Brazil, part 2
Yesterday I left the guesthouse for the first time, as Ollie and Kevin had some urgent business (ie. Kevin needed his hair cut and Ollie needed to shout at a dentist in Portuguese) in the nearest big town, Cambui.
The bus was a proper white knuckle ride. It had zero suspension and every time we went over a lump in the road I actually felt like my stomach was going to come out the top of my head. The bus driver seemed determined to add to this effect by driving as fast as is physically possible in such a dilapidated automobile. I reached Cambui in a state of nervous exhaustion, but none of the other passengers seemed to think anything was amiss.
Ollie's brother had informed Ollie that there was a Rock Bar in Cambui which had bands called things like Santa Death and Demonic Menstruation playing. We tried to find this establishment but got a bit lost down a back alley and only found warehouses and places where people might keep their horses. So we gave up and tried to find an Ordinary Bar instead. But they were all closed because it was lunchtime and Brazilians only drink at night. During the day Brazilians sit around on benches in the town square and eat ice cream and talk in Portuguese, so we did that instead. Well, two of those things, I still can't speak Portuguese. I had a lurid purple ice cream flavoured with a traditional Brazilian fruit that Ollie's mum makes a pungent liqueur out of. It is called something like "jubajuana" . Then we walked to the only open bar in town, which is actually a cafe in a petrol station with a fridge full of beers. You can take a seat outside and watch people filling up their petrol tanks. I had a beer from the only craft beer brewery in Brazil, which is called Baden Baden (wasn't that the place all the WAGs were hanging out at the German World Cup?) While Shepherd Neame have a beer called 1698 and Fullers have one called 1845 named after the year they opened, Baden Baden have one called 1999. Their beers are actually very nice but they cost a fucking fortune, like 15 Brazilian Thingies or five quid when all the other beers are two Brazilian Thingies.
We saw a couple of stray horses on the way back, coupled with a boy on a horse who was looking for a horse. Apparently if a stray horse gets into your property and causes damage, you can sue them, but you are only likely to win a horse. Surely that would be the last thing that you wanted?
The bus was a proper white knuckle ride. It had zero suspension and every time we went over a lump in the road I actually felt like my stomach was going to come out the top of my head. The bus driver seemed determined to add to this effect by driving as fast as is physically possible in such a dilapidated automobile. I reached Cambui in a state of nervous exhaustion, but none of the other passengers seemed to think anything was amiss.
Ollie's brother had informed Ollie that there was a Rock Bar in Cambui which had bands called things like Santa Death and Demonic Menstruation playing. We tried to find this establishment but got a bit lost down a back alley and only found warehouses and places where people might keep their horses. So we gave up and tried to find an Ordinary Bar instead. But they were all closed because it was lunchtime and Brazilians only drink at night. During the day Brazilians sit around on benches in the town square and eat ice cream and talk in Portuguese, so we did that instead. Well, two of those things, I still can't speak Portuguese. I had a lurid purple ice cream flavoured with a traditional Brazilian fruit that Ollie's mum makes a pungent liqueur out of. It is called something like "jubajuana" . Then we walked to the only open bar in town, which is actually a cafe in a petrol station with a fridge full of beers. You can take a seat outside and watch people filling up their petrol tanks. I had a beer from the only craft beer brewery in Brazil, which is called Baden Baden (wasn't that the place all the WAGs were hanging out at the German World Cup?) While Shepherd Neame have a beer called 1698 and Fullers have one called 1845 named after the year they opened, Baden Baden have one called 1999. Their beers are actually very nice but they cost a fucking fortune, like 15 Brazilian Thingies or five quid when all the other beers are two Brazilian Thingies.
We saw a couple of stray horses on the way back, coupled with a boy on a horse who was looking for a horse. Apparently if a stray horse gets into your property and causes damage, you can sue them, but you are only likely to win a horse. Surely that would be the last thing that you wanted?