{"id":9,"date":"2019-07-06T14:26:31","date_gmt":"2019-07-06T14:26:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wanderlustingfamily.com\/brazil\/?page_id=9"},"modified":"2023-10-19T06:18:05","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T06:18:05","slug":"brazil-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/islandhoppinginthephilippines.com\/world\/brazil\/","title":{"rendered":"Brazil"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"brazil-travels\"<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n

Things to see in Brazil<\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

We flew into Sao Paulo<\/a><\/strong>, seemingly the cheapest to fly into South America from South East Asia. We decided on Qatar Airlines, as many of the flights had a stopover in the U.S., where the international and domestic airports are not separated and my Filipino wife would require a regular tourist, not transit visa.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

There was another Ethiopian Airline with a similar route, but Qatar Airlines was interesting because they offered a four day visa free layover in Doha<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Brazil is one of the five countries in South America where visa entry was free for my Filipino wife, so we decided to use up the 90 days free visa to explore the country before continuing on to Argentina.<\/p>\r\n

\"brazil-sao-paulo\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

We found Sao Paulo very vibrant, the people friendly, overall safe<\/a>, and a wonderful restaurant scene.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

We also found a host in Itatiaia<\/a><\/strong>, a national park halfway to Rio de Janeiro. Our plan is to stay there a week to explore the area and try some Ayahuasca<\/strong><\/a> from a local Shaman tribe. Our host took us on a local tour of the national park:<\/p>\r\n

\"brazil-rock-climbing-trail\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"brazil-rock-climbing-trooper-wife-pregnant\"<\/p>\r\n

Baby she is carrying is getting larger but she’s still a trooper for adventure!<\/p>\r\n

\"brazil-rock-climbing-tall-grass\"<\/p>\r\n

Some tall grass along the way.<\/p>\r\n

\"brazil-rock-climbing-flowers\"<\/p>\r\n

Interesting nature.<\/p>\r\n

\"brazil-rock-climbing-big\"<\/p>\r\n

So far Rio<\/a><\/strong> seems much more dangerous than Sau Paulo, but based on my internet research, the trick is simply not to flash Rolex watches, jewelry or smartphones in busy sections of town, where they can be snatched from your hand by petty thieves. Otherwise the general consensus is that people are very friendly, stay away from the slums, do not flash your fancy goods (even if sitting in a cab with open window), and you should be okay.<\/p>\r\n

After Rio, as shown in the map above, we dillydallied our way southward along the coast, stayed for a couple of nights at a couchsurfer who brewed his own beer, and eventually made it to Santa Catarina, not far from Florianopolis. Our host and his parents loved us so much they insisted on feeding us and that we stay as long as possible.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

\"brazil-rock-climbing-Sao-Jose-Santa-Catarina-couchsurfing\"<\/p>\r\n

His dad loved to bbq steak, and yes, the beef down there is fantastic.<\/p>\r\n

\"brazil-rock-climbing-couchsurfing-steak\"<\/p>\r\n

To express my gratitude for their kind generosity, I brought a juicy variety of micro brewery beverages to accompany his fantastic cooking.<\/p>\r\n

\"brazil-rock-climbing-couchsurfing-beers\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Since it wasn’t so easy for Mel to get into Argentina, we decided to continue on to Bolivia<\/a><\/strong>. But not before checking out the famous Iguazu Falls. Similar to Niagra Falls, which is split on the border of the US and Canada, these falls lie split on the borders between Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

\"brazil-rock-climbing-Iguazu-Falls\"<\/p>\r\n

We thought we’d even give it a shot to walk across into Paraguay. The locals just walked past the border booth without stopping, but not wanting to take a chance, we dropped in and they turned us back. Mel got back into Brazil no problem but I had to use my Canadian passport instead, as the Czech one was expired, or only single entry. Thank goodness we were not separated!<\/p>\r\n

Because we could not take a bus across Paraguay we had to resort to flying again, and off to Bolivia<\/a><\/strong> it was!<\/p>\r\n