Tag: São Paulo

  • São Paulo, Brazil – Brazil’s Big Apple

    São Paulo, Brazil – Brazil’s Big Apple

    Arriving from Buzios, the first thing we noticed about São Paulo is that it goes on…and on…and on! It is massive. The city of São Paulo  is home to over 12,000,000 people and sprawls over 1521 square kilometres. It is a very dense city, with 6 times more people per square kilometre than my home town of London. Our coach drove for over an hour to reach the centre (read all about our bus travels around Brazil here). When we finally arrived, we got checked in and had an early night.

    The Hostel

    Scan of São Paulo Hostel Downtown Guest Card with room number 407, check in date 17/02 and check out 19/02. The other side of the card has a Subway Map showing 2 lines.
    Guest card and subway map from Sao Paulo Hostel Downtown

    São Paulo Hostel Downtown was a very well run hostel, the second Hostelling International run property in Brazil. The staff were incredibly helpful, you can see even their room card has lots of information on it. They speak English and the reception is open 24 hours. There’s free wifi and a pool table in the common area (always a win with me, despite me being completely rubbish at it).

    Photo of a hostel room with yellow walls, 2 double bed, a table and chair, TV and ac under a large window.
    Room 407 facilities

    The room was a bit fusty but it was big and it had a mini fridge which really came in useful in the heat.

    The Tower

    Photo of a lobby in the background is a tall hanging chandelier, lit up.
    Banespa Building Lobby

    Our first stop was the Altino Arantes building (the Banespa Building now owned by Santander). Karl was particularly excited about this as he is a Santander account holder. He also loves a tall building! On entering the lobby, to the right, is a fantastic old safe from 1882. This is a lovely example of when things were built for beauty as well as practicality.

    The lift took us up to the 33rd floor and from there the expanse of São Paulo spread beneath us. We couldn’t see where it ended. Well, for sight-impaired little me that’s not much of a surprise, but neither could Karl.

    “Every time I think I can see the edge, I realise that it’s not the horizon, but another line of buildings!”

    The Concert – Part One

    Back at street level, we went a-wandering.

    We arrived at the Theatro Municipal to discover that it was shut for renovation. Our disappointment ebbed when we saw a poster advertising a free concert that evening in a smaller concert venue, five minutes walk from our hostel. We popped into the box office and secured our seats.

    Lunch

    After a ten minute pitstop to play with some kittens (Karl does like to tempt rabies) we decided it was time for some food. we found a “kilo” restaurant. This kind of buffet is very typical in Brazil, especially in São Paulo. In the UK, we make sure to load up on  high price items when we go to a buffet but in a kilo restaurant, the price you pay is calculated by the weight of your food. Follow the table around and then place your plate on the scales. I think the only way to win at that game is to hope they have candy floss.

    To walk off lunch, we took a stroll through a park and admire the prostitutes that lined the path. They gazed lethargically into the distance as the midday sun glinted off their golden brown shoulders, bleaching their fake blonde highlights. I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen such a parade in the day time.

    We also took a moment to admire the queue at the bus stop.

    This was the second huge queue we had seen that day. And still it’s us Brits with the reputation.

    The Concert – Part Two

    The concert that evening was a triumph. We turned up, took our seats and let the classical pieces wash over us. We had prime seats in the front row, We weren’t meant to snap any pictures but we couldn’t resist (that’s why it’s a little blurry)

    The Next Day

    We had very little time so we just spent an hour in a large garden before we had to get going to Rio, and the greatest party on earth.

    Rosie xx

  • On The Buses in Brazil – Auto Viacao 1001

    On The Buses in Brazil – Auto Viacao 1001

    In February 2009, to facilitate our travel around Brazil, we took three journeys on buses. The company we used was called Auto Viacao 1001.

    Booking

    Our first test was to book the tickets. We made our way to Rio de Janeiro main bus station, Novo Rio Bus Terminal. Looking around, we spied the counters that listed our desired destinations and waited for our turn. Mr Fluskey, armed his guidebook Portuguese, did an absolutely fantastic job and we walked away with tickets in hand. I think he was buoyed up by the queue next to us. It had five people in a row wearing yellow…FIVE! That would never happen in the UK.

    people wearing yellow shirts and t-shirts in a queue at a counter

    You can now book your buses in Brazil tickets on the website so you don’t need to worry about negotiating the queues at the bus station.

    Rosie wearing a blue top, sitting cross-legged on the floor holding a pastry snack, smiling

    Feeling very accomplished, we grabbed a quick bite of Pao de Queijo (cheesey, yummy bread thingies) and made our way downstairs to the bus stops. We only had to wait twenty minutes, and the bus was ready.

    A bus station with 4 white 1001 Viacao buses in Brazil

    Rio de Janeiro to Buzios

    The bus conductor checked our tickets against our passports and let us board. We climbed the stairs to the first floor. As we pulled away from the bus station, somebody appeared bearing a snack tray. They reminded me of a child’s lunchbox in its contents, biscuits, a little juice carton etc. The weirdest component was the ham biscuit. There were two crackers with a meat-flavoured paste in the middle; a savoury custard cream of sorts.

    (NB American readers, a custard cream is a classic British cookie, designed to be combined with a lovely cup of tea…or just several more cookies)

    The coach left Rio de Janeiro via Ponte Pres. Costa e Silva, an amazingly long bridge that ran past the giant Lego-like structures of a shipping yard.

    shipping containers at a port with a crane and ship in the background

    The bridge stretched on for over ten minutes (I know this because I spent a VERY costly seven of them on the phone to my bank trying to get my card unblocked).

    President Costa e Silva Bridge over Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro
    When the surroundings changed from grey to green, we relaxed into the journey.

    The journey time from Rio de Janeiro to Buzios is only just over two and a half hours and despite providing snacks, and the on board toilet, the coach stopped at a rest stop about an hour into the journey. I thought it was spotlessly clean, well designed and with plenty of toilets. The building was quite pleasing architecturally and had nice grass verges so it blended into the scenery. As we walked around, there was a restaurant that served delicious looking food and was reasonably priced (unlike the money sucking sadness centres in the UK and US).

    Brazil has almost no rail network and so a great deal of money has been invested in the road infrastructure. The road was smooth and well maintained with clear markings and wonderful roadside facilities. The coach is air-conditioned and the seats have an impressive recline as well a foot rest. If you are travelling overnight, you get a blanket and pillow. It is all very civilised.

    Read about our time in Buzios, Brazil – Boats, Bella Vista and Brigitte

    Buzios to São Paulo

    Our second journey on the buses in Brazil took us back past Rio de Janeiro, and onto São Paulo. The first coach was a single-decker but the seats were still fantastically spacious. It was a long day with around nine hours of travelling and a stop in Rio de Janeiro to change back onto a double-decker coach. Somewhere on our second leg, between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, the coach stopped and we looked around in bemusement, there was no rest stop here!? We disembarked to stretch our legs and realised that the bus was leaking fluid.

    Karl in an orange t-shirt eats crisps in front of a white and blue 1001 Viacao buses in Brazil

    Waiting in the sun, we got chatting to a group of remarkably tall young men. Turns out, we were sharing the buses with the Brazilian Under 21’s basketball team!

    young men speak to a person in a breakdown truck behind a buses in Brazil

    After an hour in the sun, another coach stopped to pick us up. This was from a different company and didn’t have the same level of comfort. It was quite old and dusty and had no air conditioning so it was stifling. It stopped at a services with McDonald’s and we gratefully dived in. Salt and sugar were exactly what we needed after an hour sweating it out on the side of the road.

    Check out our odd tradition of dining at McDonald’s all over the world

    Rosie stands alongside tall young men in a queue at McDonald's

    Check out São Paulo, Brazil’s Big Apple

    São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro

    Our final journey on the buses in Brazil went off without a hitch, but we got stuck in an almighty traffic jam on the way back into Rio de Janeiro. We moved at a snails pace for about an hour.

    cars and buses blurred at night on a 6 lane highway

    We watched people moving through the lanes of traffic holding items for sale. Plastic toys, bananas and bottles of shampoo were all on offer. Some of these guys were barefoot and had been out all day in the sun and heat, breathing the fumes from the cars and buses. A very tough way to earn a living.

    Read about Rio de Janeiro Carnival, Brazil – Seeing the Sights

    Rosie xx