Destination Paraty on Brazil’s Costa Verde (Green Coast).
The alarm goes off at 2 am and Christi and I pack our bags and slip quietly out of the Marco Polo Inn and Argentina (for the last time). We have reserved a taxi, which happily speeds us across the border and neither the Argentinean nor Brazilian immigration officials seem to care that we only crossed the border 8 hours ago. It is a surprisingly uncomplicated ride to Foz do Iguacu airport. This border hopping may seem a convoluted way to experience the Brazilian side of the falls, but it truly was the most economic and efficient way to do it. And this is true for the wetlands as well. Both Argentina (Esteros del Ibera) and Brazil (the Pantanal) have world-class wetlands, but it was much cheaper to visit the Argentine version. Having now visited the falls and the wetlands we are done with this tripartite border region where Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay collide.
Although Brazil is the largest country in South America, we will only stay long enough to hit a few of the highlights. To that end we fly from Foz do Iguacu to Sao Paulo in under 2 hours (compared to a 16-hour, overnight bus ride). The only way to describe Sao Paulo is a megalopolis. It is a vast concrete jungle with more potential dangers than the Amazon. It is the largest city in Brazil and the world’s seventh largest city. It would take a lot of time to explore and try to understand this complicated environment, and to be honest we don’t have the time or the inclination. Therefore we stay in Sao Paulo only as long as it takes to transfer from the airport to the major domestic bus station. We have a 30-minute wait at Tiete bus station for the first bus to Paraty. We immediately notice differences to Argentina. Bus rides are much more expensive and on this 6-hour ride at least, it does not come with either food or a movie. And, of course, Brazil is the one major country in South America that does not speak Spanish. Our limited Spanish is now useless as we struggle to understand the bus driver make announcements in Portuguese. Having said that, it’s a pretty ride along the Atlantic coast and beside the remnants of the Atlantic rainforest. After a few false starts we do eventually leave the bus at the correct destination, the small, picturesque seaside town of Paraty. Paraty is close enough to Rio that on weekends it can become over-crowded, but mid-week (i.e. now) it is tranquil and idyllic.
Blog post by Roderick Phillips, author of Weary Heart, a gut-wrenching, heart-wrenching, laugh-wrenching ride.
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