12th
March
Breakfast
and checked out just after ten. Short walk to the bus station and collected my
ticket. My bus leaves from "Platforma E" which is a bit confusing since all the
bus bays I can see have numbers. Waited around in the shopping area and then
went down to the embarkation area which is accessible only to passengers although
the ticket barriers didn’t stop at least one pigeon. There is a board showing
the correspondence between the letters and the bus bay numbers; E is 16. Bus is
on time and off we go. Once out of the city the countryside is really
beautiful. Mostly forested hills, some crops and grazing. A huge expanse of
land that still looks untouched. I can understand why people wanted to settle
here. Long journey through
the outskirts of Sao Paulo dropping people off at various locations. Rows of homes built out
of discarded timber and sheet metal on bits of waste land. With its huge area,
considerable natural resources, and reasonably
stable government I am surprised
Brazil doesn't do a better job of alleviating poverty. After 6 by the time we
got into the bus station. I can see the Ibis, where I am staying, across the road but first found
the Reunidas Paulista office to buy a ticket to Parati tomorrow. All
straightforward but no window seats available.
Checked
into the Ibis and later got the Metro to Paulista close to which, according to Trip
Advisor, are lots of places to eat. Rua Augusta and streets off it are full of
bars and restaurants. Settled on Frevo, which looks a bit like an American
diner, busy but a couple of free tables. Had the "mini prato filet
mignon" which seems to come with a lot of extras and is one of the less
expensive items on the menu. And a "chopp" (glass of draft) beer. My "mini" plate turns out to be
huge, a good sized slice of steak topped
with, guess what, slices of ham and cheese. Also a fair sized portion of chips,
a battered, deep fried banana, mayonnaise together with a thin slice of tomato and leaf of lettuce to
make it "healthy". I forgot to mention the “Farofa”. This was
actually my second time of encountering this peculiarly Brazilian substance
made out of manioc flour. Brazilians and a few foreigners love it.
It looks like, and has the texture of, sawdust and, although I have never eaten sawdust, I suspect
it tastes much the same.
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| My "Mini-plate". Couldn't squeeze any more on. |
After
dinner wandered along Rua Augusta where several of the bars/restaurants had
long queues outside. Every few yards along the street was a foldable table from
which people were selling beer and spirits. Found “Calçadão Urbanoide” a food
street where dozens of food trucks were offering everything from fish and chips
to Mexican fare. Found out later it has a facebook page. Definitely a place to
go.
It
was packed with people and most of the many tables were full. Stopped at a
cocktail truck where I had a Cubra Libre and managed to find a seat at a tiny
table. Definitely the place to come if you are young. It is noticeable that
Brazil is much more racially mixed than any of the other Latin American countries
I have been to. At a table near me the young people ranged from Nordic blonde
to Afro black and that seemed fairly typical.
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| Everybody hangs out around Rua Augusta |
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| Calçadão Urbanoide: Food Street |
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| Calçadão Urbanoide |
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| Beer Truck |
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| Baron Spirits and Cocktails Truck |
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| And the larger than life Bartenders |
About
11, I headed back to the Metro which is open until 1.00 am on Saturdays. As I
was going in, hundreds of young people were coming out to enjoy the fun.
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