RE: Monthly report of September:

Visiting Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Natal, Fortaleza, Florianopolis, Curitiba, Foz do
Iguau, Tatui and Campinas

Sao Paulo
Before I headed back home to Germany, I have had in my mind to stop off for one
month in Brazil to visit friends and travel through the country. Now it was a perfect
timing, because university starts again in October and I was already on the other
side of the big lake. Jungmin and Abhishek gave me a ride to Denver. First I flew to
Miami, where I had a five hour layover and then I flew further south to Sao Paul. I
arrived early Sunday morning at the Aeroporto Viracopos near Campinas. When I
booked the flight ticket I was not aware about three main airports near Sao Paulo
city unfortunately Viracopos is the most furthest away from Sao Paulo City. Though,
free bus transfers are provided from the flight company Azul and buses drive to
several destinations in Sao Paulo. I took a bus to Barra Funda, where Vini picked me
up and welcomed me. Later at Vinis apartment I met my old roommate Andre and
your old crew from Darmstadt was reunited. It was great to see my buddies again.
In the afternoon we had a typical Brazilian BBQ with a lot of beef. It is common to
use only salt, no other ingredients to spice beef and only coal is used. After the
meat is ready it gets cut in small pieces and passes around the table. It tasted
delicious!
Next three days I visited Sao Paulo. Honestly there is not much to see for tourists. It
is just a huge concrete jungle with 18 million inhabitants, everybody is always in a
rush, everyhing is crowded and chaotic. However, Sao Paulo is famous for its variety
of restaurants and nightlife. We went to a fancy nightclub once, went to a good
sushi place, Vini showed me his moms company Micromust and I visited Paulista
Avenue.

Welcome to Sao Paulo

Paulista Avenue

Rio de Janeiro

From Sao Paulo I took a bus to Rio de Janeiro. Due to low prices travelling by bus is
very common in Brazil and the comforts of buses are even better than in the US. It
was nice to see some parts of the countryside. Though besides good economic
development of the country there are still many people who live in poverty. It was
not unusual to see people convoying goods to the next market by horse.
I stayed in Rio for six days and I easily could have stayed one more week. At my
hostel I met travellers from all around the globe. First evening I met some girls from
Germany as well and we went to the Copacabana to have some drinks and later we
moved on to other bars.
During this time, Rio was crowded with many tourists, because currently the Para
Olympic games were hosted in Rio. Many sport events, where hold at the
Copacabana, close to my hostel. The most famous Olympic tourist attraction was
the Olympic Boulevard in an old port district and only for the Olympic Game
redesigned by artists. It was a major party zone and it also broadcasted the games.
Further away was the Maraca Stadium however it was quite difficult to go there by
public transportation system. I went there with two guys from Sweden and Cape
Town. Unfortunately on the way to the stadium we got off at the wrong station and
landed up in a really creepy neighborhood. Due to the fact that the games supposed
to start in 30 minutes we decided to ask a local to drive us to the stadium. He
looked like a taxi driver and the stadium was only two miles far away. After we were
sitting in the car he got very rude, scared us and we five guys decided to hop off the
bus and ran away. It was a good call, we were not sure if he would have driven us to
the right spot. We took a real taxi and arrived safe at the stadium and enjoyed the
games.
Following days I visited the Christo statue, rent a surfboard, tried to surf, hiked up to
the top of Petra Da Gavea, visited the party district Lappa twice and started my
days with a Caipirinha.
The beaches around Rio are really nice and it is easy to go there by Uber (always
call an Uber instead calling a local taxi!!! It is cheaper, you get better service and
drivers are really friendly) At a bar in Lappa I had met Fritzi and Kathrin from
Germany who have lived in Rio for a couple of month so far. We went together to a
beach south of Rio where Fritzi taught us how to surf. While watching the local kids
surfing it looks super easy, though it even was impossible for me to keep staying on
the board for a second.
Visiting the Christo statue was amazing. I went there with Nathan and John from
Cape Town. We stayed on the top exactly at 8 am and had the stage only for
ourselves for 5 minutes. The view was incredible seeing the sugar loaf afar, the
coast line and the skyline.
Last day in Rio I went on a hike called Petra Da Gavea with Nathan and John. The
way up took us around four hours. It was 30 degrees and high humidity made it

even harder. For the last part we even had to climb up a steep cliff, but the view on
top was spectacular and all work was totally worth.
Rio was an epic time!

Copacabana

Olympic Boulevard

Maracana stadium

Lappa

South of Rio

Christ Statue

View on top of Petra da Gavea

Natal & Fortaleza

After five fun days in Rio I left the city with new great memories and took a plane to
Natal. Natal is a smaller touristic city in the north of Brazil known for his postcard
view of the Ponta Negra Beach and the big dunes in the background.
The northern part of Brazil is very poor compared to Sao Paulo due to actually no
existing industries, except tourism near the coast line. Many people live from
farming or tourism and corruption is still a huge problem. In the inland peasants live
from livestock or farming, though this region is very dry all year long and soil
fertility is poor. Besides this corruption is a huge problem and affects everyones
daily life. For instance, public transportation systems from the airport to Natal is not
sufficient available, because local taxi companies have bribed politicians to charge
tourists impudent fees. I spent one hour to figure out how to get on a bus to city,
but with no success. In the end I swallowed the pill and took a taxi.
In Natal I stayed in a hostel near downtown. At this location I was the only English
speaking tourist, because majority of travelers were people from Brazil or Argentina.
I spent first day on the beach in Natal, where I met some funny guys from
Argentina. Following two days I visited different places near Natal with some guys I
met in the hostel. We rent a car and explored the coastline north and south of Natal.
Due to constant strong east winds, many dunes have been formed and characterize
this unique landscape. Highlight was a small fishermans village and Pipa. I had
been fortune meeting these guys, because I probably would not have seen all this.

Ponta Negra Beach in Natal

Calm down and relax

After three days I headed further north to Fortaleza. It was a tiring bus journey and
it took over eight hours. Travelling by bus through the inland was very impressive
and eye opening. People live in small clay building and even basics as power or
water supply systems are not available in some parts. I also recognized a lot of
plastic garbage in the ditches and no working litter service. Although
unemployment is really high in this poor region, people preferred living around
garbage and wasting their time instead of collecting some disposals to contribute to
a surrounding with higher life quality. I didnt understand these people
Nevertheless, I enjoyed my time in Fortaleza a lot, though the city is known for the
highest criminal rate in Brazil. I took cite surfing lessons in Cumbucu, one of the
most famous cite surfing spots on the globe. Practicing there was great due to
perfect wind and water conditions. There is constant wind all year long and water

temperature in the lagoon was around 26 decrees Celsius. Usually I went there by
bus or I took a bike taxi. My cite teacher Dylan was a cool dude from Argentina who
also spoke English fluently. After two hours I was exhausted and spent the rest of
the day sunbathing and drinking Caipirinha. Evenings I hang out with locals and
other guys from my hostel. I am going to miss it.

Kite surfing in Cumbucu

Florianopolis

My next destination was Florianopolis. The city is in the southern part of Brazil and
right now the Brazilian winter seasons was going to end soon. Florianopolis is
supposed to be the most beautiful city in Brazil, due to a beautiful surrounding by
the ocean and many smaller hills. Also there are many famous beaches around and
well known in the surf community. There I visited my friend Claudia where I stayed
for the next three days. Claudia is actually from Poland, though we lived in the same
building in Darmstadt while she was doing an exchange program in Germany. Last
year she moved to Brazil to pursue a Ph.D. in material science. In Florianopolis I
actually had the same daily routine as in Natal and Fortaleza. I woke up, did some
sightseeing and spent the rest of the day on the beach. First day we both went
together to Lagohina do Leste, which is an isolated beach and only accessible by a
three hour hike. It was like in a paradise. We saw many colorful birds, walked over a
mountain pike and monkeys were begging for food. Next two days I spent the day at
two different beaches, Praia Mole and Praia da Galheta.
On the weekend we both travelled to Curitiba. We found a cheap ride with blablacar
and after only five hours we arrived there. Curitiba is known for his cultural
diversity, beautiful parks areas and huge art community. This northern part of Brazil
is very European due to many immigrants from Germany, Poland and Italy who
arrived there in the 19th century. Nearby in Blumenau is even the second largest
Oktoberfest in the world. It is too bad that I arrived two weeks too earlier. I would
have been eager to taste some good craft beer.
In Curitiba we check out the German and Polish park, walked through downtown and
later we stopped at a Reggae festival where we met Claudias friend Ricardo.
Afterwards he invited us to a fancy house party with live music and cocktails for
free. On Sunday we visit the Oscar Niemeyer Museum, which honors work of famous
architects and focus on visual art and design. Afterwards Ricardo showed us the
botanic garden of Curitiba, the Wire Opera House and Park Tangua. In the evening
we parted ways, Claudia took a bus back to Floripa and I headed further south to
enter Argentina.

Foz do Iguacu
In the late evening I took a night bus from Curitiba to Foz de Iguacu. I arrived early
next morning, bus ride was convenient and I was able to sleep most of the time. I
had booked a hostel in Puerto Iguacu in Argentina in advance. Now I only had to
cross the border, find the hostel and check in. However, it was six in the morning,
there was no tourist information and nobody was around who spoke some phrases
in English. Due to these difficulties it took me hours to figure out which bus to take.
Finally I was on the right bus, though we had to get off at the border control and the
bus left without me. I left Brazil by foot, got a stamp in my passport, but no bus was
waiting for me. I stayed there and had absolute no clue what was going on, because
no bus stopped to pick me up. Fortunately other people looked helpless around and
so I made friends with Jake and Maddy from Australia. Finally an hour later we got
on a bus and drove to the Argentinean border control. However, we had to get off
again, got a stamped and waited again for the next bus. All in all it took us three
hours and it was already 11am when we arrived in Puerto Iguacu.
After this unexpected delay I checked in at the hostel, changed money and booked
a bus ticket to Parque National Iguacu for the next hour with Maddy and Jake. This
place is absolute amazing and we immediately got recompense for the unorganized
border crossing. To see the waterfalls from above we went a 30 minutes hike,
walking on small blanks from island to island. It was breathtaking to listen to the
thunder of the water, seeing the emerging rainbows and all the green nature
around.
It was definitely one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Its hard to
imagine something what would top this view. After having such a great day I was
eager for more and not ready to go home.
Early next day I headed back to Brazil and I lost again three hours at the border
crossing. Again I wasnt the only guy waiting for a bus and complaining about bad
transportation system. This time I met two guys from Switzerland who have been
travelling through South America for 8 month so far. In the end we decided to take a
taxi back to the city. In the afternoon we booked a guided tour to the Itapa power
plant. Currently it is the biggest power plant in the world with an annual power
generation of 90 TWh. The dam is on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. The
generated electricity supplies approximately 75% of the electricity consumed by
Paraguay and 15% of that consumed by Brazil. Most of the generators were
engineered by German companies. The guided tour through the dam was very
interesting and I got well informed about construction topics, political aspects and
environmental impacts. The process control station is located exactly on the border
between both countries and the nationality of the employees is always equally
divided. I was a bit surprised about the thickness of the walls of the dam. They are
not thicker than 10 meters and hollow in its inside. It was impressive to stay on top
of the dam and see the difference in the water level between both sides.
In the evening we ate for dinner at an authentic Brazilian restaurant. Afterwards we
parted ways and I took a night bus to the airport. My flight was scheduled to
Campinas at 5 am next day.

Waterfalls at Foz do Iguacu

Standing on the border between Brazil and Paraguay

Iguacu power plant

Tatui and Campinas

From Campinas I took a bus back to Sao Paulo, where I stopped at Vinis apartment
only for one day. Next morning I took a bus to Tatui. It is a smaller city two hours
away from Sao Paulo and known for the biggest music school in South America. The
city is located on a small mountain and surrounded by farmland. There I met my
good buddies Rafa and Ricardo who studied with me at SDSMt. It was so funny to
see them. They couldnt belief it that I made it all the way to their small city in
Brazil. I visited with Rafa parque estadual intervales to go hiking there. We set up an
appointment with a guide, because it prohibited going alone. The road got slowly
worse and worse while we entered into jungle. For the last part we drove on a dust
road, which winded through the mountains. Outside the car it was human and cold,
though it was exciting observing the nature. In the park we walked along small
tracks, surrounded by a totally green atmosphere. Our guide explained us nearly
everything about the plants and how to survive in such an environment. We
followed a small creek and ended up at a waterfall. On the way back we went
caving. A creek went underground, so we walked in the creek through the cave. We
brought some flashlight to see something on our expedition. Some parts were really
narrow where we had to crawl in the water to pass it. After a while we were freezing
and totally wet. But thanks to Rafa I even visited the Brazilian jungle. In the evening
Rafas parents invited me for dinner and of course we went to a Brazilian steak
restaurant. It is typical in Brazilian steak restaurants that waiters come to the tables
with grilled sticks of meat and guests can pick as much as they can eat. Food was
really mouthwatering!
The following morning Rafa and Ricardo showed me a local brick company where
their dad works as the manager. We walked along the production chain and
explained me detailed the production process. (I think the factory produces 40.000
bricks per day, but I am not sure anymore) They are confident with the procedure
and well respected by all employees. During school break they used to work there in
the sales and purchase section. The factory owner is a collector of cars, especially
old-timers. Most of the cars are stored in a garage on the company area. I guess the
combined value of all cars was around 3 million dollar.
Later Rafa showed me around at University in Sorocaba where both are studying. It
is a small university, but it looked modern and clean. Pursuing a Bachelor degree in
Brazil usually takes around five years due to a very practical orientated syllabus.
Before I had to say farewell again we picked up Rafas girl and then they dropped
me off at the bus station. Next stop was Campinas, where Caio and Lara expected
me.
Caio had been my roommate in Darmstadt for a month, because he was struggling
to find a place to stay. I have good memories about this time. We often sat in the
living room drinking beer, while he was playing guitar.
During the next eight hours we were invited to three different BBQ parties, had a
dozen caipirinhas, delicious beef and a lot of fun. What a great last evening in
Brazil. By the way, I have to give some credits to Caios family because they own
the most stylish house I have ever seen.

Old lodge in Tatui

Welcome to the jungle

Ready for caving?

I love Pastelle

Early next morning I took a bus back to Sao Paulo at 5am to meet Andre and Vini for
breakfast. We met at Andres apartment where I got to know his family. Afterwards
Andre gave me a ride to the airport and I left Brazil on the second of October at
2pm.
I have to give many thanks to Andre and Vini. They helped me planned such a
spectacular and adventurous journey through Brazil and gave me the best support.
It was fantastic to see again my old friends Claudia, Lara, Rafa, Ricardo and Caio
and I am glad that they hosted me so well. I am looking forward to welcome you in
Germany.

Thanks for having me

See you soon!!!