Sao Paulo

Our last stop in South America was Sao Paulo.

We are now 4 month on the road. We gained a lot of different experiences, met very interesting people, had as many disagreements as reconciliations and sang sometimes the traveller's blues. Nevertheless, we enjoyed every single moment of it.

In Sao Paulo we prepared for our next journey (Japan) and relished the delicate sushi in the city with the biggest Japanese community outside of Japan :)

During our only day here we discovered the city center and strolled around the market to savour their famous mortadella sandwiches.

Eating Salmon Nigiri on the municipal market.

The mortadella sandwich was so big, that you could hardly bite into it. Approx.40 layers ;)

The city has some very nice buildings, but they are hidden in the 'concrete jungle'

Probably the only Brazilian municipality with a garden on the roof.

Sao Paulo is truly an enormous city.

The last picture in South America.

Bye-bye America and hello to Asia :)

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro!

The city with everything you could wish for: White sand beaches, jungle, metropolitan flair, historical buildings, beautiful people and a lot of culture.

Even though the majority of the attractions were very expensive (most shops and restaurants raised their prices because of the Olympics) we enjoyed it a lot.

We watched athletics in the Olympic Stadium and witnessed live a new world record during the 10000 m running of the women.
We had a great party night with a lot of dancing and (probably too much) Caipirinha.
We were sunbathing in Copacabana, did a bike tour around the lake, visited the botanical garden and enjoyed the bohemian neighbourhood of Santa Teresa (where we had our accommodation).
We went to different markets (including the famous hippie-market) and savoured the tasty (mostly unhealthy) street food :)

We even assisted the 'Trilogia Amazonica' in the picturesque Municipal Theatre of Rio de Janeiro. This special evening celebrated Brazilians most famous composer, Heitor Villa-Lobos, with three of his classical compositions (for orchestra and ballet).

The city was crowded because of the Olympic Games but it was still breathable.

The government invested a lot of money to create a new image of Rio in regards to the Olympics. A new tramway was built as well as a new underground metro line. Most of the inhabitants of Rio are not happy about this extra investment considering that many hospitals, schools, universities... had to close down their doors because they are bankrupt. Instead of investing in those fundamental institutions, the government decided to pulverize state budget into public structures that can't be used by the local people (the new metro line f.ex can only be used by the owners of the expensive Rio Olympic Card).

Even the brightest (Olympic) medal has a nice and an ugly side.

'Chambre avec vue' from the terrace of our AirBnB accommodation in Santa Teresa.

Taking a selfie on the Olympic Boulevard.

The cloudy weather triggers heavy thinking :)

The sun isn't always shining on the Copacabana beach...

...but when it does, you can feel the Brazilian vibe.

The view from our terrace on the Sugarloaf mountain.

'Escadaria Selarón' was created by the Chilean-born artist Jorge Selaró. A lot of music videos were shot here f.ex. Snoop Dogg/Pharell's song Beautiful.

Heavy armoured police and military men patrolled the streets of Rio.

Amazing architectures can be find throughout the city.

A quite unusual cathedral.

The 'Carioca Aqueduct' or 'Arcos de Lapa' is an aqueduct from the 18th century. Nowadays it is used by a traditional tram that connects Lapa with Santa Teresa.

On the way back to our accommodation we were interviewed in the ancient tramway by a local newspaper about our world trip.

People in Rio love to paint the walls :)

Municipal Theatre of Rio by night.

Bright shines the twinkling star.

We had a good view on the whole stage.

Before the Athletics in the Olympic Stadium. It rained a lot but the games were not cancelled.

To collect the discus they used a remote-controlled vehicle.

Cheering the only Luxembourgish Athlete (Charles Grethen, second line from the left) we saw that day.

10 000 meter women run.

Congratulations to Ethiopia.

A place of quiet and peace in the middle of the busy city.

Two 'cruisers' with their ride.

Like a big rock in the sun :)

Open water sailing competition. This was the only event of the Olympics that was free of charge.

Public Viewing on the Olympic Boulevard.

The Games lured even the craziest birds out on the street.

Pantanal Corumba

Pantanal is the largest tropical wetland of the world. At some point the landscape reminds of the African savannah (with a lot of swamps). The whole area is inhabited by a large number of different animals such as emu's, armadillos, marsh deers, jaguars, giant river otters, anacondas, capybaras, a lot of caimans and many different birds (just to name a few).

We spent 3 days in the Pantanal (one day in bed because of a bad food poisoning) and did some trekking and fishing.

The road to the heart of the swamp land.

On our way we passed a 'baby' anaconda that measured between two and three meters. After we climbed out of the car, we realized that they move very rapid on the ground. Their bite isn't poisonous but it can harm you seriously (because of the bacteria that they carry between their teeth).

Piranha fishing from the boat was yesterday. Today we climbed into the water with a lot of caimans circling around us and hoping for a mouthful of our catch

If they wanted to, they could have bitten us in our legs...

...but they preferred the entrails of the captured fish.

Enjoying the sunset next to the lake of our 'fazenda'.

Our truck for the 'Pantanal-Safari'.

This specific tree seemed like spring-blossoming even though it is winter here.

The early bird catches the worm.

Trekking through the wetland and hoping not to step on a big anaconda.

During the rainy season, the majority of the land is covered with water.

The whole area is a breeding paradise for caimans and birds.

Waiting for the bus back to Corumba (2 hours). A nice bus driver (off-duty) picked us up for free.

A sugarcane drink is like liquefied gold on a hot sunny afternoon.

Walking on the sunny side of life.

Drinking beer like the locals: Big bottles, small glasses.

Rio de Janeiro, here we come :) The Olympic Games are waiting for us.

Sucre and Santa Cruz

From the cold Uyuni we took a night bus to Sucre. Again the same procedures as so many times before, we tried to sleep in the bus and woke up in shock because it felt like the bus was going to tip over. In the end, everything went well and we arrived safe in the morning in the white colonial city of Sucre.

The vibe of the city invites you to relax on the main square, enjoy the delicious chocolate and hang out in the park with the young people.
We climbed up to the 'Monasterio de La Recoleta' and were delighted by the stunning view over the city.
If you want to experience a little bit of quietness and peace, you can visit the beautiful and well maintained cemetery.

After spending a few days in Sucre, we continued our journey (through the night again) direction Santa Cruz (in a more than bizarre bus).

Santa Cruz could be described (in our opinion) as the ugliest and most expensive city we visited yet.
The only good thing about the city was the halfway reasonable sushi we ate with Heike.

Nevertheless, if you experience the worst, you can estimate the good.

The courtyard of our hostel ('San Francisco') in Sucre. One of the many colonial buildings the town has to offer.

Nowadays the cemetery is 'fully booked' therefore the deceased can 'spend' only 10 years in a coffin under the earth. After this period, they get 'dugged out', burned and 'stowed' in a glass cabinet in the wall.

The market in the white city.

Enjoying the view over the rooftops.

Our first feeling of summer during Latin America's winter.

Our bizarre bus from Sucre to Santa Cruz.

Creative graffiti art in Santa Cruz.

Enjoying the excellent Bolivian Cabernet Sauvignon with Heike in a Japanese Restaurant.

It's never too late for a little bit of milk.

From Monday to Wednesday, the whole city is crowded by the 'Mennonites' who come here to buy groceries and stand around the streets to discuss in their 'uniforms' (Hundreds of them throughout the city). They have their own language, which is similar to Plattdeutsch, but quite hard to understand.

The Mennonites visit the city with their children and wives (who look all very similar) and they give the impression to live in the wrong century. It was hard to get a good picture of them because they looked very hostile when we arrived with the camera (and weren't communicative, even without camera).

Waiting in the line to cross the border to Brazil. This time we didn't have to pay any fine :)