m o n k e y s t a c k > p h o t o s

portfolio about ms

Photos > Brazil

160 images

View as slideshow

After graduating with two Masters degrees, Michali and Michael split out for Brazil! We hit Manaus, Sao Paulo, Cuiaba, Rio, and Salvadore. Here's some photos... April 14 to May 6

We had a 7 hour layover in Miami on the way down to Manaus - we took a bus out to miami beach to lay on the beach -our pasty Seattle bodies managed to get burned in less than one hour.

You might think you are on the Copacabana boardwalk, but the same design can be found all over Brazil. Here in Manaus it is said to represnt the meeting of the waters - the Rio Negro and the Rio Amonzonas - which flow side by side without mixing.

Teatro Amazonas - we missed the Operah festival by a couple days. The inlay on the dome is the Brazilian flag. We saw a children_s festival with clowns and a late showing of _Dr Strangelove_.

On the Amazon on the way to our guided trip - hard to see in this photo, but on the left we have the Amazon and the right the Rio Negro

About four hours later we arrive at our Poussada - Hotel Ararana.

We slept in hammocks (heches) in the same room with the guides - this arrangement got us a discount ;)
We learned the hard way that sleeping diagonal is better, two people at once leaves your ass scraping the floor, and if your bedding smells funny (sheda mau) get it replaced right away...

Michael and Joshua waking me up from my nap - there was a lot of napping - after breakfast, after lunch and lights out at 22 hours

On the first day we went on a trip into the Forbidden Forest (Igrapa is the name for the flooded forests)

this is Joshua - our guide, his job is very hard :)
(emprego dificil)

michael in the boat, his job is not hard either
(mesmo facil)

Jungle walk - this is where we learned all our different trees and what each one can be used for

this is a tarantula, we saw a few of them, and I learned what happens if one crawls on you.
Aranha matante

timed photos of the group . l-r: Oussie (boatsman), Josh the guide, Michael, Michal. For about three days it was just the four of us.

Michael in boat, another hard day of getting driven around.
Note: Michael bought these glasses for $5R ($2.50 US) and they leave blue paint on his skin.

I loved these floating plants - I forgot their names. The larger group of them is called campinha. Depending on the wind direction an entire bay could be filled in within a few hours.

that night we went for a sunset boatride - pretty

the water was beautiful

everything was beautiful

Oussie took us home

the sunrise wasn_t bad either

On the second day Ossie took us to his home. Oussie, Michali, and vacas.

these are his cows, they are very cute

this is his family, even cuter

that night we went fishing for pirhana, it was easy, you put beef chunks on a string, drop it to a specific depth, wait for a tug, when you feel it, you gotta crank it - michael caught a few

Ossie caught a lot too

I caught 6 of them!
Then I did my best Piranha impression...

Joshua made me a crown

when we got home they grilled our pirhana for us - lotsa little bones.
(piranha grelhado)

on the way home Joshua caught a caiman to show us - you can spot them by spotting the red reflection their eyes return from the flashlight.

Off to Sao Paulo - this is the amazon from the sky where you can see the maze of lakes and rivers.

In Sao Paulo Tati found us a hotel very close to our home in Brooklin - and close to the airport too

Michael thought the bathroom was a little small.
Tati and her friends referred to the bathrooms as coffins

Our first day we went to the Botanical Gardens

It was a beautiful place

We called these flowers hot pokers. Lots of people think they look like lots of different things.

this one looks like a mouth

yup, very pretty

lotsa stairs

lotsa pond lilies, these aren_t the huge ones like in the Amazon, but they sure are pretty, eh?

we took a lot of pictures of textures - this is a tree

Liberdade, the Chinatown of Sao Paulo. Their streets have these trademark lamp posts.

this is Shoshi from Bom Retiro - the once Jewish district of Sao Paulo that is now mostly Korean. Shoshi claimed to run one of only 3 jewish restaurants in the city of 20 million people. We sampled her Kibe, Hummus and made to order Israeli salad.
Her Mom runs a Bourekas shop down the street but wasn_t in when we stopped by.
Note the picture to the left of Michal, that_s Shoshi looking purty.

But nothing compared to the hospitality of the Assalis - Renada is in culinary school but they all seem to know how to cook - left to right we have John (Assali dad, Renada, Tati_s sister, Tati, M+M, Paula, Marcelo (feel free to associate him with Paula_s boyfriend), Eduardo, Eduardo_s lady, and the matriarch of the Assali familia.

Another photo of the family.
During dinner there was a big storm we watched from their balcony.
After dinner we watched their home team (Sao Paulo) lose to to Caetano - a wet and disappointing game :(

Tati and her parents.

This is at Felipe_s house - Renada_s boyfriend

This is the cathedral Praca de Se - in Sao Paulo.
Michal was a little freaked out by the gruesome imagery - crucifixion scenes, christ in a box, woman carrying a knife...

Out of order picture - sorry this is a part of our waling tour in Sao Paulo

This I just liked - also Sao Paulo

Stainglass windows

We also had a lot of rain in Sao Paulo - causing us to seek some shelter. Not your typical Seattle rain, folks. This stuff comes down in buckets and without warning. Its nice to have shelter nearby - and at all times - just in case.

When we got in the elevator the sky was blue. By the time we got up to the viewpoint we saw the storm rolling in.

Good thing we went up another observation tower the next day

temp - SP city view

Sao Paulo building - cool brick facade, eh?

Michael took photos of transportation. This guy was delivering China in a Box. Note the graffiti and trash.

buses got very full

all too soon we had to say goodbye to everybody. Michael, Tati, Michal, Marcelo, Paula.

Black swan in Burle Marx park in Sao Paulo

Can you believe it? An entire chain dedicated to cheesy bread!
_The house of bread and cheese_

Joel Souza greeted us at the airport - how did he know we were looking for him? his house was great, open courtyard in the center

and chickens (galinha) and children (criances) in the back

Before we could blink we were driving down the only road in the Pantanal - off to see some more monkies

michael is drying my handkerchief - he got drippy ice cream all over it.
He had a corn flavored ice cream bar!!!!!

On the way to our Poussada Carinha we saw a ton of birds (passaros) - very difficult to capture with our camera

This is a Jabiru - the bird of the Pantatanal - it has a black head, white body and red neck. The red neck is exposed skin.

We also met some Indian cows along the way (Brahma)

But once we were on the boat we could slow down and really watch and listen

we saw so many birds and animals, here are a few shots - river otters

monkeys - lots of monkeys (macacas, muito macacas)

rainbow michael (arco iris)

This is a strangler fig. It supports itself on another trees trunk. By the time the supporting tree dies the fig can hold itself up.

we got to enjoy what became a very regular evening stroll

after dark we cozied up to more hammocks and some songs with Alex

this is Tully - she has an israeli name from the numerous israelis who apparently come to this Poussada

This is Tully and her friend the Bullfrog. The bullfrog has a gland on its head that excretes an acid that can make you go blind!

I had my own frog too - he jumped at me outta the toilet - nothing scarier than a bouncing frig covering in your own urine - oh wait, covered in someone else is worse

michael_s artistic shot of moths flying

on our morning walk Alex (our guide - nosso guia) caught us a snake (cobra/serpentina)

steady Alex

we found a tree - ipe (sounds like hippie with a silent H)

this is their cardinal

these are their grapefruits

This is a big pile of vaca caca - our photos can really never be complete without a photo of poop.
Note the mushrooms growing out of the poop.

These are the horsies (cavalos) we got to ride. Congac in front and Pampas in back.

michael on this horse - named something like pumpas- which means toilet plunger in hebrew

Me and my horse (Sabian)

Together on horses - this shot was very hard for Michali to choreograph

First diagnosed as a spider piss wound, we later learned it resulted from an allergic reaction to Tarantula hairs caused when one walked over Michali_s leg sometime in the night.

Another evening stroll...

Back to Cuiaba and to the airport. Our ride got postponed when it got stuck in the mud. We drove most of the Transpantaneira in the dark. This is one of the many one lane bridges along the way. Locals come out and fish in the ponds below.

We finally saw some Capiberas - wrongfully labeled the largest rodents - Michali seems to recall that wombats are bigger(?)

And then there was Rio. Can you spot the tourist on the Copacobana boardwalk? Now try and spot the showgirl. _Don_t fall in love..._

Tourist, what tourist? Everybody wears jeans to the beach.

Surfers waiting for the perfect wave in Ipanema

michal Ipanema

Dog Park and paddle players on the Ipanema beach

Christo Redentor - aka Jesus - on the top of Corcovoda mountain. He looks over Copacabana. We took the train up!

Everybody comes to see Jesus. You can see him from anywhere in Rio like a giant compass.

Even Michali was hanging with Jesus

The view from the top was great.

Michael_s favorite part was the train up the mountain. Trem de Corcovado - it had seats facing forwards and back!

One day he_ll be a conductor. _All aboard!_

but maybe he_ll conduct the Bonde instead - this old school street car takes people up to Santa Theresa a gorgeous old neighborhood on one of Rio_s many hills

late comers hang off the sides of the Bonde as it hurls over bridges and through brush

It was pretty exhilarating to be a late comer. Michael almost ripped his pants off, lost an eye, and received numerous lashings from passing bushes and fences.

The next day we went hiking in the Tijuca National Park - only 15 minutes away from the downtown core, but a lush tropical jungle

Lost in the jungle. Brazil_s next top model...

This little red-laced grotto was teeming with hummingbirds - the air vibrated.

we saw happy dragonflies too

and monkeys hanging around

we found our peak - 1000 meters

there was some climbing

and mistiness

and more mistiness

but the view was worth it

michael gave it the Rio thumbs up!

Michali was getting a little too hungry

we found a fantastic little restaurant in the forest, with monkeys, hummingbirds, cats and more mosquitoes - yum

on the way out we had time for one last adventure...

we stumbled into a cave

we saw lichens

and spiders

but soon we were on our way to the exit (saida).
Interesting note. The guy at the hotel recommended against going to the Tijuca National Park. The reputation is that it can be very dangerous to go there. However, Michal and Michael both agreed that they felt more safe here than anywhere else in Rio.

That night we saw 2 fantastic bands in a bar called Carioca de Gema. This was in the Lapa district - known as Rio_s music center.

We met a really sweet couple Chris and Maria (also pictured are their friends - Michael and ?)
Chris and Michael are in the US Army and are in Brazil to administer training.

we got some Gema love

Us old foggies left at 2am - just when the line was starting to grow.

but we had to get up early for our awesome breakfast in the room.
Pao, suco de laranja, queijo, melao, geleia, manteiga, aqua, cafe, leite quento, etc...

Finally, we got michael on another bonde. This was at the first stop of the Pao de Acucar (sugar loaf) cable car.

check out how our butts grew over the years

view of Rio at night from Pao Acucar - lights on left are Copacobana boardwalk, Praia Vermelho, Botafogo, Centro, Cristo Redentor faintly visible in center-left-top, Flamengo, etc...

still there? this is Salvador - similarly compared to New Orleans. It is a heavily african influenced area that considered the cultural center of Brazil.

the buildings are truly beatiful

Michael was happy to find another mode of transportation. This is an elevator servicing the upper and lower towns. Right at the bottom is the Mercado. Cost, 5 Centavos.

Michali finally found someone new to play with

Michal was suprised to see they give their saints someone to play with too - many of the stone saints have plastic dolls placed on them.

These ribbons are pretty famous - you tie one on and when they fall off you get your wish. Tourists become familiar with them when young kids approach you and try to tie them on to your wrist - consequently requesting a donation.

more beautiful cobbled streets

this is the eerie basement of the mercado modelo where slaves were brought in after their long journey. Goosebumps are commonplace down here while you imagine the horrors.
This was one of the more interesting aspects of the mercado as the art was definitely on made with the tourist in mind.

We didn_t stay in Salvador long - but headed up the coast to Praia de Forte for one last relaxing trip before heading home.

We lived it up in our fancy hotel along the beach - we had everything we needed: caparinhas, sun, fuzzy white robes...

oh yeah, and a pool

Ocean floating was also good

we did a lot of tide pool investigation during low tide

there was a lot of space to cover

good thing we had each other

there were pretty fishing boats - and Michali looking Sexy!

And places where they grill up fresh feed - this is Daniela he sold us on some pricey fish. _Hello, my friend. Where are you from?_

more texture

One of the highlights of Praia de Forte is TAMAR_s turtle (taratuga) project. TAMAR helps conserve the several local endangered turtle species through education and outreach programs.

Mama turtle. We missed the hatching season by a couple of months.

Michael is big, but this turtle can get bigger!

Are we turtley enough for your turtle club?

that night we watched the moon rise over the water

It was a beautiful night - very reminiscent of a Hollywood set.

our last day - michael took time to smell the flowers

and photograph funny entree options

this is our last morning in salvador - good bye Brazil

Our favorite Duty Free object - Princess Ken and his 12 pairs of shoes.