Enter Brazil
We entered the country of sun, sand, and samba from the Argentine border crossing at Foz do Iguazu. It was blistering hot on both sides, but the heat was toned down a notch by a daily downpour of torrential rain. I´m not sure about this, but I believe it was a conspiracy by the Argentine driver on our cross-border bus to give us a farewell send off from Spanish-speaking America by screwing us over one last time: we got our exit stamps from the Argentine side, but the bus breazed by the Brazilian immigration post, leaving us in the centre of a considerably large border town with no Brazilian stamps in our passports. Yup, we were illegal.
After a very troublesome escapade to get back to the border control station, get stamped and so on, we got back to where we started in the centre of Foz do Iguazu, having wasted 3 hours. No matter: when we arrived at the bus station, we discovered that we would have a 7 hour wait there until the next bus left for our next destination, Curitiba. It´s strange that, in most cases, buses leaving for a destination in Brazil are scheduled by all companies to leave at the same time. Well, after the seven hour bore in Foz, we went to get our bus. Ooops: "oh, we over-booked your bus by about 30 passengers, and we´re only going to sort out the Brazilian passengers in a hurry, while you wait another few hours for another bus to arrive, because you don´t speak Portuguese, and you should because you´re in Brazil." I´ve never learned a language in a matter of hours of being in a country, so I don´t know what the bus company representative should expect. Well, anyway, we´re not amateurs anymore, having spent possibly as much time waiting for buses as traveling in them, so we just had to laugh it off.
We eventually made it to Curitiba the next morning. It was surprisingly cool and not humid! What a relief after almost a month in 35 degree weather with humidity making it feel ike 45. We walked around the picturesque colonial town with its cobbled streets and colorful buildings for most of the day, and deciding that there was little else to do there, we booked a morning bus to Paranagua, on the coast.
We arrived in Paranagua on time, on the bus we had booked, which was nice. We even found a boat to take us to Ihla do Mel almost immediately. We were off in a flash, obviously with a renewed faith in the Brazilian transportation system.
As we pulled out of the Paranagua harbour, we were awestruck by the beauty of the town. Its vibrantly colorful colonial buildings are so beautiful set against the coastal rainforest-covered hills behind them and the blue water which reflects them. It was postcard material.
We enjoyed the slow boat ride from Paranagua to Ihla do Mel. Muy tranquilo!
When we arrived at Ihla do Mel, however, it was another story. Ihla do Mel is a Brazilian tourist´s getaway; and where there are tourists, there are tourist agents, who were attaking new arrivals coming off the boats from the mainland. After shaking off a few offers and persistent tag-alongs, we wandered along the forested paths of the island, looking for a place to set up camp for a few days. In our hunt, we came across four Brazilians looking for the same and headed off with them.
This was a good idea, as they haggled and bargained like the best of them and got us a campsite accomodation in the yard of a couple´s house, with a kitchen and shower included, for $2 per night. We were priorly scared of prices in Brazil, as it is comparably wealthier and more expensive than its Spanish-speaking neighbors, so the deal was a relief. Tent set up, we went to the beach...
Holy cow! Ihla do Mel is totally beautiful. Long, empty beaches with huge waves to dive into (and surf on, if we only knew how); small supermarkets to supply us with cheap food; Portuguese colonial ruins to explore; and an ecological reserve at the north end of the island, to take walks ending up at even more isolated beaches.
The 5 days we spent there were amazing, except for the last one where it rained all day (that´s why we left). I´d never been to beaches like that in my life, with water that was actually salty and warm at the same time. Get too hot? Go for a swim. Get too hot again? Go for a swim again, or an ice cream. What a treat! Our four Brazilian friends made it great, too. Samai and her three cousins entertained us with their Capoeira (Brazilian martial arts/dancing), singing, and hilarious antics at the campsite and while walking around the touristy areas of the island. They really took care of us, as we are now fish out of water, so to speak, as Portuguese is as foreign to us as Swahili -- just as we were getting mistaken for Argentinos!!!
As I mentioned, it started to rain heavily on Ihla do Mel, so we got a sad, tourist-laden boat back to Paranagua, and a bus to Curitiba with a connection to Porto Alegre.
We thought we´d have trouble finding accomodation in Porto Alegre, as the World Social Forum V is happening here, and 100,000 people from all around the world will be invading the city for a festival of leftism at the end of January. We erred on the side of caution and were surprised to find free camping accomodation right at the centre of the event. How perfect, until the sun went down and the party started outside our tent.
No problem. We were ten days early, so we pretty much explored Porto Alegre from top to bottom, all the while getting really excited for the big event promising big intillectual speakers and a Manu Chao concert (!).
I´m starting a WSF V blog for the duration of the forum, which I will update daily with journal entries from the days we spend in the Acampamento da Juventude as well as summaries of my notes from the actual debates and goings on, for those who may be interested. Until next time...
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