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I had tried to come to Brasila with an open mind. No one that I talked with at the Convention, Brazilian and non-Brazilian alike, had anything nice to say about the place or the people.
After a day, I pretty much agree about the place but to a lesser degree the people.
Although they aren't generally as smiling and friendly as in other places, I did find some very nice and helpful people.
In the '60's the government decided to build a new capital city from scratch. It was to be a planned city but it has grown rapidly and somewhat chaotically.
It was patterned after Goiania but whereas Goiania has lots of green space and beautiful buildings, Brasilia is basically drab with little of either.
Considering there are very few buildings in the city that are even 50 years old, most are in very poor condition.
Famous architects were hired to design a Cathedral, the Congress (Parliament) building, and a couple of other buildings. These are all actually quite beautiful.
The Congress is the centre point with two long parallel one way avenues acting as a long Boulevard.
The green space between two Avenues is actually brown space. It had the potential to be another Avenue des Champs-Élysées but somewhere along the way someone forgot to add charm and character.
What you do get is a endless line of Government buildings lining both sides of the avenue for blocks. All identical, all looking like Soviet-era tenements.
It appears that most government employees are on strike right now so there wasn't much activity along the way. I don't know what their demands are but I would think not working in drab, decrepit buildings should be one of them.
I did find the Cathedral the most beautiful of the lot. From the outside the design is interesting but it gives no hints as to what you find inside. The interior has stained glass which changes with the sunlight. The picture here is from the interior to give a bit of a taste.
Although quite beautiful, the seating capacity is small and it isn't used much. Along the way someone forgot about the acoustics which it turns out are terrible. You can whisper along the walls at the edge and be heard by someone many meters away also along the wall. But you can't hear the Priest deliver a homily.
Outside the hotel there is a Tourist Centre. So I thought I would inquire about the bus tomorrow. The lady was very helpful but only speaks Portuguese. What she does have is a computer with a translation program on it which works to a degree.
However, it only comes with one keyboard so you are constantly handing it back and forth.
Awhile ago they built a new bus terminal to handle inter-State buses, leaving the old one to handle local ones. It is not uncommon to get delivered to the wrong terminal. She also said I should purchase a ticket today since the buses can get full quickly. Unfortunately, there is no online purchase option.
After awhile she managed to understand what I was trying to accomplish, so she wrote a letter that I could hand to the taxi to make sure I got to the right terminal and to the ticket agent explaining what I needed. It worked well and probably saved some frustration.
I wasn't sure about needing to buy today but I figured I better not take the chance. Everything is predicated on
my getting back to Goiania tomorrow to begin the long, arduous flight process home on Wednesday or sorta Thursday.
Which brings up the points that I don't understand about Brazilian economics:
Why does a bottle of water cost more than a beer?
Why can I eat at a self-serve cafe with a wide variety of dishes for much less than a big Mac costs?
How can it cost more to go get a bus ticket than the bus ticket itself? (Brasilia to Goiana is approximately equal to Calgary-Edmonton but to go "Executive" class is less than $25) Normal would be about half that.
How can it cost $25 to take a bus to Goiania when the 40 minute flight costs $800?
Note:it is far easier to find ATM's than Money exchange places but the ATM's are hit and miss. You do need to make sure that the machine accepts Cirrus or Interact. Not all do even within the same branch. Sometimes it works first try, sometimes it takes a few tries, sometimes you need to try two or three machines before one actually works and sometimes you need to try a few different banks. There is no rhyme nor reason as to when it works and when it doesn't.
I understand that Canadian cards work better than American ones but that just may be an old Traveller's tale. But it would be wise to always have some reals handy since you might not find that machine that will work when you need it. Credit cards generally work but you never know what fees may be added.
Tomorrow back to Goiania. Should be there in time for lunch at my usual place and an evening walk around the Zoo.
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