Brazil, the last stop on our big road trip. Our first stop was Iguazu Falls, from the Brazilian side. They do not have the vast waterfalls that we saw on the Argentinian side, but the panorama of the waterfalls was incredible. Unfortunately, it was raining a little – so I stood under overhangs and under trees while Laurence ventured out into the wetness (including when we were meant to be in the waterfall spray – who really knows where all the water was coming from apart from everywhere) and took the wonderful photographs that we have today. A truly inspiring sight to behold.
Next stop, a little rest and relaxation in the Pantanal – tropical wetlands to the south of the Amazon. The place that we stayed at was all inclusive – except for the drinks. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There were also activities like horse riding, river boat cruises, and animal sighting safaris. Overall, we saw a lot of Macaws, some monkeys, some hawks, some capybaras (largest rodents in the world), and some caimans (like crocodiles). There were some other smaller animals but these were the ones that I remember the names of.
In Bonito, we snorkelled down one of the cleanest and clearest rivers that I have seen in my entire life. It was amazing – we could see the bottom, the individual rocks, the colourful fish, and the grasses. Unfortunately, it was also mosquito central. Luckily, I only got a few bites, however, by the time some people left the river they were covered. Overall, we spent 45 minutes floating down the river (we only had to float as the current took us downstream at will). At one stage, we were floating downstream and the bank of the river started getting closer on one side and the reeds on the other. It was getting tighter and tighter, we were stuck. We both had to “go off-road” over the reeds in order to get back to the main part of the stream. We also nearly ‘beached’ ourselves on a few logs – perhaps we need to drink a little less wine and beer and eat a little less chips and chocolate (which happens to be what I am eating for dinner whilst eating this).
Getting towards the end of our journey, I took a bit of a time out and relaxed at the campgrounds. Laurence went tubing down a river in Brotas. He managed to get stuck on some rocks and came back with scratches all over his shins and bruised knees. This boy is accident prone!
Winding up the trip in Paraty, one of the oldest and most important ports for the Brazilian gold rush back in the days. This cobblestone town was made for relaxing on the beach and wandering the historic district. The emerald coastline, with all the little islands, was beautiful.
Rio de Janeiro – time for Carnival. Purely out of coincidence, we arrived right on time to attend the biggest party “in the world”. The party feel was in the city when we arrived and it just intensified from there. Over the days, the street parties got larger and more frequent. The street a block from ours started having party’s day and night. We attended (got sucked into) a few parties, mainly because we were heading to or from somewhere but we did attend the tail end of a party at Copacabana Beach – there were thousands and thousands of people. A “Band” on a truck made its way slowly down the street, stopping every block or so to play a few songs. People in the street and on the beach were crazy – some were extremely drunk.
We attended Carnival at the Sambadrome on the Sunday night – one of the two nights where the top Samba classes perform. I admit that Laurence and I were old and tired, we didn’t stay for the whole performance (it started at 10:00pm and, due to a float crash, didn’t finish until around 7:00am). We stayed until about half-way – 3:00am. The floats, costumes, and dancers were absolutely incredible. It was certainly an experience of a lifetime – but, unless you are interested in Samba, it might be best to watch the highlights on the television. On our night it was also raining, which always puts a damper on things.
Apart from actually attending the party, we explored the city centre, went to various beaches, traipsed our way up Christ the Redeemer, and went to a favela (a slum, but with an architectural style – the temporary style housing with the rooves forming the floor of the house above). This we took as a tour to ensure our safety, but it was one of the most worthwhile things that we have done on this tour. We definitely got an understanding about how they arose, why they are where they are, and what it is like to live in the favela. If anyone ever gets the chance to visit one, properly – with someone showing you around and explaining the settlement, I would highly recommend it. Especially because each favela is different, they aren’t all the same.
