Rio and Ouro Preto

We had a print out from the hostel saying that the taxi to it costs R$30, but anywhere we asked we got as high at 75 and as low as 50. I said that it's written 30, I'm not going for any higher than 30. Drivers were talking, negotiating between themselves, and we were already going to take the bus, somebody agreed to go for 30. When we got to the hostel, the owner said that almost nobody does :))
In the morning went to walk in the forest which is right in the city. Walked through a few waterfalls and river crossings, went up some hill to enjoy the views over Rio, and on the way back decided to take a shortcut without any signs, and thank god we didn't get lost :) Somewhere in the middle of the forest, went to eat in the restaurant, and we were so tired, it was getting colder and darker, and had no energy to take all this road to the exit, so instead we caught a ride :) The guy was funny, he was only speaking Portuguese and we barely connected the meaning of what we said. He started playing with his phone, and then called somebody, in the middle of conversation he gave me the phone and said "talk".
um ... hello???
- who are you?
I don't know, I'm just sitting in your friends car. & Who are you??

so we were having a 3 way conversation, where his friend would translate from Portuguese to Spanish and back :) Instead of letting us off at the entrance, he kept on driving and driving, asked where we live, but couldn't understand where it is. Then he got into a garage, and both me and mom started to get a bit nervous. Where are we? Where are we going? ... I live here. hm ... then we got to an elevator, it opened, I said that I'm not going in. But as it turned out, it was an elevator to a street, not a condo, and he basically walked us to the subway station :) And waited until we got on a train :)
The location of the hostel is not very comfortable. It's located in some artsy neighborhood on a hill where no taxi wants to go because they think they'll get lost. Instead there is a little tram that goes from the hill down. But the thing is that this tram is touristic, so it goes super slow, with the driver stopping and explaining what's around. 1st time it was fun, but 2nd, 3rd, and 4th ... I think we need to change hostels!
Next day we went to beautiful botanical gardens. The gardens are huge with a view to the mountain with the Christ on it. Then walked around another beautiful lake with almost everybody doing some sort of sports, and went to another gardens where we saw an armadillo :))
Next day we went to walk in the city center. It's not what mom expected, so she wasn't too happy. Where is all the beauty she wondered? Walked through some modern church, a street market, a park with kind of big squirrels but without tails, then saw some cool library, and more buildings, buildings, buildings. It was Monday, so all the museums were closed, but mom didn't really mind that :)
Went to some crazy expensive buffet. First I thought that I don't understand Portuguese. Regular price buffet is from R$10 - 20/kg. Over 20 is expensive. So I asked how much it is, and she said 67.
What?
-67
67??
-yes, 67. 6.70 for 100 gr.

Holly *&^* !! But then I thought that if it's so expensive, it must be good. So we went :) And it was really good!! So many things that I haven't eaten for the longest time now like white asparagus, brie cheese, calamari, little cabbages, sushi !! yammi yammi :))
In the hostel they said that they're all booked for the next day, so we thought that if we had to pack anyways, it's a good time to go to Ouro Preto, which is a colonial town 6 hours from Rio. Ordered a taxi to the terminal and the driver charged us extra R$1.5 for each suitcase. What??? I told him that in a year of travel nobody charged that not even once. And he said that it's each drivers choice. I would've got out of the taxi, but we were already late. Like really late.
Ouro Preto is nice, it's a little town in the middle of the mountains, and since we were on the hill, we had a full window view on the whole town. so so pretty :) Everything was good, except that I got sick. And to get sick in a hilly town is not a good idea. I would take 5 steps, and sit for 5 minutes relax. And since our hotel was on the very top of the hill, every way up would be a real work out! 1 day in Ouro Preto is more than enough, so next day we went for a little walk in a neighboring town which is less hilly :) There we went to a gold mine, but that wasn't interesting, and it was hot, and we were hungry, and most of the restaurants close at 4, so good luck finding something until dinner time. Trying to get to the bus terminal. There are no taxis going in our area, so we asked the reception to call it. 20 minutes later, there is still no taxi, and our bus leaves in 5 minutes. We're getting very very VERY anxious !! but no choice but wait ... it finally arrived ! As it turns out, this bus terminal is like a minute away from us, just down the hill, although I'm still not sure how we would've gotten down that road with a suitcase.
Back in Rio ... our hotel is steps away from the very famous staircase. The whole steps are decorated in some colorful tiles. Then we went to a very beautiful church. Some ship captain got in a storm, and almost lost his life, and he promised to build a church if he gets home alive. He did, and built one of the most beautiful churches that I've seen. And it's not all religious, it has a lot of paintings from his journey, not only bloody Christ from all angles. Then we went to a super cool free navy museum. It had ships and helicopters, and the coolest of all a submarine!! Not only I've never seen a submarine ever, we got in it too !! :))) I think mom got a bit claustrophobic :)) In the evening went to a very beautiful cafe in some antique style. It was surrounded by huge mirrors and 1800 decor.
Matteus is in Rio !!! so we arranged to meet and go out to Lapa which is a crazy party places. Turns out, our hotel right in the middle of Lapa, you literally get out of the door, and you're already out :)) This place is crazy ! It's a bit scary during the day with all the homeless, and crazy/fun/safe during the night. We didn't want to go to any nightclub, cause they charge entrance fee, and then we'll just get stuck in there. So we danced beside the club :)) We ordered a caipirinya, and I ordered strong one, and the woman didn't even charge anything extra for it! I got drunk from 1/6 of the cup :) In one of the places I wanted to go to the washroom, as always there was a huge lineup to women's washroom, so I stood, and somebody came and asked if I want to dance. I said that I can't dance because I'll lose my place in the lineup. So we danced in the lineup to the washroom :)))
Next day we went up to the mountain with the Christ. It was all right. I've already seen these views, and of course they charge like crazy to go see it. And the whole city was in smog the whole time we've been there. Need to get better pictures from internet :) Above it, I felt very bad on the top, and I didn't have any pain killers with me, and there are no pharmacies on the top. So I asked some workers in the stores, apparently to get pills is not that difficult, lucky me! :)
In the evening went to a Romeo and Juliet opera in a beautiful opera house, for only $12! The play was ok, but it was looooooooooong 4 hours !! And we sat in a place from where we couldn't see about 1/4 of the stage. I liked 2 acts only where she's debating whether to take the poison or not, and when he took it, and she came back alive. But I don't think I'll be going to opera again. This is not something I'm willing to try 2nd time just to make sure :))
Things are changing slowly but surely. When I started traveling, I hand washed everything, I thought to myself, what am I crazy to pay $3 for a wash, I'd rather hand wash. Now, our hotel is in not a touristic area, and there is no per kilo wash, only some expensive wash by load. So now I'm thinking, what am I crazy to hand wash, I'd rather pay $15 for a normal laundry :)
Next day we walked on the beach, and nope, still didn't see hot Brazilian guys or girls. Maybe it's all hidden under the cloths, and it wasn't really a swimming weather :)
Next day we were leaving, but decided to go up the sugar loaf mountain. I think I got used to the views already ... why, is it supposed to look any different than that? :) We were in the hurry again to catch the boat from a town which is 2 hours away, so we got a taxi there, a taxi back, and a taxi to the terminal, it was an expensive day! When we got to the terminal the total was R$33, and the driver said, just give me 30. Really? That coming from a taxi driver??!! I must be dreaming !! :)

pix at http://picasaweb.google.com/evadikushin501/RioAndOuroPreto#