Justin-Klein.com – Life of a Traveling Programmer – Page 98

Feira Nordestina

Mar 122008

Before deciding to forfeit our last two days in Rio in favor of a trip to the jungle, Peder and I sat and deliberated for a bit in the hostel lounge. Both of us still had a few things we really wanted to do in the city:

-Ride the Santa Teresa bonde over the Lapa Arches
-Visit Feira Nordestina, a massive street fair
-Go to Barra da Tijuca, a popular beach for young crowds (which I’d never done because it was always cloudy/rainy)
-See the view from atop Sugar Loaf (which I’d never done because it was always cloudy/rainy)
-Go Hang-Gliding (which I’d never done because it was always cloudy/rainy)

We looked outside. It was cloudy/rainy.

Screw this place, it’s JUNGLE TIME!! Continue reading »

Facetouch

Brazil, Public 7 Responses »

Mar 112008

The next day was Saturday. When I got home from the previous night’s party at around 9am Peder was already asleep in bed, so I grabbed a pile of food from the breakfast buffet, threw it into our mini-fridge for later, and knocked out.

For about two hours.

Then we woke up and started scrambling to arrange our transportation back to Rio. The bus schedules did not appear to be in our favor, and it looked like we might be stuck in transit during our entire last Saturday night in Brazil, so we checked out of our pousada with moustache-lady and sat on the monument in town square scouring Lonely Planet for any last minute options.

As we sat, a couple of high-school students in matching T-shirts came up and initiated conversation. We were both quite low-genki. I couldn’t understand their Portuguese and Peder wasn’t trying that hard in Spanish. But for some reason, the next time we looked up from our guidebooks we’d amassed a circle of more than 20 of these identically-clad field-trippers.

“HELLOMYNAMEISMARCELO!” one shouted. Continue reading »

An Unexpected Night

Brazil, Public 3 Responses »

Mar 112008

After making our way out of the immense mineshafts of Minas Passagem, hailing a bus back to Ouro Preto, and feeding our grumbling stomachs, Peder and I were left absolutely exhausted. And dusty. But we still had a couple hours of sunlight left, so we decided to head to an outdoors market and finally get our souvenir shopping out of the way. Although its mines may not be as active as they were three hundred years ago, the state of Minas Gerais is still Brazil’s capital of precious stones – and as such, virtually every street corner seems to have a shop or two selling crystals and diamonds and incredibly elaborate rock carvings of some kind or another. Continue reading »

Spelunking in Mariana

Brazil, Public 10 Responses »

Mar 082008

Our first full day in Ouro Preto, Peder and I woke up early and popped our heads outside our door to find a table totally covered in sliced meat, cheese, bread, fresh fruit, fruit juices, and coffee. It was the standard fare, but considering the quantity and the fact that we were the only ones in the entire place, we could at long last eat our fill.

We were also greeted by the pousada’s cleaning lady, who had the most impressive moustache I’ve ever seen on a woman. And I’m not talking about the kind of slightly hairy upper lip that we’ve all probably seen once or twice. I’m talking a full-on black moustache. Like the guy on Deadwood. Thick enough to be combed. I’ve never seen anything like it. Continue reading »

Mr. Dirty

Brazil, Public 4 Responses »

Mar 082008

Arriving in Ouro Preto, the perfectly picturesque colonial mountain town.

Our first order of business in Ouro Preto was, as always, to secure a place to stay. Predictably, it was less than a minute after we showed our faces in town square that a man approached us uttering the simple words, “You look pousada?”

For simplicity’s sake I will now refer to this man as Mr. Dirty.

Lead on, Mr. Dirty!

Mr. Dirty’s excitement at our acceptance reminded me a bit of a small puppy who’d just been adopted by his new owner. He’d indicate the direction in which we’d be walking and scamper off a few paces ahead of us. Then turn around to make sure we were following, walk three more steps, turn around and point in the direction we were traveling. “It’s just this way!” Three more steps. Point again. Three steps. Check. Point. When we arrived he’d run inside to negotiate with the owner on our behalf. If the deal wasn’t to our liking, before we could finish our sentence he’d already be out the door, pointing in the direction of his next suggestion. Walk. Stop. Point. Walk.
Continue reading »

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