O Amigo Da Coração (Friend of the Heart)

So after a 20 hour bus ride from the city of São Paulo--which at times resembles a Chinese Megacity with all of the hazy pollution attached--We arrived in Bonito, Mato Grosso do Sul. We were delayed because of a faulty air conditioning system, which resulted in the entire bus being transferred much to the chagrin of the passengers to another working but visibly elder Bus. We traveled for hours until the earth's soil changed from brown to a dark brick red. It was at this point, where the landscape changed from buildings, skyscrapers and concrete, to cows, grass and everlasting horizons when our bus suddenly stopped for an hour to repair a wheel. We finally reached Jardim, Mato Grosso do Sul, we descended the bus and the thick humidity and heat immediately reached our pores. We bought our tickets for the next bus that would take us to Bonito 63 Km away, but had to wait 2 hours before it came. We ate lunch with a Japanese baker, who had been traveling around South America for 10 months out of a 3 year stint of world travel. She spoke little English, nearly no Spanish, and barely any Portuguese, however she was thriftier than us and seemed to have a love for travel and life. We kept a watchful eye on our bags across the street as we ate at a little lunch spot under shady trees. The bus came 1 hour late and we arrived in Bonito in the late afternoon. Bonito is an ecotourism model within Brazil. The city is blessed with amazing natural phenomena in its municipality which it charges tourists an arm and a leg to see. The town has boomed in the last few decades due to a popular soap opera that shot on location in the city. Because of the success of the show Brazilians have come in flocks, however most of the city's roads remain unpaved, and the location is very rural. We caught a taxi to the local swimming hole. A lazy moving river with locals mingling amongst themselves, it would have been a 14 year olds dream. We saw giant blue, green and yellow macaws flying and perching upon trees, as well as drunken grown men drinking cheap Brazilian hooch belting out country songs for which the area is known for. We partook in the drunken activities by buying some cheap booze, beer and heckling with the attractive owner of the bar to buy her establishment. She lived in the Netherlands for 9 years so she spoke English. We jumped, dove, and flipped into the refreshing water continuing with our trends from the trip. Our taxi driver picked us up as negotiated and he dropped us off at a restaurant that specialized in Jacaré, Alligator. We sampled jacaré cooked in various styles and left the restaurant well fed. That night we wandered the lazy city center looking for something to do. We eventually came across a funk party that only accepted cash. -To Be Continued...