Johannesburburg, South Africa!

So I guess there is a moderate level of drinking that is ok to reach before a long red-eye flight from one continent to another, I mean really what could go wrong?  Well apparently a lot when you are enjoying your last night in Brasil and self-medicating for a long journey.  Sao Paulo to Johannesburg may have been the worst flight to date, by nobody’s fault but my own.  I sway in the airport for hours, pay $15 for terrible food since I chose to drink my dinner before departure, and once finally getting off the ground, I cannot fall asleep on the plane as all I can think about is the desert in my mouth without a flight attendant in sight to beg for water.  Hours and hours as I slowly sober up and chug my small shot-like glass of water in the morning.  I arrive early afternoon dazed, sleepless and hung over.  Never again, I hope.

My friend grabs me from the airport and we head straight to a year-end company party and then out to a lake for a weekend of camping.  I’m dull and sweaty to say the least but the crew of Zambians and South Africans take me in as we eat, drink and relax lakeside for a few days.

We finally return to the city three days after my arrival.  I am thrilled to have a day without an itinerary as my friend heads off to work.  I spend it soaking up the African sun on the patio in a nice gated community.  There is a pool and a guard and not a walking destination nearby except the local Porsche dealership on the corner.  I have nowhere to go and no way to get there.

The next day I am getting impatient to see Johannesburg.  There is more to see and experience of this city aside from these big walls surrounding us.  He goes to work and I head to the nice underground train put in place since the World Cup in 2010.  The city has improved because of this in many ways.  From the train, I wander to the nearby bus, and take a series of these out to the township of Soweto well known for being an important historical place in the anti-apartheid movement. 

First stop on Vilkazi Street is Nelson Mandela’s former house which is a must-see sight here.  This is basically my first day spending money so the currency exchange rate is lost to me.  I bring around 120 rand for the day’s activities but when it cost me around 40 on transportation one way, I realize I’m in trouble.  This museum alone costs 60 rand for entrance which is around $8US so yes I have less than $20 for a day sightseeing in the city.  I start talking with a couple just finishing the museum hoping they can clarify that it really isn’t that great and I can take a picture of the outside and call it good as I joke about my poor planning.  The Nigerian couple takes pity and offers me 100 rand for my museum viewing for the day.  I politely decline many times, embarrassed until finally their persistence wins.  Oh wow, the girl who seeks out donations at museums!  But it really was so great to see along with the Hector Pieterson Museum and memorial.  Thanks to those people! I will pay it forwardJ

After seeing the house and getting a refresher on the history of the amazing Mr. Mandela, I wander up the street and a local starts talking with me.  I have my guard up as I always do especially in new places. Does he want money or a date?  Turns out neither and I have a new friend and free local tour guide!  We wander the town for hours as the African sun takes its wrath out on my skin.  I am able to see so much and learn about so much through this guy, even going through the slums which is always at the top of the list visiting anywhere.  One long day with almost no money and I have a new friend and a great experience.  We make plans to meet up the following day and see the central part of Joburg.

Well I still don’t know this guy’s name.  He said it once and I didn’t understand it, but by now it’s too late to ask again and ‘hey you’ will have to work.  We walk for the entire day from downtown to historical centers and museums, over the Mandela Bridge and then a 3 hour trek to a natural reserve park.  Amazing day and I am exhausted again.  I like this city more and more as I discover it through the eyes of a local.  I take in one more day of relaxing and on my final day, I ambitiously plan to see three museums.  I make it to two, ending at a brewery and call it a success.  

My bags are packed and I am ready to get to Uganda. Two short flights and a late night arrival away from seeing some of my favorite people in the world!

 

...and now Brasil is competing with Colombia for my heart!

Brasil, my final destination in South America.  Just as I thought I was understanding and speaking better Spanish, I am once again lost with the local language.  Portuguese is beautifully frustrating.  The pronunciation is killing me as I butcher my few known words with a strong Spanish-English accent.   I start by finding an English-Brasilian Portuguese dictionary, get some lessons from the guys working at my hostel and hope for the best.  The best has yet to come  as I get by with Spanish, English, very little Portuguese and a lot of gesturing.  As a friend put it, say everything as if you are complaining and get lazy about pronunciation.   I usually just smile and respond with sim (yes)!

My first stop is Iguassu Falls, a massive sheet of falls bordering Argentina and Brasil.  It is absolutely amazing.  I spent one day on the Argentina side (stamp in the passport…check) touring with a retired couple from Spain.  Great Spanish practice and good company as we wander the park all day.  The following day was the Brasilian side with a German couple and a bath of heavy mist from the falls.  I make good friends with a few of the local guys who work at the hostel.  It’s low season so the place is quieter but that means I have a built in friend at the bar every night for Portuguese practice and capirinia lessons (the famous Brasilian cocktail). The following day I am coerced into visiting the Itapu Dam bordering and shared by Paraguay and Brasil.  Massive concrete dam…that about sums it up.  The entire time I thought about how I could have spent those 50 reais better.  None the less, I say good-bye to all my friends and head to airport for my flight up north to Salvador.

I have plans to meet a friend in a hostel when I arrive and we will travel to the nearby island of Morro do Sao Paulo.  He is a someone I met briefly while traveling Europe, but travel friendships are not necessarily gauged by the length of time you spend together and more so the good times you spent exploring new places, a mutual love of travel and facebook updates help a bit as well.  We catch a 3 hour   ride to the island on a small boat that caught every bump in every wave. I spent most of this time on the side of the boat convincing myself I would survive and arrive with all my stomach’s contents. We both vowed to not speak of the hell ride again.  We loosely plan to spend three days here. On day five, we have become so comfortable and lazy that walking to the beach three minutes away seems like a gigantic task sometimes too hard to tackle. 

This place is perfect. Plenty of sun, white beaches, cheap drinks delivered as you lay on the sand and we are living here for about $25 per day.  We understand the seriousness of our situation. If we do not move soon, we may never leave.  We drag ourselves onto a boat early in the morning with two more travel partners joining our crew- Yan from Czech Republic and Patrick from Switzerland.  I am the solo female traveling with three guys.  Conversation has quickly turned from travel experience and life goals to hot women, bodily functions and smagma.  So the journey continues…

We catch a series of boats and buses and arrive later that night in the town on Lencois surrounded by a natural playground of eroded stones, natural waterfalls and slides, mountains and more.  We find a cheap spot to crash, which is really someone’s home with a few extra rooms, but with a great breakfast and even better hosts we are content.  Once again, we may have to be pried away from this location.  A morning hike into the unknown takes us through a desolate landscape starving for water and opens up into a natural pool surrounded by eroded rocks.  We spend the day swimming, sliding down and exploring the rocks, watching locals surf the wet rocks and the boys are entertained for way too long with small fish eating the dead skin off their feet.   We eat pizza, meet more locals and drink, drink, drink.  Tomorrow we will be departing for the ultimate destination, Capao – a hidden hippie town in the mountains.  Dreadlocked Yan is in heaven as we settle in to our dirty, cavelike hostel.  By the time we leave, we walk down the dirt road and wave to all our local friends.  We saw a small fraction of the must-see nature spots in this area alone but we are extremely proud of ourselves that we hiked two days of the five we were there.  An overnight bus back to Salvador and we will be catching a plane to Rio de Janiero. 

The world famous city of Rio, known for its parties and beautiful people, is a bit intimidating. Didn’t expect to say this, but I am tired of drinking. I would rather get a good night’s sleep and wander a city than stay out all night and feel like death all day.  And then I discovered the first street party and cheap caipirinias.  Sobriety and more than a few hours of sleep are unseen the entire time.  My favorite day in Rio was spent in the largest favela there – Rocinha where we volunteered at a children’s daycare then walked all the way up the hill for the most amazing view of Rio and ended with a sunset on the beach.  Favelas take up around 70% of Rio’s population and are known for being dangerous but that is a major part of the city and I was so happy to be able to experience that.   Of course I saw the famous Cristo overlooking the city, some steps, some arches, a church, a park and beaches. Good-bye Rio as I venture to my final destination of Sao Paulo!

Well Sao Paulo has a reputation, and not usually a good one.  It is the biggest city in the country and one of the biggest in South America as well.  Crime, kidnappings and bulletproof cars are the extent of my knowledge here.  Turns out I didn’t get robbed, kidnapped or shot at but I was able to see some very interesting things through a lot of walking good and bad streets all around the city.  I met up with my travel partner on the island and stayed at his place while I saw a few sights and prepped for the big trip across the pond to Africa.  I am trying to live in the moment and enjoy where I am, but the only thing on my mind now is those awesome kids in Uganda that I am a week away from hugging.

 I made some great friends and met many locals so I have a place to stay WHEN I return for the World Cup in 2014! So many great memories and so much more to explore from this big, beautiful country.  See you soon Brasil!!