Pantanal, the wild wild west

21 April 2010

Most of Brazil appears to be focussed on its coast, that is the east of the country. Visiting the Pantanal, a natural area of wetlands, we ventured over 2,000 km west inland. Our point of entry was Cuiaba a sizable city of around 500 thousand inhabitants, mostly an agricultural hub. At the airport, our transfer was awaiting to drive us to our chosen Pousada Rio Claro, a drive of approximately 3 hours. The first 1.5 hrs on a paved road and the rest on a dirt road - the Transpantaneira which leads into the Pantanal and ends in the wilderness. Soon after leaving the airport, all signs of the city and civilisation disappeared. All green around and wetlands, many watering holes with alligators and many water birds. We had our first sighting of the incredible Tuiuiu, a huge white, pink and black waterbird. Also we saw many locals fishing and swimming in the many watering holes, we wondered if they were not scared of the alligators . . .

Our Pousada was great, set right next to the river on huge piece of land (formerly a very large farm). A lovely garden full of birds including Toucans and a smaller cousin of the Toucan. A small pool which was great for cooling off. A comfy room with a veranda with two hammocks - we can spot an huge amount of animals from right there. The staff was very friendly and the food tasty. We had a great guide who took us on numerous excursions, he had actually grown up on the farm, at a time it was still a large active farm.

One of the best excursions was the early morning sunrise boat ride. We set out at 5am, rowing on the river, it was still dark and very quiet, but gradually the light and especially the sounds increased: all the birds walking up, especially the parrots are very noisy. So we watched the sun slowly rise, and watched the birds flying around.

Also the horse riding was fun. At first, Natasha was very reluctant to get on the horse (scared by reports on the internet of tourists falling off wild horses) but in the end we were convinced that the horses were very calm and well behaved. So we set off on our horses and they are indeed very calm, actually we can hardly get them to move. At first all goes well but then we enter the wet part of the ride, and our horses decide they'd rather not walk through the mud and water. Gaudi's horse just turns around and starts heading back, Natasha's horse walks around in circles, then stops to eat some grass. The guide is desperately trying to give us instructions on how to control the horses but to no effect. Then the guide changes horses with Natasha and goes over to Gaudi's horse to tell him what to do, and after a small delay we are back on track. The rest of the ride is lovely, in the late afternoon, beautiful light and a lovely view over the wetlands.

We ended our stay on a fun note with a big Peixada, a big lunch with only fish dishes, including a yummie piranha soup. It's a big party with lots of the locals attending, and the men playing the guitar.

Fotos from the Pantanal here

Belo Horizonte

16 April 2010

We spend a few days in the capital of the Minas Gerais state and decide to go to the theatre: we see "Avenida Q" - the brazilian version of the broadway Musical "Avenue Q". The cast is made up of puppets moved by actors - a bit like Sesame Street for adults. The songs were good, and some of the jokes must have been quite funny too, to judge by the laughter of the audience - the play was in Portuguese and we could hardly understand any of the dialogues.

Pampulha: a lake around which famous Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer was given the project to build a few landmark buildings by the then governor Kubitschek (in the 1940s). The buildings around the lake are several kilometers apart. We see the old casino, and the ballroom - so many beautiful curves in the building, you feel like you're dancing already. But the highlight is the Igreja Sao Franscisco de Assis: modern forms and a facade completely covered with blue painted tiles. Indeed one of a kind in the world.

The governor must have been impressed with Niemeyers work: two decades later, Kubitschek became president and recruited Niemeyer once again. This time to build an entire city: the new Brazilian capital Brasilia.

Fotos from Belo Horizonte and Pampulha

Ouro Preto

12 April 2010, Ouro Preto (Minas Gerais, Brazil)

A beautiful little town in the hills of Minas Gerais state - loaded with history and colonial buildings: most famously its many baroque churches. It seems that from any point in town, you can at least see two churches, one close, and another one further away. Narrow cobblestone roads wind up and down the steep hills. Sightseeing is good exercise. And whoever manages to manoeuvre a car around the narrow corners is fit to drive anywhere in the world.

The town made its fortune with mining, mostly gold. We visit the nearby Minas do Passagem. We enter the mine on a little train on the old tracks. The mine is not as claustrophobic as the one we visited in Potosi, and even has an underground lake. Officially , 35tons of gold were produced from this mine which ceased activity in 1984, but unofficial amounts could be several times higher, as it was common for the slaves and workers to smuggle gold out of the mines.

During the rule of the Portuguese crown, a fifth (20%) of all gold produced was confiscated shipped to Portugal into the kings coffers. A group of local leaders and mine owners resented this arrangement, and organised a rebellion. They are known as the Inconfidentes with Tiradentes as their leader. The revolution failed, and Tiradentes was hung in Rio. Today, the rebellion is seen as the starting point of Brasilian independence and Tiradentes is a national hero. Other things have changed too: nowadays few people would oppose a 20% tax rate - it would be classified as a tax haven.

But there is more to discover than colonial buildings and a rich history: we also enjoy the cuisine the region is famous for. The town even has a few specialist chocolate shops - at least one of them makes excellent pralines. Gaudi forgets his loyalty to Swiss chocolate and becomes a regular at the shop.

Ouro Preto Fotos here

A literary journey

We don't only read travel guides - we also enjoy reading literature while on the road, or relaxing in a hammock. Our supply of literature depends on book exchanges in hostels, cafes, or book shops. The only thing is that these exchanges don't offer a lot of choice and we have to take what's available. As a result we are often positively surprised by new discoveries. Some of our books are funny (Bill Bryson) some are classics, (Herman Hesse and Kafka), and some written by Latin American authors like Paolo Cuelho. We enjoy this literary journey and wherever we are, we're constantly on the lookout for the next book-exchange for new material.
We were also eagerly awaiting the publication of the last book of Stieg Larsons triology, shortly after we left home. But as we couldn't find the English version, Natasha decided to read the nearly 1000 pages in Spanish.

Haiti or Hawaii?

3 April 2010, Rio de Janeiro (Brasil)

...asks the headline of a local newspaper after the rainfalls in Rio. The answer: Rio is both. The effects of days of strong rain exposed the two faces of Rio: poverty on one side, and a fun and sport oriented livestyle on the other. The rain caused mudslides in the poorer areas with whole neighbourhoods being washed down the hills. Over a hundred people died in the few days, and hundreds lost their homes. The storms also caused unusually high waves on the beaches of the affluent neighbourhoods. While emergency rescue operations were underway in the north of the city, brave surfers in the south enjoyed riding the five meter high waves, spectators watching them from the beach.

Fotos of Rio de Janeiro