Best and Worst of Brazil in 30 Days - Karen's List of Superlatives + Friend Photo Gallery

Today, I arrived in Lima, Peru. And there just happened to be a contest between traditional schools of dance!
I am in El Tambo Hotel in an area called Miraflores. My 11-day mountain bike tour with Sacred Rides in the Andes officially begins tomorrow.

Part of my heart is still in Brazil! I had a wonderful month there in Santa Catarina, Sao Paulo, Rio, Porto Velho, Manaus and the Amazon jungle. For closure, here are some highs, lows, oddities and new friends I met during my first visit to Brazil.

BEST YOUTH HOSTEL: Tie between Hostel Misti in Rio (owned by an Argentine, German) and Hostel Manaus, owned by an Australian, Alex, in Manaus, the gateway to the Amazon.

WORST HOTEL: The sex motel in Manaus, which will remain nameless for its own protection. I learned that motels in Brazil are a different beast than in the U.S. (See previous blog posting).

BEST JOB: This award goes to professional juggler and former trapeze artist Olivier Sourty of Paris, whom I met at the Rio youth hostel. Check out his current circus cabaret show in Paris.


BEST ADVENTURE TALE: Pavel Toropov! This British citizen of Russian heritage recently completed a grueling, solo, 9,000-kilometer bike tour from the tip of South America, Ushuaia, Argentina, to the Brazilian city of Manaus. I met him while he was recovering at the youth hostel in Manaus.

I was riveted by his tales of biking through the Amazon, surviving stretches of jungle infamous for jaguars, venomous snakes, spiders and heavily armed militia. He endured endless sand pits that forced him to push his fully loaded touring bike for hours at a time and suffered devastating heat. He believes no one has completed this same south to north route (and I can tell why!) A trained biologist, Pavel, 32, funded his 8-month journey by teaching English in Seoul, South Korea, where he plans to return. YES, FULL STORY TO FOLLOW!

BEST HAIR: Facundo, de Argentina, whose wild red-tinted mane looks like a lion's. He says he got it from his Italian father. (See photo, below). Runner up: Ricardo of the Amazon.

WORST DAY: Yesterday! I left the Manaus youth hostel and was almost at the airport via taxi. Realized I had forgotten camera charger, so had to pay another taxi fare (and stress about time crunch). Returned to hostel and back to airport again. Then, after 5 hour flight, I missed connection from Sao Paulo to Lima due to late flight. Was told I had to wait 9 hours until 6 a.m. flight the next day. Also had to admit to myself I have some sort of bronchitis.

BEST DANCING: For fear of theft, I did not take my camera to Rio's Favela Funk Party, a late-night dance club of sorts housed in a huge warehouse in a favela, a poor neighborhood. I will forever regret not having film footage of the most gorgeous dancers I have ever seen. No, they were not women - but young men in a trio, performing a combo of samba and MTV-style hip hop steps in perfect synch. The audience was mesmerized by the pro-quality of their dancing.

Photo Gallery of Guardian Angels (in reverse chronological order)
SAO PAULO AIRPORT TO LIMA
Percy Silva Luciano of Lima was extremely kind to me when I needed it most. I had a massive meltdown at the airport when I learned about the missed flight to Peru and resulting 9-hour layover in Sao Paulo Airport. He helped translate the Portuguese and explained to me (in Spanish) what was going on. We bonded again at 3 a.m. at the check-in for the flight. He watched over me to make sure I got through customs, etc. before meeting his wife and son.
SAO PAULO AIRPORT Therezina Warmling Alberton. A little bit of shopping therapy helped my mood considerably at the Sao Paulo airport during my 9-hour delay. But I also felt better due to the warmth of this shop owner, Therezina, an artist who makes lovely scarves out of found materials, including fishermen's nets. I bought a green scarf from her (similar to the red one she was wearing). I was especially happy to make the purchase when I discovered she was working on her birthday! Her store, HomemArte, features handmade works.

AMAZON JUNGLE
Sam, of London, Susan of Switzerland and Amazon tour guide, Francisco, all made my life much easier by speaking English and being very caring when I was sick (with bronchitis) and had to skip parts of the jungle tour.

AMAZON JUNGLE
Ricardo, Rico for short, (pronounced "Hico,") became my guide in the Amazon jungle after I said farewell to Francisco and the gals. Later, we returned to Manaus by bus and he showed me to a great restaurant for soup to help my congested lungs. Here, Rico talks to a woman who lives near the Manaus youth hostel.
MANAUS
Fabio Flores, from southern Brazil, was an amazing help to me. I arrived in Manaus from Porto Velho quite exhausted, perhaps from the tropical heat. Upon my arrival at the Maunaus youth hostel, he just happened to be outside in the street. He helped me with my luggage, translated Portuguese to English, then helped me find a nearby motel since the hostel was booked. After that, he walked with me to the famous opera house and we had a drink of fresh juice in the plaza. He headed to Belem at 5 a.m. that morning to stay with his biologist aunt.
PORTO VELHO
Geraldo introduced me to his sister, Gloria, below. Thanks to Gloria, I had a lovely lunch out on my final day in Porto Velho. More about them on my blog.

Miguel, a Brazilian with German heritage (and his daughter) had never met me and was kind enough to take me out to a traditional Amazonian meal and even drove me to the airport at the end of my stay in Porto Velho. More about Miguel on my blog.

RIO
Facundo Ventresca, Best Hair Winner, is from Buenos Aires, Argentina, but has decided to move to Rio. I met him at the Rio youth hostel. Despite a steady downpour he showed me some of the best sites in Rio.

SAO PAULO
Marilyn Diggs, artist and writer, Sao Paulo. Though we had only met recently, online, through travelwriters.com, Marilyn gave me such a warm welcome in at her home that I immediately felt like we were old friends!

And of course HUGE THANKS to my family, especially, Mom, Dad, Brenda, Kathryn and Joy, for loving emails and to my Dear Friends in Santa Cruz, California, and elsewhere who have stayed in touch during my trip! I also thank all of you who have read and commented on my blog!

Farewell Rio and the Dark Night of the Chicken Heart

El Misti Hostel, Rio

Tomorrow at 5:30 a.m., I will taxi to the Rio airport. I'm off to Rondonia, a western state of Brazil that borders Bolivia. I will arrive in Porto Velho, the capital, and don't know yet where I will stay or what I will do there.

I am excited about my trip tomorrow. But I am sad to leave Rio, where, despite the rain, I have had a wonderful week! Highlights of Rio, in photos, below:

Karen's strikes her signature pose, a la Saturday Night Fever disco movie, on her final day in Rio. The photo was taken at Sugar Loaf Mountain, overlooking Rio.


Facundo, whom I met at Hostel Misti, was a wonderful guide at the Botanical Garden and at this famous spot, Sugar Loaf Mountain. For my final day in Rio, we rode the cable car to the top for a fantastic, though overcast, view of Rio.



I was one of only a handful of tourists who braved pouring rain on Tuesday to tour the wonderful Jardim Botanico (Botanical Garden). This 200-year-old gem is home to monkeys, a variety of orchids and other tropic flora.

One of Beto's best nights of cooking included a huge variety of fresh salads.

One of the highlights of Hostel Misti in Rio was the Argentine chef, Beto, a friend of the owner's. Not only was his food amazing, but he had a wonderful radiance and smile! Here he prepares the evening barbecue. Each night, Beto cooks dinner at the hostel - optional extra fee to eat dinner.

Passionate public kissing is a favorite national pastime in Brazil, right behind soccer! Sidewalks, restaurants, elevators, street corners, anywhere goes for a long, long, long smooch! (This is not me by the way).
I did get one day of sun, last Friday. Here is a stretch of the famous Copacabana Beach.

A trip to the historical town of Santa Teresa was fun even in the rain because of the scenic ride uphill the hill on the cable car. This mural, depicting the dance/martial art form of Capoeira, was one of many on our self-guided tour.

Oh and the Dark Night of the Chicken Heart?
In the spirit of trying local foods, I decided to be gracious and taste the chicken heart that was offered to me on a platter. I put it on my plate (no photo, sorry) and had to force myself to cut into the dark, greenish-greyish organ. It was no bigger or longer than my thumb, but I felt repulsed by the idea. I finally gulped down a forkfull. My thoughts? Chewy, like octopus and a strong tangy flavor. I ate only half.

Peter, a German friend from the hostel ate FIVE chicken hearts! He was used to eating them in Poland. I prefer the fresh banana milkshakes that are a specialty here!

Rio - Perfect place to start a vacation after a week of work in Sao Paulo!

Karen enjoys the wind and the sea of the famous beach in Rio, Copacabana. Here, she is at a scenic overlook above the beach.

Greetings from Rio! I have been mostly unplugged since my arrival in Rio Thursday night. Yes, I did have to wait eight hours in the Sao Paulo airport last Thursday to get here, but it was worth it. Everyone said Rio was worth visiting. In fact, my new Sao Paulo friend, writer and artist Marilyn Diggs, said if I did not visit Rio, it would be like going to France without seeing Paris. She is right. Off to the beach again today, Sunday. I will remain in Rio a few more days. Am enjoying my stay at this Argentine-owned youth hostel.


Anything goes in Rio. This is the beach walk next to Ipanema beach. It's not uncommon to see this same look in the city streets nearby the beach.

Farewell Sao Paulo, Hello Rio! Karen in transit on Sept. 11, 2008

Today's Magic Number is EIGHT!

8 Hours - number of hours I am waiting (still) in Sao Paulo airport to fly to Rio.

8 Nights - number of nights I spent at Green Place Flat in Sao Paulo, Brazil, before leaving today.

8 p.m. - Time my flight departs for Rio. It is only an hour, 15 min. flight.
It's strange to be in an airport all day on September 11. I have paid silent tribute to the many victims who died that day. Many were just travelers boarding another airplane to go to their destination...


Karen tries to make her luggage look smaller by crouching down next to it before she left her hotel room in Sao Paulo, Thursday morning.

Call it procrastination or spontaneity, but I thought it would be fun and exciting to show up at the airport at noon today and fly stand-by to Rio. From online research, I knew the flight should cost about $100 reales. At the airport, I went to three airline desks and was quoted $300-$600 for a ticket. I was told it would be cheaper to book on the Internet. So I did. The one flight that was a reasonable price departed at 8 p.m.

Good news: With 8 hours to kill, I have been hanging out all day at a lovely rooftop cafe here at the airport. It has a cityscape view, fresh breeze, decent food and kind waiters. Due to one language mishap, I am now on my fourth bottle of water con gas. Best of all, there are no booming airline announcements broadcast up here.


Flavia Frangetto and I struck up a conversation today at the airport cafe after she and her companion borrowed my flash drive. Here, she displays her doctoral thesis! Flavia is a lawyer and getting her doctorate in environmental law. She is especially interested in global warming issues.

I have been thinking about how much time I have spent on the computer so far this trip. A little weird to be so wired and connected. Today, my technology helped me make an old-fashioned face-to-face connection here at the airport cafe. A gentleman approached me seeing that I was using my Apple laptop, and asked if he could borrow my zip drive. He was sitting at a table next to me and I said sure. When he returned it soon after, I gave him my business card (tireless networker that I am). Turns out he is a professor of environmental studies. After he left, the woman who shared his table came over and introduced herself. And that led to a wonderful conversation with a brilliant and beautiful woman from Sao Paulo, Flavia Frangetto.

Going to go check in now! I have too much luggage! The plan is to stay at a hostel in Rio; I have arranged my reservation online and plan to meet a driver at the airport in Rio. Wish me luck!