Blog

Well, that's it. After six long and incredible months, I'm done with South America. Today was my final (half of a) day on this continent, and I spent it most unspectacularly, performing a convoluted three-legged flight that got me out of here: São Paulo to Lima; Lima to San Salvador; and San Salvador to New York. After sleeping in São Paulo airport last night (got in about an hour or two of shut-eye — wasn't that bad), my first flight took off at 6:30am. My third flight didn't get in to New York until 11:30pm — over 16 hours later. Wasn't the quickest or the most convenient way to fly north: but the airline — TACA Int'l, the same guys that I flew from Quito to Santiago with, about 6 weeks ago — was quite good; and the ticket (which I bought before I left Sydney) was pretty cheap.

I've been thinking for some time about how I should wrap up my entire, colossally incredible six months here in South America. And I've decided that a conventional wrapup is simply out of the question. Too much to say. Too much already said. And really, no regular little reflective summary could ever do this experience justice. So instead of attempting such a futile endeavour, I have instead embarked upon another, less crazy, more fun little challenge: I have composed a "checklist" of my time down here! The checklist "ticks off" the things that every South American backpacker should do during their time down here, and that I can honestly say I've done. Plus, I've added a section down the bottom, for a few more that I haven't done, and that I should have done — or that it's perhaps good that I didn't do. Read, laugh, and enjoy. Por favor. And if you want to check off a few more South American experiences of your own, feel free to add them as comments.

Brazil is South America's biggest country — geographically, economically, and population-wise — as well as its most unique (culturally, demographically, and language-wise). And yet, I've barely spent 10 days here! Considering that I've seen such a tiny portion of the place, and that I haven't even learned the language, I feel totally inadequate to write a wrapup of my time here. But nevertheless, I'll do my best. Brazil has been a roller-coaster of a final stop in South America: hot, exotic, dangerous, sensual, and friendly — to say the least. I wish I'd at least been exposed to the music here a bit more (let alone everything else): but oh well, I guess I'll be back here one day; and when I return, there'll be pleeenty more to see.

I've had a really enjoyable few days on Ilha Grande; but sadly, my flight out of São Paulo leaves tomorrow morning, and if I miss it I'm royally screwed. So this morning I had to say goodbye to this island paradise, and to begin making my way back to the mainland, and over to South America's biggest city. It took a full day — a ferry ride all morning, and a bus trip all afternoon — but after a great deal of time spent sitting on these various vehicles, I got to São Paulo. Now it's more sitting, and sleeping, as I wait for my plane.

These two girls — Ashley from Nevada, USA; and Megan from Ottawa, Canada — have both been staying here at Aquario with me all week. They're both blonde, beautiful, brash, talkative, and fresh from Oktoberfest, which they just celebrated in its true home — Southern Germany. Now that they're down here in Brazil, they're still living that Oktober spirit, by continuing to drink copious quantities of whatever beer they can get their hands on, and by continuing to rant and sing gregariously whenever the moment takes their fancy. Awesome free spirits — the girls, that is, not their beverages :P.

Seeing that yesterday evening, I discovered my foot was painfully injured — and that this morning it wasn't feeling much better — today I decided to just take it easy, and to relax on the beach in Abraão, with a book and a sandy towel. I didn't have much choice, really: I could barely walk! So it was a bit of gentle wandering today, and a bit of eating; but mostly, just sitting on the sand and reading. Nice weather today — those clouds have all but cleared up — so I had plenty of sun to keep me company. Well, it was nice to unwind and to take it easy anyhow — but hopefully the 'ol foot will heal up soon, so that I can be back in action for the end of my time here in Brazil.

There are many countries in South America where you can find great, fresh, delicious tropical fruit juices — from fruits such as papaya, mango, guava, passionfruit, and various berries. But only in Brazil can you find açaí. This delicious — and incredibly nutritious — fruit is found only in tropical Brazil, and it's used to make some of the most extraordinary juices and smoothies known to man. I had some açaí for breakfast this morning, and by G-d, the stuff was simply out of this world. If you're in Brazil any time soon, don't go home until you've tried some of it — and once you've tried it, you won't want to go home at all.

When we returned from our Dos Rios hike this evening, the Italian guys invited us back to their guesthouse, for some drinks and a barbeque. Well, as with today's hike, the get-together turned out to be as late as it was chaotic: but in the end, it happened, and it was a great night out. All six of us from the hike showed up, as well as my mate Tom, and Larissa (who was feeling better by the evening), and a few other random friends of the group.

I made acquaintance with these two boys, on today's hike to Dos Rios. Both of them are from Italy, and they're old friends: however, one is just in Brazil for a short holiday; and the other one is currently living in São Paulo. When we finished the hike, they invited the lot of us back to their cosy little guesthouse, for a barbeque and some drinks. Great lads: warm to all around them, and always ready to have a good time.

Sophie's a lovely girl from a tiny town near rural Cheltenham, in England. I met her today on the hike to Dos Rios, here on Ilha Grande. She's a very good-looking girl, but is unfortunately taken (don't you just hate it when that happens?) — her boyfriend, apparently, is currently travelling in Australia. Sophie has the ambitious aim of covering both South and Central America within the next 4 months: I say to her, good luck.