Sao Paulo

Well it's Thursday and we spent our first (and only night actually) in Sao Paulo. We left Rio at 10am on a really really really comfortable bus. The seats were huge, te reclined the whole way back. There were foot rests and even complimentry food and drink. If you're travelling long distance in South America, busing is a great and inexpensive way to do it. The scenery on the way was pretty nice, lots of rolling hills, which reminded me of Tuscany. Leaving Rio and again arriving in Sao Paulo, you catch a glimpse of the favelas, and it really is an eye-opening experience. It's hard to explain but the poverty is a little overwhelming. And they go on for miles and miles. It really is incredible.

We hadn't booked anywhere to stay so when we arrived at the bus station, 6 hours later, we hopped on an underground and headed into Jardins, which is listed in the travel books as a nice safe area. We located a hotel in the uide book and decided to stay there, but got off the metro too early and ended up having to walk about 3 miles with 20kg bags on our backs. Not pleasant, but at least we got there.

Sao Paulo is a lovely city. We headed into the centre today and the buildings and streets are rather nice. We've got the rest of the day to explore before we hop on bus number 2 to Fozde Iguacu - a whopping 15 hour journey - I hope this bus is as comfy as the last!