December 14 - 20, 2013 - Morro de Sao Paulo, Brazil

December 14 - 20, 2013 - Morro de Sao Paulo, Brazil

On the 14th I caught the fast boat from Salvador to the island of Morro de Sao Paulo.  It was a 2 hour and 75 Reals ride to the island. Once there I was immediately in love with the place.

Once you exit the boat you walk up a hill, stop to pay the tourist fee of 15 Rs, then continue up the hill to the main square.  After the main square and over another little hill you come up to this amazing view!

The water and the sand and the view was just fantastic and I got super excited about my stay and I hadnt even found my pousada yet.

After asking a couple of people in my minimal spanish I finally found my pousada, Millennium II.  For $20 a night I got a private room and bathroom alllll to myself just 2 minutes from the beach.

I spent the first 2 days on the beach soaking up the sun and enjoying the warm water.  The first day I stayed on Segunda Praia (2nd beach) and the next day I went down to Cuarto Praia (4th beach).  The 2 are very different beaches but only about a 20 minute walk apart.

The 2nd beach has the most people with umbrellas and beach chairs everywhere.  4th beach has very few people and the water comes right up to the restaurants and hotels along the beach.  Its easy to find a patch of sand without any else in sight.


On the 17th I signed up for the island hopping tour.  We visited several different islands.

A floating bar within a natural pool about a mile from shore.

We stopped for lunch and a short hike along the beach on Boibepa island.

We visited a floating oyster shop.

Then toured some villages on other islands.

During the rest of the week I was there it rained a couple of days so I made myself comfy in the hammock and read some of my books.  I also visited the beach a few more times.

I ate seafood, Acai, Picanha, and drank coconuts and Caipirinhas!  It was a realllly great week on the beach.

December 13, 2013 - Salvador, Brazil

December 13, 2013 - Salvador, Brazil

This hostel had an even better breakfast! With eggs and sausage and fruit and cake and coffee and fresh juice! Yum!

That morning I wandered through town trying out some new street foods.

Then it was an organized city tour with some other folks from the hostel.

The hostel also has free caipirinha hour so of course I joined in on that.  Then we went to a folk show that highlighted a lot of local dances and traditions.

We also ran into a group of small kids playing drums in the street.  Cute!

Salvador has a much more Caribbean feel to it.  I also think it has less of a huge city feel and more culture to show off.  People are playing drums and doing capoeira, etc.  

December 11 - 12, 2013 - Bus to Salvador

December 11 - 12, 2013 - Bus to Salvador, Brazil

Hold smokes! I spent 36 hours on a bus to from Rio to Salvador.  Im definitely flying back to Rio.  Sheeeeeeeeeeeesh!

It started out rainy on the 11th so that was fun walking around in the rain and having to find the local bus to the big bus station, Rodoviaria.  Luckily, I arrived, mostly dry and on time.

The next two days were sooooo long.  The bus would drive 3 hours then we would stop for a food/bathroom break, then another 3 hours, then another break, then another 3 hours, then another break. FOREVER!

I made it to Salvador without incident was full of energy to explore! 

December 7 - 10, 2013 - Rio De Janeiro, Brasil

December 7 - 10, 2013 - Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Brazil requires a visa for US citizens before entry and are pretty stringent on the documentation that is needed.

I had to fill out and online application and make an appointment as the local embassy.  In my case, the Brazil Embassy in Buenos Aires.  I had to provide:
Credit cards
Bank statements from the last 3 months
And entrance and exit ticket for Brazil
My Passport
A recent photo
And proof of a hotel reservation

I was also charged 1092 Argentine Pesos which is about $182US or with the black market rate about $120US.

My flight from BA got me into Rio around 2am and after immigration, baggage claim, and taxi ride I finally got to bed around 3am.  I immediately went to sleep.  Later that morning I woke just in time for breakfast which included cakes, juices, fresh fruit,ham, cheese, bread, and jam.   This was a surprise and a huge step up from the included breakfasts in Argentina.  I then went right back to bed for a nap.

That afternoon I walked to the Copacabana beach and soaked up some sun and waves.  I had a good time checking out the local beach life.  People everywhere, people selling foot and drinks and sarongs and new swimsuits.  There were people swimming, sunning, surfing, running, skating, working out, playing the interesting volleyball game with out the use of their hands (no wonder Brazil is so good as soccer).  They were literally spiking the ball with head bumps, serving the ball with kicks, and bumping and setting the ball with feet, knees, shoulders and chests.  Impressive!

That night I met some folks at the hostel happy hour and we went out for Caipirinhas ( a local favorite) and some live music.

December 8:
A group of us went to Ipanema beach.  Just a bit bit further down the shoreline from Copacabana. After a few hours of sun some folks went to shop and Lou and I went wandering around town.

Probably one of the funniest things of the day was this!  Guess someone upgraded their couch.

After a few stops for Acai, a frozen treat made from the Amazonian Acai berry, quite tasty and healthy, I think (I hope, I ate a lot of it), we made it to the lagoon.  There were lots of people floating around in the water in paddle boat swans...soooo, of course, WE had to do it too.  Less than 10 bucks for a 30minute joy ride around the lagoon.  We made a goal of reaching the Christmas tree in the middle.  That proved to be a little more difficult than we first thought.  Not only was our swam really difficult to steer but the peddle part had no peddles just thin metal bars. So we zig-zagged our way to the Christmas tree just in time for some great sunset photos and my first view of the Christ the Redeemer Statue on the Corcovado hill.

December 9:
Today we visited the Parque Lage and climbed the Corcovado to see The Christ the Redeemer and the Bay of Rio.  It was a very steep 2 hour climb to the top.  Once there we were the only people that were sweaty and stinky and in work out clothes.  Everyone else was dressed nicely and was put together.  We just looked like bums. Hah.

The Harbor of Rio is the 5th Natural Wonder of the World that I have seen.  2 more to go!

December 10:
We stopped for Acai and then visited Lapa (a neighborhood in Rio).

The Arches:

And the stairs:

This one translates from Spanish to:  There are 3 things that can not be taken back, the spoken word, the launched arrow, and the lost opportunity.

We also went to the Botanical Gardens.  I had a lot of good laughs with my new friend Lou.