sucuri
Well-known member
So here's a quick run-down on what I have learned living on the streets and river banks of Brazil for three years. In case anybody's interested.
I. Hitchhiking
Easy anywhere north of Brasília. Once you cross the imaginary line somewhere near Goiânia and set your sights on São Paulo or Rio, you'll have a hard time (speaking from solo male hitcher point of view). When in the south or SP-Rio areas, avoid federal highways at all costs (anything that starts with BR, ex. BR-130). Take the state roads, which start with the postal code of the state (ex, state of Rio Grande do Sul is RS, hence, RS-150). If you are forced to take federal highways than don't waste your time waiting on the side of the highway. Walk to a Petrobras truck stop and ask everyone that pulls in for a ride. North of Brasília is fine. There are a lot of privately-owned small buses (look for a big COOAP sticker on the side) usually Volaré brand. They'll give you free ride from town to town usually, all you do is flag them down and ask. Especially common on the TransAmazônica (BR-230) and Maranhão.
In much of the Amazon there are no roads, but there IS a road connection from Porto Velho to Manaus (BR-319) but it has been largely abandoned for 25 years. There is still sporadic traffic due to the Ebratel fiber optic cable that runs through there and the "bridges" (just some boards over a hole) are mantained by Embratel. You can hitch rides with their trucks and occasionally some private traffic is there. You can sleep up in the Embratel towers, there's always holes in the fence and you can climb all the way up to the top, it's like 500 feet and really awesome, just a sea of green everywhere around you. Regular traffic as far as Realidade if you're heading north, and the ferry (free for pedestrians) at Igapó-Açú if you're heading south. Using this road you can get from Venezuela all the way to Porto Alegre without paying for a single boat ticket.
The passenger boats in the Amazon will almost never give rides. Forget it. Try the cargo ferrys (from Manaus they leave from the Distrito Industrial, from Porto Velho from the ferry port right next to the new bridge, and from Santarém from near the Cargill docks and the old Docas do Pará). You can also try locals with little motorized canoes, little by little. But it'll take forever and you need good Portuguese.
II. Cash on the streets
If you're a busker you'll usually make more riding the buses in the big capitals than squatting on a street corner. Ask the driver if you can get on for free and play music, they will usually let you. Also try outdoor resturaunts, passing around a hat after some introductory words and a song or three.
If you can weave bracelets and make earrings and stuff like that you'll sell plenty but you have to go after the people, look for outdoor bars and resturaunts with tables everywhere outside and weave around through those. You should learn the phrase, "Pois então, não quer dar uma força pro viagem?" meaning, well then you don't want to help out a little? For the trip? Use that if they don't buy. You'll usually net a real or two.
III. Grub
Asking for leftovers in resturaunts works well just about everywhere. If you can make something, offer to trade for some rice, they'll rarely accept whatever it is but will usually give you a heaping plate. This works especially well at highway truck stops with buffets. Or you can try buying a packet of pasta and asking them to cook it for you. Usually they just give you food after you ask.
IV. Crash Pads
In town, head for the main plaza. Set up the tent in the grass or sling a hammock between the trees. No one will bother you and it's well-lighted. Gas stations inside the city are a no-go but the ones on the outskirts are fine. And don't forget the bus terminals, 24-hours and no one's allowed to kick you out. Some won't let you sling a hammock though, but you can crash on the benches, they don't have those stupid arm rests and you can strech out, it's great.
V. Boozing / Toking
The cheapest way to get drunk is with the little half-liter grenade-like bottles of cachaça. Best brand is called "Tropical." Usually about 2 reais in any supermarket. Straight, it tastes horrible. If you wanna drink straight cachaça pay 7 reais for a liter of 51. With the Tropical, the best technique is to buy "um preto e uma branca" -- a black, and a white. The black is catuaba liquor, about 30 proof, mixed with catuaba and açaí juice. Buy it in the same half liter bottles as the cachaça, and for about the same price as the cachaça. They're right next to each other. The white is the cachaça, obviously. Mix the two together in a 2 liter bottle and enjoy. (*Note* Whatever you do don't buy the cachaça called "Alegria." It's basically pure ethanol. It's like 25 cents cheaper than Tropical, but not worth it. Don't fall for it). Drinking in the streets is legal everywhere in Brazil so no worries about cops. Watch out for some of the street types who go really heavy on the cachaça though, they can really go crazy sometimes.
As for weed, it's pretty disappointing down here but you can get it from most hippies and the plaza kids. The price for paraguyan pressed (prensado) is 10 reais for a little square about the size of a dime, makes two thin little joints. Sometimes it's pretty good, but more often than not it sucks. If you can, buy "regional" which is basically loose schwag, you can get like a paper sack full for about 30 reais and smoke for awhile. You gotta make really fat ones to get stoned. Think cigar-sized. Use the paper napkins from resturaunts as rolling papers, they're not like the napkins back home and are pretty good for rolling, even if they do go out a lot.
Well that's about it. Brazil is really great for bumming around. Mostly a very friendly country, warm, lots of food and lots of partys. Definitly worth a visit.
I. Hitchhiking
Easy anywhere north of Brasília. Once you cross the imaginary line somewhere near Goiânia and set your sights on São Paulo or Rio, you'll have a hard time (speaking from solo male hitcher point of view). When in the south or SP-Rio areas, avoid federal highways at all costs (anything that starts with BR, ex. BR-130). Take the state roads, which start with the postal code of the state (ex, state of Rio Grande do Sul is RS, hence, RS-150). If you are forced to take federal highways than don't waste your time waiting on the side of the highway. Walk to a Petrobras truck stop and ask everyone that pulls in for a ride. North of Brasília is fine. There are a lot of privately-owned small buses (look for a big COOAP sticker on the side) usually Volaré brand. They'll give you free ride from town to town usually, all you do is flag them down and ask. Especially common on the TransAmazônica (BR-230) and Maranhão.
In much of the Amazon there are no roads, but there IS a road connection from Porto Velho to Manaus (BR-319) but it has been largely abandoned for 25 years. There is still sporadic traffic due to the Ebratel fiber optic cable that runs through there and the "bridges" (just some boards over a hole) are mantained by Embratel. You can hitch rides with their trucks and occasionally some private traffic is there. You can sleep up in the Embratel towers, there's always holes in the fence and you can climb all the way up to the top, it's like 500 feet and really awesome, just a sea of green everywhere around you. Regular traffic as far as Realidade if you're heading north, and the ferry (free for pedestrians) at Igapó-Açú if you're heading south. Using this road you can get from Venezuela all the way to Porto Alegre without paying for a single boat ticket.
The passenger boats in the Amazon will almost never give rides. Forget it. Try the cargo ferrys (from Manaus they leave from the Distrito Industrial, from Porto Velho from the ferry port right next to the new bridge, and from Santarém from near the Cargill docks and the old Docas do Pará). You can also try locals with little motorized canoes, little by little. But it'll take forever and you need good Portuguese.
II. Cash on the streets
If you're a busker you'll usually make more riding the buses in the big capitals than squatting on a street corner. Ask the driver if you can get on for free and play music, they will usually let you. Also try outdoor resturaunts, passing around a hat after some introductory words and a song or three.
If you can weave bracelets and make earrings and stuff like that you'll sell plenty but you have to go after the people, look for outdoor bars and resturaunts with tables everywhere outside and weave around through those. You should learn the phrase, "Pois então, não quer dar uma força pro viagem?" meaning, well then you don't want to help out a little? For the trip? Use that if they don't buy. You'll usually net a real or two.
III. Grub
Asking for leftovers in resturaunts works well just about everywhere. If you can make something, offer to trade for some rice, they'll rarely accept whatever it is but will usually give you a heaping plate. This works especially well at highway truck stops with buffets. Or you can try buying a packet of pasta and asking them to cook it for you. Usually they just give you food after you ask.
IV. Crash Pads
In town, head for the main plaza. Set up the tent in the grass or sling a hammock between the trees. No one will bother you and it's well-lighted. Gas stations inside the city are a no-go but the ones on the outskirts are fine. And don't forget the bus terminals, 24-hours and no one's allowed to kick you out. Some won't let you sling a hammock though, but you can crash on the benches, they don't have those stupid arm rests and you can strech out, it's great.
V. Boozing / Toking
The cheapest way to get drunk is with the little half-liter grenade-like bottles of cachaça. Best brand is called "Tropical." Usually about 2 reais in any supermarket. Straight, it tastes horrible. If you wanna drink straight cachaça pay 7 reais for a liter of 51. With the Tropical, the best technique is to buy "um preto e uma branca" -- a black, and a white. The black is catuaba liquor, about 30 proof, mixed with catuaba and açaí juice. Buy it in the same half liter bottles as the cachaça, and for about the same price as the cachaça. They're right next to each other. The white is the cachaça, obviously. Mix the two together in a 2 liter bottle and enjoy. (*Note* Whatever you do don't buy the cachaça called "Alegria." It's basically pure ethanol. It's like 25 cents cheaper than Tropical, but not worth it. Don't fall for it). Drinking in the streets is legal everywhere in Brazil so no worries about cops. Watch out for some of the street types who go really heavy on the cachaça though, they can really go crazy sometimes.
As for weed, it's pretty disappointing down here but you can get it from most hippies and the plaza kids. The price for paraguyan pressed (prensado) is 10 reais for a little square about the size of a dime, makes two thin little joints. Sometimes it's pretty good, but more often than not it sucks. If you can, buy "regional" which is basically loose schwag, you can get like a paper sack full for about 30 reais and smoke for awhile. You gotta make really fat ones to get stoned. Think cigar-sized. Use the paper napkins from resturaunts as rolling papers, they're not like the napkins back home and are pretty good for rolling, even if they do go out a lot.
Well that's about it. Brazil is really great for bumming around. Mostly a very friendly country, warm, lots of food and lots of partys. Definitly worth a visit.
