With a backpack around Brazil

In the last two weeks I took advantage of my relaxed schedule before the Olympic Games’ kick-off and I transformed into an adventurous backpacker to discover this amazing country.

Weekend trip in Rio de Janeiro

The number one destination of Brazil leaves you breathless for the first time. She slowly and imperceptibly captures you and when you think you had enough, she teases you even more. Whoever gets in touch with Rio is going to have a hard time to let her go. Rio, you beautiful bitch!

It wasn’t an easy task to squeeze all the major sights in a weekend trip, but I tried to accomplish this mission together with Szimi. Hosted in Copacabana we had a strategic base to conquer Corcovado, Lapa, Ipanema and other key areas of this marvellous place. The Brazilian ’winter’ was generous to us by offering over 25 degrees and sunbath for the first day on Copacabana, however Saturday’s lazy afternoon was cancelled by the windy weather on Ipanema.  There we accidently run into a young salesman who knew that Hungarian is an extremely difficult language and he even explained us that we use many affixes and suffixes. Wow, impressive! This is how to sell deck chairs for us!

If there is one thing that a backpacker will not like about Rio is the huge horde of tourists taking over the city’s most visited points. There is no season in the year when you would find Rio without tourists taking selfies in the corners of Copacabana, the Selaron Steps of Lapa or beneath Christ the Redeemer. At this latter, you can get into a massive fight to be rewarded with a photo lacking backpacks, cameras, hands and other parts of the human body. It is hard to imagine what will happen during the Olympic Games when hundreds of thousands supporters will invade the city. 

Favela tour in Sao Paulo

If you are coming to Brazil, you were probably advised to avoid favelas as far as you can. These slums are the indispensable parts of the average Brazilian city landscapes characterized by extreme poverty, criminality and drug trade. Although favales have long history, most of them where erected during the seventies when thousands left rural villages in search of better conditions in rapidly expanding economic centers, like Sao Paulo.  In contrary to their expectations many of them ended up in slums without employment opportunities, adequate living conditions and hope for a better life.

Shortly after our return from Rio to Sampa I had the opportunity to take part in an organized favela walk in one of the marginalized communities of Vila Albertina. The walk was organized by Gol de Letra Foundation and lasted for about 1,5 hours. It was guided by experienced social workers who are in day-to-day contact with the members of local community. In contrary to your expectations many of favela dwellers are welcoming and hard working individuals who are trying to make a change in their circumstances.  I was not allowed to use my phone on the streets, but I managed to take some sneak peak pictures inside the favela.

Discovering the Iguaçu Falls

In Brazil distances are enormous and a single bus ride within a state can last for several hours (yes, Brazil is a Federative Republic with 26 states). If you are travelling overstate get ready for even longer rides. Domestic airlines are good alternatives of coach companies, however if you are about to book a week before your departure, you will probably not find a ticket at a reasonable price. Having decided on the trip on my last week in SP, I went for the cheaper and less convenient option, taking the courage to sit on a coach for 16 hours. Not even a slight delay of 2,5 hours could overwrite my first day program at the Brazilian side of the falls.

Foz do Iguacu is the primary destination for tourists visiting the Falls. The city is situated in the close vicinity of the Argentinean and Paraguayan borders, and not surprisingly its economy is largely dependent on tourism. Besides the flourishing hotel business, AirBnB is also a lucrative economic activity of local citizens, it was super easy to find a cheap room for me online. Shortly after my arrival I rushed to catch the first bus in the direction of Iguacu National Park. The Brazilian side of the falls offers less opportunities in terms of outdoor activities (hiking, rafting), however is still visited by hundreds of thousands tourists per year. Weekends are especially busy, but the entry system and the transportation are surprisingly well-organised.  Inside the National Park a double-decker takes you to the starting point of the trail where hungry little animals called coatis welcome you in order to get some food. Taking the trail, the visitor will have amazing views of the largest waterfall system of the world:

My visit to the Argentinean side of the falls was scheduled for Sunday. This daytrip turned out to be more adventurous than expected. Buses to Argentina have no schedule on Sundays and their departure time is unpredictable to foresee. Fortunately I only had to wait 40 minutes to catch the ride and after an easy border check I found myself in the Argentinean side. My portunol knowledge helped me a lot to find the bus taking me to the entrance to the Parque Nacional de Iguazú. It was only there when I realized that non-MERCOSUR citizens have to pay almost the double amount of fine Argentinean pesos to enter. Of course, I did have enough cash with me and the teller machine was broken. I tried to convince them in all possible ways to get the discounted ticket: pretending to be from Venezuela (fail), pretending to cry like an abandoned baby (no success). Instead, I was suggested to withdraw money from inside the park’s eatery district. So they let me in, but as I returned to the gates the guy was no more there, he probably went for a lunch break..... Sorry Argentina for not giving my money to support your future project in being the most organised country of the world... and Gracias for this amazing view of the Devil’s Throat:

Quick visit to Curitiba

In Europe, not many people have heard about the capital of Paraná state, Curitiba. Better to say, the majority of the European citizens do not even know it exists. However, with its two million inhabitants and booming economy Curitiba is an important regional centre connecting Paraná state with the rest of Brazil. In overall, Curitibans enjoy the highest standards of life and the city is just as well organized as some of the Northern European cities. It was my honour to be hosted by Guilherme, personal trainer and former visiting student of the Budapest based University of Physical Education.  He took me to the best burger place of the city and he provided me with advices concerning the main sights of the city. I followed his suggestions and visited beautiful places just like the botanic garden or the historic city centre: 

...... and now it's finally time for Rio 2016!