Good times

Wow. I think I just had one of the greatest weeks in a long time. I don't really know what to say about it, because there's so much to say and I can't really put my head around it. How can I explain something when there are no words for that magnitude of awesomenes?







I wish I still was in awesomeland, the awesomest place I know so far. We had everything there: Cheap and delicious home made food, a garden with endless opportunities for relaxing, the singing of birds or any artist on your iPod, frogs and fireflies to spice up the nightlife and so so so much more. We had pool, people, playstation and pineapple. We had everything and more. We came for the falls but instead we fell in love with this awesomeland of a hostel. I will miss chatting at the bar what ever time of a day it happened to be or running away from rolo de bolo, the insane leg biting dogbert. I will miss Shivas, the attention-loving cat, who kept my tummy warm and was a friend when all other friends decided to dump us and go to El Bolson. But mostly I will miss the people, because they made me feel like I was finally in the right place at the right time doing the right thing.










Oh, and the falls were great too!

















I guess we can't stay in paradise forever, it would no longer be paradise then would it? We are only at the beginning and there lie more paradises and people ahead, no point wondering in the past when there's so much going on in the now, not the future, but at this precise moment.

So much crazy stuff fit into less than a week. I really don't even wan't to start telling about it. If you wan't to know, come see it for your selves, but beware of the dragoman!



This bus-truck-thingy as Niklas put it, rummaged to our hostel on Friday. According to one of the passengers (a british guy who ordered a drink of everything since he had ''been through so much, you get me?'') they had toured Argentina in a week. Basicly the annoyingly pompous tour guide of the strange orange bus-truck-vehicle took care of everything so that the people on board didn't have to do much anything else than go along. They stayed in their group the whole time, did everything by the schedule, didn't talk to any locals and the guide even held motivational speeches during lunch that ended with forced clapping. I bet they had to sing group songs when on the move. But the rest of us, AKA. The cool kids, got a good laugh out of those people. The british guy, who ended up throwing up on somebodys backpack, said his girlfriend booked it. I bet he'll enjoy his next two weeks even more...
For those who thought this sounded totally awesome, check out: www.dragoman.com

P.S Argentina is also awesome. Life is good guys, 27€ for two half a kilo steaks from the land of deliciousness + a bottle of malbec from Mendoza, water, pepsi, two espressos of perfect taste, fruity cheesecake of 5 star quality, tips included. Did I mention the free shots? All for 27€ per person. I can not not say this: HAJOTKAA PAKKASEEN!! Ahhahhahhahaa!!!




P.p.s during the last three days Niklas has experimented with the local liquor to an extent of bewilderment. By the time he gets to Finland he will no doubt be an expert when it comes to enjoying cachaça.

Location:Hostel Natura, Foz do Iguaçu

(A) Better stay on budget

Lately me and my travelbud have been having an incy bincy bit of trouble with staying on budget. Brazil turned out to be a bit more expensive than we originally expected, still, most of the money has gone to a good cause called food, not alcohol, if that's what you're thinking. Luckily we are still on budget, at least if today is as cheap as yesterday, and let me say: Yesterday was cheap.


Yesterday
(well, last friday actually)

Breakfast in Pousada Alto Astral is by far the biggest we have enjoyed during this trip. In the morning we munched up the fruit, bread, pudding and other wonders preparing our selves for the bus ride to Olinda. The ticket to ride cost around a euro per person, take that HSL!







In Recife we enjoyed a meal with Tulios family before his parents would hit the road to João Pessoa. There was going to be a wedding in Pessoa and we were also invited by Tulios parents, if we chose to go. For our surprise, Tulios mother had already gone through the trouble of finding me and Niklas something to wear, since it was going to be a fancy occasion.







We drove to João Pessoa through trafic that make the mornings on Kehä 1 look like childs play. Seriously. But we made it in time, at least for the reception.


The reception

In my life I've only been to one wedding, a small and simple wedding with little fuss, so this thing took me by surprise.













There we were, standing in this huge room with flower decorations in each table, wall and corner. The room was lit by chandeliers and coloured spotlights. On the sides lay long glass tables filled with every kind of cheese, meat and chocolate.







We ate, drank and laughed all night. If your glass was empty, a waiter would fill it. If you wanted whisky, a guy would make it for you on the spot. The band played all the cheesiest classics while people went for their second, third or fourth plate. New food kept arriving all the time, teasing us to eat more and more and more.













But all meals have an ending: Dessert. I have no idea how many desserts they had to offer besides the cake. At that point we felt like rolling balls, a fact that had nothing to do with the chocolate covered strawberries and fondue we found at the, yet to be discovered by others, coffee table. I dare say the smartest people took the tables next to the bathroom, and may I mention that the womens bathroom was stacked with everything to make a girls life easier. I felt like looting the cutely wrapped pain relievers, perfume and other "necessities".



















Desserts came and went, literarely. Desserts were there and gone in a matter of minutes, stuffed into every bra, jacket, bag, shoe or napkin. According to Tulio, this looting business is totally normal, happens at every wedding, the looters, surprise surprise, being the woman (or the manslaves too afraid to fight back their munchillaz). In our party, I was the one who had to sneak out the loot, the box of treasures that had been pinned into my hands. Now I knew why they invited me: nobody dares to say no to the foreign girl.







So I'd say this wedding was ok. Not my style perhaps, but
a steady good. Most importantly, we didn't spend a dime. One euro, one day, there's budget for you.




Now feast on these:





















































The end.

Location:Somewhere near João Pessoa, Paraiba, Brazil

Too much information

A day in the life of traveling Tessa consists of too many things. Needless to say, every day is different and holds a lot of weird events and situations I wouldn't find my self in if I were in Finland.

We are no longer in Porto de Galinhas, but I wish to write about the few days we spent there after finding out we weren't going to Joao Pessoa.


Once upon a time in Porto

It was a saturday when Tulio arrived five hours late in Porto. We had had plans to spend the weekend in Joao Pessoar, but since that weekend was a catholic holiday, the roads were blocked by trafic and it didn't seem like a good idea to leave and drive in the dark. We decided to stay in Porto for the whole duration of the holiday.

Thanks to the catholics and our location being the most beautiful beach in Brazil, we could not find a place to stay, so we had to spend the night at a "lovely" hospendaria located next to one of the main roads. Our room was in the basement, a very simple room: bunk-beds, two fans, no windows... Cheap. There's not much to say about that place except that it looked like an old prison, but not the cool ancient kind, more the used to be slaughter house, then prison, then both -kind. Our nights there were not too comfortable since I couldn't really find a nice position on the brick of a mattres. Lets just say I won't miss it. But we had a place to stay and that was a miracle considering how many people were arriving every day to form the crowd of crowds.

Saturday and Sunday went by in a haze of sleep deprivation and fear of crowds, but on Monday we finally packed our gear and drove to a near by surf beach called Maracaipe. That place was like heaven with its long white sandy beach, cheerfull but relaxed music echoing from the local beach bars and mixing with the crush of waves, and also because of the pretty nice view ;). Some day I will have my own pousada on that beach where competition (read: woman) pay extra per night.

After some suco de acerola and some weird but delicious deep friend root starting with an M, we drove to Tulios friends' flat in Porto. There we sat by the pool drinking Brahma and tried to make conversation with Tulios cheerfull mates. It ended up with the girls doing my hair and make-up so that I no longer recognized my self (however Niklas seemed to be more than okay with the outcome). Now we were ready to hit the party in Porto, and what a night we had ahead of us.

If you think finnish liquor is good then you have never tasted what Brazil has to offer. Cachaça de cana was the word of that night, its sweet taste and quality took Niklas by surprise... He made a lot of friends while I decided to play defensive because of my earlier adventure with smirnoff vodka and fanta.

The streets were full of young and old people enjoying the holiday in a somewhat finnish style. A warm night with a cool vibe. Then, in the middle of chatting, a sound like a juicebox being popped, next, the whole crowd jumped to a mix of running and screaming. Then another pop. From my eyes it looked as if someone had shot the starting shot of a sprint, but when hearing Tulio shout "run guys!" I popped out of my state of wtf?! and started sprinting with the rest of our group to take cover. Turns out it was just the police trying to calm down a fight by shooting some blanks. The outcome was far from calm but I guess they got their message through. Still at the same time it pissed of a lot of people who knew Porto to be a peaceful place.


Cats and Climbing

Now we're in Olinda, a city right next to Recife. Olinda used to be the capital of Pernambuco and it still is the so called reggae capital around here. They have too many churches here, and roads I would'nt like to drive down for the sake of my life. This old part was built by the portuguese during the what ever, when ever, but a long time ago anyway, so that would explain.

This place has a lot of artesan shops, the kind my mother spends too much time in. We found some really cute paintings by some random guy living here in Olinda. Basicly the ones we bought are paintings of colourful cats with a lot of details in them. These things are unique and you can't even get a picture of a from IKEA with the price these paintings cost us.

It's really pretty here in Olinda and blaablaa. We found this awesome pousada and its great and safe and blaablaablaa the usual stuff, just look at the pictures.

Pousada Alto Astral:
















Olinda:
















To see more pictures and read
more (in finnish) visit: cihkal.blogspot.com

It's written by this guy:

Location:Pousada Alto Alstral, Olinda, Pernambuco, Brazil

Deep thought

To me life has no bigger meaning. In times of doubt it would be nice to have someone or something to blame your problems on or turn to for help, but if most of our problems are brought upon us by our own actions, who can we blame? Is someone making us do mistakes for a bigger purpose, putting us through good and bad times just so that we could learn a lesson? Is someone trying to turn us into better people? Maybe it's just me doing all the work, deciding what experiences are good and bad, creating problems for my self because I'm too afraid or impatient to see what would happen otherwise.

Life has no plan for me, there's no important part written down and waiting to be played. Some people would think that's a scary thought, but for me it's calming. I like to know that my mistakes weren't previously decided and inevitable. I feel calm knowing I can change my perception of life by changing the way I think and act. But do I wan't to change? I could say I do, but I wouldn't mean it, at least not in the right way.

Today I spent time thinking about questions like this. I riddled my mind with thoughts about life, who I am and all that obvious crap, but for a moment I felt quite lost in that jungle of hopes and dreams. People who've known me for some time, know I can spend hours just thinking in quiet, but today however, my rollercoaster of thoughts got launched by a book I'm currently reading. Among many things it made me think about why I wanted to travel in the first place.

Did I come here just to relax and get away, if so, why did I choose such an unknown continent. Wouldn't it be better to relax in a place that doesn't demand so much work and nerves to get along in? Perhaps I came looking for adventure, but in that case, what am I doing at this up and coming top 10 family holiday/smoochie moochie honeymoon beach resort? No, relaxing and adventure can only be a part of why I'm here. It would be a cliché to say I came looking for my self or to test my self, so in the end, maybe this trip is as meaningless as life. Maybe I came here because for once I wanted to see what would happen when I could no longer stay in the safe zone, in control.

Lets not lable it. Lets see where this wild idea takes me and lets forget all hope of finding an answer to my question of why. Maybe that's the only way to find a bigger meaning. Let go and then you can actually see where the wind blows you. Haha.

Enough with all that poorly written deep thought. Now lets look at some pictures. Pictures are way more interesting.











Now that's some deep sh...

Location:Pousada Beira Mar, Porto de Galinhas, Pernambuco, Brazil

In October drinking caipiroskas...

I have the life I've dreamed of for who knows how long. There's only one important thing missing and it isn't booze. I am a cheap drunk but cheap describes so many things here that it's only a good thing.

A few minutes or more ago we had some cheap pizza. The pizza was consumed by me and niklas at a very mellow, relaxed but professional pizzeria. We sat at a table for two ordering caipiroskas for starters and munching up our crispy stone-baked deliciousness in a comfortable yet sophisticated mood (read: drunk). It was nicccce.

Before getting drunk at a brazilian italian restaurant, we took a stroll on the beach searching familiar stars from the sky. In the warm light of the nearby pousada, we scavenged the sand for shells like real tourists.




A lovely day to say the least. I didn't get burned during my morning of sunbathing on the beach with a good book for company. I didn't get burned splashing around in the warm yet refreshing bath called the atlantic. I didn't get burned when lolling in the hammock drinking guarana arctica and fresh made fruit juice. I did not get burned, thank god (or the over priced sun tan lotion with a protection of 50 and all the other UVA, UVB deebodaabo) for that. Needless to say, I didn't get tanned either.




Ah yes, you should be jealous.

Now that it's dark and the beach bars on wheels have turned of their brazilian boomboxes and returned to their homes, me and niklas are forced to walk five meters to the bar for some more caipiroskas. What a pain those five long meters, what a pain indeed. It takes so much effort I should just come back to finland where things were so much easier.

Well, I guess I should get going then. Have fun in Finland mommy and dad!

Location:Porto de Galinhas, Pernambuco, Brazil

Today was a good day...

...and so was yesterday, and the day before. Every day is a day that I get closer to this country and its people. Every day I learn a word or two and maybe in a few weeks I'll know enough to actually tell the taxi driver where to stop instead of repeating aquiöö aquiöö?!?

What I have come to love by now is the way the brazilians just know how to take it easy. Life is for living here and the finnish should learn that. The brazilians know something important about life that many of us don't, and it has nothing to do with the warm and sunny +28° climate or the long sandy beaches next to their homes... Nothing. The finnish should learn how to relax, to be patient and remember that there's time tomorrow and the day after that. The finnish should stop moaning about the cold and the rain and the ticket prices and Matti Vanhanen and how the curtains don't match the carpet. The finnish should use that time to enjoy the good stuff. I should use that time to enjoy the good stuff. From now on I will try to enjoy the good stuff. And I have.

It's hard to believe I've only been here for three days. In those three days I have: Walked on the beach while eating cold acai with honey and banana, drank caipiroscas under a starry sky while the brazilian beat plays in the backround of the hidden beach restaurant, I have done mad poses for pictures with people I've know for a matter of hours, but who have been the best company even though we don't share a language. I have done so many amazing things and had so many amazing moments it feels like a lifetime. And I still have five months to go.

But there are people to thank for these experiences. Not all moments have been good. Every now and then you get reminded of how far away you are from home and how dangerous it can be in these corners of the world. We would be dead or at least stranded without Tulio, and I would have gone mad or had a nervous breakdown if I didn't have Niklas.

Every day is a better day. Every day you learn a new way to enjoy this mad place. Tomorrow we are going to what is known as the most beautiful beach in Brazil. It's a place where fish eat from your hand while you watch them through the clear blue water of the lagoon. It's a place I haven't been to, but I hear they have chicken. It's a place called Porto de Galinhas, and I won't send you a card.

You guys just have no idea...

...I'm so lucky I do.

Lost in spelling errors

Hola! We are now in Recife, Brazil. To all of you who are currently suffering in a cold and rainy climate: Don't be jealous, at the moment I wouldn't mind a little cooling down. Unfortunately for me, swimming is not allowed here because of the sharks. Nice.

I got to say, it's not easy being so far away from home. Everything is so new, scary and beautifull at the same time, it makes me feel strange and a quite lonely too. Maybe it could be described as a feeling of paranoia, nothing really feels right. Well, I'm lucky I've got company and I know this feeling will pass as we get used to our surroundings and the brazilian way of life.

So far the brazilian way of life has seemed very relaxed. Our brother from another mother,Tulio, has been a great help. I have no idea what we would have done without him. Not knowing the language really makes you feel like an outsider, but with Tulios help we have managed to get a good place to sleep. Yesterday he took us to the beach to have a few drinks and talk about our plans for our stay in Recife. It was an interesting night since we were both suffering with jet lag, add a few drinks and you have two young adults with the worst homesickness trying to figure out what the hell just happened.

The jet lag is still bothering me, at the moment I can't really think straight at all. Something as simple as writing is so difficult right now. I think I just need a moment or two, some place quiet where I can just relax and charge my batteries.

But all is well anyway. We're not sick and there's really nothing to worry about. I guess It's just hitting me how far away from home I actually am and it makes me miss a lot of people.

Got to go now, Tulio is taking us to the shops and beach soon. I also can't stand writing so slowly. I keep making mistakes and I don't have the time or patience to correct them, so go and flood my facebook so that when I get back I won't have to miss you as much. Got to get my mojo back!

Miss you !