Now I don't want to get too deep and metaphysical on you - but I just want to clarify that the precious moments I refer to in my intro are not necessarily enjoyable moments... Every moment is precious and ultimately it's actually the bad stories that make the best ones. So when I make it back to reality it is unlikely that I will be recounting the glorious moment when one dives into the Atlantic off Ipanema beach and takes in the lush tropical scenery and realises that all of that dreaming, saving and planning has finally paid off... No; it is far more likely that I'll be telling you about the time I arrived in Sao Paulo with heat rash to discover fraudulent debit transactions on my account and that we were sharing a room with Jabba the Hutt and what looked like his less attractive Vogon brothers...
Of course when you have bags under your eyes the depth of trenches and your entire body is covered in a rash you are hardly in a place to complain about the appearance of others... But it wasn't just the sheer size of one of my roommates that offended me so much as the fact that the gluttonous behemoth couldn't even be bothered to put his bed sheets on. So there he was, festering in the corner of a room on a dirty suffering mattress - tiny laptop teetering on the huge furry mound of his belly... At least the bald guy with the worst combover this side of the hemisphere had the decency to make his bed, although he made up for that by deciding that it was totally acceptable to sleep in his little black panties... And of course the position of my bunk bed adjacent to his gave me a fantastic viewing angle of his... Of his... Well... of his gooch if I must be graphic. Ah, the joys of budget travel!
Unfortunately we only stayed in São Paulo for one night so that's the only real lasting image that I have for you. Other than that I can say that the tube system seems to work quite well and is easy to navigate and Pinheiros where we stayed seemed to have some cool bars which we didn't make it too...
After a long bus journey from São Paulo we arrived at our hostel in Iguaçu at about 10am, dropped off our backpacks and headed to the Brazilian side of Iguassu Falls on a beautifully sunny (and excruciatingly hot) day. I could go on about how stunning the waterfalls are but it really wouldn't do them any justice... And as if the park in Brazil wasn't beautiful enough, the visit to the Argentinean side the next day completely surpassed my expectations. I've posted some photos so you get a fraction of the idea but seriously if you haven't been already, go! The place is a paradise of greenery, cliffsides, waterfalls and wildlife all interspersed with rainbows. And just to add the cherry on the icing we spotted a turtle in the river popping its head above the water (I have a thing for turtles but then again I believe most people do?)
Aside from the natural beauty of the place, Foz do Iguaçu was also a perfect example of the fact that when you travel, you don't just visit the World; The World visits you too... And so it was in the middle of South America amongst people we'd picked up on our tour of the falls and in our hostel, that we sat and learned about great nights out in Niagara, humid summer days in Japan's concrete jungles, cold snowy days in Grenoble and hearty Turkish cuisine. A tower of beer (and an orange juice) shared between new friends was the perfect ending to a great visit to Brazil... We are currently driving through Argentina on an 18 hour night bus to Buenos Aires where I am massively looking forward to a fat medium-rare steak and large glass of red wine!
Key info, São Paulo:
Hostel: Hey Hostel, Pinheiros - Only 1 night here but the hostel wand the area seemed fine save from the fact that we lost the roommate lottery...
How we got here: 6 hour bus from Rio de Janeiro.
Highlights: The tender picanha na pedra (Sliced beef on a hot plate) that we had for dinner.
Key info, Foz do Iguaçu:
Hostel: Your Place Hostel - Small friendly and clean hostel with air-con and free dinner and caipirinhas! Two thumbs up!
How we got here: 15 hour bus from São Paulo.
Highlights: Argentinean falls and we also quite enjoyed the bird park which is next to the Brazilian falls.
Of course when you have bags under your eyes the depth of trenches and your entire body is covered in a rash you are hardly in a place to complain about the appearance of others... But it wasn't just the sheer size of one of my roommates that offended me so much as the fact that the gluttonous behemoth couldn't even be bothered to put his bed sheets on. So there he was, festering in the corner of a room on a dirty suffering mattress - tiny laptop teetering on the huge furry mound of his belly... At least the bald guy with the worst combover this side of the hemisphere had the decency to make his bed, although he made up for that by deciding that it was totally acceptable to sleep in his little black panties... And of course the position of my bunk bed adjacent to his gave me a fantastic viewing angle of his... Of his... Well... of his gooch if I must be graphic. Ah, the joys of budget travel!
Unfortunately we only stayed in São Paulo for one night so that's the only real lasting image that I have for you. Other than that I can say that the tube system seems to work quite well and is easy to navigate and Pinheiros where we stayed seemed to have some cool bars which we didn't make it too...
After a long bus journey from São Paulo we arrived at our hostel in Iguaçu at about 10am, dropped off our backpacks and headed to the Brazilian side of Iguassu Falls on a beautifully sunny (and excruciatingly hot) day. I could go on about how stunning the waterfalls are but it really wouldn't do them any justice... And as if the park in Brazil wasn't beautiful enough, the visit to the Argentinean side the next day completely surpassed my expectations. I've posted some photos so you get a fraction of the idea but seriously if you haven't been already, go! The place is a paradise of greenery, cliffsides, waterfalls and wildlife all interspersed with rainbows. And just to add the cherry on the icing we spotted a turtle in the river popping its head above the water (I have a thing for turtles but then again I believe most people do?)
Aside from the natural beauty of the place, Foz do Iguaçu was also a perfect example of the fact that when you travel, you don't just visit the World; The World visits you too... And so it was in the middle of South America amongst people we'd picked up on our tour of the falls and in our hostel, that we sat and learned about great nights out in Niagara, humid summer days in Japan's concrete jungles, cold snowy days in Grenoble and hearty Turkish cuisine. A tower of beer (and an orange juice) shared between new friends was the perfect ending to a great visit to Brazil... We are currently driving through Argentina on an 18 hour night bus to Buenos Aires where I am massively looking forward to a fat medium-rare steak and large glass of red wine!
Key info, São Paulo:
Hostel: Hey Hostel, Pinheiros - Only 1 night here but the hostel wand the area seemed fine save from the fact that we lost the roommate lottery...
How we got here: 6 hour bus from Rio de Janeiro.
Highlights: The tender picanha na pedra (Sliced beef on a hot plate) that we had for dinner.
Key info, Foz do Iguaçu:
Hostel: Your Place Hostel - Small friendly and clean hostel with air-con and free dinner and caipirinhas! Two thumbs up!
How we got here: 15 hour bus from São Paulo.
Highlights: Argentinean falls and we also quite enjoyed the bird park which is next to the Brazilian falls.
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