CURITIBA & IHLA DO MEL - BRAZIL

Firstly as a brief one day visit and later for a more extended period of time, I found Curitiba to be quite unlike most Brazillian cities which I visited. Despite not containing any amazing `sites of interest`, the city seemed to function almost like clockwork (despite having a population of around 3 million) and I often felt like I was travelling in Europe rather than Brazil. From the super-advanced bus stations and excellent public transport system to the squeaky clean streets, Curitiba was at the very least, pleasant to wander around in and very safe from all apearances.

During my first (1-day) visit to Curitiba, I spent the majority of my time just wandering around, checking out various ´important´ buildings and sites around the city centre. I was surprised at just how far the city sprawled as was evident from the views I was presented with from the top of the citys tallest building. However, apart from a few architecturally unique buildings, various parks and a few museums and universities, the city didn`t appear to offer anything particularly amazing to the `tourist`.

Consequently I left Curitiba very early on my second day and took the famous Curitiba-Paranagua train which made it`s way firstly through the suburbs of Curitiba and then down through the rainforest covered mountains to the Brazillian coast. This trip was quite amazing and definately one of the highlights of my visit to Brazil. The mountain scenery along the way was spectacular and I got many great photos, despite having to lean across people and stick my camera at precarious angles outside of the train window. Along the way to Paranagua, I met a number of other english speaking peoples and once in Paranagua, teamed up with Marika, a girl from Canada and we set about exploring parts of the city and surrounding small towns.

Paranagua was one of my favourite towns in Brazil, not because it had a lot to offer but I really enjoyed its `unpolished´ appearance and `rawness´. On the same afternoon that we arrived, Marika and I wandered around the city and got some nice photos of the harbour area. Early the next morning we took a boat to Ihla do Mel, a pristine island not far off the coast. By far the best aspect of the island (in my opinion) was that it had yet to be swamped with cafès, hotels and other tourist services and I really enjoyed the tranquillity and isolation of the island. However, the searing heat and lack of shade meant that after a few hours wandering along some of the many beautiful beaches on the island, we were in need of some rest and so returned to the mainland before taking an evening bus back to Curitiba.

After toying with a few ideas, I eventually decided to stay a few more days in Curitiba, primarily to catch up with a friend (Bruna) whom I had met in Camboriù during Carnival but also so as to spend the weekend in a reasonably large centre where I might at least enjoy some favourable nightlife. Thankfully I wasn`t dissapointed and ventured out on both the Friday and Saturday nights to small pubs with live music. Although not the most exciting nightlife I had experienced in Brazil, my weekend in Curitiba was still most enjoyable and it was nice to just enjoy the city and a few days without moving around at a frantic pace.

Photo 1: The famous glasshouse in Curitiba (nowhere near as big as it appears !)
Photos 2-9: Magnificent mountain scenery on the train from Curitiba to Paranagua.
Photos 10&11: Seaside shots in a small town close to Paranagua.
Photos 12-14: Boats moored in the Paranagua harbour.
Photos 15-18: Beautiful beaches on Ihla do Mel.