Z miasta na wies i z powrotem / From the big city to the country and back

Droga do Doliny Ksiezycowej - marsjanska.. / Road to the Moon Valley - a Martian one :)
Dolina Ksiezycowa / Moon Valley
Dolina Ksiezycowa / Moon Valley
Dolina Ksiezycowa / Moon Valley
Dolina Ksiezycowa / Moon Valley
Wielkie kroki sadzi sie... / Giant steps is what you take...
... na ksiezycu tym / ...walking on the moon.
Dolina Ksiezycowa / Moon Valley
Dolina Ksiezycowa / Moon Valley
Asia w namiocie / Asia in our tent


























Sao Paulo noca / Sao Paulo by night
Sao Paulo noca / Sao Paulo by night
Sao Paulo noca / Sao Paulo by night
src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3514/1936/200/096enriqueimy.2.jpg" border="0" alt="" />Henrique i my / Henrique and us
Zacheceni udana wizyta w Chapada Diamantina ruszamy na podboj nastepnego parku narodowego. Ricardo ma nas podwiezc na dworzec (jak juz wiecie, 20 km od domu, wiec jestesmy mu bardzo wdzieczni). Niestety poprzedniego wieczora zabral nas do libanskiej knajpy, najstarszej w miescie, ktora koniecznie chcial nam pokazac, wiec po paru glebszych mocno nam sie spalo, a Ricardo najmocniej :-)
W efekcie o dwie minuty spozniamy sie na autobus do Alto Paraíso. Wrrr. Ze tez firma Real Espress musi odjezdzac tak punktualnie. Nastepny o trzeciej, z jakiejs szemranej firemki i ta oczywiscie sie czasem nie przejmuje. Dojezdzamy wieczorem, miasteczko spi snem kamiennym, kamping pozamykany na siedem spustow. Pukamy do sasiada, mlody student prawa na szczescie i tak wybiera sie do miasta – wsiadamy i ruszamy w rajd po bezdrozach sladem tajemniczych tabliczek prowadzacych na inny kemping. Naliczylam ich z siedem, a i tak po drodze trzy razy sie zgubilismy bo tabliczki byly czasem ustawione zwodniczo. Wreszcie trafiamy i nasz kierowca z ulga nas zostawia i pedzi do znajomych, a my po uslyszeniu ceny od razu rozumiemy po co te tabliczki. Jak juz sie ktos najezdzil pol godziny po ciemku, to zeby nie wiem co mu zaspiewali, wracac juz nie chce. Trudno, bulimy jak za pokoj w pensjonacie, ale camping wyglada malowniczo, jakies oczka wodne, duzo zieleni, pieknie rozgwiezdzone niebo i koncert zab. Zanim rozbilismy namiot, wybucha nam zarowka sluzaca za latarnie, ktorej pan nie moze wymienic, bo oprawka na stale podlaczona do pradu i nie ma cieplej wody. A fe, panie kierowniku.
Autobus do Sao Jorge oczywiscie spoznia sie poltorej godziny, wioske zastajemy jeszcze bardziej wymarla niz wczorajsze miasteczko. Przynajmniej kemping za grosze, ale nic jadalnego na obiad nie stwierdzamy. Przewodnicy tez wyszli, ale znajdujemy pana, ktory za drobna oplata (akurat drobna!) podwozi nas do Vale da Lua (Dolina Ksiezycowa). Wycieczke piesza wszyscy odradzaja, bo szlak nieoznaczony i mozna sie zgubic. Na miejscu przedstawia nam wlasciciela doliny (oczy wychodza nam z orbit, to tak jakbysmy spotkali wlasciciela Giewontu), a potem okazuje sie ze wlascicieli jest w sumie osmiu, bo rodzina byla liczna i sie spadkiem podzielili. Dolina nie rozczarowuje, tylko los marudzi ze zbyt sloneczna pagoda, bo zdjecia bylyby lepsze z szarym niebem. Ja tam sie na pogode nie skarze. Rano z prawdziwym juz przewodnikiem o imieniu Junior ruszamy nad wodospady, wycieczka bardzo cacy, ani sie za bardzo nie meczymy, ani nie dowoza nas pod sama atrakcje - 3 godziny marszu do jednego kanionu, kic kic do wodospadu i 3 godziny z powrotem. Idealne proporcje. Wodospad nazywa sie Cariocas czyli dziewczyny z Rio a nazwa jego wiaze sie z mocno dydaktyczna legenda o dwoch turystkach co na przewodnika zalowaly…
Po powrocie wpadamy na Aske, Polke mieszkajaca w wiosce od 10 lat, do ktorej wszyscy nas wysylali dowiadujac sie skad jestesmy. Dostajemy do dyspozycji hamaki i kuchnie. Wreszcie mozna cos upichcic, chocby jajecznice!Asia jest troche zakrecona, mocno w klimatach New Age´owych. Tuz po upadku komuny rzucila architekture i ruszyla na zachod, przez USA i Holandie, az trafica do Brazylii, bo jak mowil ayahuasca ja wezwal. Teraz regularnie popita ten magiczny trunek Indian z Amazonii, jest adeptka szamanizmu i leczy krysztalami, czyli jest troche wioskowa wiedzma. Mielismy nadzieje sie zalapac na lyka mikstury, ale jak smazylismy jajecznice to akurat wyszla do pracy (jest tez masazystka w ekskluzywnym hotelu). W domu zostali tylko jej goscie, z ktorych jeden bardzo halasliwie szukal swojego portéela, na glos analizujac fakty, z ktorych wynikalo ze ostatnio widzial go przed naszym przyjsciem. No to sie ulotnilismy, rezygnujac z eksperymentow. Rano lapiemy spozniony autobus do Brasilii, reszte dnia spedzamy stukajac pracke w bandycko drogiej kafejce, az spozniamy sie na nocny autobus do Sao Paulo. Nastepny mial przyjechac o 1.30, przyjechal o 3, hen z Bahii. Do ostatniej chwili kasjer nie chcial nam sprzedac biletow, bo nie widzial czy sa wolne miejsca. Po niecalej godzinie jazdy autobus sie rozkraczyl i do switu dochodzilo nas tylko stukanie mlotkow i kluczy francuskich. Potem jeszcze ze 3 przerwy na jedzenie (myslalby ze ktos tu probuje nadgonic!) i dojezdzamy na miejsce z 5,5 opoznieniem, calkowicie niedospani z powodu niustajacych rykow czterech bobasow z sasiedztwa. Na miejscu w kafejce odkrywamy, ze wszyscy gospodarze z Sao Paulo nas olali, jednoczesnie wylewnie zapewniajac, jak bardzo ubolewaja, ze nas nie poznaja i ze kazdy dzien bylby dobry, byle nie ten. Olal nas tez chlopak ktory kilka godzin wczesniej nas serdecznie zapraszal., ale postanowil pilnie jechac na plaze. Zostaly nam dwie osoby, ktore, moze, ale, wiec zamiast sie zastanawiac, spedzilismy noc na pracy tworczej w calonocnej kafejce. Kupilismy na nastepna noc bilet do Kurytyby z postanowieniem zwiedzenia SP w jeden dzien.
O szostej zamykaja kafejke, ruszamy w miaste. Do 10 mamy juz obejrzane glowne atrakcje i postanawiamy sie podzielic zadaniami: ja dowiem sie o park rozrywki Hopi Hari, a los pojedzie na stadion kupic bilety na dzisiejsze derby. Wraca po 4 godzinach, okazuje sie ze na stadion nawet nie dojechal, bo po tzreciej przesiadce do stadionu wciaz trzeba bylo kawalek dojsc, wiec zawrocil bo i tak bysmy na mecz nie zdazyli razem dojechac. Zamiast tego jedziemy do HH. Wielka atrakcja, nie tylko w skali Brazylii, bo maja nbajlepsza kolejke gorska w Ameryce Pld., ale dojazd to cala wyprawa. Busy parkowe jezdza z SP tylko o 10 rano, a potem trzeba jechac z przesiadka, co zajmuje nam 2 godziny (zamiast 25 minut). Na miejscu kupujemy tzw. paszport czyli bilet na wszystkie atrakcje i ustawiamy sie w godzinnej kolejce na pierwsza. Przynajmniej bylo warto. Konstrukcja w ksztalcie wiezy Eiffla wwozi cien a wysokosc 70 metrow i stamtad puszcza pionowo w dol. Cos jak spadajaca winda, tylko ze bez kabiny. Uff! Potem po poltorej godzinie czekania zalapujemy sie na kolejke gorska, ktora salada sie tylko z petli, ale jakiej! Najbardziej porazajaca jazda w moim zyciu. Paszport okazuje sie picem na wode, bo nikt go nie sprawdza. Chetnym radzimy albo kupic zwykly bilet i nie dokupowac wymaganych biletow na pojedyncze atrakcje (jezeli chcecie czekac w kolejce) albo do paszportu dokupic Express pass czy cos takiego, co pozwala jezdzic bez czekania. A warto, bo park ma sporo atrakcji, z ktorych wiele wartych jest powtorzenia. Postanowilismy zaryzykowac i zamiast jechac z przesiadka, poczekac na autobusy parkowe. Tak jak sie spodziewalismy, wszyscy ktorzy przyjechali rano, juz sobie zabukowali miejsce w busie powrotnym, wiec wszystko bylo teoretycznie zajete, tylko czekali na spoznialskich. Ale uparlismy sie, wsiedlismy do jednego z busow i powiedzielismy ze jedziemy na stojaco. Pan sie stropil, bo w Brazylii miejsc stojacych sie raczej nie sprzedaje, ale juz zauwazylismy, ze w Ameryce Pld. Upor dziala cuda. Tak jak w Kolumbii, Brazylijczykom nie wypada byc niegrzecznym, wiec jak sie najezasz i robisz sroga mine, to czesto ustepuja. Znalazly sie jeszcze dwa miejsca siedzace i ruszylismy (ponad godzina drogi, a nie zachwalane 25 minut). Z dworca z glupia frant dzwonimy do Henrique, ktory mowil, ze byc moze moglby nas przenocowac, ale to nic pewnego i okazuje sie ze mamy zaproszenie. Mamy szczescie spotkac kolege po fachu (H. w dodatku jest tlumaczem ustnym), wiec swietnie sie dogadujemy i postanawiamy przesunac date wyjazdu. Robimy z Henrique obiad i gadamy do nocy. Nastepnego dnia musimy dokonczyc zlecenie, los zostaje na kompie gospodarza, ja szukam kafejki. Czwarta z kolei okazuje sie wreszcie dobra (mudi miec Windows XP, zeby mozna bylo zmienic czcionke na polska). Po pracy idziemy na rodizio da pizza (czyli pizza do upadlego) gdzie serwuja m.in. pizze czekoladowa z lodami, los jest wniebowziety. Jedziemy do miasta szybko cyknac fotke panorama miasta z tarasu w Edificio Italiano, a kelner kaze nam za to zaplacic 15 reali (ponad 20 zl) od osoby, wiec smiejemy mu sie w twarz i robimy zdjecia z korytarza, tez dobrze widac. Pedzimy w pospiechu do shoppingu (hi hi, tak nazywaja centrum handlowe) zlapac Henrique na pozegnalne zdjecie i tylko na to mamy czas, bo niedlugo autobus. Buzi-buzi i mkniemy na dworzec.

Encouraged by the successful trip to Chapada Diamantina we move on to conquer the next national park. Ricardo is supposed to take us to the station (as u know, its 20 km from home, so were grateful!) Unfortunately the previous night he took to a Lebanese bar, the oldest in town and after a few drinks we overslept a bit, and so did he...:)
As a result, we miss the bus to Alto Paraíso by just two minutes. Shit! I wonder why Real Express buses must leave on time?? The next one leaves at 3pm and its some mickeymouse company which doesnt give a damns abt punctuality. We arrive at night. The town is fast asleep, the campsite is closed. We knock on a local resident's door, a young law student is going to the cente ranyway, so we jump into his car and we embark on a journey thorugh the local wilderness following the mysterious signs leading us to another campground. I counted seven, and we got lost three times on the way anyway, because the signs were misleading. Finally we make it, our driver sighs with relief and takes off and we quickly realize what all those signs were for after we find out what the price is. When somebody drives around the middle of nowhere in the dark for half an hour, he'll swallow any price they can throw at him and no mistake. Oh web, we shell out the 20 bucks we would normally pay for a room in a B&B.. At least the campsite looks pret scenic, a lot of greenery, ponds, beautiful stars at night and a frog concert. Before we set up our tent, the bulb which provided light blows up. The owner cant exchange it, Im very sorry!, because he doesnt have the tools and the bulb socket is connected directly to the power source. There's no hot water either. Shame on you, manager :)
The bus to San Jorge of course comes 90 minutes late and we find the village even more sleepy and quiet than the town yesterday. At least the campsite is dirt cheap but we cant find any decent food. All the guides (2 of them!) have left with tourists but we find a guy who for a small fee (small my ass!) takes us to Vale da Lua (Moon Valley). Although its supposed to be just 4 miles outside of town, everybody is telling us not to walk, because the path is unmarked and it's easy to get lost. So we take the ride. On the spot we meet the valley's owner (at which point our levels of surprise skyrocket!) and then it turns out that there are 8 or 10 owners altogether because the family was big and they had to split up their heritage. The valley does not fail to impress, although the Moose is grumpy because the weather is too sunny and shots could be nicer with grey sky. I can't complain.
On the next day we take a real guide called Junior and we walk to see the waterfalls. It is a great hike, we do not get overly tired but we do not get driven right to the site of interest either...3 hours walking to a canyon, then a short hike to the waterfall, then 3 hours back - that's what I call a happy medium! The waterfalls are called Cariocas, meaning Girls from Rio, and the name is derived from a suspiciously didactic legend of two girls who wanted to save money, supposedly came here without a guide and vanished... duh! After we come back, we bump into Joanna, a Polish girl who's been here for 4 years (and 8 years in Brazil), and who everybody had been telling us about upon finding out we're from Poland. She lets us use the kitchen and the hammocks at her house. Finally we can cook something, if only scrambled eggs! Asia is a little out there, she into New Age stuff a lot. After the communism fell, she dropped out of an architecture school and she moved to the Western World. Spent some time in the US and Holand and then came to Brazil, because as she says, ayahuasca called her. Now she regularly drinks this magical drink of Amazonian indigenous people, she studies shamanism and she heals people using crystals, so she's a bit like the village witch. It was nice to talk to her, although she practically lost the ability to speak Polish, so we felt sorry for her trying to make up a sentence in Polish and having to ask us for words and phrases all the way... Anyway we were hoping to get a shot of the famous drink, but when we were frying our eggs, she had to leave for work (she also works as a masseuse at a plush hotel). Only her other guests were home, on of which started looking for his wallet in an ostentatious manner, letting everybody know he last saw it before we came (!!!) So we took off, giving up psychoactive drinks and experimenting : ) On the next day in the morning we caught a delayed bus to Brasilia, we spend the rest of the day working at a cybercafe, where calling prices a highway robbery would be a gross understatement and then we miss the night bus to Sao Paulo. The next one was due at 1.30am and of course it came at 3am, back from Bahia! Until the last minute the ticket man wouldn't sell us the tickets because he didn't know if there will be seats left. An hour after we took off, the bus broke down and until down all we could hear was the noise of hammers and spanners. After that we made maybe 3 or 4 lunch breaks (and you would think they might try to catch up because they're so late already!) and we reach the city with a 5.5 hours' delay, tired as hell because of 4 wailing toddlers torturing us from the neighboring seats. At the bus station's internet café we find that all our promised hosts in Sao Paulo gave us the finger, at the same time ensuring us in kind words that they do not remember who we were and that every other day would be perfect to host us, just not today, please! There was one guy who promised to offer us a heartfelt welcome, but decided to go to the beach instead on the spur of the moment! Screw you!!! So we were left with two people which might, would, could... oh web... so without further thinking, we spent a night working in a 24 cyber café. We bought a ticket to Curitiba for the next evening and we decided to see SP in one day.
The café is closing at 6.00am so we move to town. By 10 we have all the main attractions visited and we decide to split: I will find out abt the amusement park Hopi Hari and the Moose will go to the stadium to buy tickets for today's derby. He comes back after 4 hours, turns out he didn't even reach the place, because after changing trains 4 times turned out he still had to take another bus to get to the stadium so he gave up because we wouldn't have made it anyway... So instead we head for the theme park. It is a big attraction, not only for Brasil, because they claim to have South America's best rollercoaster rides. But getting there is tricky... Park buses take off from SP only at 10am, and if u miss them, u have to take public transport, which takes 2 hours (rather than 30 minutes, as the park bus company promises :) Once we get there, we buy a passport, or a ticket to cover all rides and we stand for one hour in a giant line for the first one. At least it was worth it! A tower styled to resemble that of Gustave Eiffel in Paris take u to a nice height in a special seat and then drops you for an about 240 feet freefall. Something like a falling elevator, but there's no cabin this time. Whew! After another 90 minutes of waiting we get to ride a rollecoaster, which includes basically just a loop, but it's hell of a loop! The most thrilling ride of my life! The passport is full of shit, because nobody checks if we have it. If u go there, buy a simple entrance ticket (which is cheaper but supposedly requires u to pay separately for each ride) and ride for free because nobody will want to see your passport anyway or buy an Express Pass, which allows u to take 4 rides without waiting. It's worth it, because the park has a lot of attractions, many of which are worthing riding two or three times. Our city bus left at 7.00 but the park closes at 8.30 so we decided to use our time to the fullest, risk it and wait for the returning park buses. As expected, everyone who came in the morning, bought a round trip on the park bus, so all places were theoretically occupied and they were just waiting for some people who were late. But we didn't exactly want to be stranded there, we got on one of the buses and we told the guy we would ride standing. He pulled a long face, because travelling standing is not a custom in Brazil but we already realized that being obstinate enough can work miracles in South America. Like in Colombia, Brazilians are expected to be polite, so if u get a little rude and push them around a little, they often give up. We found two seats left and we took off. Of course, it took us more than an hour instead of the 30 minutes they claimed it would take. From the station we call Enrique, a guy who said he might maybe put us up as last resort, and luckily he says yes!! Also, we are happy to meet a coleague (he is an English language interpreter) so we connect immediately and we decide to move the departure date. We make dinner with Enrique and stay up until late talking. On the next day, we have to finish the job, so the Moose occupies our host's laptop and I look for an e-café. After work we go to eat a rodizio da pizza (pizza, all u can eat!) where we have a fabulous chocolate and ice cream pizza, the Moose is dying with delight! Then we head to the center, to take a shot of the city's panorama from a lookout in Edificio Italiano, the city's tallest building, but there's just a fancy restaurant up there and the waiter tell us to pay 10 bucks for getting us, so we laugh him out of the room and we head to the corridor where the views are also nice. Then we rush to the shopping (that's what they call a mall here :) and take a goodbye photo with Enrique and that's all we can do before we catch the bus to Curitiba!

Nowe fotki / New photos and translations!

Sporo nowych zdjec!!! Zapraszam do dwoch poprzednich postow!!!

A lot of new photos and finally everything is in English!!! Check out the two recent posts!!!

O przyrodzie i innych atrakcjach / About nature and other attractions

Ostatni dzien w Salvadorze uplynal pod znakiem zwiedzania Dique de Tororó, sztucznego jeziora na ktorym umieszczono rzezbione w drewnie postacie Orixas, bogow kultu Candomblé. Poniewaz na sama “msze” candomblé isc nie chcielismy (troche to bez sensu taka niby-religijna ceremonia pelna tajemniczosci i mistyki, a wkolo tabuny turystow; autentycznosc jest tu rowna walce wrestlingowej na eurosporcie), obejrzelismy chociaz Orixas. Przeszlismy sie wokolo jeziorka (ok 5 km), ale nie spedzalismy tam duzo czasu, bo tuz obok same favele.. Wieczorem Rogeria niestety nie bylo i nawet nie cyknelismy sobie z nim fotki, szajse! Zlapalismy bus na dworzec i juz o 23.30 zmierzalismy do Lençóis.
Autobus mial byc na miejscu o 5.30, liczylem na tradycyjne opoznienie i na dobry sen. Niestety skurczybyk przyjechal WCZESNIEJ. Juz o 4.50 zbudzil nas i kazal wysiadac. Jakis lokalny busik obwozacy turystow po pensjonatach za darmo na szczescie zaraz nas zabral i pojechalismy na camping (w sumie dosc drogi, ale nic tanszego nie bylo, a chcielismy w koncu wykorzystac namiot). Na kempingu dwa samotne namioty na wielkim polu i wredne mrowy na trawie. Do tego jeszcze ciemno i zaczelo siapic. Szybko rozbilismy namiot mimo protestow Asi, ze “z tymi mrowkami i w tym deszczu to ona...” itp. No i pospalismy sie jak dwa zajace. Az do 10.00. Potem wstalismy i przeszlismy sie po miescie. Okazalo sie, ze do parku narodowego sa rozne wycieczki, 1,2,3 i nawet 5-dniowe, zarowno piesze jak i samochodowe, ale wszystkie wyjezdzaja rano, wiec zostaje nam miasto i atrakcje lokalne. Samo miasto to mala wioseczka, moze wielkosci Kazimierza Dolnego, lezaca w gorach na wys. 1000 m npm. Niby klimat powinien byc wiec umiarkowany, ale slonce niezle walilo. Do zwiedzania na miejscu duzo nie bylo, wiec udalismy sie na spacer do polecanych w przewodniku atrakcji. Byla tam m.in. sala kolorowych piaskow (robia z nich buteleczki z kolorowym piaskiem, takie pamiatki) i jakies dwa wodospady. Po krotkim bladzeniu natrafilismy na jakiegos lokalnego chlopaczka, ktory za drobne zaoferowal sie nas zaprowadzic (oczywiscie zadnych drogowskazow!) i po spacerze ok. 4 km w gore rzeki trafilismy do wspomnianych atrakcji. Bylo fajnie, nawet udalo nam sie wejsc pod jeden fajny maly wodospad i sie ochlodzic. Po powrocie i malym posilku wybralismy sobie jedna z wycieczek na nastepny dzien (jednodniowa samochodem) i oczywiscie znow uderzylismy w kimono.
Nastepnego dnia wstalismy raniutko i pospieszylismy do punktu zbornego przekonani, ze odjada bez nas, ale oczywiscie tu tez nikt sie nigdzie nie spieszy. Minela jeszcze godzina zanim na dobre wyjechalismy. Furgonetka napakowana miedzynarodowym towarzystwem: Izraelczycy (pelno ich tu), Holendrzy, Kenijczyk, Niemka i my szaraki-Polaki. Najpierw obejrzelismy lokalna jaskinie pelna dziwow i cudow natury. Niesamowite formacje skalne, stalaktyty, stalagmity, elektyty, amacostamtyty i pelno innych dziwactw. Ladne to wszystko bylo, tylko ze Brazylijskie jaskinie zbyt chlodne nie sa (22-24 C w tym przypadku) a poniewaz zapakowali nas w kaski (bardzo sie przydaly, bo sufit nisko!) to sie mocno pocilismy. Po dwoch godzinach chodzenia w pozycji quasimodo i podziwiania skalnych naciekow mielismy dosc. Fenomenalny byl natomiast znajdujacy sie na stropie jaskini naciek w ksztalcie glowy Chrystusa (Izraelczycy mowili, ze to Bob Marley), bedzie fotka. Przewodnicy nie mowili po angielsku, ale zyczliwy Holender, ktory urodzil sie w Brazylii i spedzil tu dziecinstwo posluzyl za tlumacza.
Potem popedzilismy na fascynujacy szczyt Pai Inacio, z ktorego rozciaga sie niezla panoramka charakterystycznych dla regionu plaskich szarych szczytow parku Diamantina. 20 minutowy spacer nie wycisnal z nas siodmych potow, ale wycieczka byla typu emeryckiego, wiec trudno sie dziwic.
Trzecia przewidziana atrakcja byl wodospad z jeziorkiem o milej dla ucha nazwie “diabelska studnia” (Poço do Diabo). Nie byl zbyt duzy, jakies 25 m, wiec wszyscy po goracym dniu wskoczyli do jeziorka aby sie ochlodzic. Niektorych, w tym mnie podkusilo, zeby pochlodzic sie pod samym wodospadem. Niestety troche przecenilem swoje umiejetnosci plywackie i po lekkiej szamotaninie w wodzie (nie, nie widzialem swiatelek w tunelu! : ) musialem zostac odholowany do brzegu przez naszego przewodnika i paru chlopakow z grupy. Brzmi to zabawnie, ale mialem niezlego stracha. Kto by pomyslal, ze wodospad lubi wciagac pod wode... przeciez to zupelnie nielogiczne .
Zupelnie wyczerpany wrocilem do samochodu i ostatkiem sil dowloklem sie do namiotu. Nie uzyje okreslenia “spalem jak zabity” bo skojarzenia nie sa najlepsze, ale z pewnoscia nie mialem problemow z zasnieciem.. : )
Nastepnego dnia mielismy wieczorem jechac do Brasilii, wiec postanowilismy w ciagu dnia ochlodzic sie w innych pobliskich jeziorkach. Ok. 4km od miasta znajduje sie uroczy zakatek zwany Meio do Riberão. Jest tam kilka naturalnych basenow (oczek wodnych), maly wodospad i naturalna zjezdzalnia. Jest to cos w rodzaju rowni pochylej o dlugosci ok. 100 m i niewielkim nachyleniu, po ktorej zsuwa sie woda. Taki zlagodzony wodospad. Zjezdza sie po tym swietnie, ale skaly, choc oble, miekkie nie sa, wiec nawet z wodna amortyzacja i po ochlodzeniu sie na koncu zjazdu w jeziorku, nie dalem rady zjechac wiecej niz 3 razy pod rzad. Moja szlachetnia czesc tylna nie chciala juz wspolpracowac, pamietajac zreszta chyba o czekajacej nas 16h podrozy do Brasilii. Moje spodenki kapielowe tez odmowily posluszenstwa, wiec dopoki ktos nie popracuje nad nimi z nitka i igla, nie bede mogl sie pokazac w towarzystwie na szanujacej sie plazy : )
Autobus do Brasilii oczywiscie przyjechal z opoznieniem. Byl dosc wygodny, ale przydzielono nam miejsca nie obok siebie. Kierowca pozwolil nam sie zamienic, ale potem wsiadl gosc, ktorego miejsce zajalem i nie chcial isc na to, ktore bylo poczatkowo mnie przydzielone, bo tam siedzial jakis gadatliwy pijaczek. Koniec koncow usiadl gdzie indziej, bo bylo jeszcze jedno wolne miejsce, ale atmosfera byla nerwowa. W dodatku posadzili nas kolo kibla. Caly czas otwieraly sie drzwi, o zapachu nie wspomne. Zepsute zawieszenie to kolejny z problemow. Byl to zdecydowanie najgorszy autobus w Brazylii, ale gdzie mu do ekwadorskich czy niektorych peruwianskich (cena rowniez bez porownania wyzsza : ). Po wrednym opoznieniu 2h dojechalismy na miejsce o 17.00 nastepnego dnia.
Czekal juz na nas cierpliwie nasz nowy gospodarz, Ricardo. Juz sie sciemnialo, wiec zabral nas tylko do domu prezydenta (Luli akurat nie bylo : ), a nastepnie do siebie, do domku pod miastem. Tam zostalismy utuleni do snu cieplym obiadkiem i zabawa z labradorem oraz dwoma pudelkami gospodarza.
Nastepnego dnia Ricardo pozyczyl nam rowery, abysmy mogli lepiej zwiedzic miasto, bo odleglosci sa za duze na spacery. Poniewaz wszyscy spotkani dotychczas Brazylijczycy oraz turysci pukali sie w glowe na wiesc, ze chcemy jechac do Brasilii, sami zdazylismy zwatpic w sens tej wizyty, wiec zaskoczenie moglo byc tylko przyjemne. I tak miasto, w ktorym wg przewodnika ludzie mieli byc “rasa podlegla klimatyzatorom i samochodom” okazalo sie calkiem przyjemna, drobiazgowo rozplanowana przestrzenia miejska. Nie betonowa dzungla bynajmniej, ale pelnym zieleni eksperymentem urbanistycznym, zreszta zobaczycie na zdjeciach. Dla tych, ktorzy nie wiedza, miasto zostalo zbudowane od podstaw na pusciutkiej rowninie w centrum kraju w trzy lata (1957-1960). Prezydent Juscelino Kubitschek i lewicujacy architekt Oscar Niemeyer wymarzyli sobie nowa, wolna od brudu i skaz stolice (Rio sie juz przezylo...). Miasto idealne. Zaprojektowano wiec miasto na planie samolotu. Kokpit tworza budynki rzadowe, na skrzydlach znajduja sie dzielnice mieszkalne. Sektory mieszkalne podzielone sa na tzw. superbloki (jest ich kilkaset). Kazdy z nich zawiera kilka rzedow domow, tzw. blokow, centrum handlowe, w ktorym w zalozeniu znajduja sie wszystkie sklepy potrzebne mieszkancom, szkole, kosciol itp. Czyli jest samowystarczalny. Kazdy z kilkuset superblokow jest zaprojektowany IDENTYCZNIE, czyli uklad domow, zieleni itp. Jest wszedzie ten sam. WSZYSTKIE domy mieszkalne maja po 6 pieter. Brzmi to dosc makabrycznie, ale sprawia uporzadkowane wrazenie. Dziala to tak, ze droga prowadzaca do kazdego superbloku jest slepa, wiec trafiaja tam tylko mieszkancy. Jesli chce sie mieszkac I kontaktowac tylko z samymi sasiadami, to jest super. Jesli chce sie wyjsc na miasto, to gorzej, bo wszystkie punkty handlowo-uslugowe sa zorganizowane wewnatrz tych podstawowych jednostek, a w samym centrum (kadlub samolotu) nie ma nic, oprocz budynkow rzadowych.
Budynki trzech wladz (kongres, sad i prezydent) znajduja sie na tzw. Placu Trzech Wladz. Po 50 latach wszystko nie wyglada juz tak nowoczesnie, ale oszczednosc srodkow wyrazu i swoisty porzadek architektoniczny nadal moze sie podobac. Kongres zwiedza sie za darmo (jak i wiekszosc atrakcji w miescie). Ba! Mozna nawet dostac tam pocztowke z wizerunkiem kongresu, ktora na koszt rzadu zostanie dostarczone w dowolne miejsce na swiecie. Podoba mi sie tu! Po odwiedzeniu kilku sal, ruszylismy na niedaleka wieze telewizyjna, skad rozciaga sie swietna panorama miasta, a nastepnie porobilismy troche ciekawych fotek roznych budynkow, z tym slynnej katedry. Niestety, najciekawszy kosciol Dom Bosco, przypominajacy betonowy schron z witrazami, okazal sie zamkniety, wiec fotki sa tylko z zewnatrz. Wieczorem zmachani wrocilismy do domu...
Nasz drugi pelny dzien w Brasilii okazal sie mocno deszczowy, wiec ograniczylismy sie do zwiedzania centrum handlowego, kosciola Dom Bosco wewnatrz (hurra!) i, wieczorem, najstarszego pubu w Brasilii (Beirute, rok otwarcia 1966!) Jutro, jesli pogoda bedzie laskawa, wybieramy sie do parku narodowego Chapada dos Veadeiros na polnoc od miasta. Jesli tym razem sie nie podtopie, postaram sie zdac pelna relacje! Tchao!

We spent the last day in Salvador visiting Dique de Tororó, an artificial lake on which wooden sculptures of Orixas were placed. Orixas are Candomblé gods. Because we didn’t want to go the candomblé service” (kinda pointless, a religious ceremony with a lot of tourists around; some mysticism, I would say), we at least took a look at Orixas. We walked around the lake (5 km) but we didn’t spend a lot of time there, because there were favelas all over the place. Unfortunately, at night Rogerio was out so we didn’t even take a photo with him. Shit! We caught a bus to the station and by 11.30 pm were already riding to Lençóis.
The bus was supposed to arrive at 5.30 and I hoped it would be late, as always, letting us sleep longer. Unfortunately, the bastard came EARLIER! Woke us up at 4.50 and told us to get off. A local bus touring local bed and breakfasts took us for free and left us at a local campground (a little expensive, but the cheapest that there was). At the campground there were only two single tents on a big field on nasty ants in the grass. We quickly set up the tent despite Asia’s objections that “she won’t be putting up with those ants and that rain...” And we slept immediately. Until 10am. Then we woke up and took a walk around town. Turned out there were different tours around the national park. 1-day, 2-day, 3-day and even 5-day outings, both hiking and by car, but they all leave in the morning, so we can only see the city and local attractions. The city is a small village in the mountains, 1000 m above sea level. The climate should be moderate but the sun was beating like crazy. Not much too see there so we went hiking out of town a little bit. We wanted to visit a colored sands area (they use them to make souvenirs) and two waterfalls. After getting lost for a while we met a local boy who took us there for some spare change (of course no signs there!) and after 4km walk upriver we found the attractions. It was nice, we even managed to get under one tiny waterfall to cool down. After getting back and having a dinner, we picked one of the tours (a day trip by car) and of course went to sleep again.
Next day we woke up early and went to the meeting point. We were sure they would leave without us but it turned out no one was in hurry : ) It was another hour before we really left. The van was packed with international people: Israelis (a lot of them here!), Dutchmen, a Kenyan guy, a German girl and us. First we saw a local cave full of wonders and freaks of nature. Amazing rock formations, stalactites, stalagmites, electites, amasomethingtites and other stuff. It was great, but Brazilian caves are not too cold (22-24C in this case) and we had to wear helmets (very useful too, because the ceiling was pretty low) and we sweated like pigs. After too hours of walking like Quasimodo and admiring rocks we had had it. One thing was amazing: a dripping in the shape of Christ’s head (the Israeli said it was more like Bob Marley). See the photo. The guides did not speak English, a but a good-natured Dutch guy who was born in Brazil and spent his childhood here was our translator. Then we went to see the fascinating Pai Inacio peak, from which there is a great panorama of flat mountains typical of the Diamantina region. 20-minute walk was not very tiresome, but people of all ages took part in the trip so no wonder it was easy.
A third attraction on our itinerary was a waterfall and a lake with a nice sounding name “devil’s well” (Poço do Diabo). It was not a big fall, 25 m maybe, so everybody jumped into the lake to cool down a bit. Some of us were even tempted to cool down under the fall, myself included. Unfortunately, I overestimated my swimming abilities a bit and after struggling in the water a bit (no, I did not see lights at the end of the tunnel! : ) I had to be escorted to the shore by our guide and some of the people from our group. This sounds funny but I was really frightened now. Who would have thought waterfalls have a funny way of pulling people under... does that make sense to you?
Totally exhausted, I returned to the car and got to the tent. I sure didn’t have any problems sleeping that night : )
Next day we were going to go to Brasilia, so we decided to cool down in other, nearby lakes. Approx. 4 km out of town there is a lovely spot called Meio do Riberão. It has several natural swimming pools (water pools), a small waterfall and a natural slide. It is more like a slope maybe 100 m long, not very steep, with water sliding off it. A soft version of a waterfall. The experience is great, but the rocks, although they’re round, are not very soft so even in the water I couldn’t slide down more than 3 times in a row. My ass just wouldn’t cooperate anymore, maybe it knew the 16h bus trip to Brasilia was coming soon.. : ) My swimming shorts unfortunately gave way too so before somebody works on them with needle and thread, I won’t show my ass around on respectable beaches : )
The bus to Brasilia of course came late. It was comfortable, but we had been assigned seats away from each other. The driver let us swap, but then a guy came whose seat I had taken and didn’t want to take my assigned seat, because there was a loud drunk sitting next to it. Finally, he took another seat, because luckily there was one more left, but we were quite nervous. Also, they placed us right in front of the toilet. The door would open by itself every now and then and the smell I won’t even start to describe. Broken suspension is another thing. This was our worst bus in Brazil. After being 2h late, we reached the place at 5pm next day.
Our host, Ricardo, was waiting for us patiently there. It was getting late, so he just took us to see the president’s house (Lula was out, unfortunately : ) and then to his place, outside of town. There we were lulled to sleep with a warm dinner after playing with the host’s Labrador retriever and two poodles.
Next day Ricardo lent us two bikes so we could visit the city better because distances are huge. Because every Brazilian and tourist we had met until then was really surprise we wanted to see Brasilia, we had already been uncertain whether it made any sense to go there, so we could be only pleasantly surprised. And so the city, in which according to the guidebook people are “slaves to cars and air conditioners” proved to be a pleasant, meticulously planned out urban space. It was not a concrete jungle – by no means – but rather a city planning experiment full of green areas. See the photos. The city was built from scratch on a plateau in the center of the country in three years (1957-1960). The president Juscelino Kubitschek and a leftist architect Oscar Niemeyer dreamt they would built a new, dirt-free and crime-free capital (Rio was passe by then :) The perfect city. So they designed it to look like an airplane. The cockpit are government buildings and residential, hotel and business areas are on the wings. Residential areas are divided into so-called superblocks (several hundreds of them). Each of them has several rows of houses, so-called blocks, a shopping center, a school, most of them also a church so they are pretty much self-reliant. Each of the several hundred superblocks are IDENTICAL, i.e. has an identical layout of houses, green areas etc. Everything is the same. ALL apartment houses have six floors. It sound terrible but looks nice and orderly. Roads leading to each superblock are always dead ends, so only the residents or visitors are supposed to get there. If you want to live there and stay around your neighbors only, it’s fine. If you want to go out, it’s not as good, because 90% of all shops and stuff like that are inside the superblocks, and the center has few things aside from the government sector.
Buildings of the three powers (congress, supreme court and president) are located on the Three Powers Square. After 50 years it doesn’t look so modern anymore, but undertone design and architectural order can be perceived as advantages. A guided tour of the congress (in Portuguese!!!) is free (like most landmarks here!) You can even get a free postcard with the congress, which the government will deliver to any place in the world for you, naturally also for free. I like it here! After visiting a few rooms, we moved to the nearby TV tower, which offers a stunning view of the city, and then took some photos of the buildings here, including the cathedral. Unfortunately, the most interesting church here, Dom Bosco, looking a bit like a huge bomb shelter (but bomb shelters don’t have massive stained-glass windows) was closed. At night we came home, quite tired.
On a side note: Ricardo told us that zoning plans in Brasilia didn’t quite go as expected. It turned out that bureaucracy was so rampant here that people would be waiting for months on end to get a building permit. So seeing as the settlement was quite huge, some people started zoning their own land and selling lots illegally. And the government did nothing about it. Neither legalized it nor prevented it. Strange. The city is full of such “semilegal” losts and buildings on them, some quite nice and big, like Ricardo’s house (yes!) Some even went as far as selling the government’s land, claiming it was theirs, and houses were built there too. Adding the ramshackle houses of people who came to build the city and lived in temporary shacks, but never left after construction ended, we get a different view at the orderly urban space Kubitschek and Niemeyer dreamt of but never quite achieved...
Our second day in Brasilia proved really rainy so we just visited a shopping mall, Dom Bosco church inside (yes!) and at night, Brasilia’s oldest pub (Beirute, since 1966!) Tomorrow, if the weather is nice, we will go to the National Park Chapada dos Veadeiros north of Brasilia. If I don’t drown this time, I’ll try to give you full coerage. Tchao!