I used to think Panama City was expensive (São Paulo, Brazil)

Brazil has forever in my mind had a sort of mystique. The mystique was largely based on alluring imagery: from the "Cristo Redentor" statue above the city of Rio to the mountains jutting out of the water on the beautiful beaches to the foreign and slightly exotic language (Portugese). Brazil contained, for me, a host of inhabitants who thought a bit differently, lived life a bit more openly, and had an eye for style unmatched in the rest of the world.


My image of Brazil and its sense of style was enhanced even more when I just happened across a BEAUTIFUL furniture store in Panama City. One day I was just walking along the road on my way to a huge bookstore when I looked over at a furniture store. It was called "Sierra Móveis". Their furniture is STUNNING. If I ever take a turn as an interior designer, I´m going to be their #1 customer. Take a look. (Personally I think Flash websites should be banned from existance, because I find them incredibly annoying, BUT their furniture is SO cool, I just had to include the link. )



After getting inspiration from the furniture store, I had fresh resolve to book passage to Brazil.



Before departing for Brazil, I had to get my Brazilian Visa. And for a US citizen, getting into Brazil is a bit of a pain. I had to bring to the Brazilian Embassy 1) A recent photo 2) Proof of my Yellow Fever vaccination 3) $100 USD 4) Ticket showing onward passage (I actually had to buy a return fare for this).



I spent days gathering the necessary documents, buying the return ticket (which I would not actually use), getting my photo taken/printed, etc. I was busy cursing Brazil for being such a pain and it turns out that Brazil has the habit of simply reflecting the policies of the country from which the visitor is from.

Only when I started whining about Brazilian policies did I realize about the US´s... Foreigners who want to enter the United States must provide all I did, plus fill out forms explaining about their job and family, PLUS pay $125 USD (which is of course MUCH MORE to most of the world than it is to a US Citizen). The $125 USD only gets an INTERVIEW with the US consulate. IT DOES NOT GUARANTEE A VISA. --AND-- It´s not refundable if the visa is not granted.

It was never clearer how difficult it was to get into the US until I had to go through it myself.

Finally, everything was in order and I bought my ticket from Panama City to São Paulo. To save money, I was to connect twice and travel all night: 1st to San Jose, Costa Rica, then to Lima, Peru, finally ending in Gualarous Airport in São Paulo, Brazil.

On the flight between Lima and Sao Paulo, I met my seatmate who turned out to be a Peruvian entrepreneur and his wife. Very nice people. He spoke to me in Spanish VERY slowly (which is what I need to understand) and was very patient while I used my dictionary to look up words I didn´t understand. The flight time actually passed very quickly.

We arrived at about 4 in the morning at the Gualorous airport. I decided to sit there and chill for a bit--get my bearings before heading out. Although I don´t generally count airport experiences as an ¨authenic¨ experience from a city, my first experience WAS at the airport in a cafe called the Balloon Cafe. The area behind the counter was swarming with staff. They all seemed to be having a good time messing around with each other, giving one another hugs and kisses on the cheek--(EVERYONE was giving everyone kisses on the cheek--this is not the homophobic United States of which I speak). When I approached the counter, 3 people turned toward me to help me. I know no Portuguese, so I ordered in Español. It was difficult, but I did manage to order a fresh orange juice and a pastry with ham and cheese inside.

I understood that I was to pay after eating. They brought out my beverage after it had been freshly squeezed, and it was WONDERFUL (having had airline food prior might have played a role in my tastebud ecstacy). The pastry was good too. The seats were modern, the place was clean, the food was good, and the service was really, really friendly.

After I was done, I went up to pay, and they thought that I HAD paid and needed my food. So they scrambled to get my food ready and I communicated that I already had my food and just needed to pay. They apologized profusely (even though it was MY fault I couldn´t communicate!), smiled broadly, and sent me on my way.

The photo shows the modern/cool bowl my pastry was served in, the odd, waxy napkins I´ve been finding so far in South America, the cup with the WONDERFUL fresh-made Orange Juice, and for the first time in my journey, I found a packet of artificial sweetener (YES!) (Gulourus Airport, Sao Paulo)

From the airport I caught a bus to get to the Subway station. The buses in Sao Paulo are a bit strange. First, the buses are FAR newer than I found in central america and in much better repair. The downside was that there was an odd barely-body-sized turnstile to be found on all the buses. One must pay the fare to get through the turnstile. That´s okay when one does NOT have a rolly-bag or is carrying big packages... HOWEVER, even the airport bus has this extremely inconvenient setup. I had to pick up my bags and put them OVER the turnstile after I had paid for my passage.

Avenida Paulista in Sao Paulo has the Museum of Modern Art. It is perched on four red legs, hovering above traffic (São Paulo, Brazil)

Avenida Paulista, (São Paulo, Brazil)

Avenida Paulista, (São Paulo, Brazil)

Sitting in a non-functioning fountin in the park off of Avenida Paulista. I met these three very nice women from Brazil who were visiting Sao Paulo who were very happy to take my photo (São Paulo, Brazil)

Electronics mall on Avenida Paulista (São Paulo, Brazil)

The contrast between rich and poor. The man in black is wearing nice (expensive?) clothes, smoking a cigarette. He is waiting at the bus stop (the same bus stop I needed). Just to his left is a group of street people who LIVE on that section of street there in Sao Paulo. (

São Paulo, Brazil)

Immediately after I got to town, I met a German girl who was studying architecture in Belo Horizonte, a town to the N and E of Sao Paulo. She was going to an architecture exhibition in Parque do Ibiripuera. I asked her if it was okay that I tag along (on 3 hours of poor sleep) and she said yes. We traveled to the park together and enjoyed the architecture together.

There is an enormous city park in SP called ¨Parque do Ibirapuera¨. It was designed by Oscar Niemeyer together with landscape designer Burle Marx. This is the theater which has a stage inside--AND--the red doors open for performances outside (São Paulo, Brazil)

One of the great buildings in Parque do Ibirapuera (São Paulo, Brazil)

I only stayed in Sao Paulo for two days--enough to catch up on sleep, appreciate the immensity of the city, enjoy some architecture, and head for the greener pastures of Rio de Janiero. Even in my short time in Brazil thus far, I was able to establish that the locals have a real zest for architecture, and they are extremely welcoming. Every time I was in a market or restaurant, I was welcomed not with the same sort of feverish frenzy as in Guatemala or China, but I felt a lot more like a guest--not merely a "very wealthy" client.

I was excited about my next stop... Rio.