Hi y'all! I'm back. I'M BACK! I'm back for a few last installments of this edition of the blog. I apologize for ghosting after my phone was stolen in Ilha Grande, Brazil back in December. After that incident, I never got back into the rhythm of writing and editing. I'm happy to be back and excited to share what's gone down these past five months. For my last three installments, I'm going to do (1) a recap of rest of my time in Brazil, (2) recap my adventures and experiences in South Africa, and (3) do a final reflection on my eight months spent living and traveling different corners of this beautiful planet. I realized that I still write wayyy too much so I'm going to divide each of the Top 10's into two separate posts. I'm putting dates out there to hold myself accountable and so you know when to expect them.
Alright, here we go… # 10: Ilha Grande: Two Rivers, Parrot's Peak and a Cell Phone TheifWe’ll start the countdown where my writing ended/phone was stolen, Ilha Grande. Ilha Grande is a beautiful natural paradise of an island between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. There are no cars on the island and access to the different beaches is either by boat taxi or hiking. After Michelle & I split ways after Foz de Iguaçu, I flew back to Rio and met up with a Dutch friend Michelle and I met in Pipa, Max. I’d heard great things about Ilha Grande and wanted to check it out for a few days before starting my work at BotaHostel. We took a shuttle to Angora do Reis where we caught a boat to Ilha Grande. We stayed at hostel up in the rainforest about a 15min walk from town. It was a nice place to retreat and spend a few days soaking up the sun. We visited a few different beaches during our time there, Aracaibo, Dos Rios, and Surf beach. They were all beautiful! My favorite was Dos Rios which coincidentally had two fresh water rivers that fed into the ocean. You could take a dip in the cool fresh water or swim through the crystalline waters where the rivers and oceans converged. There were also several massive rocks that made for some cool views. We made friends with a group of Spanish travelers and a Colombian family that were staying at our hostel as well. The group of us decided to go on a 2am hike to the Pico de Papagayo (Parrot’s Peak), the highest peak on the island to watch the sunrise over the island. We were “led” by an Argentine who worked at the hostel we were staying at. My Colombian friend, Laura and I took the lead as the group was moving at a much slower pace and we wanted to make sure we got to the top with enough time. We made it up at about 4:30am, just before dawn. We were treated to one of the most spectacular sunrises I'd seen in a long time. Max, the Spaniards and Argentine made it up a half hour after we did, just as the sun began peeking over the horizon. The peak has a 360° view of the island and one face of the rock we sat on was just a straight drop a few thousand feet into the rainforest. It was spectacular! We watched the amazing show of colors until about 7am and then made our way back down to have breakfast at the hostel My last day on Ilha Grande was supposed to be spent on another beautiful beach with some of my new friends, but instead was spent dealing with the BS of having my phone stolen. We made it back down the peak at about 8am just in time for breakfast. After wrapping up breakfast, I decided to lay down for a bit in a hammock just outside of the common area of the hostel. I'd left my phone charging about five feet away from my in the common area, only to find it was not there 20 minutes later. Luckily, the owner had cameras set up through the hostel and there was one directly above where I'd left my phone charging. After watching an hour's worth of footage a couple times, it became clear who had stolen my phone. The same Argentine who took us to the Parrot’s Peak hours earlier, is seen on camera unplugging my phone and putting it into his back pants pocket. The owner couldn't believe it and tried to come up with some explanation for it. When confronted with the video and the facts, the Argentine flat out denied it and told me to press charges. Which is what I did thanks to the help of Laura, who speaks fluent Portuguese. We spent the day making copies of the video, going to the police station, filing a report, all so that the police said they would do an investigation and get back to me when they came up with any conclusions. Not very helpful! It didn't seem like I was going to get anywhere with the police so I spoke with the owner of the hostel, who I felt was responsible as it was one of his employees who stole the phone. Understandingly frustrated at the situation, he did the right thing and offered to buy me a new phone. He went onto Amazon, ordered the phone, and had it shipped to my parents in NC. My hope was that it would arrive in time for my friends Scott and Mo to bring it with them when they would fly to Rio the following week. As seems to often be the case, things worked out better than I'd hoped! Yes, it sucks that my phone was stolen and I lost some great photos from the previous day's, but there were lots of positives that came from that situation. My phone, which had a cracked screen from the week prior in Salvador, was replaced with a new phone that arrive a couple weeks later with my friends. Laura, her mother and brother were extremely helpful and became good friends. We traveled back to Rio together the following morning and Laura and I would hang out a few more times in Rio. And thanks to Google Photos, all my photos except for the ones from the previous day had been backed up. My time in Ilha Grande reaffirmed my belief that everything in life happens for a reason! That even in the crappy situations, one must look at the bright side. #9: Rio's Beaches: Fun in the SunBrazil has thousands of miles of stunning beaches. Michelle and I got to explore a few of them through our travels around the northeast. It's most famous ones, undoubtedly though, are the beaches of Rio, three in particular, Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon. And for good reason. They stretch for miles and are lined with thousands of beautiful people and have the incredible back drop of Dos Irmãos, Pão de Açúcar, Cristo Rey, and so many more of Rio's iconic sights. During my time in Rio we spent many an afternoon, lounging in the sun and enjoying tasty drinks and bites the beach and to offer. In addition to great snacks, like pastels, tapioca, açaí, and queijo coalho, the caipirinhas are a must to cool off while relaxing in the sun. One of the things I appreciated most about the beaches is that there tons of people staying active, playing fútbol, footvolley, beach handball, running, skating, biking, surfing, paddling, working out, yoga. It was all there. Two other beaches I really enjoyed while I was in Rio, were Prainha and Praia Grumari. I first went with Scott, Mo, and Scott's mom when they visited Rio. One of Mo’s good friends recommended we check them out. They were about an hour and a half one public transportation outside of the city. Although it was a bit of a hike to get to, it was nice to get away from the city and to go to beaches that weren't as crowded and felt more like local beaches. A highlight of the trips to Prainha and Grumari, was definitely the food at black bar. It's tough to beat fresh, delicious seafood served on the beach. We shared a fried Red Snapper and a delicious seafood stew! #8: NYE on Copacaba: BOOM! POP! CLAP!The world's most famous beach, Copacabana, serves host to one of the world's largest New Year's Eve celebrations. More than two million people dressed in white line the shores with their loved ones and plenty of champagne to watch ring in the new year with fireworks over the Atlantic Ocean. For me, it ended up being of the most amazing nights of my trip, but at the same time ones of the saddest. That evening I prepared a pernil dinner for my friends at BotaHostel and we had one last family meal for 2016. After dinner and a few caipirinhas, we grabbed our bottles of bubbly and made our way to Copacabana. It was an incredible sight, watching millions of people all in white pour into the streets making their way to Copacabana. It looked like a scene from The Leftovers but on a MUCH bigger scale. Once we got to Copacabana, we walked a towards the center of the beach and found a spot by the shore for our group to watch the display. We managed to keep most of the group intact as we weaved through the masses to find a spot on the beach. We huddled together as a group and waited as the minutes counted down until midnight. Since there is no big screen or TV, those of us that had a phone kept a close eye on the time. As the final seconds of 2016 ticked down, I don't think any of us were ready for what was in store for us next. BOOM! The lights lit up the sky in the most beautiful fireworks display I'd ever seen. POP! Champagne sprayed throughout the air and all over our body's. CLAP! The sound of batons smacking down on packs of youth running along the shores of the beach. As fireworks went off in the night sky, there was a different set of fireworks going off amongst the crowd. As onlookers gazed up into the sky, dazzled by the display, packs of 10-20 individuals, as young as 10 years old up to about 40, would be running shirtless along the shore snatching anything and everything of value right out of people's hands. Phones, cameras, bags, jewelry, anything they could get their hands on. It was a startling scene to say the least. Our group kept close together and hid everything we had whenever we saw the packs running by us. At one point a pack ran right by us as a platoon of police snuck up on them from behind us. The two groups clashed, those that were able to get away kept running along the beach. There were a few that weren’t and they were beat by the police with batons, onlookers with bottles, and others would just start kicking and stomping on them. It was straight up chaos. There was one child, no more than 12 years old being beat, bloodied and left in the sand as the police would round up whoever they could catch. All this happening within feet of our group. It was a sobering moment to say the least. It was difficult to enjoy the rest of the display, but we did our best and decided to go into the ocean to watch the fireworks from the water. It was even more incredible being in the water and looking up to the sky. We jumped over our seven waves for good luck and just stood in awe as the last of the fireworks went off. As we got out of the water we hugged each other and shared how lucky we were to witness such a beautiful display. But it was difficult for me to shake the reality of that night. That night encapsulated Rio for me, tremendous beauty and excitement, underscored by a very real inequality, poverty and desperation. It's easy to just dismiss them as opportunistic criminals, but there's a lot more there. I force myself to try and understand where they're coming from and the humbling situations they live in Rio’s favelas. The situation that would put them in that position that night. It's one of many reminders during my trip, of how lucky/privileged I am, but also of how much work still needs to be done to afford others opportunities to succeed in life. #7: Nights Out in Rio: LAPA!In my mind, NYE was going to be the craziest night out in Rio, and while we did we go to a few different beach parties after the fireworks that night, there were too many fun nights out on the town. Whether it was at a bar in Copacabana, on the sidewalk in Botafogo, a mega club in el Centro, or a street party in Rio’s most notorious party district, Lapa. There was always something to do in Rio! The nights often start with cheap street caipirinhas and go till the wee hours of the morning. For anywhere between $2 to $4 you would get a massive cup of delicious caipirinha! By the end of my time here, I picked up a few tricks to make my own at home. The nightlife of Rio literally spills onto the streets and and takes over until the early morning hours. At the hostel we worked at, we promoted certain parties on different nights of the week, and in exchange for VIP entrance and free drinks throughout the night. Along with my BotaCrew, Renata, Vicky, Fede, and Maria, we had countless nights dancing our hearts out till the sun came out. Whether it was the live music and street parties of Pedra do Sal on a Monday night, Latin Parties on Wednesday nights, or braving the crowds of Lapa on a Friday or Saturday night, the day of the week never mattered. The nightlife of Rio definitely lived up to the hype! #6: Pelourinho, Salvador: The Soul of BrazilMichelle and I spent a week in Salvador towards the end of our time together. We booked a hostel smack dab in the middle of the historic center. Açaí Hostel, was the perfect spot to explore the colorful and vibrant Pelourinho neighborhood. Not only was the location great, but the breakfast, facilities, staff, and guests made it even better. Best of all they had the cutest pup, named Açaí, that was always lounging around. Like most places we've stayed at, what we enjoy most is getting to meet new people, share experiences, and learn from different perspectives. The exchange of thoughts and experiences with other worldly individuals is probably my favorite part about traveling. Some of the most interesting conversations I had during the trip surrounded education reform in the US and Germany, with Max, a German traveler living and working in Brasil, and about the power of and our collective passion for food with Daniel, a fellow Colombian, Abdel, a Frenchman who'd lived the last couple of years in Argentina, and Yannick, a very talented French photographer. Another amazing thing about most of the international travelers we meet is that they often speak at least three or four languages and have lived in a few different countries. They are deeply invested in learning and appreciating the cultures in which they are living in. It's a big difference from the traditional American that is often monolingual and inconvenienced when traveling abroad and things are not in English. It's a mindset I hope more people back home will begin to shift away from. I know I will continue to do my part with the students in work with when I get back to NY. Salvador has an incredibly rich history and strongly preserved Afro-Brazilian culture. The vibrant colors and sounds of drums are everywhere you go. There's capoeira in the streets and acaraje stands on every other corner. Shortly after arriving on our first day in Salvador, we went to the recommended Acaraje stand around the corner from where we were staying. After lunch Michelle and I went for a walk around the neighborhood to admire the beautiful architecture. For dinner that night, we went to the main plaza in Pelourinho with two new friends, Georgia and Carmen, and had some grilled meat, rice and salad. And the mandatory caipirinhas. :) There was a band playing samba in the middle of the square and we decided to check out the scene for a little bit. We were welcomed into a dance circle by a kind group of Brazilian women enjoying the evening. We danced in the streets for a few hours before calling it a night. The big night in Pelourinho is Tuesday night, where bands of drummers take to the streets to infuse their beats into every inch of the neighborhood. For several hours the bands and parade of dancers and onlookers roam the streets of Pelourinho enjoying the music and each other's company. ![]() Our group danced for hours around town and wrapped up at a samba bar once the street drummers ended. It was the perfect ending for our time in Pelourinho. It's fitting that we made great friends during our brief stay in Pelourinho, Michelle and I were lucky enough to cross paths with a number of them since we left. Thats it for this week! Tune in next week for the top five experience from my time in Brazil! *** Pedro's Birthday Request***I am organizing a fundraiser for my 30th birthday (May 28th) for an organization very near and dear to my heart, South African Education and Environment Project - SAEP. This year instead of gifts or birthday drinks, I'm hoping at least 30 friends will donate $30 or more to SAEP to support the work they do in Cape Town in the 30 days leading up to the big day. I hope that you will be able to contribute I had the privilege of volunteering with their various programs supporting youth from one of Cape Town's poorest townships and know first hand how impactful their work is. Please check out the link below to learn more about the incredible work they do and how YOU can help!
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AuthorColombian-born, Brooklyn educator traveling the world Archives
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