Sao Paulo Zoo is set in one of the biggest green areas in Sao Paulo, of which there aren’t that many. The zoo itself is beautifully kept with a vast array of animals: from predators and reptiles to mammals and birds. We spent a good four hours walking around the zoo, checking everything out, we even had a tropical downpour half way through the afternoon, which gave the lush, tropical vegetation an even more authentic feel.

On the way back from the Sao Paulo Zoo we passed by an area of favelas and I managed to get a few shots on the EOS. Favelas are areas of unplanned housing where people on low or no income live and build their own dwellings out of pretty much anything they can find.

We spent our forth day in Sao Paulo walking around the old city centre and visiting Pinacoteca. The museum is set in a restored building by the architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha. There is some amazing artwork inside, both Brazilian and international, combined with an inspiring physical structure to the building. They had an exhibit on the works of Margaret Mee, an English artist who painted plants, particularly from the Amazon. They also had some pretty cool modern art pieces (see the photos below).

After visiting the Pinacoteca, we headed over to the old centre (centro velho) and walked around the streets looking at the architecture and trying to avoid being mugged. The area is very run down and the streets are full of homeless people and kids sniffing glue etc. Not particularly nice, but interesting to see all the same. The area is slowly being restored, but still needs a lot more attention. It was probably the place I have felt most on edge on any visit to Brazil and you had that feeling that at any time someone could jump you on the next corner. As a precaution I didn’t use the Canon EOS and opted for the more compact Pentax point and shoot camera.

There are a few pictures below.

Day 3 was pretty low key, we relaxed at home, took in a little sun and then eventually wandered out to do a little shopping at the local fruit and veg street market. The market or feira (in portguese) had a vast array of fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices being sold by local people. The thing I particularly like is that you can get stuff that you can’t get in the UK and also the quality is generally better, the experience unique and the prices are cheap. We returned home with mangos, pineapples, grapes and had ourselves a veritable fruit fest!

Day two was actually spent chilling out and going for a run, but that isn’t particularly ground-breaking news, so for story-telling purposes, here we are on day two instead of day three.

After a healthy breakfast of cereal, tea (I brought 2 packs with me knowing the tea aboard is poo) and enough water melon and mango to sink a small ship, we set off to see Parc do Ibirapuera. It is a park in the centre of Sao Paulo with lots of open, green space and cool architecture by Oscar Niemayer (the architect who designed the city of Brasilia). We walked around, enjoyed the sunshine, views and various wildlife in the park.

In the evening we went over to visit Rosana’s auntie in an area called Bela Vista. We had a little supper and then headed around the corner to watch Vai Vai samba school perform their last rehearsal before carnaval. The rehearsal consisted of the bateria (drums) performing on stage outside to an audience in the region of 5000 people, who gathered in the street. There were stools selling everything from beer and caipirinhas to hot dogs and t-shirts. In the Samba hall (kind of like a club house), the girls were parading around and showing off their outfits and having interviews with the local press.

Vai Vai eventually came second in the carnaval this year, but in recent years have won it on numerous times. It was an interesting experience, and for me, probably better than carnaval (which I watched on TV) as it wasn’t as intense and crowded as the real thing, but fun all the same.

After meeting Rosana’s mum for the first time and having a chat and time to settle in, we made our way into the city (it is massive – 20 million people in the greater Sao Paulo area). We had a look around the grounds of Museo do Ipiranga, a nice old colonial-style building with tropical gardens and statues. Afterwards we crossed the road and walked down a wide pedestrianised boulevard where there was a bunch of guys skateboarding (longboard style). They were cruising down the hill pretty fast, pulling various tricks and stunts (see picture below) not unlike walking the nose in surfing.

In the evening we went to a local Churrascaria (a meat restaurant where you pay a set price and they keep feeding you until you can’t eat anymore). We had a feast for 3 people with various meats including Picanha (my favourite).

All in all a pretty eventful first day!