Progressively Louder Laughter

February 24, 2018

Days 23, 24 – Goodbye Brazil!

I really love São Paulo. Much like New York and Barcelona, I get such buzz from it. I wish I had a whole month to get to know it better, I feel like with the few days I have there is only time to scratch the surface. São Paulo has had the most English speakers of any of the places I have visited in Brazil. As a result, I get to have great conversations with locals, one of which was about music with a guy from a t-shirt shop. I have exchanged emails with the record store owner who I know I could sit down for hours going through records. In general, Brazilians in São Paulo are incredibly curious about foreigners and want to pull us into their culture, which they are immensely proud of (and for good reason). Wednesday night I went out to a bar that was near the hostel. We had glow-in-the-dark face paint done as we enter. The artist who does the face paint has this innate ability to pick a design that suits its subject, and it is amazing- we look like futuristic tribal queens. I truly hate having to remove it the next morning.

It’s supposed to be a samba night but the DJ (a beautiful tattooed Brazilian girl) is spinning vinyl… some of which is Tropicalia (!!!) I am completely transfixed, trying to make mental notes of songs she is playing. There is a guy that I can’t seem to shake, constantly asking me to dance and eventually I acquiesce. He keeps dancing me in circles and I feel like a kid on a merry-go-round, perking up when I see the DJ and the records like it is ice cream at the fair.I spend Thursday recovering and trying to find a couple more souvenirs. I have made plans for the next day at 7am to see Gregorian chants at a big church in the city centre, but we end up getting pulled into drinking. First cachaça pong, then a casual drink at a bar close by, and suddenly we find ourselves at a samba bar until 4am. Despite our best efforts, we did not make it to see any chants.

Friday is spent feeling guilty about missing the chants and then a quick visit to to the Batman alley which is famous for its beautiful street art.

Pictures:

THEN- it’s off to the airport. I think about the month I have had and I ache a little. São Paulo was truly amazing but as I sit in the Uber I’m running through memories of the beginning of my adventure in Recreio and Rio. I’m missing the feeling of falling in love with the beaches, waves, mountains, and sunsets of Brazil. I think about how absolutely insane Carnival was to experience first hand. This week I was talking to someone about how we sort of subconsciously hid our phones because there was so much theft during Carnival and as a result, we only had the occasional sneaky photo. I’m trying to retrace the memories in my mind, hoping that all of the details will stick. In the middle of my Brazil trip, I have this sort of convalescence period in between Rio and São Paulo. It’s maybe not the most exciting part of the trip but I do keep in mind that it was necessary to avoid needing a vacation from my vacation. I have met amazing people along the way, laughed a lot, eaten delicious food, and taken in some of the most beautiful views that I have ever seen in my life. It feels good to know that the magnet that pulled me toward Brazil was right. I love Brazil so much.

Songs of the last few days:

Secos and Molhados – Amor

Dagny – Love You Like That

February 23, 2018

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Day 20, 21, 22 – São Paulo

I’m back in SP, and I love it. I feel like I am getting a much clearer sense of the city, despite the somewhat frustrating and mostly funny language barrier.

On my way from the airport to my hostel, I passed TWO record shops!!! I arrived at my hostel, threw my backpack off like it was on fire, and hurled myself towards the record shop. I think the owner and I are now friends because when I returned today (a few days later) he called out ‘Kathryn!’ and then proceeded to give me the lowdown on all of the Brazilian music I should check out. It’s one of the real joys in collecting music- getting to see other people get excited about something they are passionate about.I’m realizing that colour and design go a long way for me, and in this way, São Paulo is incredible. The city is covered in vibrant street art and stores and restaurants that have unique and beautiful designs. It’s a total feast for the eyes. On Tuesday I went to the Museum of Art with some girls from my hostel. I was very intrigued by the curation of the museum, as it was one massive room with the pieces all facing the entrance in rows. The pieces were in freestanding glass panes, secured in cement blocks.

The artist name and description were on backs of the painting, meaning you had to walk around the painting to get any information about the piece. It made the experience more interactive and memorable, forcing you to spend more time with every piece. I used it as an excuse to test my old art history knowledge which is in dire need of a refresher.

I won’t go into the history of the Guerrilla Girls but I bought this poster which is really cool:I’ve been lucky to have incredibly sunny weather this week, it makes São Paulo so easy to walk. On Wednesday I went to the Ibirapuera park with a friend from the hostel.

While we were there we visited the Museu Afro Brasil which was an amazing museum. Unfortunately, it was all in Portuguese so we left feeling no wiser and maybe even a little confused.

Songs of São Paulo:

The Replacements – Can’t hardly wait

Beck – Colors

Tune-yards – Sunlight

February 21, 2018

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Day 17, 18 & 19 – Salvador

Salvador was a bit of a crash and burn, cautionary tale on how not to travel. This was what I learned from Salvador:

Travel lesson #1: No matter how much time you think it will take to get you from point A to point B, leave as early as possible. Give yourself as many daylight hours as possible.

Travel lesson #2: When travelling by bus, don’t sit next to a Mother with a baby- particularly in the window seat. They might fall asleep while she is nursing like a true feminist (as is her God given right) and you will need to decide between waking them up/having an awkward conversation or going to the bathroom.

Travel lesson #3: Spend the goddamn money and get a travel plan with data.

Travel lesson #4: When going to a somewhat unsafe city, don’t book the most well-decorated Airbnb thinking it will be safer because of the neighbourhood. Book the hostel where you will meet people so that you can see the city together safely.

So I booked this amazing Airbnb with a check in window of 3pm-6pm. The doorman would be leaving at 6pm. No problem. No problem until hours into the bus ride when remembered that I was in Brazil and everything takes 10 times longer.

After a very drawn out bus ride and a ferry that was scenic until the end when it was docking, very slowly as they do (and I was seeing that it was 5:45pm) I felt like I was on Amazing Race. A show I have never watched but can imagine involves a lot of yelling. Which is what I was doing to myself, internally.I got into what was the lame horse of taxis. The man had no idea where he was going and had to stop and ask several people for directions. I felt helpless as minutes slipped passed 6pm. I had no wifi, no Portuguese and I was very quickly losing daylight but the sky was so idyllic that I still took a picture:I arrive 25 minutes late and the doorman is gone. I go to work to find a solution, my resources pretty limited. A half hour later, after having a few doors are slammed in my face I finally see a blue flashing LED sign that says: Hotel! Wifi! Cervajas! It’s like the Maslow Hierarchy of Needs for Kathryn tailored to that exact moment in my life.

I am lucky enough to immediately get in contact with the hosts who drop everything they are doing to get me into the Airbnb (for this I am eternally grateful).

I want to like Salvador but I find that going out alone outside my neighbourhood just makes me feel unsafe, and all of the tourist activities just kind of fall flat to me.

That being said, Salvador does have a rich and interesting history. It was the port city in Brazil for the slave trade so it as is very influenced by the African community that now make up much of the city. I definitely think I missed out on this and wish I had planned things differently- but I can deal with the fact that a few days didn’t live up completely to my expectations. Brazil is amazing and I’ve been pretty lucky along the way to have many incredible experiences.