Brazil Days 3 and 4: To the Jungle!

Day 3 (July 8): Travel Day

We had an early flight out of Rio to Sao Paulo (the smaller airport). We got to the airport early and got bumped up to a flight that was leaving an hour earlier. It was mostly uneventful, except for the fact that there was food, which is common among non-US-based airlines (tried Guaraná for the first time!). I'd also have to say there was more legroom, but it wasn't noticeable since I'm pretty short.

Upon arriving in Sao Paulo we took a taxi to Ibirapuera park, where we more or less wandered around for most of the day (without Evan, who went to his conference). It rained on and off, though that didn't seem to deter the many runners and bikers in the area. For lunch, I tried something called an açaí frooty, which resembled an açaí frozen yogurt covered in bananas and granola. In the afternoon we went to the nearby planetarium, where we had no idea what was going on and we ended up falling asleep. I still don't think I know anything about astronomy in Portuguese.

Later in the afternoon we went to the other airport in Sao Paulo to catch our flight to Manaus. At the airport I tried a salgado (a meat-stuffed pastry) for the first time, and I'd have to say it was pretty good. Our flight at 11:30pm was nothing unusual in Brazil, as most airports fly 24 hours to increase volume. This was also the first time we learned that Brazilian airports tend to change gates of planes a lot (only once this time).

Brazil Day 2: Tijuca National Park

Day 2 (July 7): Tijuca National Park

Breakfast at the hostel was pretty basic: bread, guava jam, cheese, ham, and a few other small things. Afterwards we took a taxi out to Tijuca National Park, which is a little ways away from Rio. I was asleep for most of the ride, but the taxi driver drove us a good bit into the forest. When we got off, we weren't exactly sure where we were (which was a general theme for me at least...). We soon found a posted map and started our walking for the day.

In general I had no idea where we were going, but it was definitely an adventure running around the place. We saw quite a few things, including some very nice waterfalls and lots of fruit trees. The park was very heavily forested, so it was pretty hard to get good views of Rio.

Brazil Days 0 and 1: Arrival in Rio de Janeiro

I'll be gradually chronicling my trip to Brazil last week. Woo! Lots of pictures with the SLR!

Day 0 (July 5): Travel Day
The day was mostly uneventful, consisting of plane flights. I packed light, squeezing everything (including my SLR with three lenses) into a backpack. Preparations were pretty extensive (and expensive), which included typhoid and yellow fever vaccines and malaria medication.

Day 1 (July 6): Arrival in Rio
I arrived in Rio de Janeiro around 8:30am. After going through customs and navigating my way out of the airport, I boarded the Rio Ônibus line 2018 to head to the hostel ($R 12). (Some advice on the Ônibus: The bus will stop anywhere on its route, so when your stop is coming up, go and tell the driver where you would like to get off. Also, I would not recommend taking the Ônibus back to the airport since the buses aren't regular and they won't always stop for you.) Instead of taking the Ônibus all the way to Ipanema, I got off in the city and took the metro to Ipanema ($R 3.20 for one ride), saving about 45 minutes on my route to the Hostel Harmonia. I got there in time for the end of breakfast and the end of Roger Federer destroying Djokovic at Wimbledon. After Chao, Evan, and Neal arrived from Teresópolis in the early afternoon, we settled in and headed over to Sugarloaf Mountain (Pão de Açúcar) after a lunch at Galitos. In Rio the buses are pretty interesting. When you board the bus there is someone who sells you a ticket after which you proceed through one of those small rotating gate counters.

The second hill of Sugarloaf (Click to Enlarge)

Sugarloaf consists of two hills: the first hill can be reached by cable car or by foot, and the second hill can be reached by scaling the hill (rock climbing) or by cable car from the first hill. It was a pretty decent climb to the first hill through the densely-forested hill. By the time we reached the first hill it was almost sunset, and it was quite a sight.

Christ the Redeemer from Sugarloaf (Click to Enlarge)

Sunset over Rio (Click to Enlarge)

After returning from Sugarloaf, we stopped at some restaurant next to the hostel for some dinner before an early night.

Don Chow Tacos

Today for lunch I tried Don Chow Tacos for the first time, and it definitely won't be my last encounter with their Chinese-Mexican fusion cuisine. I initially found out about them through Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives show. It was a slight adventure finding them, as the truck had to move due to Pasadena parking enforcement. I found them outside Pasadena City Hall, and ordered two kung pao chicken tacos ($2 each) and two bbq pork chimales (Chinese tamales) ($4 each).

My half-eaten chimale (Click to Enlarge)

The first thing I tried was the bbq pork chimale. It was more or less what I expected, though the bbq flavor was very strong to the point it was a little overpowering. The sweet bbq wasn't a huge hit with me, since I generally don't consume sweets. However, the rest of the chimale was delicious. The salsa on top was definitely a nice touch and holds it all together.

My kung pao chicken tacos (Click to Enlarge)

I finished my lunch off with the two kung pao chicken tacos (medium spicy). The tacos were small and double-wrapped, which is typical of taco truck tacos. I would have to say this was the highlight my of meal. The chicken was wonderfully seasoned and had enough kick to satisfy. The onions and cilantro finished the taco well and definitely made the tacos something to try again with a different meat.

For information on when Don Chow Tacos will be near YOU in the LA area, check out their website.

Going to Brazil!

brb :D

Abandoned Train Car

(Click to Enlarge)

Typhoid Vaccine

Next week I'll be travelling to Brazil, and in preparation, I went through a lot of medical preparation. Among the events included a typhoid vaccine. In most cases it's just like any other vaccine-it seems like no big deal. However, I did not anticipate it still leaving the injection site sore a good 48 hours post-injection. It takes a little bit of effort to really get my full range of motion, but it has gotten a little better (and I thought tetanus was supposed to make you sore...).

Subway

Since I like to people watch, I often like to observe restaurant employees. I used to work at Subway, so I know the ins and outs of being a sandwich artist (it's actually the official title). For reasons that I'm not completely sure about, I seem to notice employee code violations (or at least things that would be constituted as mistakes as of 2006...). The most common:

• Not wearing a nametag
• Not wearing an apron
• Filling vegetables above the fill line (there's a little line about one inch from the top)
• Not putting three lines of sauce (yes it's supposed to be counted)
• Not asking if you want salt/pepper/parmesan/oregano
• Greeting customers within three seconds of them walking in the door (hard to do during the meal rush)

Subway also has a few interesting policies that you may or may not be aware of. My favorites:

• All items that are counted (meats, breads, cookies, etc) that cannot be used (such as being dropped on the floor) are credited
• Broken cookies may not be sold-sometimes cookies are "accidentally" broken
• Meat slices are counted, and the chicken slices used to be weighed in weigh boats
• Cheese, tomato, and cucumber slices are counted as well (though obviously extra tomatoes and cucumbers are not charged)
• Lettuce and spinach are supposed to go on first, followed by tomatoes and cucumbers (to help compress the loose veggies)
• All sauces are supposed to go on the meat except the sweet onion and vinaigrette (which go on top of the veggies)

Finals Week

brb

Early Evening

(Click to Enlarge)