The Maverick Tribe

The two days I just spent in Rio really hit the spot.  There´s really nothing like hang gliding hundreds of feet above Santa Teresa beach with the rugged mountain formations of Brazil´s coastline as a backdrop.  Rio was perfect -- 30 degree (Centigrade) weather, lots of folks on the beach, great churrascaria.  Churrascaria is one of the things that really draws me to Brazil.  You go to a restaurant, fill up your plate at a lavish buffet, while handsome waiters come by with skewers of meat to serve you.  I say skewers, but really these things resemble swords, and the swordsman slices off a hefty slice of lamb or sirloin steak right onto your plate.  I ate like the better part of a cow that night.

Then there was, again, the hang gliding.  This is something I meant to do the last time I was in Rio, but didn´t get a chance to.  Needless to say, it´s exhilerating.  Well, exhilerating but at the same time much more relaxing than I had expected, since the whole time you´re basically floating above the beach, looking down at forest and people and vistas below.  At the end, Ronaldo, the guy taking me out, asked me if I wanted a landing ¨with emotion¨, or ¨without emotion¨.  Despite what a certain someone might say about me being too emotional, I chose to land ¨with emotion¨.  As soon as I said that, Ronaldo replied ¨good choice¨and put the hang glider into freefall, as we careened toward the beach below.  That was the best part, and I´m glad I chose the ¨emotional¨ending.

Below are some of the pictures of this experience.

Before I left for Brazil, I happened to read an article in the San Francisco Chronicle describing proposed legislation that would require require all cats and dogs to be spayed and neutered, except in special circumstances such as for licensed breeders.  Explains Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys: 

We simply have a huge problem in the state with pet overpopulation.  I can't tell you how many people have complained to me about cats defecating in their yards, flowerbeds ... and in sandboxes where kids play. It's a huge public safety and public health issue.

 

Meanwhile, down here in South America, Chris and I just had our yellow fever vaccinations, which will probably be required before we enter Venezuela next week.  Reading up on all the tropical ailments in and around the Amazon rainforest can be sobering.  In addition to concerns about yellow fever, one needs to be wary of Brucellosis, Cholera, Dengue Fever, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Leishmaniasis, Malaria, Measles, Rabies, Schistosmiasis, Tick-borne Relapsing Fever, Typhoid Fever, and, my personal favorite, Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis.

So let´s see. 

Venezuela´s public health concerns:  13 potentially life-threatening infectious diseases.

California´s public health concerns:  cat shit.

I took a quick overnight trip to São Sebastião, a coastal town within São Paulo state, and to Ilhabela, a gorgeous island just off São Sebastião.  It was great to get away from the bustle of Mogi das Cruzes and São Paulo for a bit.  I hiked around the island, which is thick with mountain and jungle and has waterfalls throughout.  (I felt a bit like I was on the set of Lost.)  For most of time, I was the only one within earshot.  I took a quick dip in one of the streams, which actually reminded me of swimming in the rivers in Vermont back home, only with fewer naked hippies running around.

Here´s where I stayed in São Sebastião:

And a few of Ilhabela:

I liked São Paulo a lot more than I thought I would.  I was imagining lots of slums, pollution, and ugly, functional architecture.  Of course that stuff is there, but there is indeed a swanky side to São Paulo.  And like Rio de Janeiro, and even Singapore, it´s got that urban jungle feel to it.  Walking around the Jardins ("the gardens") neighborhood can feel like hanging out in the nicer parts of Miami or L.A.

Well, I had planned to have more time in front of a computer so that I could keep a daily update on my blog.  As it turns out, I haven´t had much of a chance yet, so I´m just going to check in to say hello to all you out there.  I´ve been to São Paulo a couple of times so far, and I have to say it´s a beautiful city -- not as captivating as Rio, but much nicer than I had expected.  I took a lot of pictures and hope to post them soon.  Today I´m headed to the coast to relax at the beach and do a little hiking.  Otherwise, everything´s been going fine -- it´s rained pretty much since I got here, today is finally a nice day and it´s beautiful.  Stay tuned!

It was a long night of traveling.  My itinerary to Brazil was supposed to go San Francisco - Los Angeles - Lima, Peru - São Paulo, but it ended up being San Francisco - Los Angeles - Lima - Santiago, Chile - São Paulo.  It´s funny how these South American airlines work.  You see, my flight INTO Lima was scheduled to land at 12:30 am, while my flight OUT of Lima was scheduled to depart at 12:25 am.  Now, I´m a pretty experienced traveller and a pretty fast runner, but not even I am able to make a connection in negative five minutes.  Perhaps someday someone will explain to me how this is possible - perhaps it has something to do with being below the equator.  (I still have so much to learn about this culture!)

Anyway, I realized this discrepancy at some point flying 33,000 feet above the Pacific coast of Panama, and eventually had to get rerouted through Santiago.  All in all, from SFO to touchdown at São Paulo Gaurulhos airport, it was about a 24 hour trip.  Luckily, I have Chris and his friend Julia in Brazil who were able to accomodate to my schedule change and meet me at the airport.  Chris and I are staying in Mogi das Cruzes, which is where Chris and Julia teach English.  They helped me settle in to the hotel, and last night I was already a guest star in one of Chris´ classes.  Here´s a picture of Chris and Julia:

The night before I was to leave for Brazil, David W, a (former!) coworker of mine who happens to live near the airport, was nice enough to let me stay over at his place, so I wouldn´t need to sleep on the floor of my now barren apartment.  So here is the first couch of a whole succession of couches that I´m likely to be privy to over the next couple of weeks to months: