Well, what do you know - I’m in the same time zone as home - landed in Malaysia ^^ But I digress:
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And so I hopped on from Barcelona to Shropshire [UK], Stuttgart and Freiburg [Germany], Baden [Switzerland], and Utrecht [Holland].
Europe was always going to be about Family and Friends.
Most good :)
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Of course, a visit to Barcelona wouldn’t be complete without some level of Gaudí immersion - the fellow had quite the unique architectural vision, made more impressive through realisation.
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My reintroduction into Europe started in Spain - or Barcelona and its surrounds to be specific. Although it was my first time, I quickly felt comfortable with my surrounds. It was nice to have tastes of foods and comforts I’d been so long without. Plus my Spanish came in pretty handy as well.
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And so came São Paulo. I learnt it was home to the largest Japanese community outside of Japan. Which in turn led me to spend the bulk of my final days on the continent immersed in Japanese culture served with a side of Brazilian.
I was ready for a change.
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This is Rio :)
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It’s certainly got a special buzz, undoubtedly drawn from it’s diverse neighborhoods.
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Rio de Janeiro - the city on the beach and in the jungle, all at once.
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After a relaxing stop by Bonito, it was time to keep moving South - and 24 hours later, my very behind schedule bus aquaplaned into Foz do Iguacu under a bucketing sky; a fitting prelude to the falls.
Located on a tri-border, I hopped over to see them Argentina-side, touting a more up-close setting. I’d say that’s a fair assertion ;)
Photos of the thunderously endless falls can only convey so much. They are epic.
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Now this is what I came for - the wetlands of the Pantanal :)
Though still no elusive big cats in sight nor sound… Expedition Jaguar is shelved for another day.
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My initial impressions of Brazil were fairly average to be honest - of the border town of Corumbá, anyway. But then on the day I woke extra early to take my [non-existent] target bus, I made a last minute change to give the region the chance I had set aside for it.
