Rob's Rave and Silvina's Stories Living life at the end of the world
Brazil
Cindy in Brazil
A good friend of mine from my days in New Zealand, Cindy Ruakere, has brought out her third CD and is now at the beginning of a one year world tour. It starts in Brazil, and involves living in a slum and ministring to the people here. Cindy Ministering in Brazil Here is a small [...]
Curitiba – Moving Onward
With rain, rain, and more rain in Rio, and the forecast for rain over the next week, I decided to head off in search of a dry patch of ground somewhere else in Brazil. My first idea was to simply return to Foz do Iguaçu and then back home to Corrientes. After all, travelling in [...]
Second Time In Rio
Filled with fear, I watched every face as it passed by, looking for a killer or thief hidden in the expression. My mind was filled with concern at every step. More than cautious, I was becoming close to paranoid. What had done this to me? Stories abounding with thefts and robberies, of muggings and other [...]
Heading Home
As it seems to be my routine now, I managed to make it to the bus station only minutes before the bus was due to leave, climbing onboard and hardly getting settled before we were on our way. An elder man sat beside me and patiently waited while I moved and twisted my bag around [...]
Another Face of Rio
Rain. Lots of rain. Rain without stop. Water pouring off roofs, running over pathways, filling up every hole. Wind howling through streets, bending umbrellas inside out, spraying water everywhere. Traffic backed up everywhere, splashing through puddles, wetting passers-by. Wet. Very wet. Shoes, pants, shirt, bag. Splashed by cars, blown by wind, leaking umbrella. Temperature warm. [...]
Moving to Rio
It is a Sunday today, and in a shopping centre in the middle of Belo Horizonte city, I am tapping away on the keyboard, waiting for my bus to Rio. It turns out that there are not a lot of services to Rio on a Sunday and my bus leaves at midnight for the six [...]
The Conference – Day 1
The first day is still going strong, and it has been very interesting to see people from so many different nations here. I have already met people from bases in Norway, Panama, and Brazil, spending time with them all over lunch. There is a person here from almost every country in the world. Still tired [...]
Curitiba – The Rain Stopped
It stopped. The rain actually stopped. Not forever though. It is now raining again. But it really did stop. During the few hours of non-rain, I managed to follow the general tourist route through this town and check out all of the items listed in the good book of travel (which I found in English [...]
Belo Horizonte at Last
Well we finally arrived in Belo Horizonte, 2 1/2hrs later than our scheduled time, and 5 1/2hrs later than the planned time. During our journey we travelled through fog so thick we could hardly see the other side of the road, something that proved fatal for a truck and bus which collided in the obscurity. [...]
The Conference – Day 2
Well this place is certainly a mix of people. I am becoming confused in my languages now. Not that I know Portuguese, but when talking with people to buy food and the shops I am trying to speak something that resembles it. This means that when I go to speak to somebody I have to [...]
Guarana
A semi-clear liquid, looking more like beer than anything else, sold as a soft-drink. Guarana is an extract of some plant. It is sold profusely here in Brazil. And it is GOOOOD stuff. Guarana has many of the properties of caffeine but more of a kick and less side-effects. Combine that with a handful of [...]
The Conference – Last Day
Well it has been hard to find time for Internet during this conference. There is a huge line of people waiting to use the only internet nearby that is available. The first day I missed it was when I discovered that it closes at 7.30pm at night. Doh. Second day I arrived before then, but [...]
The Conference – Day 4
Yesterday, being Sunday, was a day of rest. Sleep was high on the agenda, but so too was time to meet new people and catch up with some of the new friends that I had already made. Wandering around this rather large base property, there were plenty of other people with the same idea. Entertainment [...]
Time to Leave for Brazil
Well, after all of the anticipation of hitch-hiking to Brazil which then changed to travelling all together in some dilapidated old van, we are back to the standard old method of climbing aboard a bus for the entire journey. I am sure that my mother will breathe a sigh of relief now… I do not [...]
The Bus That Broke
For the first time in all of my crossings through Foz do Iguaçu, I stopped at the border crossing to get my passport stamped. Leaving the bus behind, as they do not wait for this process, I headed to immigration and filled out the paperwork. Once done, I would need to wait for another bus [...]
The Stress of Travel – In Foz
Well, here we are in the bus station of Foz, minus one of our team. It was not until we arrived in Posadas for our bus change that she realised she had left behind the only things that would let her leave the country… her national document and a letter of release to travel. The [...]
Hitching To Brazil
After a lot of anticipation and preparations, I was ready. Packed for two weeks with just a daypack sized bag. I could not reasonably use a larger bag as my plan was to hitch-hike my way up to Brazil. Larger bags tend to reduce my chances of getting a ride. Besides, I had everything I [...]