This World ...

December 14, 2014

This World ...

" Develop interest in life as you see it ...

In people, things, literature, music...

The world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls

and interesting people...

Forget yourself. "

~Henry Miller

If I could bottle the smell, feeling and view from these fall mornings at 6:00 before the sun came up, before anyone awoke, I would. The crunch of frost on the patio, the stars in the sky and the bright moon. The way the brisk morning air almost takes your breath away but completely refreshes you at the exact same moment. There are so many reasons I love fall, and this is just one.

One year ago from this date I was globe trotting. I was setting out to explore this little world inside of a ginormous universe and I had no idea what to expect. I've been incredibly blessed since that date to have travelled to even more places than I could have imagined.

We arrived home from Brazil in November. It was fantastic to say the least. Every trip I take, every country I see, have so many differences. I feel different each time I leave, arrive, and come home again. But the one familiarity is the feeling I get arriving to Campbell River, this tiny little diamond in the ruff that so many people have never heard of. This landscape, beauty, comfort, safety, healthy environment is one I will never take for granted. My heart skips a beat just looking at the ocean or walking through the trees. I may not have been born and raised here but it's certainly found it's way into my heart to stay..

Okay … BRAZIL.

Brazil was crazy, busy, stunning, hot, adventurous…. you name it, we had it. The weirdest thing happened… I arrived in Rio De Janeiro and realized … I don't speak Portuguese. .. Alright, I may have already known that but seriously, was it ever evident … Next time I go on a trip I've learned to take the time before hand to familiarize myself with the language a bit more.

Our first stop was Copacabana beach in Rio where we stayed our first few days. The city was massive, the beach sandy and the water… cold. Yes, I was shocked, and expecting a tropical paradise but no, it was cold, like our Pacific. The people were friendly, the food was unfortunately mediocre but the sites definitely made up for it.
We spent our first day walking the hot and busy city streets, and rested at Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, a huge lake in the middle of the city. It sits like the bottom of a basin surrounded by mountains and high rise buildings. Rowing, speedboating, swimming, you name it right there in the middle of the city. From where we sat people walked, jogged and biked by on the little pathway surrounding the lagoon. The sun beat down and in the distance we could see the immense Christ statue sitting atop Corcovado Mountain. We would go there. Just seeing it got the excitement flowing. In the area we stayed we had miles of beach to walk on either side. Ipanema and Copacabana beaches were full of tourists and locals. From beach soccer/volleyball to surfing there were all sorts of sports taking place. The beaches were white and sandy and lined by a wavy stone walkway in which Brazil is famous for.

To see the further sites we signed up for a tour which was full of Brazilian tourists and us. So once again, Portuguese would have been so helpful (lesson learned). We headed up to Corcovado first thing in the morning .. The large bus took the tiniest cobblestone backroads which curved and twisted up the mountain through small villages of old colourful homes. The rock walls that did not have homes were artistically painted in all sorts of designed and pictures. We ventured slowly through the town on the mountain known as Santa Teresa. I loved this part. All the small homes perched on the mountain side, and the narrow roads which still had cars parked on them despite the risky width. From the mountain side we could see rows of small square brightly coloured homes all climbing the mountain side with such stunning views of the city and ocean. These were the slums. I couldn't believe. The views would be priceless in Canada and here the housing was slums. Driving through the city we noticed many slums, some right across from large homes belonging to rich people. Our guide explained that there is no violence or disruption despite the two being the same area. The police presence is too strong. The slums looked gorgeous with the rainbow of colour. Reaching near the top we stopped in the Tijuca Forest to take in a quick view of the city and switch transports. Tijuca National Park is a hand planted rainforest in the centre of Rio De Janeiro and is said to be the largest Urban Rainforest in the world.

At the top of Corcovado the view was literally breathtaking. Not only were we so high up, we could see a panoramic view of all of Rio. The city snakes and weaves through the mountains below us, and stops at the sandy white beach that spans the length of the city. Millions of people below us. Christ the Redeemer statue itself was a extraordinary monument. There were hundreds of people gathered on the small balcony surrounding the statue trying the get the best photograph and best "selfie".
At 2,300 ft the 92 ft statue was incredible ..
On our day trip we also went on the cable car tour that brought us up Sugarloaf mountain, a 1,200 ft peak sitting on the edge of the ocean. The original cable car was built here in 1912, of course the one we rode was not the original, however it was there for us to see.

Our next destination was Salvador in Bahia. This was quite a bit North along the coastline so we had to fly. This beautiful old city was full of culture, colour and good food. Being the google map lover that I am I suggested we walk from our hotel to the historic city. This adventure alone was a bit of a culture shock. Hot busy sidewalks lead us through unsmiling locals busy to make their way from A to B. A small side road brought us to a local market full of fish and produce bustling with bodies shopping for their daily intake. We ventured along an old narrow road to find the famous elevator. Salvador was built in two different sections, and upper and a lower. The first rope and pulley elevator was built in the 1600's to attach the two areas. The lower is the port and harbour and the upper is the business and living areas. The Elevator Lacerta was built in 1928, portoring people up and down all day for about a wopping .07 cents. From the top there's beautiful ocean views as far as you can see and city views along the coast. Once we walked out of the elevator, we realized immediately this is what we were trying to find. Pelourinho, the beautiful historic city surrounded us, with it's cobblestone roads and bright buildings. After a day spent viewing museums, churches and historic monuments, we could feel the Brazilian Catholicism. The colourful decor and rich flavours of African influence were evident throughout the city.

While in the city center we booked a day trip to Praia de Forte where we spent a hot day viewing a beautiful turtle sanctuary. The Tamar Sea Turtle Project is located right on a beautiful beach and houses the tiniest baby sea turtles all the way to 140kg sea turtles. Some turtles and other species are brought here to rehabilitate before setting them off to sea, others will stay here if they are unfit to return. Tamar relocates turtle eggs on high risk beaches and areas and brings them to Praia de Forte, far north from the city, where they can safely hatch. The town itself is a cosy little tourist area with small restaurants and shops all lined up. A neat little tourist attraction all in all.

Our final day in Bahia was spent wandering around the All Saints Bay checking out the beautiful sandy beaches and huge lighthouse attraction. This area was full of tourists and locals walking the pathways and enjoying the sunshine.

From Salvador we headed back down South do Foz do Iguacu where we spent a few days exploring the Iguacu Waterfalls on both the Brazil and Argentina sides, as well as a day tour of the massive binational Iguacu Damn. Iguacu falls has up to 300 waterfalls depending on the waterlevel. Devils Throat is the large waterfall basin in which you can walk right out on platforms at the bottom of it and get completely drenched but have a pretty extraordinary view. On the Argentina side of the falls we followed a series of trails to reached many smaller waterfalls. We saw some wildlife and ventured on a hot, long hike to get to a cold waterfall for a swim (I just waded in). The city itself didn't have many attractions to offer but the local bus proved a cheap and easy way to get us all over the area to reach our destinations. The Itaipu Dam is located outside of Iguacu between Brazil and Paraguay and the area itself is considered to be "binational" as it does not belong solely to one or the other and assists both. This was the largest generating hydroelectric plant until the last couple years. Thousands of Brazilians worked to build the dam for 18 years. Thousands lost their lives in the dangerous work. It is now considered one of the 7 wonders of the modern world.

From Iguacu we headed far north, to our final, and probably most anticipated destination, the Amazon. We headed into Manaus after a long delay of flights, and rested for a quick 6 hours before heading out on our Amazon adventure. We traveled 2 hours by bus and 1 hour by boat to our "lodge" or hut on the side of the river. I think it had been a chicken coop. The weather was hot and humid and the rivers were lined with lush short bush and the occasional small village. The local children of these areas travelled at 4 am to leave for school and came back by 7 pm at night. They had to be boated in and out, and the parents stay home to tend to the plantations.
While we were here we swam in the river and boated through surrounding areas. Snakes and spiders were crawling through our lodging area.. We fished for Piranhas and searched for Caiman Alligators by night. Our guide was even quick enough to catch a young one for us to touch and see. After a full day and night of taking in our surroundings we trekked into into the jungle where we set up hammocks for an overnight stay. The air was hot and humid and the night cool. It didn't rain much which was great, and we had a clear evening where we sat around the fire and watched fireflies dance through the trees. After a few days full of bugs, spiders, snakes and sweat we were ready to head back to the city. We visited the meeting of the Negro and Amazon rivers where you can literally see and feel the two separate rivers. Due to pH and temperature the water can never fully mix. Our boat driving brought us through the river so that we could feel the temperature difference which felt very different though it was just small. We saw pink dolphins in the distance and large taxi style boats with hundreds of hammocks. The boats served as a shuttle for locals to get from one area of the river to another, some were on this boat for 5 days!

On our last day in Manaus, and in Brazil, we took a city tour and visited the incredible Opera House, also known as Teatro Amazonas (Amazon Theatre). The theatre was built in the late 1800's during the rubber trade boom. The theatre was only used by the richest rubber traders and was a symbol or status of wealth. It was built using beautiful Italian architexture and the decor is very unique from glass chandeliers to ceiling paintings. This last day was 37 degrees and we were feeling the stress of that alone... After a busy two weeks in a country where hardly anyone speaks English, we were satisfied with the amount we fit in and ventured home.