A Canadian’s Experiences in Brazil Nov 5-14, 1996
I had mixed emotions when I heard I would be traveling on business to Sao Paulo. At first, I thought of beaches, warm sunshine and maybe a cruise on the Amazon. When I started researching, I was surprised to learn that Brazil is almost as large as the USA in area, and that the greater Sao Paulo area is the fastest growing city in the world, with about 20 million people. What does 20 million really mean? I come from Calgary, Canada which has a population of about 600,000 and which I consider a large, fairly crowded city. I feel that Calgary shopping malls are too crowded. How crowded would 17 million people be? I really could not imagine. I did some more research, and learned that Brazil is the world’s eighth-largest economy, but less than half of the city’s inhabitants are connected with the sewage system. What should I expect?
As my plane flew towards Sao Paulo, I watched the sun rise over the Amazon cloud forest. As we descended into Sao Paulo, we started flying over houses, roads, and other buildings. Twenty minutes later we were still flying over houses. This must be a huge city!
During the taxi ride into the city center, I quickly learned that all taxi drivers in Sao Paulo, pretend they are driving on the Grand Prix circuit. We cut in and out of traffic at incredible speed. The white lane markers on the roads seemed to have lost all meaning, and why cars have left and right turn indicators in Sao Paulo, is beyond me. They seldom if ever get used. At the hotel, I thanked the taxi driver for showing me how fast he could drive, as I pried my fingers out of the dash. I later experienced the real rush hour in Sao Paulo, and my only comment is that I was totally unprepared for this. I had no idea that you could get 12 lanes of cars on a 5 lane freeway, with every second car changing lanes (without signaling of course), and trucks pumping exhaust fumes directly into your window.
After a nap to help recover from the 17 hour flight and 45 minute taxi race, I decided to go for an afternoon walk, before it got dark. I had read that street assaults and robberies are common, so I felt pretty nervous for the first few blocks. I kept looking over my shoulder to see if anyone was following me. I started to relax, when I realized I probably would not get mugged in the middle of the day on a busy shopping street. As I walked down the street, I found it overpoweringly noisy, hectic, and crowded. This human energy was amazing. I had to concentrate to avoid running into people. I eventually stopped at a sidewalk cafe, and just sat and watched the crowds go by.
After a few days, I did not find the traffic and crowds as intimidating, and I really started enjoying the friendly and energetic people. Almost everyone I talked with was very friendly, and really went out of their way to be helpful. On Saturday, I took a spectacular highway, over jungle covered mountains, to the beaches at Guaruja. Only about 10% of Sao Paulo was on the beach (that’s about 1.7 million), so it was a little busy. Actually, the sightseeing on the beach was a lot better than I had anticipated. Brazilian women have taken the “string bikini” to a new level of erotic fashion. Only the “Brazilian” string bikini is named “floss dental”.
On Sunday, I enjoyed a huge breakfast buffet. I particularly like the incredible variety of tropical fruit, and strong Brazilian coffee. When I took a bus to a city park, I entered and exited by the front door, and since no one asked for money I thought the bus must be free. I only learned afterwards that you pay at the booth in the middle of the bus, and exit at the back. Ibirapuera Park is 400 acres of lakes and trees, and I found it a welcome break from the traffic and downtown crowds. Only about 10% of Sao Paulo was in the Park that Sunday (that’s about 1.7 million). It is actually such a huge park that it does not seem crowded.
I enjoyed some great meals in Sao Paulo. I particularly enjoyed the tender beef steaks, seafood buffets, and Sushi. The dark Chopp (beer) and Antarctica were also my favorites. I tried the Caipirinha, a sugarcane brandy mixed with lime and sugar. Wow, what a kick! Mexican Tequila is like water compared with this stuff!
I had mixed emotions, when it came time to fly back to Canada. I wanted to breathe the fresh air of the Canadian Rockies, but knew I would miss the friendly, energetic people and warm sunny weather of Brazil. When the plane flew over Calgary, we had to circle the airport while they ploughed the snow off the runway, so we could land. It had snowed 45 cm. while I was in Brazil, and the temperature was -22 C. While I shoveled the snow off my sidewalks, I thought of the sunny beaches at Guaruja Island, and the friendly people of Sao Paulo. It warmed up to -12 C this weekend, so I went skiing, and the skiing was great, but there was not one string bikini to be seen.
