Rain, Bugs, Rabies and Cheese

Okay, I have some catching up to do...

 

Weather:  I really can't complain too much about weather, especially considering it's winter back home in the States, but seeing as the seasons were one of the things we took into consideration when planning this trip and weather does tend to have more of an impact when you're traveling than when you're just at home going about your normal routine, I do have a couple gripes.  Besides, after living in San Diego for over six years, I kind of got used to the mild climate and predictable weather.  Remember, it typically doesn't rain for six months straight in San Diego and while that fact may add to the constant wildfires, it certainly makes for plenty of lovely days at the beach.  I will admit, overall, we've been lucky with weather during South America's late Spring and early Summer.  Cusco and Bolivia got a little chilly at night since those cities are pretty high in elevation, but with a jacket or sweater at night, we were fine and we could still wear shorts during the day.  We had some extreme temperatures while we were in Cordoba and Rosario; it was over 90 degrees everyday for a week straight and even the locals kept commenting on how unusual it was, especially for so early in the season.  Of course, I don't mind the sun and heat, but I think that week was even tough for me.  Other than that, the weather on our trip was perfect until we got to Florianopolis, Brazil.  There were beaches in Valparaiso and Vina del Mar, but those didn't work out because it was cold and sprinkling a bit while we were there, plus the water is too cold there anyway so it's not like a real beach vacation even if the weather was perfect.  We did have a chance to go to the beach in Rosario with Fede.  That was great, but the beach is along a river and the water quality was questionable so I mainly sunbathed and worked on my tan.  I had been looking forward to chilling out on a real beach since we started this trip and Floripa was supposed to be the time to really do it since the town is know for its 42 beaches.  We did enjoy two wonderful days at Praia Mole beach when we first arrived in town, but the rain moved in after that and continued for four days straight!!  It sucked.  It's not like rain in a big city where you have other things to do.  Florianopolis is a beach town; there is nothing else to do other than go to the beach.  And to make matters even worse, we were there for New Years so we had to deal with holiday prices everywhere, including our hostel.  We had all these grand plans to check out a number of beaches and explore some of the more remote areas of the island, but the weather made it pointless.  If there is one place I'd love to visit again, it would be Floripa, but only if I have control over the weather. 

 

Bugs and Wildlife:  I've seen some really big bugs and other interesting bits of nature since we're been in South America.  There was a bug in the pool at the New Years Eve party we went to, and I swear, this bug, particularly the wings, was the size of a humming bird.  It got stuck in the water and was buzzing around for a few minutes trying to escape, but finally drowned and just floated on top of the water allowing for a close up view.  Again, this was the biggest flying insect I have ever seen, even in books and online.  I have no clue what it was, but I'll be quite happy if I never run into one again, especially if it's alive.  We saw a really big iguana out in the wild while we were at Iguaçu Falls.  It was about the size of the big ones you see in pet stores back home, but much cooler to see in it's native environment.  There was also a big caterpillar at Iguaçu, which you can see a picture of in our photo album, along with a couple pictures of the HUGE spiders they had in the trees and brush along some of the pathways.  We also encountered some huge beetle-type bugs at one of the stops on our bus ride from Curitiba to Iguaçu.  They were everywhere, particularly in the light and I had to watch your step to keep from stepping on them.  A lot of them were on their backs furiously moving their legs trying to turn over.  Sean compared them to June Bugs back home, but I think they were bigger and looked nastier, if only for the sheer number of them.  It was disgusting.  In case you didn't know or it's not obvious at this point, I HATE bugs!  Sean on the other hand, intentionally stepped on one, presumably to feel the crunch.  I made sure he didn't put his shoes on my side once we were back on the bus. 

 

We also saw a very strange animal at Iguaçu (attached above), which I think is a Coati, that I would best describe as being similar to a raccoon with a long nose.  If anyone knows what this is for sure, please let me know.  The bus ride that takes you to the falls has a recorded message that gives information about the different stops and also makes a point to warn you about these animals as they can carry rabies.  Unlike raccoons, these animals are pretty active during the day and the ones at the park seemed to be quite socialized toward people and will come right up to you, especially if you have food.  And of course, like anywhere else, there were plenty to idiots feeding them, despite all the signs asking not to, and trying to take close up pictures.  I took my pictures from a safe distance while the animal was looking around the tables for food.  Anyway, I swear there were even some kids even trying to pet the damn things.  Can we say child endangerment?  If you know anything about rabies, you know it's not something you want to risk, and one bite is all it takes before you're stuck getting prophylaxis rabies shots.

 

Cheese:  This is just a random gripe and Sean is probably best to blog about this since he's the cheese freak, but I opened another bag of Cheetos a few days ago only to find some strange, yellowish-white, fried, puffed corn with a sort-of-like cheese, but definitely not a type of cheese I know, coating.  They were NOTHING like the Cheetos back home.  What the fuck!  I understand having different recipes for different markets, but these are Cheetos we're talking about.  Why not just call them something else if you're going to change the recipe?  That's like McDonalds serving sweet potato fries and still calling them French Fries.  I bought this bag of Cheetos a few days ago and saved it until my mouth was watering for the nice fattening taste of processed familiar cheese-like substance.  These tasted like crap.  I can't believe PepsiCo allows their Cheetos brand name on this product.  Now I understand Sean's frustration with trying to find Cheddar and Pepper Jack cheese down here.  It just doesn't exist!