Paraty
We were headed to Paraty next on the coast south of Rio which was about 1,600km away. This journey took us over 36 hours and involved a truck, 4 buses and a taxi. Brazil is too damn big to travel overland, but unfortunately for us flights were extortionately expensive given it was holiday season so we had no choice.
Le Roux and I had planned to do a three day hike along the coast from Paraty but the extended journey, heavy rain and some dodgy seafood put paid to that idea and we ended up relaxing for 2 days instead before heading to Rio. Paraty is supposedly a lovely old town with cobbled streets and nice beaches, but unfortunately the bad weather meant we really didn’t get to appreciate any of this.
Rio de Janeiro
During the 4 hour drive to Rio, the rained finally stopped and the sun came out which meant we were able to enjoy the beaches and make the most of our time in the city. Apparently it had been raining for over 2 weeks so we were really lucky with our timing. Rio is most definitely my favourite city in South America and has knocked Buenos Aires off the top spot. The sights, the location, the beaches and the buzz combine to make it a great city.
We strolled the length of Copacabana beach - all 5km!; body surfed in the waves off Ipanema beach – although I got dumped more than I surfed!; paraglided off a peak in Tijuca National Park – awesome experience with amazing views but the flight seemed incredibly short!; visited the Cristo Redentor (Christ Redeemer) – impressive but far too many tourists packed into the viewing platform; watched sunset from Pao de Acucar (sugar loaf mountain) – absolutely gorgeous evening spent watching the sun go down over Rio whilst drinking a gin & tonic with Sal & Adrian; visited the Escadaria Selaron (tiled steps) and the botanical gardens – well worth the visit: and ate some great food – our best meal on the trip so far was at a place called Zaza in Ipanema where the food was Asian/Brazilian fusion – delicious.
Ilha de Marajo
On the morning we left Rio it had started to rain again so we timed our exit well! Our next destination was Ilha do Marajo, an island off the north east coast near Belem on the mouth of the Amazon. Instead of the 55hr bus ride, we opted for the 3.5hr flight north and then the 4 hr ferry ride – far more agreeable! The island is larger than 70 of the world’s countries but most of it is inaccessible swamps. At the ferry terminal we squeezed ourselves and all our luggage into a minibus already packed full of locals and their shopping. Instead of heading straight to Salvaterra, the town where we were going to stay, it stopped off at little villages along the way dropping each person at their front door, which meant 18km took nearly 1.5 hours, but at least we were eventually dropped at our pousada.
We stayed in a little wooden cabin by the sea, surrounded by mango, cashew and various other fruit trees. Wandering around town we came across lots of ripe mangoes which had fallen from the trees in the street, so we collected and ate some – so sweet, juicy and delicious! Also wandering around town were random buffalo which the locals use to pull carts or ride, as well as to provide meat, cheese and butter. Buffalo tastes great and we had buffalo stew for dinner one night and the cheese and butter for breakfast each day.
The locals all get around on basic bicycles so we rented some from our pousada and headed out to get the boat to Soure, the bigger town across the river. The little boat was a rustic, noisy, leaky wooden thing, but it just about made it to the other side, with our bicycles tied to the roof. Unfortunately having got the bikes off the boat we discovered the Le Roux’s had a puncture and the tyre was completely flat so we weren’t going to be able to cycle around town, although the rain was torrential and my desire to be out in it was very low anyway. We had a drink in a little cafe hut by the jetty, hoping that the rain would stop. It didn’t. So in the end we made a run for it stopping under trees or porches along the way till we found a place to have an early lunch while we waited for the next boat to take us back to Salvaterra. The locals managed to carry on their business despite the weather as they had mastered the art of cycling while holding up a large umbrella! Other than observing local life, there really wasn’t much to do on the island so in between the heavy downpours we explored Salvaterra town and headed down to the beach for a cold coconut. Everywhere there were lots of the big black urubu birds that scavenge for food. Washed up on the beach was a dead dolphin and they had no qualms about feeding on it.
Le Roux has been cringing at all the terrible electrics we’ve seen along the way and the island was no different, with a crackling, sparking power cable on one road we walked down. That night we went to the little pizza restaurant across from cable, and suddenly during dinner the cable sparked a lot and came crashing down causing a power cut in all the surrounding buildings. We finished our dinner in the semi-darkness and were amazed to see how quickly the power company came out – they were there within 20 minutes with a man up the pylon working to fix it – if only things were that efficient back home!
We left the island very early the next day with the minibus picking us up at 5am and doing the reverse route collecting passengers from their homes. At the ferry jetty many entrepreneurial locals were selling the strong sweet coffee they favour and various snacks. I’ve got used to (although I don’t like it!) the ridiculously sweet coffee but some of the snacks were not so good. There was a tapioca pancake thing filled with cheese, but it felt and tasted like you were eating fabric – not good. Next I tried a solid cake like thing, and although better, it still wasn’t good. Breakfast would have to wait until we got back to Belem! We tried to have a snooze on the boat given the 4:30am alarm, but the loud engines and the incessant noisy TV made this somewhat tricky. I really don’t understand how the locals can sleep right next to the engine – I had to put my fingers in my ears just to walk past to get to the toilets!
The Amazon
The next part of our adventure was to be a boat ride down the Amazon. The first leg was 2.5 days from Belem to Santerem. Le Roux and I argued about whether we should shell out for a cabin or go for the more authentic hammock experience. After much debate and questioning of the ticket agent, I established that the boat took about 350 passengers and there were only 8 cabins which meant that there would be c.330 people crammed into the 2 small decks. My vote for the cabin won and on boarding the boat we were so relieved to have chosen the more expensive option as the hammocks were overlapping with luggage piled up underneath and every possible inch of space was filled. We wouldn’t have a got a wink of sleep what with the overcrowding and the many kids screeching and running about as we’d inadvertently timed our trip to be the end of the Christmas holidays. As we had our cabin to retreat to for some peace and quiet the journey was very enjoyable. Our cabin was small but adequate and just about fitted us and all our luggage in. The Brazilians love their air conditioning on super cool and as our AC was shared with a neighbouring cabin we couldn’t control it and this meant that although it was 30C outside, we had to use our 4 season sleeping bags to keep warm at night – crazy! There weren’t many gringos on the ferry which was surprising but made for a better experience.
The boat travelled along some narrow tributaries before reaching the Amazon proper and we got a glimpse of daily life on the river with the waterside wooden huts with jetties, long lines of washing and various animals. Families came out to see the ferry go by, and many kids paddled out their little wooden boats to meet us. Le Roux couldn’t resist buying some packets of sweets and throwing them to the kids as they battled with the wake of the ferry to reach them.
Along the way the boat docked at various towns and at each one many vendors were waiting to sell food and drinks. We were amazed at the way they threw themselves off the jetty onto our boat, leaping across gaps and clambering up the sides. Some even balanced on the old jetty supports and sold their wares from their precarious position. We tried all sorts of things including fresh juice, empanadas, nuts, fruit, cakes, cheese, icecreams, fried prawns, crisps and hot “ready meals” of rice, spaghetti, beans and chicken. Other vendors managed to board the boat while we were sailing along by paddling their boats alongside the ferry and throwing a hook over the rail. Having tied up their boat they climbed over the railings and sold whatever produce they had. A lot of the vendors were children and it looked pretty dangerous trying to attach their little wooden boats to the fast moving ferry – UK health and safety or child protection laws definitely don’t apply here!
Le Roux and I whiled away the hours onboard enjoying the scenery, taking photos, reading and playing on our computers. Some little girls were fascinated by my computer card game and befriended me. Unfortunately my lack of Portuguese meant understanding them was very difficult but with the help of my phrasebook we managed to have some semblance of a conversation. There was a cafe on the top deck but the ever present annoyingly loud, bad Brazilian music meant we took our chairs elsewhere to relax. Meals on the boat were served at very odd times at a bench alongside the hammocks overlooking the river, with lunch being at 10:30am one day!! Each meal was the same - rice, spaghetti, meat and a token bit of salad – perfectly edible but dull. Also, despite the fact that no-one had anywhere to go, the staff insisted on waking us all up at 6:30am and announcing coffee was available – a lie-in would have been nice! Although the loud pitter patter of feet as the kids ran around the deck meant that would have been tricky anyway.
The muddy red-brown water of the Amazon feels more like an ocean than a river given its width. Huge cargo ships and cruise liners plough up and down it between the coast at Belem and Manaus, 1,500km in land. In the river, along with the prawns and many types of fish, there are dolphins and we saw a number of them as we travelled along. However, apart from the dolphins, wildlife was conspicuous by its absence. We saw just a few common birds but no monkeys, caiman or any other animals, which was disappointing.
Santarem is located at the confluence of the Amazon and Tapajos rivers and due to differing speeds, densities and temperatures they run side by side without mingling for a few kilometres which is visible due to the different water colours. The town is a lot bigger than we expected, with the seafront extending for around 3km, with lots of different sized boats moored on the beach and many shops and stalls opposite.
We arrived into port at 1am and were “thrown off” the boat at 7am, so having dumped our bags in a cheapish hotel, we set out to explore the various early morning markets, of which there were many. First stop was obviously the fish market for Le Roux, where we saw many bizarre looking species. We also found a number of fruit markets, prawn stalls, a meat market, and herbs, spices and oils stalls, as well as hammock vendors and other stalls selling random household items. We happily wandered around for ages and the people had no problem with us taking photos - the fishmongers even posed for Le Roux with intriguing looking fish. Along the way we purchased various different fruits including a big jack fruit and some passion fruits. For dinner that evening we rejected yet another expensive Lonely Planet restaurant suggestion (so much for being a budget travel guide!) and headed to the pier where a food stall had been set up for the evening with various meal options. We tried a curried meat soup, a dish of prawns in a thick yellow sauce and feijoada with pork and tripe (Le Roux told me after I’d eaten it about the tripe!).
From Santarem we caught the local bus to Alter do Chao, which is a lovely little village on the Tapajos river with beautiful sandy beaches and warm clear water. The bus was an experience as we had to cram ourselves and all our luggage into an already packed bus, with sacks of rice on the floor, an icecream cart in the corner, large petrol canisters and many many bags and boxes of produce bought at the markets. The journey took much longer than the usual hour as more and more people crammed themselves into the bus, despite there being no space – it was worse than a northern line tube in rush hour! Although the bus said it terminated at Alter do Chao, the damn LP didn’t explain that the route is circular and therefore we missed our stop and were heading back towards Santarem before we realised. We had to walk back a couple of stops in the midday heat with all of our luggage. We gave up at a little bar, where we had a much needed cold drink and tried to converse with the owner about calling us a taxi. Eventually one his friends who was in the bar agreed to take us to our hostel, although he is probably regretting doing so as his gear box broke as he drove up the hill to the hostel.
We opted to camp in the hostel garden as rooms were expensive. However, the weather was not on our side and we had yet more torrential rain. I had expected rain given it was rainy season but this was not a 15 minute afternoon downpour as I’d experienced in the Caribbean – the rain just seemed to keep falling in varying degrees of heaviness all day and all night with only very short breaks. After 2 nights in the tent with a river running underneath it and us having to regularly tip puddles off the roof throughout the night, we’d definitely had enough. Everything was damp and starting to smell mouldy.
The morning of our fishing trip it was still pouring and we weren’t sure if it would go ahead, but apparently bad weather is good weather for fishing so we headed off to meet Gilberto, a friend of the hostel owner, who had agreed to take us out on his boat for 24 hours for a very reasonable price compared with other outfits in the village.
We motored out of Alter do Chao to a spot where Gilberto and his mate tried to catch some small fish with nets to use as bait, however, they only caught one fish, blaming the dolphins for eating them all – given we’d seen quite a lot of dolphins (both pink and grey ones) on the way it was plausible! The second attempt by Gilberto with the nets was slightly more successful and he caught some delicious fish which he later barbequed for dinner. The next issue we encountered was a tributary that was choked with floating reeds which caught in the propeller and caused the boat to stop. We had 3 goes at getting into the channel before we made it, with Le Roux using my snorkel and mask to help unclog the propeller. Unfortunately it wasn’t the most successful fishing trip as Le Roux didn’t manage to catch the much desired bass, but he did catch a couple of piranhas, some catfish and a large stingray, and I managed to hook a catfish – another species to add to my list!
On returning to the hostel we both decided that a hammock was more preferable than the mouldy damp tent so we rented a hammock each and Le Roux set about cleaning the tent by taking it into the shower with him. We had a better (drier!) night and having hung the tent up overnight it was finally dry and ready to be packed away again. Camping is all well and good in reasonable weather, but not in the tropics where the 100% humidity levels and continuous downpours mean everything is wet and never dries!
After 5 days in Santarem and Alter do Chao it was time to head back to the ferry for the second leg of our Amazon trip from Santarem to Manaus – a further 2 days cruising up the river. There was no debate this time regarding hammock versus cabin! As we were on the much wider Amazon proper, there were far fewer little boats and small communities along the banks, although we did dock briefly at a little town where the usual crazy vendor activity ensued – we purchased all sorts of different things having not had time to go food shopping before we boarded. On this boat we were the only gringos and therefore we were of great interest to the kids and even some adults on the boat. We made the mistake of giving some curious children a little cake each and then we couldn’t get a minutes peace from the incessant questioning in Portuguese!
We arrived in Manaus late afternoon which didn’t leave us much time to sort out various things for our proposed onward journey to Venezuela. However, after a random discovery on the internet when trying to look up buses, we discovered that although it is very wet here, it is dry season at Angel Falls and there isn’t much waterfall to look at. This revelation led to a major change of plan – we decided to miss out Venezuela entirely and to head up to Costa Rica 5 days early, directly from Manaus.
With a free day in Manaus before our flight, we visited the National Institute for Amazonian Animals (INPA), where we saw manatees, otters, turtles, squirrel monkeys and caimans. It was the first time I’ve seen manatees and they seem to me to be a cross between dolphins and hippos. They are very graceful despite their size, and use their side flippers a bit like legs, half walking on the bottom of their pool. The monkeys were so cute with a couple of them having babies clinging onto their backs. The young monkeys were enjoying a bit of rough and tumble on the roof of the cafe and it was funny to watch them fight and play with each other. One of the staff gave as some banana to feed to the monkeys and after one stole mine very quickly, Le Roux held his piece tightly and the monkey peeled and ate it right out of his hand!
Brazilian Food
In the 40 odd days we’ve been in Brazil we’ve tried a variety of national dishes – some good, some not so good!
- The classic Brazilian meal consists of plain boiled white rice, boiled spaghetti, fried chicken/fish/beef, feijoada (black beans) and a token bit of salad, all covered with farinha (crunchy fried yukka crumbs). It’s not particularly flavoursome and gets pretty dull having the same food all the time.
- The abundance of fresh tropical fruit is great and we’ve eaten heaps of lovely mangoes, passion fruits, pineapples among other things, as well as drunk lots of healthy fresh juices.
- Across South America there have been many icecream parlours in every town, but in Rio there were vast numbers of frozen yoghurt shops, much to my delight. We tested all sorts of flavours, toppings and sauces – delicious and a little bit healthy!
- Acai, a bitter dark berry, is a Brazilian favourite as either a drink or a frozen dessert. It was ok, but I’m not quite sure what all the fuss is about, although it is supposedly very good for you.
- Sugar is most definitely overused as everything is ridiculously sweet even for my sweet tooth. The coffee is the worst - you honestly couldn’t dissolve any more sugar in the coffee – it literally coats your teeth as you drink it. They also drink fizzy drinks in huge quantities and eat cake for breakfast – it’s no wonder a lot of them are somewhat squishy!
- The Brazilians’ other favourite thing is “salgados” – deep fried or baked snacks made from pastry or bread, filled with cheese and or meat, which are available from every little store, cafe or street vendor. Some are tasty but none are remotely good for you. Not a vegetable in sight!
- The national drink is Caiprinhas – like Mojitos but with no mint and cachaca instead of rum. They serve them very strong and I have to admit to preferring mojitos.
Summary
We’ve spent more time in Brazil than any other South American country, but I have mixed feelings about it. It is a massive place and is also very expensive, which makes travelling on a budget pretty tricky. The overland distances are such that it takes days to get to places, unless you fly, which is pricier. Having said that we’ve seen some great things in Brazil – Iguazu Falls, Rio and the Pantanal being particular highlights. The friendliness of the people has struck us both and despite the language barrier the locals have been very welcoming and helpful. Overall an interesting place, but I’m not sure I’ll come back, apart from to visit Rio again.
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