Curitiba Bonita

2/24/12

We arrived safe and sound in Curitiba last night just before dinnertime.  We had a long layover in hot Sao Paulo and had our first real Brazilian food while we waited!  They have a type of snack here called “Salgados” (salty things) which are usually some pao de queijo (cheese bread), some sort of sandwich, or a calzone.  For our first small meal in the airport we chose a calzone de frango – a chicken calzone.  The meat was shredded and cooked in a special sauce inside the calzone bread.  Different than I’ve ever eaten, but tasty and just the thing we were craving with a nice cold Guarana – a Brazilian soda pop.  Delicioso!

Our new room

After five hours there, we took a bus to a way far corner of the tarmac where our plane waited...  ya, not a real confidence booster that we had to take a bus out ONTO the tarmac....but no one else seemed bothered by it!  We took the 45 minute flight to Curitiba and were greeted warmly by my new good friend, Barbara.  She drove us through the city to her home where she lives with her lovely mom and dad.  We had a small dinner of bread, cheese, deli ham, and some home-pressure-cooked dulce de leche with bananas.  After running out to the 24 hour grocery to get money from the ATM, we went straight to sleep and prepared for getting up early this morning!

Sadly, as we checked in via email to let our families know we had arrived safely, we found out some news from home that Josh’s grandfather had suddenly passed away early yesterday morning.  We will miss you, Grampa.  We know you were excited for us to travel here, so we will do our best to remember you and get through our grief as we make our way through these faraway cities. 

Our bedroom

We have our own bathroom

This morning was a hurried breakfast of instant Brazilian café, a few grapes, and pao de queijo.  Then quick into the car for Barbara’s dad, (dad is pai – say “pie”) to rush us to the tour bus for our day in the city.  We arrived as the clock struck 9 and the bus pulled away the moment we stepped on to buy our tickets.  We found seats on the second floor of the open air bus and it was a blessing that there was a cover over the top because of how much it ended up raining!

The way the “Touristico” bus works is that you purchase a pass for $25 Reais (the Brazilian currency – say “hey – ice”), and you can ride the bus all day to all of the 30 or so stops.  You get four tickets with your purchase to re-board the bus four different places if you want to explore some of the stops.  We spent time at the Jardin Botanico (Botanical Gardens), a German memorial park, and Parque Tangua which is two gorges joined by a tunnel.  Curitiba is known for its parks and nature scenery and today we certainly found out why.

The Jardin was amazing and beautiful. It had a small bistro and we were hungry.  We stopped in, and for a midmorning snack, we had another calzone de frango.  We also had acai juice (it was my first time drinking this).  It tastes a bit like blueberries and it was very yummy!  Then, after a near death experience running from the world’s largest bumblebee who happened to be drinking out of the flower I chose to smell, we walked a long walkway around the park in search of wildlife. 

Uma cutia

As I waited for Josh to return from o banheiro (the restroom), I saw through the fence a creature that looked like a cousin of Reepicheep from the Chronicles of Narnia.  It appeared to be some sort of cross between a rat and a wild rabbit and was at least a foot tall.  It was just hanging out, sitting up on its haunches, casually munching on something it found in the grass.  We found out a bit later it is called a cutia (say “koo-chee-ya”).

My protector in the dense woods

View from o torre

The next stop took us through a dense woods full of bird noises.  The trek began at a high point made of wood called ‘o torre’ (the tower) where we could see a beautiful high up view of the city.  We hiked down several floors of wooden stairs and descended into a veritable Pandora-like landscape (think Avatar).   Josh mentioned that at one point in Sao Paulo he had seen some macacos, monkeys, and so the theme of the rest of the day presented itself.  We were making up our own macaco calls, straining our eyes to discern any movement in the branches of the forest ceiling above…but to no avail!  So we went on to the next stop.

We were very hungry for lunch at this point, so we saw there was a diner at the Parque Tangua and were stoked to have our first black beans and rice (one of our favorite flavors of Brasil).  As we stepped off the bus for the stop, the weather, which had been holding out at a steady cloudy-but-not-too-rainy status, broke…LOOSE.

Thank the Lord that Pai had given us a guarda-chuva (umbrella) before we left – but even at that, it barely did any good in the instant downpour!  We stashed our camera, put our arms around each other, grabbed the guarda-chuva tightly and made a run for it. 

Once safely under the structure at the park, we desperately searched for a nice, dry, warm diner with the ideal meal just READY to jump on our plates as we dried off….and guess what we found?  A tiny shop with some more salgados.  And for lunch?  You guessed it, another calzone de frango! 

However, this time we spiced it up with some Baconzhinos – basically pork rinds of the Brazilian persuasion.  And no tables inside either.  So, we scooted one of the outside tables up under the awning, swallowed down our calzones and coke and laughed at how crazy it was outside. J  The weather eventually died down and we were able to hike to the  bottom of the waterfall there and go through the tunnel…all the while begging the macacos to come out of hiding and hoping to see one.  We did make one little friend – a tiny duck-like bird who, when he whistled as he swam upstream, sounded for all the world like he was saying “weeeeeeeee!!!!”

Back on the tour bus to try to find a real Brazilian meal and we hit the jackpot.  We sat down on the Rua de Flores in a little café and had steak, black beans, rice, salad, coke and water and were content.

We took one of the famous red three-car buses back to the house – you should see these things corner!  I swear they are a block long!  These are some of the most efficient and beneficial buses in the world and they are well-known for the “tube” from which you board the bus.  The people pay as they enter the tube, and the bus pulls right up to the glass door and doesn’t waste gas lowering itself to the ground for passengers to board.  They are very environmentally progressive here!

Back home, after getting cleaned up and a tiny nap in, Barbara and her boyfriend wanted to take us to a pub.  We ate at “Taco” and had a wonderful time talking with them (in English, praise the Lord! I am easing into my Portugese ears and mouth and through the exhaustion, it’s not easy!).  We laughed at the crazy mariachis who wanted to hand out shots of tequila and then shake up the heads of the people who drank it (we politely declined), and had some great food. 

Barbara, Marco, Josh, Me, and some serious nachos

A wonderful first day in the city.  Now I know why Curitiba is known for the nature and parks it has built and preserved!

Tomorrow, we are off to a German town called Morretes with Mai, Pai, Barbara, and Marco, and a home made churrasco on Sunday!  More soon!