Taking the luxury bus from Rio to Ouro Preto

Our plan was to spend Carnaval with our friends in Ouro Preto. They used to live in Belo Horizontes but now that they both have federal jobs at the university in Ouro Preto/Mariana, they have moved there. Actually, Dü was born and raised in OP, so he and Carlos (his partner of 10 years) have lived there off and on over the years.

Largely because OP is a college town, it has direct bus service to Rio de Janeiro. Good for us.  Some people sing the praises of cheaper air fare these days and fly from Rio to Belo Horizontes, but getting to OP adds a significant layer of complications and travel time. The BH airport is rather far (really far) from the center of the city so it is necessary to take a bus from the airport to the main bus terminal in BH and then transfer to another bus for the final leg to OP. Cheap airfares tend to match the bus fare from Rio to BH but do not solve the problem (or include the cost of) the need to take two additional buses to get to your final destination in the mountains.

For us, it is a quick bus from right in front of our apartment to the Rio bus terminal (or a R$55 cab fare, which we never do), then we get on a swanky, comfortable sleeper bus in  Rio going directly to Ouro Preto (one stop). It takes about 6 hours but we get on the bus at midnight, then sleep all the way to OP. Very convenient and comfortable.

There are two types of sleeper seats – “leito” and “cama.” Most of the sleeper buses provide the “leito” style seating that reclines nearly all the way back and has a leg rest that supports your legs for more comfort.  

Some busses provide limited “cama” seating with the rest of the bus equipped with “leito “ seating.

The “cama” (literally translates to “bed”) seats are wonderful.  They are super wide so you can curl up on your side to sleep.  There are only three such seats per row, two on one side and one on the other. They recline completely and in addition to all the extra space, they have the leg rest as well, completing the bed.

People who have only taken long distance buses in the United States have no frame of reference for Brazilian bus travel. It is night and day.

Next time you set off from Rio for Belo Horizontes or Ouro Preto, be sure to check into the Util busline.

Naked? Who's naked? It's Carnaval.

You know it's Carnaval season when "Globoleza" starts making regular appearances on the television at all hours of morning noon and night.

Restrictions on when to play the 30 second spot to spare the kiddies from seeing an elaborately painted  female body do not seem to be at play...

Globoleza 2013  (NSFW)

Bom Carnaval.

A glimpse into a corner of the Brazilian healthcare system

Brazil has so-called universal healthcare available free to all citizens. I say so-called because depending on where in the country you live, the hospital may or may not have running water now and again throughout the year. Doctors dealing with certain specialties may not be available for several days after you have been admitted.

One of the public hospitals in our city, for example, has an MRI machine that has been out of service for more than a year…

On the bright side, if you can hang in there long enough you will likely get the help you need. And in some parts of the country this medical attention is excellent in quality.

To skate over the wild card realities that befall the public system, most people who can afford to buy into a private insurance system do so. Fancy hospitals, short or nonexistent lines, specialists ready to see you in short order, etc.

Luiz and I both have private healthcare coverage. It’s not top of the line, but certainly WAY better than the strict public system.

Recently I was admitted to the hospital to drill down into a health situation we are still trying to totally understand. Let me highlight some things I’ve encountered along the way.

Regarding our insurance coverage: First, I cannot be denied a policy due to a pre-existing condition, and they charge premiums by the age of the consumer (ill or healthy). There are no co-payments, deductables or lifetime limits. If a treatment is determined by your doctor to be essential in your overall treatment plan, the insurance company cannot deny coverage (although they might make you jump through a few hoops).

I shouldn’t say there are NO co-payments. Some office visits include a co-payment (R$4). But follow up visits are not charged for. For example, if your cardiologist sends you out for a series of tests, your next visit to the cardiologist to review the results and discuss moving forward is a FREE office visit.

I was admitted into the hospital. Once in the hospital everything is free of charge (including all meds, which can be expensive when bought in a pharmacy). I had two ultra sounds, x-rays, a CT scan an MRI and an endoscopy. Every three days they did a full blood workup. I was on an anti-biotic drip four times a day, plus several other meds. All no charge.

The facility was very modern (old building, but totally refurbished on the inside).  It had all the fancy diagnostic machinery, in working order. Doctors of all stripes were on site.

I got excellent (and friendly) care.

Here in Brazil it is not possible legally for medical providers (or bill collectors) to make you liquidate your family assets (lose your home) as a result of medical expenses. Oh, and all your insurance premiums, misc. costs and pharmaceutical expenses are tax deductable.

If I had one complaint it would be the lack of wireless internet service in my room, but then… STFU Jim.

My premium is R$300 per month and will not jump up to nearly R$500 until I reach age 60, so I have a while.

Of course – keep in mind this is simply what I experience in my situation. Results may vary depending on the insurance company you have and where in the country you live.

Luiz's holiday decorations for OUR house

Click to enlarge.

Luiz spends countless hours helping other people decorate their houses for the holidays.  But he never forgtes about our place. Our dining room table is beautiful!

Our trip to Gramado

Gate to the town.

Luiz and I joined in a group package tour to Gramado. A social club Luiz’ mother Zozó belongs to filled a tour bus with members for a super discounted trip. So we signed on.

Our tight group withn the larger group.

The tour idea was a good fit for us. We do not own a car and Gramado is nearly a two hour drive outside of Porto Alegre in Rio Grande do Sul, up in the mountains. Plus, visiting nearby towns like Canela, Caxias do Sul, Nova Petropolis, etc. would be a local bus nightmare.

Gramado is famous for being the chocolate capital of Brazil. There are numerous artisan chocolate companies that operate out of this tiny town. Plus, more importantly for this tour, each year for the months of November through January the whole city rallies to celebrate Christmas with daytime parades, extensive municipal decorations and three different nighttime Christmas performances/parades that feature a gazillion lights. One thng that is pretty cool is that the city creates their lighted decorations using thousands of carefully carved recycled plastic soda bottles.

This cute little town is in the heart of the part of Brazil that was colonized by Germans and Italians after the slaves were freed. Local fazenda owners needed a new source of cheap labor, so the Brazilian government went to these countries and bamboozled people into thinking paradise awaited them in the untamed wilderness of southern Brazil (ha!). So destitute Europeans immigrated. The climate in this part of Brazil is very similar to the climate these immigrants were used to. But they had to start from scratch to buid housing and communities, living in absolute poverty for years on end.

The business and residential buildings have a distinct German look.

You can really see the European influence in the architecture. To a lesser extent, the food is influenced by home country flavors and recipes, but it is still quite Brazilian in nature.

These days Gramado’s economy is more than 90% connected to tourism. The population of Gramado is about 35,000 people. They host more than 5 million tourists each year. There are NO crappy hotels or pousadas in Gramado, although if you want a pool, you will have to look around. Note - all the electrical outlets everywhere (even the airport) are 220V. One amazing, amazing thing is that EVERY municipal avenue and most residential streets are lined with hydrangias. There are MILLIONS of blooms that line all the streets and fill the parks. It is almost unbelievable.

The whole town participates in keeping the hydrangia wonder going.

The town is absolutely pristine and peaceful.  No chain stores or eateries of any kind. Free parking everywhere. And drivers actually stop when a pedestrian steps into a crosswalk. If you like boutique shopping, this place is for you.

On the topic of shopping, this was the great disappointment of our organized bus tour of Gramado and surrounding villages. We learned from our tour guide (who was spectacular at her job) that the tour company only pays her R$150 per day. So the only way she can make a livable wage is if she can make deals with local merchants that if she brings her bus full of “shoppers” they will give her a commission on all sales. As a result, the bus took us to more shopping stops (shoes, glassware, Christmas junk, clothing, kitchen wares, etc.) than points of interest for tourists. It was – two shopping stops, one historical site – two shopping stops – one church – two shopping stops and then a winery or chocolate factory (thinly veiled shopping stops.) URGH! We complained, but to no avail. Actually, many of the older women in the group PREFERRED the shopping to the cultural stops.

The chocolate factory "tour" was a 7 minute robotic explanation of the process, then it was off to the chocolate store...

There are, in fact, cultural and natural spots worth seeking out.

The same was true for lunch stops. We ate at mediocre buffets that could accommodate busloads of people, but the food was both plain, and expensive.

The guide tried her best to provide a local context of relevance for most of the shopping stops – but if you are looking for a tourist points of interest tour – dig deeper than the big agencies.

So we spent 5 days on this adventure, bought loads of chocolate, enjoyed a spectacular parade of lights and marveled at the small town (safe) atmosphere.

Photos from the lights parade, until our camera battery went flat.

Gramado – go check it out, any time of the year.

Christmas time at Flor de Luiz

 It's the holidays at Flor de Luiz.

Luiz is working overtime making Christmas designs to sell at the crafts fair.

It's great to see him so concentrated on his florals and even better to see his final results.

This man knows his stuff!

Gay Pride in Rio - 2012

We took a pass on the Gay Pride Parade in Rio this year. (We have gone to 30+ parades over the years.)

Luiz is working the artesan booth in our local grand park on the weekends.

It was a spectacular day.

They say there were 700,000 people and 15 Trio Electricoes.

The theme this year was "The heart does not have prejudice."

The city reports that the Gay Pride Parade is the third largest celebration in Rio, after Carnaval and New Years Eve.