In Passing snapshot - Best Buy copycat

I saw this sign in one of Montevideo's shopping streets. Someone obviously copied the Best Buy tag and translated it. I really do not think that the store actually belongs to Best Buy. So much for being original.

About good and bad taste in houses

I think that architecture is one the arts that influences us the most, since we are surrounded by it and we actually live in it. I´ve always criticised Sao Paulo for being a very ugly city, with few trees and lots of pollution, but Ive noticed that not everyone lives in factory-like buildings like the one above.

There are very few but nice Little middle class houses to be seen, among the clutter or hydro wires that abound in the city. You could argue that its an inevitable consequence of big industrialised cities, but I have to say that if you visit Mexico city for example, that is way bigger that Sao Paulo, you will find whole neighbourhoods filled with nice colonial houses, and even the poorest ones are painted in nice colours.

Sao Paulo´s public transit system

As I mentioned before, when in Sao paulo y stay in the Serra da Cantareira area to avoid the asphyxiating mega city of Sao Paulo, nevertheless I always have to go there at least once. This time I tried the public transport, using the subway and bus system.

I have to say that I´m a big fan of the subway when in a big city, unless you are in the historical part of Rome or Paris, in which case I rather walk. But in any other huge city, the best way to avoid endless traffic jams is to move by subway.

To make it to the subway I had to take these huge accordion buses, that they now use in Sao Paulo. First surprise was the cost. Being used to very cheap bus fares in South America, the bus fare was R3.50, that is 1.20 US which is´nt outrageous, but then there is no transfer, so when I got to the subway I had to pay again, so in the end it cost me the same as in Toronto or New York, the quality of the buses and subway being more or less the same.
Then the bus part was fast when it moved on the exclusive bus lane, but afterwards it got into some endless windy roads that made a 10 click ride into more than an hour long.
People in Brazil are very friendly too and are very helpful when you loose your bearings.

From Montevideo to sao Paulo ... - Rafting at Brotas Sao Paulo state

"50 clicks  N.E from the mega city of Sao Paulo, Brazil is a small colonial town called Brotas, where people normally go to visit its beautiful colonial palaces, remnant of a by gone era of a coffee plantation elite, but also to do water sports at the Jacaré Pepirá River, that runs very close to the town,



One of the fun things to do is "Water rafting" , provided you gather a large enough group to fill a raft. I went with the "Vaca Nautica° operators, right in downtown Brotas. We did 15km stretch an hour and a half. i was very satisfied with the cost benefit, being about 30 bucks a person all inclusive, that is gear ,transportation and even a post trip snack.

From Montevideo to Sao Paulo by land again - Segredos do Mar

I had the chance to drive through the southern part of Brazil by land again and this time I´ve accidentally bumped into this lovely seaside restaurant in Camboriu, called segredos do mar,or secrets of the sea.

Located at Rua 1102, 77, Ilhota, Itapema - Balneário Camboriú, you probably will not find it unless you ask. I was going on the highway whe n we decided to find some quick dinner, and we turned into s side road that lead straight to the ocean, and there it was, very well located with a deck facing the ocean. I owe you the photos of the ocean since it was nighttime and I was kinda tired, so I used the i-pad instead.

Anyway the food was great, we ordered a selection of breaded seafood that was delicious, and the Price was reasonable for its very fancy location.