Have left São Pau for now, but here's a few reflections:
20mil odd people. Huge spread. Concrete almost everywhere. Handful of parks. Properly urban. Some of the best nightlife in the southern hemisphere. Rich in culture, food and people. They're supposed to be cold compared to the rest of Brazil. Wasn't my experience. But maybe as I move around now I'll see what was meant by that. Felt like SP was a crash course in many aspects of life. Things move fast. People party hard. Easy to get lost. I did for a while. The shroom trip pulled me back. Its the first big city I've been to in the last decade or so that didn't feel heavy to me. On the plane there I was sat next to a woman and we ended up talking for almost the whole flight. Among other things she seemed to be bent on making me nervous about all the bad things that could happen. 'don't have your phone in your hand out in the street,' 'wear your backpack on your front' etc etc. And it worked. The first night I stayed downtown and as we drove through the streets all I could see was hookers and drug goblins. When her boyfriend dropped me off at the hotel right in the middle of all that I was nervous to even go from the car to the hotel door. Woke up the next morning and looked out the window down at the street waiting to see if it looked safe enough. 'take an uber everywhere you go' she said. But after 5 mins of looking out, there was a guy with his phone out and a backpack on his back. There was another one. And a school kid doing the same... Shit, mountains out of molehills. I go out. End up walking to avenida Paulista. The commercial centre. SP's Oxford Street. Its full. The roads are all pedestrianised and the roadside on both sides were strewn with people selling handmade shit, food, bands and djs. It was like a festival. I asked someone if it was a special day and they said no, it's just what they do on Sundays. This was my first real impression of the city. Ended up dancing to some house at a little tent and meeting a few people who recommended some good clubs to check. I never went back there on a Sunday but the impression it left was enough for me to know that this place was a bit different to what I'm used to and put wind in my sails. First area I stayed for a longer stretch was vila Mariana. A quiet, leafy pocket in the south east near the biggest park in the city. That was nice and quaint but a little too out of the way so after a month I moved more central to an area called barra Funda. That was more like it. Gritty urbanism, no frills, known to be dangerous. My apt had this great view I posted in the Depths thread which was a lush forest canopy flanked to the left by some huge multistory tower blocks which looked like a forest too. The contrast was fantastic. Kind of thing I'd always dreamed of having as a view from a young age. Right outside the window of the balcony was an overpass which after 6pm and all day on weekends was pedestrianised and people would walk their dogs, skate, hang out and smoke weed etc. In combo with the night temp being so good, it was often busy and it felt like a city that belonged to the people instead of the other way around.
There's quite a lot of uneven surfaces in the city. Some fairly steep hills. In combination with the torrential rains and the trees which line many of the streets, there's a real sense of chaos. It used to be jungle. In many ways it still is. Sometimes huge trees will fall into the middle of the road. Often the tree roots will force their way through the asphalt and start to consume the streets leaved a knarled and crumbling piece of road looking like a half eaten sandwich. Often you need to watch where you're stepping because of this. It all adds to the sense of wildness.
I never had one run in with danger. Even when sourcing substances in dodgy areas I'd been warned about. Never saw a fight or anything close to one. Plenty of places in the UK feel way more menacing to me. Obviously you avoid certain areas. But at times I found myself walking through favelas and all was good. I think the people who end up getting fucked with tend to look like easy targets anyway. Look like you know where you're going. I will just add though, that the homeless population is huge there. Maybe the hardest thing to face on a daily basis. But, they do seem to stick together. Sometimes whole communities of them all hanging out and seemingly helping each other out. Idk, felt different to what I'd seen in other parts of the world.
Musically they have venues all over the city. Their own home grown stuff, samba schools, jazz, a lot of rock. The club scene is pretty damn good, I have to say. Big gay scene which always helps in that regard. Gotta give it to the Brazilians. They know how to party. But the drugs all flow a little too freely and as I mentioned it's easy to go overboard when the potent stuff costs a 5th of what it does in the UK. A lot of people told me about seeing gringos laid to waste, especially during carnival.
Oh yeah, carnival. It's focused over a weekend but the lead-up of preparties is about a month and then the other side is another month of after parties too. SP is not as famous as Rio or Salvador for it but everyone says it's growing and this year was the biggest so far. You have the famous floats and dancers all up at the samba drome which is basically a tiered seating avenue purposely built for the occasion where you pay to go and watch and see all that. But the real action is in the block parties which are dotted all over the place. Some themed, some more chill, lots totally bonkers. They can be a store with a PA set up outside playing tunes, to a float or two parading down a street with 30k people in tow all drunk and high as hell singing along. You have to be careful there though as you can get a bit too carried away and all of a sudden you've been relieved of your possessions. Nothing happened to me though. Never in my life have I been surrounded by so many people all on the same vibe, full of life and love. And the rumours are true. People will come up to you and ask for a kiss no questions asked. Hot brasilian women just like 'c'mere you!' A lot of babies are born in november/December lol. When in Rome.
But, now after having been there almost 6months it felt like it was time to see something new so I hit the coast. Shits like chalk n cheese. SP state isn't so famous internationally for its coastline but wow. Little pockets of heaven to be found all the way up to the next state. People on a different tip as per when you're by water. Lush greens, golden sands and turquoise waters. I'm determined to get a snap of a toucan for luka. There's sloths about too. Going on a big hike tomorrow. Maybe I'll be lucky then..
Moral of the story: don't let sensationalist press put you off checking out places like this.