Brazil is a place I’ve had on my travel list for years but I’ve never found the chance to go. I spoke to Katie about her South America and specifically Brazil trip, and I’ve got serious travel FOMO again. This is part one of the two part interview.
Katie is now doing the 9-5 London thing making her way into a marketing career. The travel bug has by no means left her, and since being back in the UK she has continued planning adventures even if they are only small weekends away – although corona life is stopping all travel plans at the moment!
She’s planning on sticking around in London for a couple of years getting her career and finances in check, and then possibly considering the New Zealand working holiday visa. Read on to find out about how she broke her toe in Paraty, took a lift with a stranger in Brazil and managed to leave unscathed (nearly).
For more on Katie’s travels head to her travel blog or check out her Instagram.
What made you decide to go on this tour of Brazil?
I’d watched Karl Pilkington’s idiot abroad series on the Wonders of the World, and it fuelled the fire in my belly to get going with my plans to travel. I was planning a much larger trip around the World and wanted to incorporate South America, and Rio de Janeiro in particular. But I didn’t know what else Brazil had to offer. Booking the tour seemed a good way to tick off the must-do’s!
How did you plan your trip?
I’d been lucky enough to have visited many countries in Europe with family and friends. Although I’d only ever been on the generic package holiday booked via a travel agent. The idea of backpacking and long term travelling was daunting, despite planning to go with my boyfriend at the time.
I remember a Sunday afternoon we were walking around Bluewater Shopping Centre (UK) with tickets booked for the cinema. Instead we found ourselves wandering into STA Travel, picking up brochures and seeking advice. We never made it to the cinema but we did get a draft flight itinerary of how our travels could look! Excitedly making our way through the brochures, we came across a series of trips with a company called Dragoman. They were highly recommended by STA Travel.
The idea was to travel overland on a large orange truck across South America. You could choose the length of your trip with the minimum being 3 weeks. We decided this would be the best option because of its unique and touristy mix. The two month tour covered Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina and finished in Brazil.
Was it a traditional travel tour?
The word ‘tour’ brings plush coaches and perhaps a stop off at the local leather factory to mind. The Dragoman tour couldn’t be any further from this. It was by no way luxury. The truck was converted with seats, a couple of tables and a fridge up top. It had enough room underneath and in the back for camping equipment, cooking equipment, a filtered water tank, and everyone’s luggage. The trip involved off-road experiences, camping in the middle of nowhere, cooking and cleaning for your group, and some VERY long drive days. It was hard work, but it was one of the best experiences of my life!
What were your first impressions of Brazil?
Crossing a border when overloading can be a tiresome and lengthy process in any case. When you’re passing through on a large orange truck full of people, it could be hours before you’d see the other side. We played the border game, all putting in our guesses on how long it would take from start to finish. The winner would, of course, receive a caipirinha cocktail. Feeling optimistic, I guessed that it would take us 54 minutes. It actually took 1hr 20. In comparison this had been fairly quick by our standards and the border security guards were friendly for once.
After spending the previous night bush camping, having a hostel for our first night in Brazil was welcomed. We were staying in Foz Do Iguaçu – the gateway to the Brazilian side of Iguazu Falls. I found it difficult to get a real sense of the culture in most border towns. In my experience they had been a bit of an odd mix due to their close proximity to their neighbouring country.
There wasn’t a huge amount to the town since the main attractions were the waterfalls. In terms of my first impressions of Brazil, I felt that I hadn’t yet been fully immersed into the Brazilian culture and lifestyle. I couldn’t quite believe that we had reached our final country on the Dragoman tour. The excitement to see what Brazil had to offer over the coming weeks was strong.
Can you give an overview of where you went on your tour and specifically Brazil?
The full tour covered Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina and Brazil. Within Brazil specifically, we visited the following:
Iguazu Falls
Waterfalls of the Iguazu river on the borders of Argentina and Brazil. The falls are one of the new natural seven Wonders of the World.
Bonito
Ecotourism hub known for its crystal clear rivers – we went snorkelling at Rio da Prata. There was a 2km jungle walk to get to the entrance to the rivers, and amazingly in periods of heavy rainfall, the same trail that we walked through can be completely submerged underwater!
Pousada Aguape – a ranch in the Southern Pantanal
We stayed here for 3 nights and did a range of activities including day time & night time safaris, horse riding and piranha fishing.
Brotas
A nice little residential town with a few restaurants and shops mostly selling swimwear. We stayed here to break up the journey on our way through to Paraty, due to the distance.
Paraty
A small town with cobbled streets and a mountainous backdrop, located in between Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Our main activity within the tour was to have our own private party boat for the day! A few of us loved the character of this town so much that we decided to return for 2 weeks once the tour had finished.
Rio De Janeiro
Brazil’s first capital city (now it’s Brasilia) with tourist highlights of Christ the Redeemer, Sugarloaf mountain, the Selaron Steps and Carnival Street to name a few. You hear a lot of stories about how dangerous Rio is and many tour groups were apprehensive to stick around for long. I’d assume that it depends on where you go, but I never felt unsafe. Rio was absolutely stunning and easy to navigate. I’d definitely go back!
Once the tour ended, a few of us went to Paraty for a further two weeks, before returning to Rio and catching a flight onwards to Johannesburg.
Did you have any struggles during your trip?
The struggle of getting up at the crack of dawn to get on the road again was always fun. Other than that, breaking my toe wasn’t too great either.
My friend and I were sunbathing on one of the beaches in Paraty which was around a 30 minute walk from our hostel. We were taking it in turns to go into the sea, as we didn’t want to leave our belongings on the beach. It was a lovely little bay with calm water for paddle boarding. There was a couple in the distance walking in the sea around the rocks from what looked like a little secluded bay. They had bags with them and didn’t seem to be having too much trouble. We decided to try our luck walking around there ourselves.
What happens when you try your luck…
I had my day pack on my front, and held my flip-flops in one hand as we waded through the shallow water. My friend stubbed her toe on a rock and fell back into the water. She was okay and we were both laughing, then suddenly with all the commotion I lost my footing and fell back. Luckily the bag was on my front, meaning that nothing had gotten wet. My friend took the bag from me whilst I regained balance, still laughing, until I realised one of my flip-flops was floating away.
The loss:
They were brand new Havaianas I’d quickly become attached to, so I began swimming after it. I was pulled into a current which was going down a stream away from the beach. It dragged me into rocks beneath the water. My friend was already back on the beach at this point and hadn’t realised what was going on. She was surprised to see me clambering out of the water with cuts all over my legs and then collapsing onto the sand!
It all sounds very dramatic but I have a huge phobia for blood and all things gory. I thought I was going to vomit or pass out. My friend was an absolute diamond acting like a nurse and cleaning me up. I realised I couldn’t walk as my toe was mangled. Luckily we found a bus that could cut down our walking time back to the hostel. Spending the next few days hobbling around cobbled streets wasn’t fun. In hindsight, I should have sought medical attention, but I was trying to put on a brave face. Now I’ll always have a wonky toe and a scar on my leg to remind me of my travels!
A memory that stood out for you?
Just a little funny memory…
A friend and I had gone food shopping to collect ingredients to make dinner for the group. When we got to the checkout we realised that we’d picked up far too much for the two of us to carry on the long walk back to the campsite.
We were struggling out of the shop when a passer-by saw what was going on and offered to drop us in his car. Unsure whether to accept the offer or not (since we’ve been taught not to trust strangers) the heavy bags took precedent. He’d insisted it was only a five minute drive. It was priceless seeing the look on everyone’s faces as we walked in behind a muscly Brazilian man carrying our shopping!
What were your meals like during the tour?
A lot of the meals were made on the road with my fellow trip mates. They were usually items that would go a long way among 10 people. These meals tended to be straight forward: yoghurt and fruit or pancakes in the mornings, sandwiches for lunch and either pasta, stir fry or curry for dinner. We did experience a few hostel/hotel buffets and had a lot of opportunities to try the local cuisine in cafes and restaurants.
I ate Moqueca (Brazillian fish stew pictured above – white fish, onions, garlic, peppers, tomato, cilantro and coconut milk). It was a dish I wouldn’t have given a second look on the menu if it hadn’t been recommended by a local. Delicious! I haven’t come across it since and writing this has made me consider taking on a little lockdown cooking challenge to give the dish a go for dinner one night.
Is there a specific event or place you would recommend to go to in Brazil?
Iguazu Falls 100% but make sure to visit both sides if you get the chance! You can book a speed boat ride up close to the falls on the Argentinian side which is super fun (and wet!).
I’d definitely recommend visiting Paraty – despite the tragic tale of my broken toe. It’s a picturesque beach town with so much character. There’s a great walking tour that you can do for free to find out all about the town’s history.
Katie has so much knowledge on travel to share with us so keep an eye out for part two of this interview!
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