More beaches and Formula One in Sao Paulo!

Saturday, April 12, 2003
So, I did make it down to Sao Paulo for a long weekend, and I mean long! I stayed with my friend Lisa, a hasher, who I met in Ilha Grande. Went salsa dancing at the place they go every week, got a tour around the center of the city from Charlie, and went for a run in one of Sao Paulo’s 6 parks. Six parks is not so many when you think that around 20 million people live there. Some people claim that it is the world’s biggest city, others say it’s Tokyo or Mexico City. I say, at that size, does it really matter? The view of the skyline from afar is just unimaginable. I have never seen a city look like this – it is just never ending! And you should see their driving! I can’t believe enough people have survived those streets to actually contribute to population growth.

On Saturday night Lisa had a party... suggested by her friend that never showed up! It was really fun and went on until the wee hours of the morning. Well, the wee hours of the morning were also when we had to get up and go to Formula One. I had decided it was too difficult to find tickets ahead of time and that I would just buy them at the gate... but due to the absolutely MISERABLE weather, Lisa decided she didn’t want to go. I got to take her VIP ticket! Complete with open bar, free food, and the much coveted roof protecting us from the gales of rain that the rest of the crowds had to endure. The race ended in a big three car pileup, and the Brazilian driver had engine problems. There was QUITE the uproar over that. Also, Brazilians love the wave. We must have done that for an hour straight. You got booed if your section didn't live up to the high standards.

If that weren’t enough, when I got back from the race, we went out for dinner and out to another club. I was exhausted, and everyone else had kept this pace up AND gone to work all the while. Thanks to Lisa, Charlie, Valmir and all those Brazil Nuts for taking me in. I had a great time!

Parati was my next stop and, like most Brazilian beaches, it was spectacular. Every beach here is amazing... not too shabby since they have a whole continent’s worth of beaches. I stayed there for a few days checking out the cobblestoned roads of the old town and wandering around. Went to the beach a little as well, but the weather here is uncharacterisically wet and rainy. I’m hoping the sun will shine tomorrow.

I’ve been really lucky on this trip and got by with very few problems. Yesterday my luck ran out a bit though. I went to a club last night in Rio with some people I met in the Pantanal... and had my wallet stolen. It happened somewhere between the coat check and getting into the cab. Someone must have seen me pull out the wallet, and saw where I put it away and took advantage of the crowded room. I must have intuition or something though, because right before I left my hotel room I took out my credit card and left it in the room. I never do that, but I did it last night. So, although I did have $100 in my wallet (just went to the ATM) it could have been worse. They did make off with my favorite wallet though – a souvenir from Thailand. It was a great club though! Anyway, til next time...

Alison