Days 45 to 53: Rio de Janeiro & São Paulo

Brazil – at 3.3 square miles and 217 million people, is the largest country in South America. Bordering all countries and territories in South America except Ecuador and Chile, Brazil is one of the most multicultural and ethnically diverse nations in the world.

It is here that I would spend the next 8 days of my trip, a criminally small amount of time for the vast opportunity this country offers. Nevertheless, my time in Rio and São Paulo – coupled with the Carnival celebrations, was a great way to cap my time in South America.

Rio de Janeiro: “River of January”

Rio was founded in 1565 by the Portuguese colonizers and quickly became a central element of the Portuguese Empire’s reach in South America. In 1763, Rio became the capital of the State of Brazil under the Portuguese Empire, and would remain the capital of the country through the many subsequent transitions – from the 1822 Brazilian War of Independence to the establishment of the Republic of Brazil – until 1960, when the capital was transferred to Brasilia.

Rio is one of the most visited cities in South America, known for its natural parks, balneario beaches, samba, boss’s nova, and… of course… carnival.

Carnival is an annual Brazilian festival held the Friday afternoon before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent for Roman Catholics. Except for some restaurants and carnival-related businesses, the country unifies in an intense week-long celebration, which goes day and night. It is the synthesis of European, indigenous, and Afro-Brazilian cultural influences, with each playing a vital role in the celebration’s history and identity.

Carnival is the most popular holiday in Brazil and has become a major, world-renowned celebration – Rio’s carnival, the country’s largest, drew 4.9 million with 400,000 foreigners pre-pandemic. After 3 years of lockdowns, there is no doubt that Brazil’s carnival is back in full-force.

The festival can mostly be split into two categories (at least from my experience):

(1) Blocos (block parties) are street bands that mobilize crowds on the streets and are the main expression of Brazilian Carnival. These street parties occur in nearly every neighborhood in Rio, with organizers composing their own music themes and singing classic “marchinhas” and samba songs.

(2) The Sambadrome – located in downtown Rio, is the exhibition place where samba schools parade competitively each year during the Rio Carnival. Samba schools are dancing, marching, and drumming clubs that are devoted to practicing samba, an Afro-Brazilian dance and drumming style. Over the course of 4 days, the schools parade one after another from 8pm until the early hours of the morning (when I went, we didn’t get out until 6:30am..). Each samba school has a preset amount of time (75 minutes) to parade from one end of the Sambadrome to the other, with its dancers, drum section, and floats. Each school has its own unique qualities according to its own traditions. Schools are graded by a jury and at the end of Carnival celebration, one school is declared the winner.

While I did not take too many photos during my time at Rio Carnival (its not wise to be a tourist with your phone out – unless you want to donate it to the greater Rio community) – here are some photos me and my friends took of the celebrations!

As someone who is not the biggest fan of large crowds, a couple days of Carnival was MORE than enough for me – and some friends and I opted to see what else Rio had to offer.

FUN FACT: Rio Carnival is one of the best times to visit the “tourist” attractions. Most parks, sites, museums, etc.. are still open but are incredibly quite since everyone is focused on the Carnival festivities!

We first hiked up Mount Corcovado to see Christ the Redeemer.

I might not subscribe to the Roman Catholic doctrine, but I have to admit, a giant statue of Jesus overlooking a massive city on the Atlantic coast is pretty cool.

And after we hiked back down, we visited Park Lage

The next day, we headed to the botanical gardens

And watched the sunset at Ipanema beach

My last day in Rio, I hiked up to Sugarloaf

And relaxed watching the planes landing at one of the Rio airports

São Paulo:

The next day I took a 6 hour bus from Rio to São Paulo in one of the most comfortable bus experiences I have ever had. About half way through we stopped at this sort of buffet diner, where it seems as though all the bus companies bring their patrons to on the drive between Rio & São Paulo.

Arriving in São Paulo, I was ready to take full advantage of the few short days I had in the city. Unfortunately, Air India and my flight to New Delhi had other plans – and this is where I can fully depict the other, less picturesque, side of traveling.

A couple months ago, I found a dirt cheap flight from São Paulo to New Delhi for February 27, which I quickly secured with points from my Chase credit card (wahoo, free flight!). I get the email confirmation, file the ticket away on my phone, and promptly forget about it (my first mistake). Over the next couple months, I do not hear anything from Chase or the airline, but since I purchased it through my credit card, I assume it is fine (mistake # 2). A couple weeks before the flight, I check the flight status on my phone and it says the carrier has changed but my flight is still on, so I think nothing of it (mistake #3). By pure chance, my first day in So Paulo I check the flight on Air India’s website to double check the status, carry-on limit, etc.. – and low and behold the flight doesn’t exist. So I go and double check my flight with Chase – the flight is still on but (duhh!) with another carrier – Ethiopian Air.

Phewff I think, and I rush over to Ethiopian Air’s website to check my flight – but when I put in my information, the system says my ticket does not exist. It is here where I begin to freak out, just a bit.

I frantically call Chase’s “help” line and spend the next 4 and a half hours not being helped by representative after representative from Chase and Air India. My flight with Air India was in fact cancelled, and the airline rebooked my flight, but only for the second leg of the journey (Ethiopia to India), not the crucial first leg from São Paulo to New Delhi. Chase blamed Air India for the mess up and Air India blamed Chase – and neither could decide who needed to put me on another flight (which I have no doubt would cost them dearly given the short turnaround). Finally, at the fifth hour, I gritted my teeth as a lovely representative, Mark, (from India!) flawlessly managed both an intransigent airline and a livid customer to secure me a new flight – the same flight, in fact, only leaving a day early on the 26th instead of the 27th.

My brain fried and my day wasted, I grabbed some beers and went to a bar across the street, listening to the bands playing Samba (its still Carnival in São Paulo). I eased my tensions and planned the last day I had in the city. At least I had my flight.

While I did not have time to see everything I wanted to to in São Paulo, I was, fortunately, able to have a great day, exploring a couple neighborhoods and Ibirapuera Park (one of the largest city parks in the world!), all while Carnival celebrations in full swing.

Batman Alley

A continuation of Carnival (because I guess I just could not escape it in Brazil)-

Photos walking Through São Paulo

Ibirapuera Park

And finally, I had a photoshoot with a goose that was a bit too trusting of my intentions – while I’d like to think the goose’s comfort with me was due to my beneficent personality, it is more likely a result of the numerous children nearby attempting to feed them.

I wrapped up my time in Brazil and South America charging my devises in the common area of my hostel, chatting with a woman from Turkey, and listening/watching to the Samba band that had taken over the hostel – people dancing, singing, and smiling – it was a proper end to my time here.

Conclusion

It didn’t quite dawn on me that I was leaving South America until I was in my uber to the airport. It is hard to imagine that I started traveling two months ago and my time in the earlier portions of my trip (Colombia, Peru, etc..) feel like a lifetime ago.

Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil – all of these countries offered me so much in my travels: exposure to Spanish & Portuguese, cultures & religious practices, wonderfully preserved landscapes, exciting food & drink, museums, music, and incredible people. I wish I had more time in these places – to explore them more thoroughly; but, I am satisfied with what I have gained from my limited time. I hope that I can come again in future trips – when I can further refine what I want in each country and see how the places I have visited in my 20’s have changed in my return to them.

If I were to do the South American loop again, there is little I would change. I hope to do Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Paraguay in a future trip so those did not feel essential for me to see now. I had to make some hard choices on where to visit given my tight timeframe and I am happy with the diverse array of environments I chose to see. I think the loop from Colombia down the continent and back up to Brazil offers a great opportunity to see the diversity and similarities among nations and people on the South American continent. The transformation of landscapes is fascinating to observe as you move down and back up the continent – going from lush forests to desert landscapes, to ice capped mountains and glaciers. The small changes in Spanish dialect and slang used in each country is interesting to experience, and a fun challenge to master. These many wonderful experiences in South America will stick with me as I continue to travels now and in my future plans.

I’ll wrap up by reiterating how thankful I feel to have the opportunity to travel – and to do it for this long. The first third of my journey has been incredible – from the new ideas and perspectives it has taught me, to the pure fun it has offered. As I leave South America, I look forward to the journey I have planned going forward.

Some things I am most looking forward to! –

– Consuming dish after dish in India (special thanks to Peter and Nihaarika for all of the great tips and recommendations) – hopefully I can avoid “Delhi belly”

– Hiking the 2 week trek to the Everest Base Camp in Nepal (thanks to my friend, Antony – from Torres del Pain-, who gave me the idea

– A 6 day trek and cave exploration through the in Vietnam

– The Cameron Highlands in Malaysia

– Thai food & Thai beaches

– Tokyo, where I have my flight home on May 22 (yes, purchased with my Chase points – and yes, I will be regularly checking its status until the day of my flight)

Finally, thank you to everyone who has written to me and supported me throughout this journey. A special thanks to Austin, Steph, Trex, & Ollie who recently took Bren, her family, and me out to dinner in Buenos Aires – virtually, of course.

See you in New Delhi – after 23 hours of travel, a hot shower, some good food, and a long nap.

Sam