Brazilian exotic
Good day. I want to tell you about our trip to the beautiful country of Brazil. During this time, we had 11 flights, from March 17 to March 29.2007, 14 days and 12 nights, I didn’t mix anything up, because with the change of time zones, so it goes. Here is our route:
1. Moscow - Frankfurt
2. Frankfurt - San Paolo - Rio
3. Rio - San Paolo - Iguazu
4. Iguazu - San Paolo - El Salvador
5. Salvador - Mohu de San Paolo
6. Moju de San Paolo - El Salvador
7. Salvador - Rio
8. Rio - San Paolo - Frankfurt
9 Frankfurt - Moscow
I, like many people, love to travel. But I prefer to travel alone. Well, I don't like to walk in a crowd, and obey the whim of the guide or the majority in the group. The long-awaited rest, for that, exists to spend time with maximum benefit for the body and for the soul. In individual travels, he is his own master, wherever he wanted, he went there. Apparently this is already a tradition, but I try to travel about 4 times a year: skiing in Europe in winter, exotic in spring, Europe again in summer, and sea in autumn. Arriving this winter, after Austria, in January, we began to think about a spring trip. In my opinion, it is better to travel often, it seems that you have just arrived, there are a lot of impressions (for a month for sure), and you are already considering a new route, exciting feelings about the upcoming trip begin again. IMHO it makes life easier.
After some discussion, we have identified two countries: Fiji and Brazil. We began to study the issue. Naturally, the information was taken from the Internet. We read a lot of reviews about these countries. We decided to go to Brazil. I always had a dream to go to Rio, walk around the city in white pants, and, of course, see the Corcovado statue of Jesus. We started planning the itinerary. After a short debate, we decided to fly to Rio, from there to the Iguazu Falls, and there, already on the spot, determine where to go next. I wanted to embrace the immensity, see everything, and at the same time relax on the beach.
We turned to friends who work in a travel company. They booked us a flight from Moscow to Rio. In fact, they kept our reservation at Varig for almost a month. They already visited Brazil last year, so they told us a lot. We also bought part of the ground program from them: 3 nights in Rio, 3 nights in Iguazu.
Airfare to Brazil cost 36.400 rubles. per person, 3 nights in Rio, Orla Copacabana hotel $3x98 per room, in Iguazu $3x88 per room, Continental Inn hotel. By the way, with a visa to Brazil, there were some ambiguities. At the Brazilian Consulate +7 (495.363 2626, at first they said by phone that return tickets and partial hotel reservations would be enough for a visa. A week later, they also said that they needed hotel reservations for the entire period. In fact, there are enough return tickets. Visa costs 1870 rubles. if you submit documents yourself, and 370 rubles. pay extra for the one who did not come himself (2220 rubles). The visa is done in 5 working days. Anyone can collect documents. Also, we really wanted to visit the Iguazu Falls from the Argentinean side, but we need a visa there.
The Argentine embassy issues a visa only if you have a return ticket from your country. After reading the reviews, we found out that a visa can be made in Rio, for this you need to contact Consulado Argentino, any taxi driver will take you, this is in the center. A visa is made in one day, in the morning I gave my passport, the next day I received a ready-made visa. It costs 65 real ($ 32). Don't forget to take any 3x4 photo in advance, because in Rio, taking a photo costs 10 real ($ 5), and it is problematic to find where to take a photo.
In many countries, there is such a thing as an airpass. This is when you buy several flights to different cities, and each time you fly to a new city. Very convenient, and the price is much lower than buying each ticket separately. In Brazil, you can buy an airpass from Varig and Tam. But there are nuances, for example, Varig does not fly to Iguazu. So, if you follow our route, then book an airpass, a / c "Tam". But you need to redeem an airpass not in Brazil, i. e. you need to use the postal delivery of tickets. Unfortunately, because We didn't decide on the route until the end, so we decided to buy tickets on the spot. By the way, the final price of our flights has increased by $15 compared to the airpass. .
So, there is a visa to Brazil, tickets on hand, insurance in your pocket, it's time to pack your suitcase. I advise you to take protective creams with you, and not to take warm clothes at all, and cigarettes for those who smoke, because. cigarettes in Brazil are disgusting and cost 4-6 real ($2-3). Moreover, I advise you to buy a T-shirt in Russia, for example, Daniel Carvalho, who plays in CSKA, or any other Brazilian legionnaire who plays with us. With such a T-shirt, but in Russian colors, you will have great respect on the streets of Brazil. They all love football.
We had a wonderful evening flight. At 16.50 from Moscow to Frankfurt, a / c "Aeroflot". After 4 hours we landed at the airport in Frankfurt. When we taxied to the terminal, after landing, I noticed a huge plane in the window. It was unnaturally large. And then, on the tail of this plane, I saw the inscription "Airbus A-380", so it's the same, the largest passenger aircraft in the world, around which there is so much hype. It's right next door, right next to us. Naturally, I could not help photographing such a miracle. Words cannot express how big this plane is. Next to him is a Boeing 747, a humpbacked trifle, like our Il-96 and TU-134, like an elephant and a pug. When we got off the plane, we were met by airport workers with lists of passengers. They prompted who needed where, which is very convenient. We were sent to the transit zone, because. We didn't have a Schengen visa. I asked one of the workers, about the A-380, is it already flying with passengers? He replied that there would be test flights for another year, and only then would he fly with passengers. And he, at this time, so sideways, sideways, and ran to photograph this miracle on his mobile.
In Frankfurt, unfortunately, we had to wait 5 hours for a connection, and then a flight to Rio. We flew to Rio on the MD11, a large aircraft, the flight takes about 16 hours. Because We had plenty of time at the airport, we were the first to check in. Attention, if you get such a plane, the best seats are: the entire 15 row A, B, C, D, E, F, G, L, M, and the best seats 23 B, C. On the plane, they were fed 2 times, the first time with dinner, and the second time with breakfast (simpler). Alcohol is offered in unlimited quantities. By the way, the plane is quite cool, there are not enough individual blankets for heating, so be prepared for this, take something warm in your hand luggage.
In Rio, the plane flies through San Paolo, i. e. first landing in Sao Paolo. It looks like this, the plane is landing in San Poalo, almost all the passengers get off, the cleaners come in, they clean the plane, the flight attendants change, and after an hour of waiting, new passengers come in, those who fly to Rio. After 1.5 hours of parking, we are back in the air. It takes 45 minutes to fly from San Paolo to Rio. The plane is half empty, so when landing, you can sit on either side of the plane, hoping to see the Corcovado (the mountain on which there is a monument with Jesus). Alas, it did not work out, because. All international flights land at the distant International Airport. We get off the plane at 8.00, get the luggage, and here it is a miracle!!!
We are in Rio, in the city that I dreamed of for so long. Money can be changed immediately upon exiting passport control. While still on the plane, they offer to fill out an immigration card, but hand it out in Portuguese. Ask for the English version, and if this does not turn out, you can fill it out at passport control, there definitely is. So, at the exit, there are two exchangers, the exchange rate is the same everywhere, but in the left exchanger you will definitely be asked for a passport, and they will fill out some papers, etc. , which will take about 10 minutes, and in the right exchanger, only money, passport, and in a minute everything is ready. The course there is from 2 to 2.10, apparently, as in Russia, it depends on trading on the stock exchange. Between the exchangers there are three taxi offices. The price for a taxi to the city is fixed, 72 reais ($36). But you can get by with a comfortable air-conditioned bus for 6 reais ($3) per person. The bus stop is located after exiting the street on the right, do not miss. There is a counter, and a specially trained person sits behind it, who monitors the movements of all buses. As a rule, tourists choose hotels on the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema. So, you can show the name of the hotel to this person, and he will tell you when the bus will be, it is called "Airporto". Unfortunately, this specially trained person speaks almost no English at all. He will help you place your luggage in the hold of the bus, and will give you a special ticket for luggage. On the bus, try to sit closer to the driver, and when you see the ocean (after 30-40 minutes), it will be Copacabana beach, remind the driver about your hotel. Unfortunately, he also does not speak English, but you can understand.
I won’t describe the hotel, Orla Copacabana, but I’ll briefly say that it’s a solid 4 *, the breakfast is excellent, the rooms are comfortable, here is the address: Atlantica avenue, No. 4122, Copacabana, Orla Copacabana, tel. (005.21) 252.2425, orla@orlahotel. com. br, www. orlahotel. com. br . For ocean view you need to pay extra $ 25 per day. So, after settling in the hotel, you can go for a walk.
The time is about 10 am, Sunday. I will not describe what you can see in Rio, but I will tell you what we saw. Copacabana beach 4 km. length. The Orla Copacabana Hotel is located at the very beginning of the beach, and we moved to take a walk along the promenade. The feeling is indescribable. On Sunday, cars drive along the embankment in only one direction, from the direction of "Urka" towards "Ipanema", and only people go in the other direction. Different people. Someone with a dog, someone running, someone on foot, someone on a bicycle, in general, who is capable of what. Festivities. We also went for a walk. We took a map of the area at the reception, examined it, and decided to move in the direction of Urka.
Warm, but not very hot +32, because it was cloudy and the sun was hiding behind clouds. Naturally, we immediately sat down in the first street cafe that came across, on the waterfront. There are a lot of such summer cafes. We ordered a caiperinho (4 reales) and now we can relax…. Holidays have begun!! ! Interesting associations arise when looking at the locals. It seems that no one works in Rio. Residents either stroll along the Copacabana promenade or play football or volleyball on the beach. Moreover, throughout the entire beach, every hundred meters they play either football or volleyball. But football more often. You can sit in a cafe and watch the game. By the way, they all play football very well, and in the game they fight to the last, like at the World Cup. So we walked along the entire embankment, looking at the local color. Having reached the end of the embankment and checking our location with the map, we decided to take a taxi to Mount Urca, where the famous Sugar Loaf (Pao de Atsucar) is located. do not go there on foot. For 10 reais we were brought to the ski lift to Sugar Loaf. The lift costs 37 reais per person. First, the ascent to the mountain "Urka", it is smaller, and then a transfer and ascent to a height of up to 410 meters to the "Sugar Loaf" itself. There is a heliport on the mountain, but when talking to a taxi driver, he recommended another site, at the very bottom, where the race track is located. The view from above is mesmerizing, on the one hand there is a steep cliff on the Sugarloaf, and on the other hand there is a small park, and many paths where you can take a walk. Sometimes you can see monkeys in the park, but we didn't. Having worked up, we decided to go down and go to the Corcovado.
Downstairs, we approached a policeman asking where to change money, in response he called a taxi driver who speaks good English. Apparently the taxi driver pays him, because he called him. We agreed with the taxi driver about a trip to the Corcovado and change money on the way. The taxi driver's name was Francis. He offered us a sightseeing tour of Rio. This trip cost 120 real. On the way, he led us to the mountain in front of the Corcovado, from where a beautiful view of both the Sugar Loaf and the Corcovado opens up. There is another helicopter parking area, but not the best either. Then he drove us to the Corcovado, and drove up to the highest parking lot. From there, you take the escalator to the platform, and on the elevator, after 30 seconds, we were already at the very top. There is another way, by train. But I don't know where it leaves from and how to get there by train. The size of Jesus is impressive. The statue is located at a height of 710 meters, and of itself at a height of 38 meters. The arm span is about 30 meters. A panorama of the whole city opens, the beaches of Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon, Tijuca Park. The beauty. Emotions run high, breathtaking. It’s a pity that there are a lot of tourists, it’s a whole problem to take a picture of the right angle. We went downstairs and went to eat.
We asked the taxi driver to take us to a good shuraskaria. At first he offered a very expensive one, at 92 reais per person, but, seeing our embarrassed faces, he took us to a more democratic one, at a price of 46 reais per nose. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the address, but it is located almost at the end of the Copacabana embankment. By the way, in Rio, there are actually not so many shuraskaria, so you will definitely find this one. Shuraskariya is a restaurant where food is included in the price without restrictions, eat as much as you can. There are large paper napkins on the tables, where a picture of a cow is drawn, divided into numbered parts. As soon as you took the salad, the action begins, waiters with large skewers, on which meat is strung, constantly begin to approach you, piping hot. The waiter shows in the picture the place of the cow that he offers, and you choose whether to eat it or wait for another piece. I liked pieces #3 and #7 the most. They also offer chicken and lamb. Drinks are paid separately, caipirinha 5 real, beer 4 real. By the way, in Brazil, draft beer is completely absent as a fact.
After overeating, dragging their feet with difficulty, we went to the hotel. On the way we went to the supermarket, bought beer and went straight to the roof of our hotel. It was already dark and the view from the rooftop was amazing. Still not believing that we were in Rio, we went to bed after a while.
In the morning we decided to go to the airport to buy tickets to Iguazu and beyond. At the airport, we make a plan for our further journey. We decided as follows: first we go to the waterfalls in Iguazu, there 1 day and 2 nights, we fly to El Salvador, and from there to the island of Moxu de San Paolo (which all Brazilians speak very well of), then again El Salvador and then to Rio. Moju de San Paolo Island is a resort place. Every Brazilian dreams of going there at least once. Previously, in our “scoop”, there were two main resorts: Sochi and Yalta. If we assume that these two cities would be united in only one place, in some collective way, so for the Brazilians this island is such a dream resort. Because we did not buy an airpass, we had to buy each ticket separately on the spot and adjust the flights. There were two options: either "There" or "Goal", because "Varig" does not fly to Iguazu. Prices change almost every minute. We bought all the flights, a / c "Tam", which we later regretted a little. The fact is that when flying, a / c "Tam", you will not be put in a seat near the emergency exit if you do not know Portuguese. It is useless to swear with them, they have such a rule in the company. That's actually what we regretted, but the planes are normal, there is enough legroom. By the way, "Tam" accepts all credit cards, and "Goal" only cards of Brazilian banks. Ticket prices are almost the same.
After spending about 4 hours at the airport, we finally left with tickets. We go to the Argentine Embassy to get a visa to see the Iguazu Falls from the Argentinean side. We stop a taxi (they stop, like ours, just raise your hand) and say "imbesi of Argentina", he looks at us like aliens. We tried "Consulado Argentina", nodded in response, let's go. The time was about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Entering the consulate, it turned out that none of the consulate staff speaks English!! ! To be honest, I fell out. Somehow, we explained by showing the tickets to Iguazu that we wanted a visa. After looking at the tickets (round trip), they gave us a questionnaire in Spanish. Understanding how to fill it is not a problem. Do not forget about the photo, you need any 3x4 size. They gave me a receipt for payment of the consular fee of 65 real per person. The bank (HSBC) is located in the same building, one floor below. After payment, we were asked to come the next day for passports at 14.00. The whole procedure at the embassy took about an hour.
We decided to have a bite to eat. I really wanted something fishy. We asked the locals, found those who understand English where the fish restaurant is. In general, the Brazilians are very hospitable people, instead of just answering where such a restaurant is, they caught a taxi and explained to the taxi driver where we needed to go. In Russia, this is not the case, but it's a pity. We arrived at the fish shurascaria "Pampa Oceano", Rua Duvivier, 21 - Copacabana, tel. (21.2541-4147. It costs 52 reais from the nose. And again, endless trays of dishes, with all kinds of fish, lobsters, lobsters and king prawns. Ate again. We decide to visit the show "Platform" in the evening, where the school that won the carnival this year performs. I call Francis and agree for the evening that he will pick us up and take us to the show. This show costs 120 real per person, you can pay with a credit card. Drinks are charged separately. The price for them, by the way, is 4 times higher there. I can't advise you to watch or not to watch, I liked it. The show lasts 1.5 hours. At the end of the program, the entertainer comes out and begins to greet the tourists who are on the show. He names the country and if anyone from those present responds, he greets a little in their native language. There were many tourists from China, Japan, USA, Canada and Turkey. When he called “Rusya” and we raised our hands, the whole hall turned to look at us, and this is about 300 people. We were all greeted. There are very few Russians in Brazil, and when they find out that you are from Russia, they look like they are saying to themselves “so you are such a reindeer. ” The show ended and we went to the hotel to sleep. We decided to go to Tijuca National Park the next day. They asked Francis to call in in the morning. The time is about 12 o'clock at night, I really want to sleep. …
We went to the airport by bus "Airporto". There are no bus stops in principle, you need to vote with your hand, and to exit, anywhere, just press a special button. Naturally, the flight was delayed by three hours. They went on strike there. By the way, an interesting time wasting can be arranged at any airport in Brazil, this is a massage. It is inexpensive, 1 minute-1 real. We haven't tried it ourselves, but it is clear that the massage is at a good level.
We got to Iguazu only at 3.00 am. The entire plane lined up in the taxi stand. But very quickly, in 20 minutes everyone was taken away. Our Continental Inn hotel is 15 minutes drive from the airport, here is the address: Continental Inn, Parana Avenue, 1089, Centro - Foz do Iguacu, (45.2102 5000, www. continentalinn. com. br. They settled down and went to bed. In the morning we got up early and at 8.30 we went to the taxi stand. We agree with the taxi driver about our desire to see the beauty of the Iguazu Falls, i. e. first the Argentinean side, then the Brazilian side, the animal park and back to the hotel. Bidding starts from 250 real. After 10 minutes, the final price was 150 real. We got into the car and drove to the border with Argentina. On the way to the border, on the bridge, the taxi driver stops the car and, pointing to the river below, says that Brazil is on the right, Argentina is on the left, and Paraguay is ahead (about 1 km. ). It turns out a kind of t-shaped crossroads, where three Latin American states converge: Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. On all three banks there are memorial steles, huge border posts painted in the colors of the national flags of the respective countries. We passed the border quickly, and after 30 minutes we arrived at the Iguazu National Park in Argentina.
Not far from the entrance, we bought tickets for the Macuco Safari trip: first through the forest on a truck, then on a boat for 6 km. along the river to the waterfall, and then back on the trailer. A ticket costs $ 30 per person, and you can pay in reals, dollars or pesos. The trip starts at 9.00, and then every hour at "exactly" until 17.00. There is another way, to sit on a train and immediately go on it. But our tour turned out to be more interesting. We sat in the back of a truck, there are benches for 30 people. The guide tells about all the delights in Spanish, and then in English. 15 minutes drive through the forest, and we arrived at the Iguazu River. Everyone is given airtight bags and life jackets. Anything you don't want to soak, put in a bag. We sail on a boat, and in 10 minutes a stunning panorama opens up. A view of the waterfalls opens up in the distance. We take pictures and put the equipment in airtight bags. Rapids begin, and the current intensifies. We swim against the current and reach the extreme point, not having reached the waterfall 200m. , Then there are already breakers, boulders, there is no passage. It is from such a close distance that one can feel the unthinkable power of water rushing into the abyss. We turn around and the captain guides the boat under one of the falls. We pass right under it, naturally in a second everything is wet. Feeling as if we dived under water. Everyone screams, but everyone liked it. We make a circle, and we drive up to another waterfall. It's bigger and more massive. And again we stop by the waterfall. Delight, water everywhere, it's hard to breathe, and several tons of water fall on you from above. Everyone screams with pleasure, and the captain, seeing such a good reaction, decides to go under this waterfall again. Just an indescribable feeling, full of adrenaline pants. It is something. They brought us to the shore, and we were soaked through and went upstairs to inspect the waterfalls from above.
Climbing is difficult, but interesting. Here and there, more and more waterfalls open up. Having risen up, we sat down at the intermediate station on a train, and drove to the center of the waterfall. My advice, do not get into the first and second trailer, because. the locomotive runs on diesel. fuel, and the first two trailers are sometimes in smoke. Drive 5 minutes to the last stop. From there you need to walk along the bridges for about 1 km. to the center of the waterfall. We reached the end of the bridge, and found ourselves at the very center of the waterfall. Feelings cannot be conveyed, a huge river flies down, from a height of 82 m. The width of the river here is about 4 km, and water falls into all this expanse from a large crescent-shaped cliff. There are about 275 individual waterfalls here, some of which rush directly into the basin, while others break into a series of smaller waterfalls. Smaller waterfalls form into clouds of mist and spray. Sunlight creates iridescent rainbows. After looking and taking pictures, we went back to the train. A little before reaching the train, a man stopped us and offered to take a boat ride to the waterfall. Because we had already swept, then we politely refused. His price was lower than the one we paid for our trip. Those. you can immediately go by train to the final one, take a walk along the bridges, and on the way back take a boat ride. We took the train to the intermediate station, and then walked through the rainforest to the exit. At the exit from the park, our taxi driver was already waiting for us (5 hours).
We're going to the Brazilian side. After 40 minutes we reached Iguazu Park on the Brazilian side. You can get to the park in two ways: either together with everyone by bus for 7 real, or by taxi for 20 real per person. We chose the second option and took our taxi to the park. The taxi driver took us to the beginning of the inspection, and he said that he would be waiting for us at the end of the inspection. Now we looked at the waterfalls from the opposite side. Also very beautiful. But the power that you feel on the Argentine side is not there. There are also funny animals running around. And of course you can appreciate the full scale of the waterfalls. After visiting the waterfalls (2.5 hours), we went to the bird park. I highly recommend watching. The entire zoo is located in the natural jungle, only the cages with animals are fenced with a net. You can go through the cage, or you can go around, if it's scary, without going into the cage. In general, very interesting, I recommend. The entrance costs 17 real per person. We visited the zoo for about 2 hours. After the bird park, the taxi driver took us to the hotel. The time was about 18.30. Attention, for the whole trip, we spent about 9 hours of time, and all this time we were driven by the same taxi driver!! ! We paid him for everything about everything 150 real (75$)!! ! It seems to me that this is almost a gift. Here are the prices. In the evening we had a bite to eat in shuraskaria, very good and inexpensive, and early in the morning, at 5.30, we were already driving back to the airport. We were waiting for a flight to Salvador.
We flew again with a landing in San Paolo. We arrived in El Salvador around 16.00. The island of MORRO DE SAO PAULO (Mohu de San Paolo) can be reached in two ways: the first by plane, the second by ship. The trouble is that all these ways are possible only until 16.00. Way one: without leaving the airport, you need to walk to the very end to the right. There will be three offices selling tickets for small planes. Prices are different everywhere, from 150 real to 180 real one way. Fly about 20 minutes. If you immediately buy tickets there and back, the price will go down. Be careful, because there are 2 airports on the island, you need the one on the coast, between 3 and 4 beaches. Planes fly every hour, the last one takes off at 15.30.
The second way: options are possible here. There is a shorter route (2 hours) and a longer one (6 hours). Naturally the price is different. A short way is to sail on a catamaran, it costs 25 real per person. Catamarans run at 8.30, 9.00, 11.00, 11.30, 15.00, 15.30. Moreover, those that sail "at exactly" leave one port, and those that "half" from another port. True, the distance between them is 5-7 minutes by taxi. On a long route you need to sail with transfers, on small boats. First to one island, then to another, then to the city of Valencia, and from there to Moxu de San Paolo. Each move costs 4 reais. The total is 12 real. But there is one ambush, these are local pirates. Seeing in the port that European tourists are on the boat, they can catch up with the boat already at sea and attack. We were told all this by a local dude, later in the evening. He also said that around the beginning of March 2007, pirates attacked a boat in which 20 Israelis were sailing, and, threatening them with weapons, took away all their belongings and money. Having estimated what's what, we decide to sail on a catamaran, not very expensive, and more or less safe. The time is about 16.30, we understand that today we cannot get to the island. I don’t want to spend the night in El Salvador, but there is no way out. We find an information center for tourists at the airport, where we are given several addresses of hostels and hotels.
We had another address, the Kuramuru Hotel, with us, printed out from a review on the Internet. Even before the trip, I, reading the reviews, concluded for myself that El Salvador is a very criminal place. The desire to walk around the city was completely absent, and even more so to spend the night, but there was nothing to do. We leave the airport and head to the bus stop. We decided not to take a taxi, because. there was no certainty that the taxi driver would take us to the city center, and not to the favelas in order to rob us. Naturally, taxi drivers immediately showed up, offering to take us quickly and cheaply. We specifically offered a small amount (30 real) to get rid of them. The bus arrived, after 30 minutes. I ask the bus driver if he knows the Kuramuru Hotel, showing him a piece of paper with the address. He nodded with a smile, eat up, so we got on the bus (6 real per person). We drove for a long time, 1.5 hours, through the whole city. We arrived at the end, in the city center. Carrier says, finish, arrived. To a reasonable question, where is the Kuramuru Hotel, he shrugged his shoulders and said, further by taxi. Trash. Scolding the carrier, we get out of the bus. Immediately runs up, some kind of person, a homeless type, and offers an inexpensive hostel. A hostel is a private hotel whose owners rent their rooms to you. They live at the same time, together with you. We decide to look at this hostel, besides, this bum says it's close and cheap. After 10 minutes of walking, with suitcases, and even in the heat, we, having seen a policeman, decided to rest next to him, and in the meantime I decide to go alone, light, and see this miracle of hospitality. I'm going with this bum on the road. We walk for another 15 minutes, I look around, there are no tourists, no white people either, there are only representatives of the indigenous population around. It gets creepy. In the meantime, having wandered a little (I think the bastard is trying to disorient me), we approach some terribly shabby house. I look to the right - some natives, to the left - the same thing. Not a single policeman or just a tourist.
A bad thought came: I will go in, but will I come out of there? The homeless person knocked on the filthy door and "something" resembling a "Baba Yaga" crawled out from the balcony on the 3rd floor. They exchanged phrases, and after a couple of minutes, something opened the door. Before entering, I looked around once more, hoping to see someone who would have seen me enter this house. Alas, no one cared. Through the open door, I saw the stairs going up. I see flowers in pots on the railing, well, I think, come what may, in which case, I will fight back with a pot. We climbed to the second floor, and ended up in a dirty kitchen. "Something" says that there will be breakfast, and went to show me the bedchamber. View opened just tin. Dirt everywhere, and cockroaches the size of elephants. I asked how much does it cost? "Something" replied that 75 reais for everyone, including breakfast. Politely thanking her, I say that I have to go for friends and in 30 minutes we will be back. He flew out of there with a bullet, and ran back. Bomzhara began to offer to see another hostel, but I refused. Besides, I had my own list of hostels. I say thank you to the homeless man, and leave him alone. On the way back, I looked at the hostel, the address that was given to us at the airport. A little better, but still a bum. I am convinced that hostels are not for everyone. After 40 minutes, I return to my companions. Naturally they were worried about my long absence. I tell them what horror I saw. We make a unanimous decision to go to some hotel.
We remember the Kuramuru Hotel. We catch a taxi, and along the way we refuse the help of another bum. I show taxi drivers the address with the hotel, and only 4 taxi drivers know where this street is (very strange, because it is in the center). We drive up to the place, and there is a construction site. A taxi driver calls local construction workers and asks them where the Kuramuru Hotel is? In response, they throw their hands up and say “boom”, imitating an explosion. There was a hotel six months ago, now it's just a foundation pit. There is nothing to do, we go further, to the first hotel. After a couple of km. we see a good hotel, and decide to stay in it. Hotel Bahia do Sol, av. Sete de Setembro, No. 2009 - Vitoria, www. bahiadosol. com. br. It doesn't look like much, but the inside is clean too. The guard is at the entrance. We ask about free rooms and lo and behold, they are. It costs 120 real per room, with breakfast. The room is great, not small and not big. We are settling in. Here I count the cash and see that there are only 40 real in cash. Time 19.00, and even Saturday. All exchangers are already closed. I want to eat, of course there is not enough money to eat for everyone. Here we understand that there is no way out, and we will have to go to the city in search of an exchanger. The mood immediately dropped. Going into the city is very scary, but you have to. We leave everything valuable in the safe, and go for a walk. It got dark. It did not add courage. We decide to go to the very center of the city, hoping not to get into trouble and change money safely. After 15-20 minutes we reached the central square. We see an open souvenir shop. Without any hope I ask about the exchange of money, and lo and behold, the merchant agrees to exchange $ 200 at a rate of 2.00. Now to eat. When asked where it is safe to sit and drink here, the merchant happily escorts us to a street restaurant, with assurances that this is the best place in the city. We sat down on the street, drinking caiperinha, sitting, staring around at life. We eat meat. I feel like life is getting better. Not far from us, the drum show begins. Several girls with drums put on a real musical show. The show went on for about an hour. We listened, ate, sit, drink and relax.
Suddenly, from somewhere, a daytime homeless man appeared, with whom I was looking at the hostel. So and so, they say, give me money. At that moment, I realized that it is worth giving at least real money, he will not leave us behind. I politely say that he would leave, he does not leave. Gestures shows that he spent a lot of time on us, give compensation. Five minutes later, I can’t stand it, and I send it to x . . Apparently my intonation was very rude, or someone already sent it, but he immediately understood where I sent it. His face changed, his eyes filled with blood. Bomzhara began to wave his hands and show that I was finished. Realizing that I went too far, I begin to politely tell him in Russian that everything is fine, no one wants to hurt anyone. Naturally, he did not understand anything from what I told him, but apparently my calm intonation was enough, and he turned and walked away. And then, I saw that under his T-shirt he had a gun behind his back. Tin. Be careful, you should not enter into conflict situations with local natives. I guess I'm just lucky it ended so safely. A little later, another person sat down at our table, but he was of a normal appearance, and tried to sell us excursions to all sorts of islands. Including the island of Tartaruga, where there are a lot of turtles all year round. He also told us how best to get to the island of Mohu de San Paolo, warning us about the danger of a long journey (about the case of the Israelis). Not knowing this person, we decided not to tempt fate and refuse all excursions. But he was told that it was very interesting and agreed to meet in the morning at 11 o'clock on the embankment. We ourselves decided that in the morning we would go to the island with the first catamaran, who knows what is on his mind. After looking at the clock (about 12 am) we decide to move to the hotel. On the way, a boy, about 10 years old, ran up to us and began to show his ability to dance “capuera”. Very nice. He asked for money, divorce again. I give him 2 reals, he refuses, says that it is not enough. I give him money, he doesn’t take it, he seems to be proud, but 2 reals is not enough for him. I put money on the asphalt and move on. Only when he saw that we had moved to a respectful distance did he take the money. What kind of people, I do not understand.
We took a taxi and went to the hotel. The day is over, you can take a breath and sleep. They fell asleep like the dead. In the morning, after breakfast, we go to the port by taxi. Time 8.15. We arrived at the port in 10 minutes. A good taxi driver got caught, went with me to check if there are tickets. It turned out that there were no tickets, and we went to the second port, where the catamaran departed at 9.00. We arrived, he was again with me to the checkout. There are tickets, great. We bought tickets and went on a catamaran. The ship turned out to be large, with 126 seats. At 9.00 we sailed, it became a little easier on my soul that they left such a criminal city. All the way, the thought does not leave me, but are we going to the island in the right way. What about pirates?
After 2 hours we sail to the island of Mohu de San Paolo (MORRO DE SAO PAULO). We go out to the pier, pay a fee of 6.5 real per person, and immediately stumble upon obsessive taxi drivers who again start a divorce. But you can't take us with your bare hands!! ! We leave the pier with our suitcases, and we see that such a not weak climb uphill begins. We feel that it will be hard on our own, and even more so with suitcases. It's good that we met two Israelis, they were seeing someone off. We asked them where is the best place to stay. They said that there are four beaches on the island and advised us on the second or third. Also, smiling, they recommended taking a taxi, saying that it would be difficult for us to walk on the sand with suitcases. Asking where the taxi was, they waved their hand at a man with a garden wheelbarrow, but on the side of which, “taxi” was written in stencil!! ! This is the first time I've seen such a taxi. Each suitcase in such a taxi costs 7 real. You go on foot, and the dude follows you with suitcases. This is such an exotic Brazilian style. After a long