected in Rio.

After we got in we immediately headed up to the Christ the Redeemer statue. If you've ever seen a picture of Rio, you've seen the statue and the view. It's as famous as the Statue of Liberty and.... a GIANT challenge to get to. Sure, you'd think it would be simple, and if it wasn't crowded you'd hop on an incline train and ride to the top in 20 minutes.

Instead.... 3 hours and 45 minutes. Yep. We stood in 4 different lines. First for tickets for the van to take us up. Then to take the van up. Then a traffic jam on the mountain road because of all the people going. Then a cue to buy tickets to the park. Then the grand daddy.... a 3 HOUR line to get on the van to go to the statue. (It ended up being 1 hour 45 minutes, but they told us it would be 3 hours). Our hope of seeing it at sunset vanished before we even got up the mountain. All this because the train was full for the day. We met some cool folks in line: From Austin, TX and Los Angeles. Yep. In fact, we've met 8 or more folks from Austin in a few days. It's weird.

The views are great. The statue is cool. The wind was cold.

We were the last ones off the Statue, heading back to the giant line to go down.... only the line was gone. The last bus had left. Hmmmmm. So we go over to take the Train instead, there was still a line for that. Only they wouldn't let us. They told us to pay up or walk. Even though we'd already paid. They said the vans were a different company. Now, walking down 8 kilometers or more, probably, in pitch black Rio seems like a really dumb idea, so they basically had us. Not ideal, but we paid it. Left a bad taste in my mouth, but what can you do?

A quick note: The statue is probably the worst run tourist attraction I've ever been too. And that says a lot. However, it is cool. My suggestion is to book your train ticket the day before online, then you get there 20 minutes before the train and head on up. When we told our house owners how long it took they were dumbfounded. Usually it's 30 minutes or so of lines.

And finally IPANEMA

There is a beach and a song about a girl. And I can tell you, the beach there is everything you think it is. Beautiful sand. Fabulous waves. Sandwich stands (we had Uruguayan (?) sandwiches, and Brazilian drinks while sitting in chairs under an umbrella). There are gorgous gals in tiny swim suits. (Really tiny! no complaints there!) Guys playing soccer, and just a general state of fun. The water is warmer here in the winter than LA is in the summer. And frankly... it's wonderful.

But here's the thing. I didn't enjoy it at first. Not at all. Part of it was a food thing, my eating has been soooooo far off my good diet that it's thrown my hypoglycemia off a bit. But even once that was in shape with the sandwiches, I was still tense and off... and I realized....

I have been given more safety warnings about Brazil and especially Rio than any place I've ever been. More than Kenya, Uganda, Russia, Morrocco. Any of them. And it's made me paranoid. Freaked out to keep my stuff safe, to keep myself safe. It's basically made me think everyone is going to steal my shit and knife me. And I can tell you: It's all bullshit. It is. Everyone I've met is wonderful. Every place I've gone has felt safe. Everyone I've talked to feels the same. This is a beach, just like any beach in any big city. If you leave your camera out, it'll probably get stolen. But if you stay smart, you will be fine.

Now, I'm not saying bad stuff can't happen in Brazil. It can. It has to people. Sometimes its because they are stupid and walk around with an expensive camera in the ghetto. And sometimes it's bad luck. But keep your wits about you, and don't walk down dark alleys alone at night... just like you would in any big city anywhere in the world... and you'll have a blast.

Once that clicked, I hit the water. I splashed in the waves. I had a blast. Sure, we made positive our little bit of stuff was watched by a friendly neighbor or one of us. But it was no problem at all. We even walked the beach at night... they say NEVER DO THAT. Except, it's completely lit up, bright lights on every inch. And people are all around. It's really fun and really great. Brazilian's are really fabulous people. Yes, just like anywhere there are some bad eggs, but for the most part this is a country full of wonderful vibrant people. Awesome!

CraigO

GOAL!!!! -- or I'm in Frickin' Brazil!

Hi Team!

That´s right, a new adventure has begun. This time: Brazil!

(There will be a number of these travel updates over the next three weeks, so as always, if you´d rather not hear tales of fun, travel, and adventure please let me know and ~I´ll take you off the list. But if you enjoy them... read on!)

I indeed did come for the end of the World Cup. It took a lot of work to get here, much more than I~ve had for the last few trips, but thankfully it worked out and I~m here in Brasilia (captial of Brazil) where last night Devin and I went to see the 3rd/4th place game between Brazil and Netherlands. It was AWESOME! So exciting to be here. The spirti in the stadium was fabulous. Our seats were great thanks to our friends Olga and David who had extra tickets they sold us. It was really a great moment. Especially to share it with one of my best friends, Devin, who is a big time Futbol fan and someone I love to travel with, even though we haven~t had a chance in quite some time to do so. But here we are! And this is our first international trip together. So far so good...

Today we~re going to catch the Fan Fest of the Final here in Brasilia. To get to Rio would have cost us a lot...

and i~m about to run out of time on the internet, so this will have to continue soon!…..