So, it’s been a bit since I’ve made an update here, and a bit has happened. I left Argentina and spent two weeks in Uruguay, then went to Brazil and partied it up in Rio over carnival, then moved along the coast to São Paulo, where I am now. It’s been pretty crazy, very full on and taking some time to recover now. I definitely need it.

Uruguay was pretty cool, started in the old city of Colonia del Sacramento. It was quite pretty there, and a nice change of pace. From Colonia, it was onto Montevedio, which is a cute, but small city, especially after Buenos Aires. Afterwards I spent a couple of nights in Punta del Este, and found that very built up and not too nice, so moved onto Jose Ignacio, which is a small beach town where apparently the wealthy moved to after Este became too busy. I spent 5 days there, there were nice beaches and the food was good. Uruguay was a great place, albeit a bit expensive. It’s also interesting to see how Uruguay is so similar, yet slightly different to Argentina, some names of things changed but similar accents food.

Brazil, however is a completely different story. Carnival was a crazy time, moving from bloco to bloco. I was lucky enough to meet some people at my hostel and tag along with them to the events. Generally we started the day with 8 people, but it grew as the day went on. I think at one stage we had 15 with us. It was a crazy event, where you went out shirtless and in shorts, and came back soaked in sweat as if you had just been swimming. And after the day events, the whole group was whacked, I don’t know how people went out afterwards. The Brazilians are built differently.

While not in carnival, I did some touring of Rio, saw Christ and Sugarloaf mountain. It is quite a pretty city, with some stunning geography. I went to Ilha Grande after, a tourist island without cars that feels like stepping back in time. It is one of the prettiest places I’ve ever been, literally like somewhere out of a stranded tropical island movie. Went to Paraty and Ilhabela as well, but in comparison, they weren’t as notable.

Currently, I’m in São Paulo, taking some time off in an Airbnb, needing some space to myself after 3 months. It’s been raining a bunch, although I’ve been very happy lounging around in my apartment, taking some time off from travelling. I seem to be in a good area, relatively safe with some good food nearby. Tomorrow I’m heading to D.O.M, a local 2 star restaurant, which I’ve been told about as very good and affordable for what it is. I’m pretty excited for that, first time going to such a place.

Plus, I have a friend coming to visit me for 10 days soon, so going to be travelling with them for a little. Looking forward to having someone with whom I’m familiar with me, as fun as meeting new people is, it can be a little draining. All in all, I still think I’m doing well, but still happy to take some time off to do something different. It’s not all about touring and seeing everything.