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The Outsider In

// February 24th, 2008 // No Comments » // Travel

I arrive onto Morro do Sao Paulo at 7 am, after a gorgeous two hour boat trip from Valencia and a horrible 9 hours on the bus from Porto Seguro. Tired I stumble around pousadas trying to find something cheap and beachish. Ah, the Black & White pousada on Praia Tres, clean, friendly, cheap. I crash into emergency sleep and stumble to a late breakfast. And here’s the kicker given my comments about the huge teams of Israelis in Arrial D’Ajuda. Something is up in this hostel. Every single other person is Israeli. And then I notice the pousada sign properly. It’s not the Black & White pousada, it’s the Black (Star of David) White pousada. Better yet, I’m rocking my Kufiyya, the black and white arab headscarf I use as a beach towel. Awkward! Awesome. So I’m the only גוי (gentile) dude living with around 30 Israelis.

It’s been fun and I think I can understand why they appear as a closed and perhaps cold groups to outsiders. The basic plan is that they do their military service for 1-3 years, work to earn cash for a year and then feck off to latin america for 6-18 months to get out of the head trip built up from the army and living in Israel all their life. Here they meet old school and army buddies and connect with people who speak their language in what, for many, is their first real foreign experience. On the outside these groups often seem insular, uninterested in local culture or adapting from their cultural norms, but inside they show a very different dynamic. Sitting around in groups playing Hebrew (and radiohead) songs on guitar, singing, laughing and sharing a communal connection fostered by the above factors, perhaps combined with some kibbutz heritage. A really lovely communal warmth that reminded me of my time with groups of Koreans and Egyptians.

I’m not fond of this type of travel as it massively limits the diversity of experience, but I think I can understand it a bit better now. And definitely Israelis aren’t the only ones- Argentines here often seem similar- and British weekenders in Amsterdam or Aussies in London- can be pretty insenitive and insular to put it mildly. Of course I don’t mean generalize, indeed I’m referring to a subgroup. I’ve meet some awesome Israeli solo traveller who avoid the common haunts and are as open and adaptive as any people I’ve meet upon the way. Enough hedging- to the beach I go!

Algumas palavras de Trancoso

// February 18th, 2008 // 4 Comments » // Travel

Boa noite.

Quantos cocos você bebeu hoje? Realmente? Eu bebi cinco. Não estou brincando. Tudo que eu comi foi água de coco. É trabahlo difícil, mas alguém precisa curtir esse mar azul turquesa e beber essas coisas. Se não for eu, então quem? Se não agora, então quando? E se somente para mim, então quem sou eu? Eu bebo esses cocos para as crianças que não têm ninguém para beber por elas.

paz amigos,

PS- ok brasileiros- eu tive um pouco ajuda do peixes de babel, mas eu estou tentando. Por que você tem tal gramática difícil? Lute o tempo passado!

PPS- Não fala português? I’m just ranting about how many cocunuts I drank today. The answer may astound you. The answer is five.

A few words from Brazil

// February 14th, 2008 // 3 Comments » // Travel

Ahah, the internet, how I remember thee- what with your 30 second guffahs and bountiful information on Slovak legislature. Here in Brazil the Internet, or internet em portugues, rarely enters my world- for it bodes poorly on the perfect sandy beaches of an ecological isle, or stradling precariously upon the edge of a crystal clear waterfall. Nor could this electronic siren withstand the firey samba of a Rio bloco, or the predawn ravings of the twin titans Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires. Yet here in the unlikely lands of Belo Horizonte, after some six weeks upon the trail, I find myself with time, access and some consideration that sooner than later I shall once again number with those unfortunates who know not the gentle touch of mother Brazil.

The journey has gone something like this. Amsterdam (to be my home for yet another year)->Buenos Aires (where one dines at midnight and mocks the dawn)->Florianopolis (an island of beautiful people)->Ilha do Mel (an ecological island of sunset rainbows and deserted beaches)->Sao Paulo (a city that eats other cities and in which one eats fantastically)->Rio de Janeiro (the city of samba, of carnaval, of legends playing out a million tales)->Ouro Preto (a baroque village sculpted out of the mountains). In an hour I will board a bus to the north-eastern state of Bahia, where I shall spend my final few weeks slowly making my way up the coast- crawling from fishing village to resplendent isle- until I reach the great afro-brazilian city of Salvador and this happy trail ends.

I should like to write of my experiences here, of The World in Brazil, perhaps a few words in portuguese, a photo or two when technology permits and a flickering vision of life away from this continent. But it will be slow because the beach beckons, a metaphysics of quality is demanding my consideration and Brazil is still roaring just metres away. Suffice to say for now that all is well and life is being lived and loved in this corner of the world.

peace

Feliz Ano Novo

// January 4th, 2008 // 2 Comments » // Travel

“Wise is he who enjoys the show offered by the world.”- Fernando Pessoa

Thursday evening I walked out of ABN Amro for the last time- with a bottle of champagne in hand and a strange taste in my mouth. Ending my two year sojourn in the financial sector, I looked up at the grand towers that once daunted a younger man, laughed to myself, and walked away across the bridge and into something new.

Seventy-two hours later I sit in an apartment upon the Plaza Congresso, in the middle of Buenos Aires, not really believing that I’m here. One week in Argentina, then a 7-week trip through Brazil- Florianopolis, Ilha do Mel, Sao Paulo, Rio and a myriad of beaches in the north east. Untold adventures lie before me- some of which I hope to be telling here.

Millions of thanks to all the Brasileiros who helped me prepare for this muito legal adventure- and especially Fernanda for all the Português lessons and positive reinforcement. Eu sou gringo, mas nao sou bobo.

Peace