The Cold and Windy Road to Bolivia

And so my travels begin!

Starting with Iguazu Falls, largest waterfalls in the world, bordering Brazil and Argentina. I think my highlight was "showering" under one of the many falls.

Off next to Salta, Argentina. Steak. TICK. Malbec. TICK. Tango. Not so much, save that for next time. I also visited the nearby valley and gorge, absolutely stunning! Nat joins me and off we set into Bolivia.

BIEN VENIDOS..............al FRIO! oh my, was it cold when we reached the border town of Villazón and the high altitude definitely hit us hard! Walking 10 steps and then having to sit down to breathe doesn´t do any good for your self -esteem! Surely I´m not this unfit?!

Getting train tickets was a nightmare, welcome to Bolivian public transport. 2 gringas squashed into seats that are meant for 1 is not comfortable... especially when there´s a drunk man trying to flirt in quechua, breathing his breathe all over us. Laavely.

Football fever

Brazil. World Cup 2010. Wow. I don´t think there´s any other country I would have rather been in, well, perhaps Argentina.

First, work is cancelled during game hours and after... you can`t work whilst drunk can you!?
Secondly, the transport is stopped, the roads are blocked and the stage is brought out.
Thirdly, the streets become flashes of yellow and green.

Ready for the gaaaaame! The streets crowd with brazilians, gringos, children and adults. The cars are tooting, the crowd are shouting and beeping and whistling and singing. The noise is incredible. The atmosphere is addictive and literally crawls under your skin. You don´t dare support another team. If the Brazilians can get that excited about football, I imagine they can get pretty angry too.......

The game starts and as soon as one of the stars shoot and scores.................


GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

People grab each other, throw their beer into the air with exhaltation, jump around, dance hand in hand. A happy moment.

If Brazil wins, the street erupts into song and dance. And for the next 3 hours you`re dancing in the rain, not caring for one second because the football madness has possessed you and you are officially ADDICTED.

FORÇA BRASIL!

Your biggest fan,

Beijos

Bang Bang He Shot You Down...

Being in Brazil I presumed that sooner or later I would experience many movie-esque events, such as: a shooting, a car chase, a mugging with a gun pointing at my head, drug using.... Out of that list, I have now experienced a mini shooting and luckily I was no where near enough to be hurt. The others, well, I´m doing my best to stay out of trouble.


Quietly sitting enjoying our Subway sandwich (so perfect when you´re ever so slightly hungover), watching the world go by and we hear a series of bangs. This is not uncommon in Brazil, I hear shots being fired pretty much everyday but normally it´s kids playing with those annoying bangers or part of the Candomblé ceremony. This time however, the bangs were louder, there were more of them and there was a lot of shouting and screaming. Moment of confusion and terror when we see people running towards us to take shelter in Burger King, where we were sitting. Across the road from us is a huge white church, the first Apostolic Church in Salvador and there’s a lot of commotion going on there. Has someone been shot in the church or outside? Where are the police? What the hell is going on? We were intrigued, our hearts and adrenalin pumping at all this excitement so we ventured a little closer to figure out what was happening. (Yes, not the safest thing to do but human curiosity wins). The police arrived and there was more shooting. There’s a chase behind the buildings and then everything goes quiet. Bang.



The traffic continues as normal, the people return to their daily business and off we go on our weekend trip. I looked for news about what had happened and there was nothing. Apparently this was a tiny event and one of many in a day, too insignificant to be mentioned.





When I told this story to my Brazilians friends most of them replied with: "Bem-vindo ao Brasil Sarinha".


Your biggest fan,

Beijos

Hugs and Kisses all around

I work as a volunteer at ICEC (Instituto Central da Cidadania) where 100 kids from one of the poorest favelas in Salvador, go when they don´t have school; that being in the afternoon or the morning. Why do they only go to school half the day? NO money honey and corrupt governing means that the money that Brazil does have doesn´t go the right places.

These kids are ADORABLE. I am falling in love, of course. I teach them IT (how ironic given my love of computers....) and they love it. For them this centre offers them the opportunity to play, learn new things, get fed and washed and most importantly, stay OFF the streets.

I feel so lucky to be a part of it and give them as much love as they give me. I find it fascinating how some of them learn very quickly how to use a computer and others very slowly. All have a high level of reading but most of them can´t write very well or maths.

They come from tiny shacks which house their whole family, 4-6 people at times. Some of these kids have experienced things that I will never experience in my life. Some have seen some horrific things yet they continue to smile and laugh.

Laugh, laugh, laugh.

Smile and be happy because You CAN.

Your biggest fan,

Beijos

Cling for DEAR LIFE.

Taking a bus in Salvador is life risking. No exaggeration. I don´t think the bus drivers or other drivers understand the concept of breaking, slowing down when you see a car or taking precautions. I personally think they drive with their eyes closed and pray for the best…..

It´s all an experience living abroad and I do enjoy these mad journeys but sometimes I genuinely think I won´t see tomorrow. For example, last week, a car swerves in front of my bus and CRASH. We go flying forward. “Did we kill someone?!” asks my neighbour.. No…. we just smashed in the back of a Ford. Get off the bus for 10 mins, exchange details, scream at each other and off we go again….

Another fun experience is when the buses are so full that the doors are kept open. It feels like you´re being squashed by a sumo wrestler as loads of people pile on top of each. To get off you whack about 10 people in the head, arms, legs and make sure you get to the front way before your stop otherwise the bus continues.

Patience? Doesn´t exist. It´s all about the beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

Hop those islands

On a brighter note, Bahia also boasts beautiful beautiful places. In particular, its islands! There are 56 islands dotted around the bay and yesterday we hopped on a tour boat and visited two of them.

I took a pill to help with seasickness....... one of the side effects? Drowsiness.....! So there I was, attempting to enjoy my boat trip and instead, falling asleep EVERYWHERE. I did get up to dance samba, in front of the whole boat..... a possible other side-effect = delusional?! Ha.
I fell asleep in the cabin at one point and was woken up by the musicians standing over me, wondering what this strange creature was doing sleeping instead of taking advantage of the beautiful scenery... Damn that pill!!

Islands visited:

Ilha dos Frades (Monk island) = 70 inhabitants, beautiful beach, run-down church and mango trees!! You know you're in Brazil when you can pick up mangos from the floor and eat them without a care in the world. YUM!














Ilha de Itaparica = 70,000 inhabitants, beautiful beaches! Horse riding on the beach, delicious lunch and siesta in a hammock. Perfect afternoon.

Your biggest fan,

Beijos

Facing realities

In my opinion, Brazil is the most diverse country in the world, in relation to it's people. How can it not be when during its colonization, various countries imprinted their mark on Brazil - the portuguese, the dutch and the french, as well as the african slaves that were brought in to do their dirty work. So today, Brazil is a rich mix of all types of backgrounds. There isn't a stereotypical Brazilian as anyone who is dark, blonde, ginger, white, tanned can be brazilian!

Bahia is made up of 80% Afro-Brazilians and 20% White-Brazilians. The descendants of these african slaves are a majority, yet they are the ones who suffer the most. When you walk around the city, you don't see a white boy up to his eyeballs on crack, you see a tiny afro-brazilian boy. When you go to cidade baixa, where the tall, beautiful colonial houses have been left to rot and are illegal to inhibit, you don't see white folk pouring their money into saving these buildings, but afro-brazilian women prostituting themselves and crack addicts sheltering in these broken down houses. The distribution of wealth in this city is so un-just yet no-one complains, no-one wants to make a difference. Everyone accepts that's the way it should be.

When I see a tiny boy or girl, begging for 20p to be able to go and get some crack, my heart breaks. Instead of giving them money, if I have food I offer them that. Most of the time they're grateful but sometimes, they would rather the money.

Walking the streets of Salvador you have to be on your guard the whole time. You don't know who's good and who could come up to you with a gun in your face demanding your money.

This country isn't ruled by politics. It's ruled by money for drugs. It's corrupt and it's dirty. No wonder the dwellers of the favela enjoy living there. As long as they obey the gang leader's rule, they are protected. Far more protection they'll get within their favela, then on the streets with the police.

The harsh realities of Bahian life that I have seen so far, make me so utterly grateful for where I come from. I am so lucky.

Your biggest fan,

Beijos

Favela Funkin'

Vidigal, Rio de Janeiro


Average friday night in Rio = baile funk party in one of the nearby favelas (brazilian ghettos).

My preconceptions of Brazilian favelas included: men and boys with guns and knives, run down wooden shacks with feeble cloth covering the doors and palm tree branches covering the roofs, no proper electricity, no running water, a lot of rubbish all around the streets, unwelcomed smells....

How wrong I was.. OK, granted, I did go to one of the "posher" favelas - Vidigal, it probably has the best view of Rio.... ironically enough! However, instead of reminding me of the slums in Mumbai, it reminded me of tiny Mexican villages.... over-crowded, disorganized, hilly but with a sense of order and very much livable. The danger factor? 0. Yes, you have to be aware, you don't walk in flashing your riches but the men and boys with arms are there to protect their territory from the police and other gangs.... It's relatively safe until a fight occurs... and when it does, run inside and don't come out until the last shot has been fired (so I've been told..!)

The reason for partying in a favela? BAILE FUNK. FUNK THAT BAILE. Awesome, awesome music! A mixture of hippy-hoppy (Hip-Hop) and electro.

" The funk popularized in the 80s in Rio de Janeiro ghettos called favelas. From mid-90s it was a mainstream phenomenon in Brazil. Funk songs discuss topics as varying as poverty, human dignity, racial pride of black people, sex (breaking it's moral values), violence and social injustice. Social analysts believe that the funk is a genuine expression of the severe social issues falling on the poor and black people in Rio. "

Massive sound system blaring out different tuuunes to which the brazilian girls shake and bop that booooty (bunda in portuguese!), grind with those sexy brazilian men and dance until the sun rises...
I tried my best to imitate them as it's incredibly sexy and I want to be able to shake my ass like that...!!! I think I did ok.... A lot more practice and I'll come back to Europe a fully fledged brazilian dancer ;)



Your biggest fan,

Beijos

Rain Rain GO Away..

Who would have thought that being in Rio would include spending days inside, sheltering from the torrential rain that has badly affected the city..... definitely not me!!

The past two days have been surreal, I don't think I've ever experienced such bad rain, even when I was in India during the monsoon period!

Monday night we waded through dirty dirty water just to cross the street and we were nearly swept away by the winds whilst walking by Copacabana beach..

Yesterday we were turned away by all museums in the centre of the city: "closed due to the rain". Our reaction, living in England and all, was of amazement... how can you close an entire city due to rain?! In our country we cope with it.... although the mention of snow in England does get us all nervous... Anyway, none of us had any idea of the extent of the damage the rain could cause until last night when we saw the deserted streets, the flooding pavements and huge branches falling from the trees.

We gave in pretty quickly and decided that being a tourist would just have to be put off for another day or two.... Here's to indoor partying.... capirinhas and films!

I pray the sun comes out soon, I would like to enjoy Rio for what it really has to offer..

Your biggest fan,

Beijos

Surf that couch

And so here starts my new brazilian adventure....

I have been here less than 48 hours yet I have
* sunbathed
*fought against the waves at Copacabana beach
*eaten feijoada(typical brazilian bean-meat stew)
*attempted to dance samba,
*watched with envy at those brazilian hotties shaking their asses
* hiked in a natural park


*listened to a monkey screaaaam
* showered under a natural waterfall
*been caught in the hot, humid rain, prone to Rio
*met lots of people from all over the world, all the whilst speaking my shockingly mixed-with-spanish portuguese.

All this my friends, due to couch surfing... this amazing network set up to help you meet new people, enjoy new experiences, walk the less touristy path and really feel "part of this world".

I can't wait for the next 3 months if they are anything like my first two days...!

Welcome to RIo................. why, muito obrigrada :)

Your biggest fan,

Beijos