With COVID going on tons of countries have closed their borders not allowing anyone to enter their country. Sam and I were supposed to go to Australia this summer but sadly had to cancel because we weren't allowed in. We were on Google flights and saw that Brazil was open for tourist to help their economy. They got rid of the visa requirement to make it easier for people to come in. When Sam and I saw a deal on Google Flights we decided we needed to go. Ava and Jansen booked tickets as well!
The flight to Brazil was no joke. We flew from HNL to San Diego to LAX to Sau Paulo. We had a full itinerary for Brazil we wanted to make the most of our 8 days there. Our first stop was Sau Paulo. We landed super jet-legged and hungry after over 24 hours of traveling. We didn't know what time it was or what was going on. We were scammed into jumping into the first taxi cab we saw. The gentleman was super excited to have Americans in his car he was talking nonstop. We told him we needed to get a SIM card for our phone because our American ones didn't work in Brazil. He told us he would take us to get one. Which he did not. Instead, he took us to a Market where we got lunch. We were thrilled about that because we were starving. We had yummy pastels. But what we didn't know was that he was going to make us pay for his lunch. After he dropped us off at the botanical garden made us give him 80 American dollars and drove off. We had no cell service or any idea where we were at. We were so tired we took a nap on a patch of grass in the garden.
Once we regained our strength we started wandering the streets asking everyone we passed where we could get wifi. Nobody understood anything we were saying. We asked one kid where McDonnalds was because McDonnalds always has free wifi. He looked at us and said "McDonnnalds?" in his cute accent. He had no idea what we were talking about. We probably walked for 3 hours before coming to a grocery store. Once there we found a nice man named Sam who helped us get a SIM card. I guess for Brazil you need to have an ID number to register a SIM card. We would have never survived without Sam helping us. He registered a new card for us with his number. We went to an old gross hostel that night and passed out. We did however pass the temple while wondering around!
The next morning we flew to Rio! Rio was gold in my eyes. The city is surrounded by hills and right in the center of the city is Christ the Redeemer. We got started right away hitting all the spots we wanted to see. We went to Sugar Loaf Mountain to get a view of the city. The clouds cleared up and we were able to see Jesus! He brought tears to my eyes. Jesus is such a site to see in this wild city.
Rio was everything and more I could have ever imagined. We had some of the best Acai ever! I think it's the only thing Ava and I ate. We spent a day by the ocean. Although the water was freezing cold. We didn't get it. While were laying on the sand a lady was dancing around us shaking her hips and body while singing "acai, acaci, get your acai," and she literally would not leave. She was driving us crazy.
We also took the funicular up to see Christ the Reedember. Christ was so beautiful we could have stayed up there all day looking at him. We had the best view of the city as well from above.
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We saw a big mural of Trump by the famous Rio Stairs. We also watched the sunset from a lookout point over the city. We also saw the amazing sunrise of the city the next morning. Sam was feeling the jet lag hard. Anytime we had the chance to sit he was sleeping.
Our next stop was Iguazu Falls! This place borders Argentina and Uraguay. The falls are some of the most magnificent falls I have ever seen. We stayed at the Belmont Hotel. On our way, we stopped on the side of the road to see tons of butterflies!
The Belmont Hotel is a 5-star hotel that sits right by the falls. We had private access to the waterfall before it opened and after it closed. I think we were the only ones who were staying there because of COVID. We had a buffet complimentary breakfast that had the most amazing fruit and food. We were eating like kings and queens. I had no idea how much this place cost because Sam said he was going to cover it. I can imagine it wasn't cheap. We snuck down some stairs one afternoon to jump into the falls on the Argentina side. It was seriously so hot that afternoon that the freshwater felt good. All of us were dripping with sweat.
We then flew to Manaus the next day to see the Amazon Rain Forest and swim with pink dolphins. Ava and I were super mad at Sam that morning because as we were getting on the airplane he was trying to find us a place to stay and tour the Amazon. We were upset because we spent a lot of money to come to Manuus for a day and because he procrastinated we weren't going to see anything. Thankfully something opened up and we hoped on a tour right then.
We had a tour guide who was telling us way too many facts while we were on the river. We were sitting at a table in the shade waiting for our turn to swim with the dolphins but we were too tired to listen we passed out while he was talking. Sam was trying to be kind and stay awake. We didn't fully wake up till we were in the Amazon with the Dolphins. The dolphins were going crazy. We were told not to make a sound but they were swimming in between our legs and jumping out of the water around us we couldn't help but squeal. It was hilarious. The guide kept saying shhh shhhh. No way could we be quiet though. The pink dolphins were a hit!
The afternoon part of the tour was spent with some indigenous people. We ate bugs, got our faces painted, and danced with them. They were basically walking around naked and it was the craziest thing ever. Ava was laughing so hard as they were spinning her around. We ended the night watching the Sunset from our hotel infinity pool that overlooked the river. So stunning.
We ended with a quick pit stop in Brasilia. We wanted to explore the city a little bit and see a really cool waterfall. We had an 8-hour layover. So we called an Uber to take us to the waterfall. We climbed in and drove by roads that were on fire because of how hot it was outside. We could see the steam coming off of the roads. We suffered in this tiny car for over 2 hours to be turned away at the waterfall due to it being closed. What a waste of money.
Brazil I will love you till the day I die. You are my heart! We caught a total of 14 airplanes during our itinerary. It was a wild adventure I will never forget you Brazil you gave us the best food, activities, and company. Obrigado Brazil!
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