note: location is ouro preto and congonhas, near belo horizonte, brasil

today carlos chauffeured me around ouro preto and congonhas. both are nice little cities with cool art work. the roads were cobbled and steep….i’m glad i didn’t have to drive on them. they have some nice museums, churches, gold mines, statues, etc. a lot of the artwork was done by the famed aleijadinho — a real bastard (in the technical sense) born to a portuguese man and his black slave mistress.

and check out the cool ceral box. 1) it has a new way of folding closed; and 2) there’s braille on the front left of the box.

note: location is belo horizonte, brasil today i drove back carlos’ car from the mechanic — it felt a bit like i was cheating on ushi. the other car had some things which worked better, others that weren’t so good….it’s impressive in how good shape the sentra is after so many miles and so little maintenance.

before i left on this trip, i wanted to see two wonders of the world: machu picchu and iguazu falls. intellectually, there were two other really interesting cities i wanted to visit: curitiba and belo horizonte. curitiba is famous for it’s creative approach to urban planning. belo horizonte, on the other hand, is famous for it’s innovative approach to resolving the hunger problem (http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/10-most-hopeful-trends/1398). in 1993, 20% of the youngest children in belo horizonte suffered from malnourishment. about 10 years later, infant mortality has almost been cut in half. the approach is multifaceted, but one of the main features are the restaurante popular’s, which provide healthy meals at a price that anyone can afford. moreover, these restaurants are open to everyone….eliminating the social stigma associated with soup kitchens.

the restaurante popular we visited was actually quite nice. when we arrived, there was a line of about 50 people outside the door. however, the line moved pretty fast, and we were upstairs in about 10 minutes. the operation is efficient and reminiscent of a school/jail cafeteria. you’re handed a metal tray, then walk along as they slop on piles of food. today’s menu was rice, beans, ground meat, greens and some vegetable stew/gravy. the food wasn’t terrific, but for 1 real (60 cents), you can’t really complain — i’ve paid much more for much worse food. actually, the rice and beans were on par with any other restaurant i’ve been to; and the quantity of food was enormous (i couldn’t finish it). one really cool thing is the clientelle, which ranges from homeless people to men dressed in suits. it’s nice to have a safe/friendly environment for everyone to mix together. it’s better than the soup kitchens in the us, where homeless people have to eat with other homeless people (here, everyone is an equal). i wish more places initiated this program.

after a filling lunch, daniel took me to the central market (a maze of stands seling everything from clay pots to dried meat). products there were surprisingly expensive….and not any cheaper than the supermarket. afterwards, we drove up to a vista where you can see belo horizonte.

SAUDADE
last night, adrian took off back to san francisco. this is the first day in over a month that i’ll be on my own again (first gabriel, then adrian were passengers). there are some obvious pros/cons to being on my own again, but more cons than pros. one surprising advantage is NOT having a navigator (…sorta). naturally, if i had the option to use a skilled navigator (or gps), i would…..but i feel that i can understand the city layout much better if i navigate myself (because i’m forced to learn it).

as i left rio this morning, i realized that it had really grown on me. it’s not just the beautiful people and environment, or hanging out with my family in their apartment across from the beach in one of the nicest neighborhoods in the americas, or having delicious food day after day….well, i could go on, but the point is that when you’re there, you just feel relaxed and happy. if i were to move to rio, i’m quite certain that i would live a very happy life. so why not move there? i dunno…maybe i will? but for now, i think that i might not find the professional fulfillment that i currently desire (mech eng R&D is much less developed here than in the us).

BELO HORIZONTE
from rio, i drove to belo horizonte…..a very large city about 5 hours from rio. i haven’t seen much of it, but it seems to have a lot of tall buildings. i’m staying at the house of some family friends who are putting me (and ushi) up in a beautiful apartment in very nice neighborhood here. this afternoon, we walked to the bakery, which had a bunch of delicious bread options to choose from.

later, this evening, i walked around the neighborhood. it’s very pleasant and there were quite a few people jogging. it’s nice seeing women jogging at night. for that reason too, but mostly because it usually means that the neighborhood is very safe — i think the only other place that i saw women jogging alone at night was in chile. also, my 6 month search for the allusive nespera (loquot) finally ended tonight! nesperas are not that rare (they even grow in the bay area), but it seems that only a fraction of the population knows about them. in the states, they don’t sell them in the markets (i have to steal them from people’s yards); and even in brasil (where they are sold), many people have never heard of them.

aside: in the united states, traffic lights are typically placed pretty far from the crosswalk (on the other side of the intersection). in many (all?) places in brasil, they’re placed at the crosswalk. the result is that cars must stop before the crosswalk, or they won’t know when the light is red/green. it’s a very simple, yet effective approach at keeping the crosswalks clear of cars.

i’m starting to get bored of travelling (who knew the sentra would last so long?), so am hoping to plan my exit over the next few days. if anybody feels like taking the reigns of the sentra and continuing the journey, shoot me an email (beto [at] sentradiaries [dot] com or sentradiaries [at] gmail [dot] com)

note: location is rio de janeiro, brasil

the pantanal was fun, but by far the best thing that came out of it was the people we met. on the drive up from curitiba to rio, we spent the night at sol and lilly’s beautiful house in sorocaba. in rio, we met up with julie and alan. this morning, alan took us around the favela where he volunteers (rocinha). it started off a bit confusing, with us not really sure where to meet them. the taxi drove around the favela a bit, but in the end we made it without any issues.

rocinha is one of the safer favelas. it’s also quite large (according to alan, over 300k people!) — it actually started off on one face of a hill, then spread to the other side. actually, the slum does not feel much different from some of the towns i passed through in central america….especially the border towns. it’s dirty, busy and, as julie put it, a sensory overload. however, it also seems relatively safe (…maybe not safe, but not nearly as dangerous as the movies make it out to be….granted, i would have been petrified if i were not with someone who lived there). we started off by checking out the school where alan volunteers (www.2bros.org). aside from the one main street, the streets are all very narrow alleys — like urban slot canyons. indeed, with the trash, steps and other dangers, most are even impassible by motorcycles. power is a mess there, but it seems to work. internet is not uncommon and credit cards are widely accepted (….or maybe people just love decorating their stores with mastercard stickers). however, when you look at all the cables, resistors and other materials wrapped around the powerlines, it’s a wonder that the system works.

after the institute, alan waved his hands, and, before i knew it, i was riding backseat on a mototaxi swerving between buses at 25mph (uphill too). it was probably one of the scarier things i’ve done on this trip, but it was worth it — the view from the top of rocinha is beautiful. from there, we stopped by a daycare, then went to alan’s apartment (which also has incredible views, and is just $120/mo). here are some interesting things re: favelas (source: alan). he feels safer in the favela than on copocabana beach — thefts are rare in the favela, since they don’t want cops coming in. taking pictures in the favela is ok…as long as there aren’t people around (which is a bit tricky when you have such a dense concentration). the owner of the top floor of a house can sell the roof for somebody else to build a flat on (then that person can sell their roof, etc.). making money in the favela is hard, but there are some entrepreneurs….like the guy who created the mototaxi service. water drainage is bad in rocinha, which is why there is water on the street and many places smell like mold.

after rocinha, we had some delicious farrofa at simon/rosa’s house, checked out the indian museum (feather, not dot), visited dr. simon’s office, bid adrian farewell, had some delicious homemade pasteis, hung out, then went to sleep.

aside: brazilians love the thumbs up — they use it al the time. even today, when i caught the mototaxi drivers shirt that was falling onto the road, he gave me a thumbs up…i kinda wished he had just kept both hands on the handles as we narrowly avoided a bus zooming downhill. they also have a unique hand signal — it’s the one you use when somebody’s talking too much (clamping the hand open and shut, as if it were a mouth)…..but here it also means ‘full’ (as in, the taxi is occupied or the club is packed).

note: location is rio de janeiro, brasil

well, after my disappointment in the pantanal, i finally saw the giant lilly pads today in rio’s botanical garden. there were only four of them, and they weren’t that big….but beggars can’t be choosers. from there, we met up with a friend we met at the pantanal and headed over to sugarloaf mountain. pao de acucar has a really beautiful view from the top. it was a nice clear day, with a pleasant breeze, so we just sat there for an hour or two staring at the water and city below. rio is a very pretty city from up top.

from the base of the mountain, we caught a cab over to post 9 on ipanema beach, where we met up with my cousin pri. i was really impressed with the quality of some of the futevolley players (volleyball, but with no hands)…including quite a few good women players. the sand, water and views were all great. after relaxing at the beach for a few hours, pri took us to a popular restaurant where we gorged ourselves with food yet again. since i’ve been here, every day we’ve had a huge meal — it’s not so bad, though, because then i can skip a couple of meals and have more time for tourist things….the big meals are a bit like an investment.

tonight, pri took us to lapa…an older part of rio which has recently been revitalized and is now famous for it’s historic buildings and samba clubs. on account of it being the end of a holiday weekend, most of the clubs were closed, but we did find one that had a live samba band. the band is typically made up of percussion, a small guitar and a singer. the music plays continuously and the singer goes on nonstop for hours — it’s quite impressive! it was very crowded downstairs, so we sat on the balcony upstairs and were lucky enough to be at the same table as a professional samba dancer who is one of the leads at a very good samba school here. after a bit, we went downstairs….and, despite it being crowded, she still amazed us with how fast, but rhythmically, she could move her feet.

aside: many bars/clubs here do not permit smoking. it’s really nice. in my mind, chile and brasil are always competing for the top spot of south american countries (that i’ve visited)….so, for nightlife, the point goes to brasil.

note: location is rio de janeiro, brasil

despite the weather not cooperating with us (it rained/drizzled most of the day), we still found some great things to do today, first, we went across the bay to the contemporary art museum of niteroi, which is housed in a cool building designed by oscar neimeyer. the art itself wasn’t spectatacular, but the location and architecture were very nice.

then, back to rio to gorge ourselves with another huge lunch — this time at porcao (a churrascaria rodizio). the restaurant is in a beautiful location right next to the water…with sail boats and windsurfers. the food is also as great as the view. to give you an idea, the waiting area has tables/chairs plus a small buffet with quality olives, breads, quail eggs, etc…..i originally thought the waiting area was the restaurant! the food was very good quality….from delicious meats to the best palmito (heart of palm) i’ve ever had. i’m still a bit drunk from all the good food i ate.

later this evening, we hung out with the daughter of one of simon’s good friends — it was a lot of fun, and (as always) it was great to see another side to rio that we wouldn’t have if we were just tourists on our own. carol took us around town and, with a group of her friends, we ended up at a club which is normally a swingers club (…yes, that kind of swinger…but periodically it becomes a normal club). it was a bit shocking how many people in the club were kissing each other. there were many exotic pieces of furniture….i think the shower with a transparent glass door may have been the cleanest part of the club.

another aside: so far, the largest concentrations of nissan sentra’s has been in lima, peru — we could not walk a block there without seeing one. brasil still has some, but they tend to be the newer models….which are huge compared to ushi.

note: location is rio de janeiro, brasil

this morning, with ushi resting in the garage, simon drove us around some more of rio. we were hoping to head up to christ the redeemer, but the clouds rolled in as we were driving over there. instead, we walked around the beach a bit then headed over to a little bar/restaurant for some pasteis and feijoada. the place has apparently been there for years and is kind of a local institution. the pasteis were delicious. the feijoada was huge. it was probably also delicious, but had too much flavor for me (…i’m more of a cereal & milk kind of a guy). afterwards, we waddled back to the apartment with full bellies.

this evening we were lucky enough to watch santos and flamengo (the most popular soccer team in brasil) play at maracana (a huge stadium, seating 90k people). the game was fun (bruno, the flamengo keeper saved two penalties), but the most exciting part was being there with the fans. with almost 80k flamengo supporters, the stadium shook when their team scored a goal — i’ve never been around such a large group of excited people in my life. the only annoying part was a guy behind us, who kept yelling ‘senta!’ (sit down!) to the people in front of us who were standing up…..i wanted to start yelling ‘stand up!’ back to him. the experience was awesome, and the tickets were only $12 (which entitled us to sit anywhere on the lower level).

an aside: vehicle exhuast tends to smell different in brasil…it’s probably due to the large concentration of alcohol-powered cars. it’s a little confusing at gas stations, since they’ll provide gasoline, diesel, alcohol and mixtures of them. i always just ask for the cheapest gasoline….and it must be ok, since both the sentra and i are still alive.

from sorocaba, we drove to rio de janeiro. along the way, we drove in the outskirts of sao paulo — what a big city! we were stuck in some traffic there….so it took us over an hour to get through the area. the road to rio changes pretty dramatically after you cross the hills (it becomes much more tropical).

the first thing that greets one when driving into rio are the favelas (slums). it’s one of those things that is appalling, depressing and beautiful at the same time. we were fortunate to be there around 7ish and saw a majestic sunset over the miles of shacks. at one point we were stopped by some cops….where i had the most ‘traumatic’ experience with latin american cops thus far….even worse than the one with the argentinian who requested a $100 bribe.

as we were driving by the checkpoint….three cops immediately raised their arms to wave us to the side — it was as if they all had the same immediate thought: $$. the first guy came up to the car and shook my hand (as latin american cops tend to do), asked me if i had any marijuana (i said no…which is true), and then asked me to step out of the car. i did, and he proceeded to search by body for any drugs/guns. at one point he touched my penis…which was a bit weird, and i made a remark…and he basically replied that it was his job. then, he went to search adrian, and another cop came up to me. for about 2 minutes he proceeded to feel my crotch….kinda reminiscent of that scene from ‘crash’. it was really awkward, disturbing and (probably) illegal. after the ‘hand job’, he proceeded to sift through a ton of my belongings with out any regard for my privacy or the things he touched. he threw the receipts out of my pocket, threw the maps around, almost broke the visor where the time-lapse camera is, etc. one interesting thing, however, is that when he came to my stack of 600 reais (~$300…i had just gone to the atm), he did not go through the money. it was a surprising action, since that is all that he really wanted. meanwhile, the first cop was searching through adrian’s wallet, telling him about how he lives in a favela, and saying that adrian should bang some girls in rio (at one point, even acting out a sexual scene with the sentra….poor ushi). after they couldn’t find any drugs, they still wanted some money, so they said that the pepper spray was illegal. i told the guy he could keep it….at which point he tried to spray it a foot away from himself on the ground (…it was a bit windy too….what an idiot). after that, he said that my cracked windshields would result in a fine and towing of the car. i tried to explain that the cracks had been patched (in ushuaia)…but he didn’t understand (or care?). finally, i just went back to my ‘que?’ trick….and played dumb. it worked and we were back on the road to leblon. (follow-up note: sometimes when it’s sunny or windy, my eyes get red….like earlier today….which is apparently why the cops were convinced i had marijuana).

after that traumatic experience, it was nice to see the beautiful city of rio. it’s a cool mix of tropical green vegetation, beaches and buildings. after a nice dinner at their beautiful apartment (a block from the beach, with views of the water), simon drove us around town. it was cool seeing the two apartment buildings that my grandfather built several decades ago. it will be interesting to see what the beautiful/empty beaches will look like in the daylight.

on a side note: brasilians have really beautiful smiles

electrical outlets in brasil may be the best i’ve seen on my trip, since they’re a hybrid of the two types used in the americas. apparently, they’re also convenient for jamming wires into if you’re missing the plug.

another exciting day today — brasil is much cooler than i had expected. i started off by checking out a small exhibition of saint etienne, then checked out the cool modern art museum in curitiba (oscar niemeyer museum). both had very cool pieces of art…and the latter was housed in a beautiful piece of architecture (designed by mr niemeyer himself).

from there, we stopped by nissan hq again, where i met some more very cool marketing people. they were very enthusiastic about the trip….it sounds like some exciting things might happen.

afterwards, a 5hr drive to sorocaba (outside of sao paulo), where we met up with some folks who were at the pantanal with us. Sol and Lily have a beautiful house and took us out for an awesome evening. Most of the night was spent at a crowded/fun local bar with a very good live band. i didn’t realize that brazilians have a different dance for almost every song….i sorta learned a few of them.

what a fun day!