Paradise Found

Hi everyone! As you can see I have arrived in the dreamlike setting along the Costa Verde (green coast) which stretches between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. This also means that I have less than one week left :(!! Luckily the weather has been super cooperative...Since my last entry I passed through the state of Minas Gerais (a huge interior state, kind of like the Texas of Brasil). There I stayed in the capital of Belo Horizonte, which I admired for it's presence of good city planning (very unique for Brasil). I was actually able to make it from the downtown area to the hilly area north of town to witness a very "Belo Horizonte (beautiful horizon)" during sunset. This sort of thing would not be possible in São Paulo...

I also made time to stop by again in Florianópolis for one last shot at hiking to a deserted beach in the south of the island....and to of course buy a tee shirt to commerorate my 3 month stay in this wonderful city!! Of course returning there called for a bit of reflection..and I am very grateful to have passed an awesome summer there, and to have made some really great friends. All things come to and end however...and my departure from there only beckons at what is to come on June the 2nd....shoot!

Since then, I have moseyed my way up the Costa Verde. I have passed through the awesome settings of Ubatuba (located in SP state and host to over 70 beaches). While at my hostel, there arrived a group of about 30 biology students from Belo Horizonte. It made for some fun times at night after they finished their studies and I of course passed the daytime (getting shorter and shorter) on the beach. From Ubatuba I made my way to the small "beach hamlet" of Trindade. This place is within the municipality of the better known Paraty but I decided to opt for something a bit more off the beaten path as I am already familiar with the cobble-stoned anitquity for which Paraty is famous. Unfortunately, along this "less beaten path" I ran into an obstacle in the form of a State Police officer of Rio de Janeiro (apparently I had crossed the state border).

This occured as I was waiting for a bus connection on the side of a highway. I was already worried that I had missed the bus when what appeared to be bad news came sauntering down the hill. He asked me if I was foriegn and proceeded to escort me back up the hill to verify my documentation. I was fully cooperative in submitting my passport but apparently that wasn't enough. They continued questioning me about if I was working in Brasil, do I use drugs blah blah blah...and made comments about my nervous demeanor. Well considering that 2 minutes before I was waiting patiently for a bus and suddenly am in Police Custody yeah I guess I was a bit nervous!! Apparently this was enough for them to go through all of my belongings to look for contraband..and of course NOTHING...so I guess there is no such thing as probable cause in Brasil...If you are foreign that is enough to warrent search (luckily no seizure in my case). I realize these guys have a job to do but well they can just f**k off as far as I'm concerned.

Anyway everything is cool besides that. I have arrived safe and sound on the Island of Ilha Grande (big Island..yet another great name!!). There are a lot of other foriengers here...I hope they don't have any contraband!!!

Até mais!!

Heading for higher ground

So as winter approaches in the southern hemisphere, obviously the days are shorter and the temps dip to a cool 60 degrees at night. One positive that I read about in many of the guidebooks I used was that wintertime in Brasil tends to be dry season. Like with many other things, I have found that these references have generalized a bit too much with regards something as intangible as weather patterns in a country the size of Brasil ie.... IT'S FREAKING RAINING A TON IN THE NORTHEAST!!!

I spent a good week between my arrival in Recife and escape to higher ground here in the interior of Bahia state dodging the deluge. An absolutely huge and unexpected positive which alleviated this inconvenience was the fact that my cousin Patrick's new in-laws have properties scattered about this region. I was a bit weary of hitting the road alone again so it was spectacular to have his mother and sister in-law meet me at the airport in Recife and put me up for a week in more than comfortable settings in Recife and Maceió (further down the coast to the south).

From Maceió I caught an overnight bus to Salvador, Bahia. My time here consisted of frequent trips to the neighboorhood of Pelhourinho (the historic center). This is where the Portuguese established their first colonial capital (before moving it to the more swanky digs in Rio as they escaped Napolean's onslaught). This influence is apparent in the archetechture, cobblestone streets....an element which is a little more "new world/Brasilian" are all of the favela kids high on glue scurrying about and hustling for change. Another presence in the town squares are the Tourist Police with semi-automatic weapons. During my frequent trips to this neighboorhood I would just make sure to sight them up and make a bee line in their direction before scoping out the next viewpoint for photos etc.. Maybe I was being paranoid...the hostel owner certainly was in his frequent warnings about the area...but in the end I had no hassles at all...I caught an awesome capoeira/folklore show one evening (Capoeira being a "non-contact" fight/dance which is the national sport of Brasil NOT SOCCER WHAT???) and saw some interesting museum exhibits while still trying to keep dry from the lingering rain showers.

Things are starting to improve in terms of the weather as I have finally made it to the interior for the first time here in Chapada Diamantina National Park. This is a place of mystical landscapes including : Mesas, caves, waterfalls, rivers and their subsequent caverns. I am currently staying in the former diamond mining boomtown of Lençois. Obviously the mines have all but dried up and it's a bit touristy here but I hear roumers of French Bohemian expats keeping a cave colony and they say that Jimmy Page still has a place here when he wants to dissapear for a bit. So there is definitely something unique about this place. Today I was able to medidate in a cave, swim behind a waterfall, and catch an incredible sunset from the top of a tabletop mountain (and a full moon to boot). All in all, life on the road is pretty sweet and I am going to have to make the most of this experience in my final 3 weeks!!

Before my scheduled arrival in Seattle on the 3rd of June I plan to stick to the interior for a bit more as I head to the state of Minas Gerais for about 4 days. Afterwhich I am heading back to Florianópolis (believe it or not) for about a week before making my way to the coast between São Paulo and Rio, where I catch my return flight.....I think ;)

Tchau 4 now