It’s been six weeks since I last wrote – my apologies to those who got in touch to find out if I’d been kidnapped.

It’s been a fairly action-packed six weeks though, so grab yourself a nice cup of tea, settle down for a few minutes and prepare for tales of adventure and romance.

So, things haven’t exactly gone to plan.

The idea was to use Brazil as a colossal stepping-stone on my jolly way from Suriname to Paraguay. It might sound weird, but Brazil’s never really appealed to me as much as the Spanish-speaking countries.

It’s mainly because I speak good Spanish and zero Portuguese, but perhaps also because of the social pressure to wear sandals (only short people’s toes look good in sandals).

The plan was to leave Suriname (easier said than done with a 15 hour flight delay) by flying to Belem in the north, spending 6 days there before heading South to Sao Paolo for 4 days and hopping into Paraguay from there.

My cunning, though admittedly unusual plan was based purely on finances. It was going to cost rape me for around 1000 US dollars to fly directly from Suriname to Paraguay.

But according to Google flights, breaking the journey up into 3 legs (sorry, environment!) miraculously reduced the cost to 600 dollars and meant I got to dip my toes in Brazil’s warm waters and collect another passport stamp.

Unexpected event number 1

Just as things were going smoothly, life threw me a curveball so big and so fast that I was knocked down the bowling alley, through the back wall and into the car-park.

On my second day in Sao Paolo, I met someone. Laura was laid-back, beautiful, smart, funny, great company and didn’t seem to mind that England and Argentina don’t particularly like each other.

Knowing that I was only sticking around for 3 days though, we kept calm and enjoyed a long day together exploring the crazy, sprawling metropolis of Sao Paolo.

We went for dinner – as friends. We met again the next day – as friends. And the next…

By this point it was obvious that we really liked each other.

But I was leaving.

Or was I?

I’ll never forget the torturous hours pacing up and down my little downtown apartment, desperately trying to work out whether I should cancel my flight or continue on to Paraguay and come back a couple of weeks later.

What was the right decision? Which would be more romantic?

And in the absence of there being a right or wrong, what would I most enjoy remembering when I’m sat by the fireplace with my walking stick, slippers and glass of whiskey?

Tough call.

Anyway, before getting too ahead of myself, let’s catch up and go back to Belem. It’s been 6 weeks since I left Suriname and a lot has happened in that time…

Belem

Despite spending a lot of time in jungle areas across Latin America, Belem was the first time I’ve actually seen the mighty Amazon river.

In fact, it’s so insanely big in the city known as the gateway to the Amazon, that when you fly across the islands it’s hard to accept that you’re looking at a river and not the sea.

Belem is hot, humid and stickier than fly paper. I can fully understand why Brazilians love sandals so much now. Though there are so many sandal shops you have to wander how many the average Brazilian has. I’ll have to start asking people.

However, after spending so much time in Medellin and Bogota sweatily trying to blend in by never wearing gringo shorts or sandals in the city, it was a welcome relief to see that Brazilians are far more practical and laid-back in their dress sense.

My time in Belem was a little odd though. It’s definitely not a tourist destination and has a reputation for being pretty dangerous. I’d read that walking around alone as a foreigner even in the daytime is risky.

So I decided to treat myself to a classy hotel for 5 days since it was so cheap and live the high life for a while. So nice was the hotel in fact, that with the outside world feeling more like a giant sauna than a city, I spent a lot of time under the air conditioning unit in my room (I know, I promised tales of adventure…)

When I did go out, I found some pretty cool places: the converted train station with swanky bars on the Amazon waterfront; the park full of flamingos and other colorful birds; the gem museum with crystals the size of sofas; the buzzing central market full of unusual food where you can drink Acai out of a battered old aluminium dog bowl.

Other than the spectacular views of the Amazon, however, Belem itself just isn’t very pretty. And while I think the warnings are exaggerated, it definitely felt like trouble wouldn’t be hard to find if you went down the wrong street at the wrong time.

Having said that, the Brazilians I did meet were incredibly friendly, welcoming and helpful so I can’t really paint Belem with too dark a brush.

Back to Sao Paolo

One of my happiest moments since leaving Spain 3 months ago was telling Laura that I’d cancelled my flight. When I’m 80 years old (touch wood), I’ll look back and be glad I wasn’t afraid to live life to the full and fall in love in Brazil.

Life, however, had some more surprises in stall for me back in the present moment.

Unexpected event number 2

I find it a bit difficult and unnecessary to tell people I meet that I had cancer. That’s why I hardly ever tell anyone unless either they need to know or it makes sense in a conversation. And Laura, of course, needed to know.

I’ve come to learn over the years that there’s a very wide range of reactions people can have. I’m always slightly apprehensive to find out what someone’s exact response will be, and if I then need to help them out if they don’t quite know what to say.

But never in four years has the reaction been “me too.”

I don’t want to go into details, but Laura is still undergoing treatment. So we have our fingers crossed that all will be well, don’t let it get in the way of our blossoming romance and are living life to the full.

I don’t know if by our nature we’re both people who like to live life like that, or if being touched by cancer has somehow made us that way.

I suspect the spirit was always there, but the inevitable awakening that comes from being given a harsh reminder of your mortality only served to make it more powerful.

What it means though is that we have a lot of fun exploring the endless entertainment and gastronomic opportunities Sao Paolo has to offer, and are grateful for every day we spend together.

Living in Sao Paolo

The idea was to use Brazil as a colossal stepping-stone on my jolly way from Suriname to Paraguay.

Yeah, right!

When I arrived in Brazil, people told me I can’t stay here for just 10 days.

I thought they meant it would be a shame, not that they somehow knew it just wouldn’t be possible to leave Brazil after 10 days.

So after sweltering in the jungle of Suriname and Belem, I’ve now been living in the urban jungle of Sao Paolo for the past month. I have a great flat in the center of town where I can easily walk to the protests to hang out with random Brazilians.

I work on my other blog Monday to Friday and spend as much time as possible with Laura when she finishes work. I take Portuguese classes twice a week. I regularly go juggling in the park after years of not being into it, making my first friend along the way.

And importantly, I’ve started a small sandal collection, though still refuse to wear them in town (a little bit of Colombian style will always stay with me).

All in all, Sao Paolo is a very cool city and I have lots to say about it.

But that’s a story for another day.

(As a final word I just want to say thank you to Laura for agreeing to me telling our story. This is the main reason I haven’t written for so long, as my time in Brazil would make no sense without including her.)