Once again, a sad day leaving the “3 Guianas”, because they turned out so much better than expected. I think what did it was the variety of culture and activities across just 3 nations.
Now I had my sights on Paraguay, which I could not fly to directly – only via Brazil, so what a great reason to visit Roberto Rodrigues de Santos Junior III !!! Seriously, that is his name and no, he is not the President of Brazil but a champion traveller who I travelled with, together with Sonriza Ford (Riza) on my 10mth journey through Africa in 2016 under UNGOWA !!! The three of us formed “The Culture Club” due to our daily diet of wine, cheese and olives – so cultured !!!
I have already visited Brazil extensively during the original AI CARAMBA in 2011 so it is already included in my Visit and Run UN Countries. I also visited Paraguay during AI CARAMBA in 2011 but not extensively. Paraguay is also included in my Visit and Run UN Countries but I plan to visit it extensively in this trip.
The drive from my hotel in downtown Paramaribo to the airport on the morning of Saturday 28 February took a solid one hour since it is a whopping 56km away. I arrived at the airport just after 1pm with plenty of time to spare before my 4pm flight to Belem in Brazil – this is where the COP30 (the 30th UN Climate Change Conference) took place in November 2025 and was not attended by Trump. I had to overnight in Belem to catch an afternoon flight to Sao Paolo the next day. The flight was on time. There was thick jungle underneath the whole way until the clouds closed in and we landing in rain. Belem is only 100km below the equator so the weather is always rainy and humid. I could not get my Uber to work so I caught a taxi to the hotel only 600m away but to dark and wet to walk. Hotel Santa Clara. WHAT A DUMP !!! This is EASILY the worst “hotel” that I have ever stayed at – period !!! It makes Africa look like the Hilton !!! Smelly, no toilet paper, a flush that took 30min to refill, no hot water, no windows, noisy, no sheets, dirty blankets. The only thing going for it was air conditioning and a fridge. The only reason I did not leave immediately was the rain outside and the duty-free wine that got me through this nightmare !!! The sooner I slept, the sooner I would wake up and get outta here !!!
I sprang out of bed, packed and left. My Uber worked !!! It was half the price of the taxi and would come in handy today for the 66km trip from Sao Paolo International Airport to Roberto’s. Belem in the daytime was brief but what I saw was not good. Seeing it on take-off confirmed it. Most neighbourhoods are crowded with shack-style houses mostly of tin or corrugated iron. From the air it look like a shanty-town. I could never understand this about Brazil. It is so divergent. On the one hand, progressive and sophisticated but on the other home to many poor. Belem International Airport is modern and new. Reminds me of European airports. If I knew what I would be getting for a hotel, I would have happily stayed at the airport gate !!! Anyway, I quickly forgot last night and enjoyed the airport WiFi. I also had my first traditional Brazilian cappuccino coffee which is very thick, not frothy. I did not like it. My 3hr 40min, 2,450km flight to Sao Paolo left on-time and I was reminded just how big Brazil really is. It is the 5th largest country in the world with Australia in 6th place. Watched a couple of movies until the “Concrete Forest” emerged. Yes. Sao Paolo has thousands of tall apartment buildings next to each other and looks like a giant white forest. I have never seen anything like this. There are freeways everywhere, winding their way through this forest. The city itself has over 11 million people and if you include the metro area we get 23 million people – almost the population of Australia !!! No thanks. No wonder Roberto lives 66km from the airport in a locality known as Cotia. We landed well and before I knew it, I was roadside. Managed to get my Uber working and it was a one hour, $AUD43 ride to Cotia. Roberto was waiting for me roadside since his apartment is one of 300 in 10 different buildings that are gated. His locality is very hilly and he has good views of green mountains in the west. His 3-bed apartment is small but the right size for one person. It was 630pm when we opened our first bottle of Brazilian red and instead of dinner we snacked on cheese, olives, dips, salami, gourmet nuts and a variety of Brazilian liqueurs. Excellent fuel for conversation – all the way to midnight. A terrific way to start my time with Roberto.
Slept in until 9am and started the day with a hearty Robusta Brazilian coffee and more conversation. At around noon, Roberto and I drove 22km to a fish farm and restaurant. An interesting concept. Surrounded by forest, there is a large lake full of farmed fish – about 5 different types. You can pay a nominal fee to fish and release and if you keep the fish you will pay a price per kilogram. There is a lovely restaurant by the lakeside with outdoor seating that can cook you catch or you can simply order their fish off the menu. We each ate a ceviche-style dish called “Sakasi” – a whole Tilapia fish, raw, thinly sliced and drenched in red onions, olive oil, lemon and lime juice and mild spices. Absolutely delicious. Add to that Japanese Tempura Vegetables and we were in heaven. This restaurant and lakeside facility is owned by a Japanese man which is typical of this area – Cotia is home to a large Japanese community which came here many years ago. We drank the local Antarctica Original Pilsener beer and talked extensively about the Brazilian economy. Turns out that no one likes the existing President saying he is the most corrupt ever. Brazil is very strong in agriculture and is completely self-sufficient in all produce. We finished this delicious experience with the even more delicious “Cachaca”, a liqueur made from sugar cane juice and the national spirit drink of Brazil. At around 2pm, we farewelled Tony (for now) and Roberto and I headed to the local wine growing region around Sao Roque. Our first stop was Destilaria Estilla, a famous distillery set up in 2010 which makes different infused flavours of Cachaca and Gin. It is on “The Wine Road” amongst several wineries. We visited the largest of these called Vinícola Góes. Founded in 1938 by a Portuguese family, Vinícola Góes is one of Brazil's most traditional and major wine producers. It cultivates over 300 hectares of vineyards with a portfolio of over 50 to 85 distinct labels. It is famous for the Brazilian-developed variety called Lorena. I loved this grape because it smells and tastes like Gewurztraminer. The landscape in the wine growing area is at 860m and looks like it could be the Hunter Valley in Australia. Very green with gentle rolling hills and farms. We made it home around 5pm for pre-dinner wine, cheese and olives before the short drive to Tony’s house. I met his wife Dianna, 10yr old daughter Laura and 7yr old son Pepeto. A truly lovely family and so so welcoming. I also met Dianna’s sister and her husband and kids. We drank wine and Cachaca and a large variety of cold-cut meats and cheeses. Delightful. I then showed parts of Ungowa as they wanted to see the trip that Roberto and I had made together. They loved it. Kids included. So much so that it was midnight when we left. Now I realised just why Roberto is so attached to Cotia – it is all about family.
The next day was a lot slower. Up at 930am and time for a run – this time on a treadmill in Roberto’s complex gym. Cotia is way too hilly and busy to run live. The treadmill also gave me the opportunity to ease my way into my run in Paraguay. At around 1pm, Roberto drove me to the “Zu Lai Temple”, which is also in Cotia, just 9km from his unit. The Zu Lai Temple is a huge Taiwanese Buddhist Temple, opened in 2003. It comprises the temple itself and two huge adjacent buildings covering a total of 150,000 square meters. There is even a café and museum. It receives roughly 10,000 to 15,000 visitors per month and is completely free of charge. Roberto then drove me to his high school in Cotia and then on to his parents’ home. What a great visit. Met his parents, sister and her husband and kids. His mum made this delicious soft bread which went very well with coffee. The house dates back to 1973 so Roberto was born and raised here. It was beautifully decorated and photos of the extended family adorned the walls. It was all tiled just like the family homes of Greece or Italy. Had such a homey, cosy feel to it. Roberto’s parents reminded me of my own. We left around 4pm and headed home for a shower and to pack for Paraguay since I was booked for a 620am Uber the following morning. That night I enjoyed the fabulous hospitality of Dianna and Tony. Roberto and Tony’s parents were also there and we enjoyed a classic Brazilian Churrasco being a medley of meats barbequed with black coals. Beef, sausage, pork. All so soft and tasty. Combine that with plenty of wine, cheese and conversation and it was another satisfying evening of family and friends. Everyone insisted on me coming back after Paraguay and for a moment, I was tempted to do so because I was so comfortable with the family. It was a moving farewell.
I was lucky to get 4hrs sleep that night. Roberto woke me up at 530am and my Uber was right on-time at 620am. A sad farewell for both Roberto and I. A terrific visit and so insightful into the character of Roberto. What a blessing for him and his whole family (15 nephews and nieces hence grandchildren) to be living all in the same suburb or town. It was not too dissimilar from my background and as I fell asleep in the Uber I couldn’t help thinking that I would be back here some day...
END OF POST
No comments:
Post a Comment