Brazilia in a nutshell (you know which type!)

So yeah. Brazil, what a trip. After leaving Rio I was in a bit of a daze. Ben and I had had our one big night out. It certainly took its toll. I found myself a bus and soon after found myself in Paraty. Fate bought me to a hostel that woe betide me was a party hostel. I knew these existed but I have avoided them thus far. I like to sleep when I get into bed. I go out to party. But here I was. Loud music, people intending on drinking alcohol and having a good time... oh dear... Well I had various things to do, so by the time I had finished them I thought I might push the boat out and have a fruit juice in the bar, fresh of course. A guy was sitting alone so I decided to join him. That's one of the wonderful things about travelling, simply enjoying the company of another with no expectations and no attachment's. You meet people, perhaps spend time with them and then move on. Those that you gel with especially well you might see again, but no worries either way really.

From Brazil

From Brazil

A dog waiting for a taxi...

This guy Phillipe looked just like Ross from friends when he is in the 1980´s retrospective scenes. The moustache was brilliant. When I told him of his similarity with Ross, he knew. Everyone told him this. Damn, I thought I was insightful. We ended up chatting for hours about life and whatnot. One thing I particularly remember him talking about was buildings. For he has just finished his Architecture degree you see. He believed that buildings have a personality and a soul. A space can be different depending on how it is built and how it is treated. Different beyond the obvious physical dimensions of course. I found this fascinating actually. Is Feng Shui the art of communicating with a rooms soul? I shall have to look further into this.

I went to bed at 1am whilst a group of early 20 somethings were off out to drink and then probably have sex. Probably. They invited me to go. I politely declined. Am I getting old? My ego would like me to think so. It would have enjoyed a night of unconscious fun but I needed rest and genuinely wanted interested.

That night I awoke in my dorm to a guy leaning over my bed. It really scared the crap out of me as I shouted WHOA. Who on earth shouts whoa? Me, apparently. He was leaning over as the air conditioning controls were next to my bed and had it had gone off. This was his story anyway. I am choosing to believe him. Unfortunately I had nightmares all night of people attacking me. Slept like an insomniac. I moved hostels the next day

The following day ´Ross´ and I went on a boat ride to various islands. It was so calm and relaxing. 35 degrees and sun, sand and sea. Okay less sun as it was cloudy, but sand and sea... well okay, mostly sea actually. I loved diving from the top of the 4m boat into the water. Got quite addicted to it actually. One guy did a monumental belly flop that everyone watching really felt and a chorus of ohhhhs gave a great applause.

Travelling on to Santos, a town South of Sao Paulo, was the plan next. It got waylay-ed when I realised the distances involved. So I ended up in Marisias. A town that all the rich and famous Brazilians come to for the surf and luxurious living. I stayed in an 8 bed dorm room which although was a cute room contained very very drunk Brazilians and Argentines determined to have a good time, loudly coming back throughout the night. Oh and what is reported to be the best night club in Latin America down the road kept a rhythm going to keep me occupied instead of sleeping until 6am. The plastic mattress was sweaty too and the mosquito's bit me to hell. That was certainly a long night.
I wanted to buy a pair of shorts. The cheapest I could find was the equivalent of around 60 pounds. Next time I shall miss out this town unless, a) I am very very rich, b) I like to not sleep or c) I get very rich...

As I got the bus out of there I met a lovely woman, Luciana. We got chatting and she took my facebook to meet in Sao Paulo in a few days. We did meet, I´ll include that soon.

So, in Santos I was back to Couch Surfing, Rio Carnival spending had given me a financial crisis, so I needed cheap times. Couchsurfing is awesome for saving money and emersing yourself in the culture and people of a place. I met with Christina, a lovely woman who's English was just enough to get by together. Over a huge bowl of Acai (Pronounced Aa-sigh-eee) and granola we chatted. She mentioned about the local hill we could go and see the locals paragliding. Bells rang in my mind. Mmmm, cancelled hang-gliding in Rio... I wonder... I asked how much. Of course she had a friend who ran it. He could give us a good price if the weather was good. The universe is good to me. I very am very thankful toward it.

The weather was perfect the following day. It all just kind of happened. First I asked Christina's son if I could buy some shorts locally. Of course his grandma, who lived downstairs, ran a clothes shop. She just happened to have around 30 pairs of shorts in her house all for around 5 pounds each. Within 3 minutes of asking I was trying them on. The universe bringing me what I need again. Thank you (: We went up the hill, got strapped in to a parachute and harness and off we went. Awesome. It was so calm and peaceful, flying by the seaside, strapped to my expert and a parachute, catching the pockets of air, swooping between the Condors. I put my arms out like a bird, I smiled a lot, even giggled a few times. I felt wonderful, it was such a calm buzz though.

From Brazil

From Brazil

From Brazil

From Brazil

From Brazil

From Brazil

After Santos I had arranged to go to Sao Paulo and meet Luciana before heading to my next couch surfing. Luciana was a lovely woman of my age who is coming to Ireland in December and wished to practice her English, and make a new friend along the way of course. She came to meet me at the bus station and we spent a lovely afternoon together in various parts of Sao Paulo. I really love those random chance meetings in life that add sugar to it. She was so kind and giving and we really had a good afternoon together. She even insisted on coming an hour out of her way so that I got to where I was couch surfing safely. Now how is that for generous? I was genuinely touched by her attitude and actions.


So I got to Uma´s house. Her name is actually Karin, Uma is her spiritual name given to her from her Guru. It suits her. We actually did preciously little in the time we spent together in terms of seeing the city. We did a lot of meditation and yoga though and just enjoyed being in each others company. This time really grounded me and was exactly what I needed. I had a lot of insights into love and ego whilst I was there and decided that I will write a book about it all. About my journey, about the ´What is love?´ project I have been doing, about my realisations and insights into love and the ego. I have realised so much as I have been searching. I feel it is a story I´d like to tell. So watch this space for the book.

Well, that's Brazil for this time round (except tomorrow when I cross the border for 2 hours to see the waterfalls I will tell you about another time). I found the people to be wonderful, my Portuguese is crap, even worse than my 30 Spanish words or so. But the people here were always willing to help this Gringo. So many times I found instances where people went out of their way, sometimes massively so, to help me. I am so thankful for the experiences I have had here and some of the people I have met along the way I truly hope to meet again. Some I know I will. Thank you Brazil for taking care of me. I love you.