Afraid of Bugs – Tales from the Homestead of Casa Chihuahua

One day at a time…

This is the really bad thing about not writing about a trip as it’s happening. The memories fade and blur…the things that impacted you in the moment don’t quite hold up…but hopefully I can do the next leg of my trip some justice and not just gloss over the experience……

The night of the 4th day we flew to Rio de Janeiro. Rio was in the midst of a Dengue Fever outbreak so we’d all been advised to treat all exposed skin with Deet. I was worried about using something on my skin that was strong enough to dissolve plastic– but gave in and used it while there. We stayed at the Pestana Rio Hotel right on Copacabana Beach. It was a older, slightly run down hotel – probably not redecorated since the 60’s – but we could walk across the street and be right on the beach. Here are a few shots out of my hotel window and along the beach in the morning.

Early morning soccer practice on the beach.

Sunrise from the hotel window.

Looking down the main road in front of the hotel with Copacabana beach directly to the left. On Sundays the entire road is closed down to allow for public use.

I had to stick my feet in the water just once before we left.

Since the time in Rio was “free time” a smaller group of us headed off to the neighborhood of Santa Teresa. It was once a very wealthy neighborhood with Mansions and incredible estates but fell out of fashion as people moved back down towards the beach areas. Many of the houses are still standing and are now occupied by foreign owned B&B’s and artist studios. The area is full of cute little shops and restaurants and the views up here are gorgeous and there is also a tram that was built in 1896 that still runs to the top of the hill from the city centere. One of our local guides told us that while the area is turning around and is becoming a tourist destination it’s still quiet dangerous as it’s between 2 rough areas and sometime Santa Teresa gets caught in the middle of it all. Here are a few shots.

Along the tram tracks – the ever present mix of old and new.

The tram stopping in the heart of Santa Teresa and a shot of the main intersection.

Pictorial tiles in the parking area of a house in Santa Teresa.

Copacabana stencil art up in Santa Teresa.

A good use of nature, decay and graffiti….

One of the many multi colored post boxes in Santa Teresa.

The afternoon was spent shopping in Impanema and Copacabana. There were lots of surf shops and I got to check out my favorite Brazilian designer, Osklen. I was hoping to snag another pair of shoes made out of their signature Tilapia skin but they only had the 2 styles I’ve already bought – I guess another reason to go back in a year?! Here’s some more shots from the beach areas-

One of the many coconut and caipirinha stands along the beach

Bonfin da Bahia – wish ribbons.

Yes, I need to post

• The rest of my South American Trip
• Peach & Little Peaches and E.A.C.O’s visit to Disneyland
• Our amazing trip to Anguilla
  

But first I have to just share this…Jack’s new toupe…he looks a bit like a young Andy Warhol?

He claimed he didn’t mind being bald but I think L.A. is getting to him and he’s going Hollywood on us – next i suspect he’s going to want to get veneers on his 2 good teeth…

Sao Paulo

My trip started off in Sao Paulo, Brazil – where I got to do a little shopping and a lot of good eating.

The first night was spent at the Skye Bar on the rooftop of the Unique Hotel. They served us a series of appetizers and small plates- but seriously – every single thing they served was mostly made of cheese (I was in heaven). One thing they put out was a bowl full of giant hunks of Parmesan and a bowl of honey and balsamic…yum. There was also the national treasure, cheese bread or Pao de queijo that was present at every single meal…you got really sick of them after a few days, but i have to say i miss them right now.

Outside the Unique

Inside my room – check out the round windows -and the blinds were automatically controlled by a panel beside the bed. There were also buttons to call the bellman and to unlock your door (without getting out of bed) – yikes.

A blurry view from the roof of the hotel.

The first full day was spent in the office – but dinner was at a wonderful (probably my favorite of the trip) restaurant, Capim Santo. The seating was all outside and it hosted a cooking school on the second floor. Pretty much everything they served was amazing – I only have one photo from dinner -

I guess it’s one of their signature things – little spoons with different flavors of (I think) dulce de leche – whatever they were, it was yummy.

One of the little sitting areas outside the restaurant

Had to share this – in my room there was a large glass window between the bed area and the bathroom, however the opened up with the slightest touch, It freaked me out the first time if sprang up – but it sure made it easy to jump from the bed into the tub.

Another funny thing in the room – my little glowing wall – of course controlled by the star trek panel of buttons by the bed,

Our second day was spent exploring boutiques in the Jardins neighborhood. There were lots of wonderful little stores – one neat thing was nearly every store had an inside courtyard garden. Here are a few shots from that morning.

The Garden behind the Melissa Store

The local Pots & Pans store.

And just incase you need a rubber pig – he’s got ‘em.

Outside one of the little stores….

The changing room – complete with your own sound system and leather couch

And the Koi pond in front of the changing room..

One last shot of the courtyard…

Lunch was at a special place called A.Figueira. They specialized in meat – but I was more than happy with what they brought me….and lunch was followed by one the best and biggest desert buffets I’ve ever seen. What made the place really special however was the giant and most likely very old tree that stood in the middle of the place.

They had built out the roof in these weird flexible glass and plastic panels to accommodate the trees growth and in areas they had built walls up and around the limbs – very kooky and neat. Just a few quick shots – sorry I don’t have a desert buffet photo to share…you’ll just have to go there one day yourself to see it….

After lunch – (still with me -we’re only on day 2 remember?) – we headed over to another part of the city to have a tour of an amazing alley that is covered in some of the most beautiful graffiti. It’s really treated like an art form here – its typically not political or gang related – just really inspired. It went on for a few blocks, but it was everywhere you looked. Many of the artist who have painted here have been commissioned to do high end boutiques and even travel all over the world to work. Here are some shots from the alley.

We then wandered over to another alley that had been painted out in white – where we got the opportunity to partner with a master artist and his apprentice to create our own piece of art. One of the master artists, Boleta (more here) gave us all a tutorial on how to sketch out your idea and how to fill and highlight a piece….it was fantastic watching him and the other artists work. We spent over 5 hours painting while a DJ played great Brazilian music. They had put a large plastic tarp over the alley, in case it started to rain, but at one point in the late afternoon one of the guys jumped on a ladder and cut a huge opening in tarp right above our area because the paint fumes were so out of control…..i’m sure I was high as a kite and didn’t realize it..however judging by our “art” we clearly weren’t in our right minds.

The apprentices getting briefed on how to work with a bunch of goofs like us.

Boleta sketching out his piece

Everyone starting their area…

Some of the real artists at work..

What I worked on with my team – the guy up front with the tee on his head was our master artist and the guy in the brown shirt was his apprentice – they both were really good and very patient with us considering we had no idea what we were doing.

the alley almost done.

one of the master artists finishing off one of the pieces

Here is Boleta’s flower when he was done.

After a full day and many lost braincells thanks to the spray paint, we walked over to a local pub, Café Boteco and had a nice low-key dinner…..

Okay – I’m going to stop there for now….I owe you one more day in Sao Paulo which ended in me getting on a plane for Rio…..but that will have to wait for another day…

Oskar and Auntie Heather