A Brazilian Big Appel

Praça de Sé, Sao Paulo

Here I am in one of the biggest cities in the world : Sao Paulo.

First thing : the "metropol" title is well deserved. The city is huge.

Everywhere, when I said I wanted to stop there, people asked why. Nothing to do in Sao Paulo they say. No smoke without fire, they say. So it's a little bit true there is nothing to do.

A little bit false too, because one only needs to appreciate urban landscapes and architecture to stay busy... at least one day.

Good news are it is possible to slow down in Sao Paulo. Paulista Avenue is probably the most interesting, especially because of the decorated phone booths and the strange buildings. Museums will keep the arts lovers busy, especially the MASP, where you can find art pieces from Van Gogh and Cezanne.

My favorite was the Image and Sound Museum, where they had an exposition about Georges Méliès with french writings... and a lot of movies.

But the most interesting part of the city was my hostel, Hey Hostel, opened only since last week. One of the owners, whose my age, traveled around the world for seven months two years ago. He now travels through his clients. It gives me ideas for when I'll be back home.

Have I said I tried a "wine", or a kind of cachça made with grapes, which I could drink?

Iguazu

I stayed in Sao Paulo for one extra day. If I planned on flying to Iguazu Falls today, I had a small problem with my bookings. The brazilian websites won't let you book anything without a brazilian ID number. But they still ask which country you're from. Nothing to understand.

People at the hostel were kind enough to pay the ticket with their credit card in exchange for the same amount in cash. While doing that, we found a flight on Wedenesday, with Web Jet, which was 40 $ cheaper. Way cheaper than taking the bus. And cheaper than flying on Tuesday.

In the air, Iguazu is about two and a half hours away from Sao Paulo. On the road, you must allow 18 hours. I win all the way.

The other good news is I might reunite with a friend I met in Vietnam. She's in Argentina until Sunday. We'll see what we can arrange.

In the end, have I said it is impossible to dry clothes in Brazil? Humidity is too high. When I left Paraty, even the clothes I didn't wear we're damp.