For The Love of Travel

Arrived in Cuiaba from Curitiba at midday and 6 of us met in the airport arrivals hall responding to our guide Nelson’s large white card, which had all our names. Introductions completed, we were spirited off to lunch at a ‘kilo restaurant’, you choose your food from the buffet, they weigh it and charge you accordingly.

Then time to head for the Pantanal area, a 77kms journey to our hotel in the wetlands, Pousada Araras Eco Lodge.

And we were very excited to see some local fauna on the way….giant anteater, great egret, caiman and hyacinth macaw.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A night safari followed dinner and we actually saw the rare Brazilian tapir and crab-eating fox. Here are some nice images from Google (mine were not)…

 

Walking through the middle of Curitiba’s historic centre, there’s no chance of missing the city’s cathedral, Basilica Minor of Our Lady of Light, which dominates Praça Tiradentes. Built in 1876 in the Neo-Gothic style, the church features several stained-glass windows and paintings by artists such as Italian brothers Carlos and Anacleto Garbaccio. The structure was designed by a French architect who is said to have been inspired by Barcelona’s Metropolitan Cathedral, another large, Gothic place of worship.

Just to the left of the Cathedral is an example of Curitiba’s Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system.  The city has had an urban master plan since 1968, the first city in Brazil to have dedicated bus lanes.
– The BRT is cheaper to run than a tube system. Some employers subsidise their employees who use it.
– 80 per cent of travellers use the BRT.
– The bus rapid transit system uses triple section bendy buses. It carries 2 million passengers a day, including wheelchair.
– The bus fare is the same wherever you go.
– No one lives more than 400 metres from a bus stop.
– Urban growth is restricted to corridors of growth – along key transport routes. Tall buildings are allowed only along bus routes.  A transport gunzel’s dream, is Curitiba!!

Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho — known as Oscar Niemeyer — was a Brazilian architect who is considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture, giving modernism a little samba flair!  His swirling forms and his curving lines replaced European

modernism’s harshness with softness and ease, as smooth as Brazilian jazz. His work is sensuous, almost hedonistic. He designed numerous houses, with a magical combination of lushness and spareness, and some spectacular high-rise housing and museums. Niemeyer’s architecture of exuberance was all the more striking because his politics were so far away from the lush, indulgent world that his buildings suggest. He was a lifelong communist, with a serious commitment to left-wing politics. I love his museum in Curitiba…”The Eye”.   There are 10 exhibitions on view….some of my favourites:

–  One that brings artworks from 21 artists who have blood ties with Japan. 
– David Feingold’s paintings, a floating mesh of colours and geometry 
– Photos of Valdir Cru

– Violeta Franca’s rich flora and fauna pics 

– my fave pencil etching by Francisco Faria!

I’m not really a train aficionado but I loved the slow 3-hour Serra Verde “Express” train ride from Curitiba to Morretes, through what remains of the world’s Atlantic Rainforest, the 4% left in the southern part of Brazil, which the United Nations is now trying to preserve.

Its an eye-popping ride, looking out the open windows at the beautiful rolling hills, deep valleys, and verdant rainforest vegetation everywhere!  See the train going over a metal bridge? Look at next photo with tiny brown bridge in the middle of the forest!!

The Serra Verde train route was an impressive engineering feat for its time. It was built in the 1880s and was completed within 5 years. The train connects the cities of Curitiba and Paranagua, spanning 610 kilometers (380 miles). The train passes through 14 tunnels and goes over 30 bridges. At one point in the route, it goes from sea level to 3/4 of a mile high.

Loved the state tree of Parana, the Candalabra conifer… a popular valley tree in subtropical areas, planted for its unusual effect of the thick, ‘reptilian’ branches with a very symmetrical appearance. Very sculptural. In Brazil, 7,500,000 lbs of edible seeds, similar to large pine nuts, are collected annually which, combined with extensive logging, seriously threatens the regeneration of the species. The tree has now lost an estimated 97% of its habitat. It is therefore listed as critically endangered. 

We stopped in Morretes for a Parana state food specialty, “barreado” (tender beef stew, mixed with cassava flour and served with banana) lunch at a sunny riverside patio table. You’ll have to take it from me that it’s quite a rich concoction, and tasty, but looks like what a cat has thrown up though!  

Here is our waiter testing whether he got the stew/flour consistency right, Maya is hoping yes and Leandro is in stitches! Both from São Paulo were fun to lunch with and then stroll around Morretes. Built in the 18th century, Morretes is located next to the River Nhundiaquara and is ringed by lush mountains. A sleepy town during the week, apparently buzzes on the weekends…in varying stages of decay, renovation.