sun paulo (phonetically)

yay for couchsurfing! we arrived at 5 in the morning, but our host told us to please not come until 8. so we internetted some and then headed off to find leo. we were welcomed with a delicious international breakfast prepared by fatima and luciane (leo's mother), and we got settled in their very nice tv/living room. we spent the day on a food binge, going first to the main square (se) and from there to china/japan town and then the municipal market.

liberdade, the china/japan part of town, was smaller than we expected, but the shops were filled with asian goodness. we ate a yummy japanese shrimp fritter thing and i finally had some of the brazilian acai (icy purple fruit slush with granola and bananas). we then headed off to the municipal market, the road to which was filled with junk selling stores and millions of colourful street vendors. it was chaotic and fun to walk down and look at all the people. when we finally arrived the market was slowly closing down, but we had some delicious dried tomatoes and figs and looked at the stalls filled with cheeses, dried fruits, olives, and the exotic fruits like dragon fruit and star fruit. in the evening we went out with leo and his friend patrick to a bar in town and exchanged couchsurfing stories.

the next day went quickly> we slept long, wasted time online, and then went to the rodoviaria to buy sm's ticket to montevideo. by the time all that was done and i was showered, i had to leave. leave brazil. end the trip. waaaah.

sm brought be to the airport bus and i made it to the airport on time (forgetting only the charger and extra battery of my camera). there i did the usual> get fined. i seem to be skilled at that. i was told by the airport official that while i only had a 30 day visa, i had stayed in brazil for 47 days. oooops. so when i come back i have a delicious fine waiting for me.

the flight was enjoyable, with personal tvs where you can choose which movie to watch! meaning i hardly slept... after a looong time i arrived in edmonton, excited as can be, and picked up by auntie gail. the south america trip is over, but a new adventure called CANADA is about to begin.