if you're anything like me, you will be annoyed by the formatting of the captions in this post. i am on a computer with a "d" key that doesn't work, so every time i want to type d, i have to paste one in that i copied from somewhere else. once i do this, it takes on the formatting of where i copied it from. i didn't realize this until after i wrote everything, and the software isn't being helpful for reformatting it, so i'm just going to leave it. apologies. also, i found the apostrophe after i was most of the way through. feels like every keyboard i use is different!
curitiba´s pedestrian mall
ive finally started asking if i can take peoples photos
the wonderful market in curitiba, across from the bus station. only sorry my camera battery ran out before i could capture more
this one is more of a reference to see how the lansdcape changed over the train ride
can you spot the building (can i find the question mark: no)
down into the mist
and then out the bottom of it
kids would run along side the train, waving. at the start of the trip, we'd been handed a few cookies an crackers to munch on, and many people threw theirs out the windows to the kids, who ran around collecting them--that was clearly why they'd come out to wave. then the train tour guide told us (i think, it was in portuguese) not to do that, because a number of kids had been struck and killed by the train.
the train isn't running to paranagua anymore, so i had to get off in moretes and buy a bus ticket. this was the start of me getting off some form of transportation, shouldering my two backpacks, and just starting to ask people questions about how to get to my next destination. everyone is very nice, but most people won't admit when they don't know the answer, an instead just tell you something vague, so they key is to constantly ask the next person for verification. most of my portuguese vocabulary consists of directional words.
paranagua, where i caught the ferry to the island. at this point i was in conversation with a kiwi, american and person of unidentified nationality who were also traveling to the island. these three men were the first men i came across who did not offer to help me with my bags. when we had dinner together later that night, the american was particularly rude to me, for unknown reasons. embarrassing, really. reinforced my commitment to saying that i'm from california, not the US, when people ask, which consistently gets me a better response.
just another man playing with his adorable kid. lots of shows of affection to be seen.
as we left paranagua
the hostel messed up my reservation, so instead of a bed in a shared room, i got a private suite upstairs in the back. awesome! slept 11 hours, then found a cheaper place to stay....
camping! finally broke out my new tent. was very happy to have that mesh surrounding at night.
my view from the tent. the painting is of the island, i was staying at the southern tip.
path to the beach
path to the other side of the island (10 minute walk), which faces the atlantic
there are no cars or roads on the island, so people move bundles around with these carts. except at high tide, when the sidewalk that is the beach is covered with water.
in case i'm giving the impression that the island is paradise, let me add that there are biting flies, which really hurt and aren't bothered by deet, an intense heat an humidity in which holding perfectly still in the shade is the only way to not sweat heavily, a sun that burns in about 15 minutes, and jellyfish (though not that many). so it was amazing, but not perfect, and i was glad to move on...to Rio!
i hadn't planned on coming to Rio, as I expected it to be too overwhelming (and it would have been), but in curitiba i met a fabulous couple who live here and they invited me to come use their spare bedroom. amazing. so i've been staying with them for the past few days. after almost loosing it in the overcrowded bus station, i made it to their modern, breezy apartment in a quiet neighborhood. friday was a lovely hike in the large park that covers most of the mountains behind the city, with views in all directions. saturday we went to christo redemptor and ipanema beach, took a nap, and then went clubbing from 11-3. there was a line to get in when we left. this place is crazy. they have a hand gesture that means "too many people" which you make by bringing all of your fingers together in a group with an upturned palm.
tomorrow i take a bus that has full fold out beds (picture business class flying) from rio to the pantanal (22 hours, $100). i'll spend a few days there, then cross bolivia to la paz, where i'm meeting up with a friend i met in BA. i've finally learned that where i am and what i'm seeing is a lot less important that who i'm with.
i hope everyone is happy and healthy.
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