What lurks below…
I’ve lived in Sydney for more than ten years, and have not once been to the Sydney Aquarium. But throw me into a foreign city and suddenly I’m at the aquarium within a few days…
It’s incredible when you get the opportunity to see some of the amazing creatures from below up close. You remember just how forieng and strange that world beneath sea level can be.
Tiny seahorses, crabs, anenomes and fish of all sorts, shapes and sizes fascinate the eyes and mind.
That strange world below ours is just as fascinating as the one we live in, and well worth a visit just as any other tourist destination deserves.
At the aquarium I suddenly became that small insignificant being observing all that was around me, and wondering about the part I play in the gigantic yet strangely small world of ours.
These moments are greta – they reignite the wonder that time erodes, and leave you dazzled, filled with questions and looking at things from new perspectives.
Beach life – Ubatuba
After catching a local bus for just 2 Reais, and seeing beach after beach fly past the window, we finally arrive at Praia Prumirim. The bus stop is not all that obvious, or very promising, as it appears to just be in the middle of nowhere.
But walking on, down the trail, we find the street access, and then soon we’re surrounded by nice beach houses scattered in and around the foliage.
The foliage parts, and now we’re on a fairly secluded beach, with just a few other beachgoers beside us. At the north end of the beach lies a kiosk, beside the lagoon, with deckchairs and sunbrellas waiting…
For just a few dollars, drink, food and water are at your beck and call. The tranquility is free, and you’re safe to leave your things behind as you take a dip in the refreshing water.
Turtles pop their heads up every now and then to gaze at you with mild curiosity, and crabs scamper across the sand to their hideaways as you head back to waiting caipirinhas and snacks.
Now THIS is Brazil…
Ubatuba – not an online video site…
Ubatuba is a stretch of beachy paradise between Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. It’s not a frequent stop for many foreign tourists, but the South Americans love it!
Paulistanas (people from Sao Paulo) use it as their weekend getaway, after all it’s just four hours from the centre of Sao Paulo by bus, and much less if you are traveling by helicopter, one of Sao Paulo’s prefered methods of travel.
In Ubatuba, there are more than a hundred beaches to choose from, some busy with tourists and traders, others more secluded with just one or two beachfront kiosks for food service and drinks, and yet others where you are its only inhabitant for the day.
You’ll also find a thriving local turtle population thanks predominantly to the Projeto Tamar group. It’s quite an experience to swim in the beaches with turtles around you.
In the city centre, you’ll find bikes to rent, a great skate park, ice skating in summer (yep!) and plenty of great places to eat, shop and relax.
But if it’s beaches you’re after, then you’ll need to catch a bus either north or south and checkout some of the favourites like Praia Grande,Praia Vermelha, Felix, Itamambucu and Prumirim.
When visiting Ubatuba, you HAVE to try the local creation of ‘Azul Marinho’ or fish with banana – a delicious stew made with fresh fish fillets and green bananas.
Thanks to Marcio, meu amigao, for showing me around Ubatuba and introducing me to some of the local culture.
Addicted to the Tube
If you like soap operas on television, then this is most definitely the country for you…
Most Brazilians seem to stay reasonably up to date with the main ‘novelas’ or soaps, which occupy prime time television viewing slots. You can start watching them at 3 or 4 in the afternoon and finish up around midnight…
They have these intervals throughout them, which are like extended breaks, and they even come with their own small ‘credits’. You kind of think they are finished as the credits are showing, but then all of a sudden the same one is back on again 10 minutes later… It’s a TV toilet break where you can actually go to the toilet and get back before it starts back up.
The latest offerings are ‘Incessata Coracao’ and ‘Ti ti ti’… where they seem to be going through a phase of having the soaps set in the design/fashion industry.
They also still have Big Brother on the tele over here… so I’m having a little bit of reflux each night when it comes on and I remember what we went through in Australia for a few years hehehe. The biggest difference here – more fights, more love, more flesh on display, and they also take FOREVER to leave once they’ve been eliminated from the house… there’s about 5 minutes of back slapping and face kisses…
When Push comes to Pull…
One thing I found funny here in Brazil is the words in Portuguese for Push and Pull…
‘Empurre’ is Push, and ‘Puxe’ is Pull. The way you say Puxe, sounds exactly like Push, only it means the opposite.
As a result, I’ve been running into quite a lot of doors of late…
Saturdays at Sao Benedito
Hundreds of people crowd the streets alongside the plaza, where a fair has been set up selling various foods and artesan items. We grab a ‘pastel’ (deep fried pastry of salami and cheese) and head into the street where the throng of people seem to have grown in the past few minutes.
It seems as if they’ve closed the side street between the park and a few bars just for the fair on Saturday, but then again, this is Brazil. The street is still open, and cars move at a snails pace through a crowd of drinking, laughing, and energetic Brazilians.
A few enterprising women have dragged giant eskies and are selling beers, soft drinks and spirits to the gathering and thirsty crowd, and its definitely added to the buzz in the area.
It’s Saturday afternoon, and this is just another weekend for the Paulistanas. For me, it’s amazing… and besides you never know who you might end up talking to in the crowd…
Linguists Unite!
The Museum of the Portuguese Language in Sao Paulo is quite the unique experience. It’s a museum, the only one of its kind in the world it claims which is dedicated to just one language and its history.
Through the interactive exhibits and the cinematic show which ends up with you walking ‘through’ the screen into another room of projection displays.
Another gallery has a wall of continuous video displays more than a hundred metres long, showcasing different aspects of the words relating to Brazilian culture – football, carnival, food, music, history…
I was lucky with my timing at this museum as there was also a temporary exhibit dedicated to my favourite poet, Fernando Pessoa. His poems once translated into English are still fantastic, but in Portuguese they are truly incredible.
He was quite the philosopher who wrote under a number of heteronyms, or assumed characters, which allowed him to explore life from a number of different perspectives and different voices.
Try a few of his poems out for yourself and see if you like them… Personally I think he is among the world’s finest poets.
http://www.meaningsoflife.com/Poems/Poems-Pessoa.htm
http://fernandopessoa.multiply.com/reviews/item/6
His collection of short observations about life can be found in English as ‘The Book of Disquiet’. It’s my favourite book.
Rio’s Carnival Up In Flames
Tragedy hit preparations for Carnival in Rio de Janeiro as the City of Samba, where all floats and costumes are housed, went up in flames. More than 120 firefighters raced to the scene, and were able to save 70% of the complex. Three of the ‘schools of samba’ lost their floats and many of their costumes. Portela, União da Ilha and Grande Rio are some of the largest and respected schools of samba. With less than a month to go until the Carnival parade gets underway, this is a significant setback for the three schools. But despite the sadness, all three schools will do what they can to still take part. Many people are donating money to help those affected most. Coming for Carnival? Never fear, the party will still be on, and I’m sure that the three entries from the affected schools will be an emotional thing to witness.
When music transcends…
Thiago Pethit was the main attraction, and he really delivered. His style is unique, but if I had to compare him to anyone, I’d probably say he has Mika-stylings, only Thiago is far more entertaining than Mika. He sings in Portuguese, English and French, and is quite the talented and animated performer.
Fashion Weak
Tales of The Brazilianaire 