After a free night at the hostel in Rio, split 50/50 between sleeping sitting up in a chair in the living room and sleeping on a bench on the terrace, I was up at 7:00 in the morning and ready to leave town. A shower and breakfast at the hostel and I found myself walking down the hill from Santa Tereza, bag packed with all my belongings. 7:00-10:00 in the morning seems to be the quietest time in Rio during Carnival, as those who drink all night have just gone to sleep, but those who drink all day have yet to wake up. At the bottom of the hill, I asked a cop which bus to take to the Novo Rio bus station. He gave the bus a firm “two thumbs down” and grabbed me a cab. This set me back 15 Real, but the price was agreed upon beforehand and the station was much farther than I realized.
The bus station in Rio is loaded with derelicts. After surveying the plethora of ticket counters, I found a company that seemed to specialize in Rio-Sao Paulo transit. I pointed my way through the booking computer and ended up with a 10:40 ticket to Sao Paulo on a big yellow bus with huge tinted windows. My time in the Novo Rio station was spent drinking Gatorade and guarding my bag with my life while being glared at by a sketchball that makes East Side Long Beach’s notorious Superthug look like a model citizen.
I snapped this photo while sitting on the floor guarding my bag. Notice the favela in the distance.
The ticket cost 70 Real (about 30 US dollars) for the six hour journey between Brazil’s two largest cities. The bus had more legroom than anyone could possibly need, and the incredibly comfortable seats reclined to an almost completely horizontal position and even had leg rests. Upon boarding, every passenger is giving a pillow, blanket, and a lunch box that includes an assortment of crackers, cookies, fruit snacks, and a juicebox. The ride was smooth, with one short stop for bathroom breaks and snacks. They even showed Naked Gun. Needless to say, this was not the Megabus. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say this particular bus ride was more enjoyable than any bus, train, or airplane adventure I’ve had in the United States.
After driving through the industrial north and west side of Rio, along side numerous favelas, we were out in the Brazilian countryside. We gained quite a bit of elevation through a series of switchbacks shortly outside of Rio and drove through the lush Atlantic rainforest. Sao Paulo is one of those cities, much like Houston, where it seems one is greeted by a never ending ring of suburbs and skyscrapers. I packed up my belongings and prepared to arrive, as the view outside my window suggested that I was currently near the center of the city, only to find out we still had over 30 km to go. Upon arrival I was pleasantly surprised to find that Tiete bus station in Sao Paulo is a bit less saturated with derelicts than Novo Rio. It is also connected to the rest of the city by the subway, and a 2.50 Real ticket and a 30 minute ride on two different metro lines brought me to the Clinicas stop, within walking distance of my hostel in the Pinheiros neighborhood on the southwest side of Sao Paulo.
Here are some photos from the drive:
The switchbacks outside of Rio.
Closer to Sao Paulo.
In the Sao Paulo suburbs.
Outskirts of Sao Paulo.
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