Morretes

Curitiba's infrastructure interested me, and it was also a convenient break between São Paulo and Iguaçu. But there was a third, scenic reason. I wanted to ride the historical Curitiba-Paranaguá railway (page in Portuguese) which descends from plateau to port. As you can imagine, dropping 932 metres to sea level in a distance of about 100 km means fantastic mountain scenery. I was persuaded that it was more worthwhile to visit Morretes, a small historic town (site in Portuguese) that is roughly in the middle, rather than go all the way to the Atlantic Ocean at Paranaguá.

The departure was early so I got up at 0600 and breakfasted, then walked to the station, eschewing a taxi. There was a big crowd at the departure gate because it was a popular ride. A punk backpacker with piercings was attracting attention from schoolkids. She took it well. Good that children here are curious. I couldn't work out the carriage numbering so I just picked the nearest car. This is Brazil, I thought, nobody will mind and at best I would get shown the correct carriage.

A gaggle of young women got on. I was still sleepy and getting some shuteye in my corner. É morto? (is he dead?), I overheard one of them joke. When I started talking to one and they realised that I could converse in Portuguese, they got all excited. I was plied with questions left and right. Did I like Brazil? What is Australia like? (Either I or one of them mimicked kangaroo hops with hands for paws at this point.) How did I learn Portuguese? When was I going home? And even a candid one: Was I married? I denied it, but the cheekiest one grabbed my left hand, examined it, then held it high to announce to the rest: He's lying, there's an impression of a ring on his finger. He's got a wife and 4, no 5, kids at home. Those women were really lively. I learnt that some of them were schoolteachers, and two were from Paraná and the rest from Minas Gerais.

But as they were proud of Brazil's natural beauty, they made sure that I was in position to get good pictures of the scenery. They called out to me whenever a spectacle came into view.

The Serra Verde service passes Marumbi station which is the starting point for hikes into the state park. Besides the large natural wonders, I saw a beijaflor (hummingbird), trees full of orchids, and a fallen tree sustaining parasitic plant life.

At Morretes my new acquaintances boarded their tour bus for their next destination and waved goodbye. Wow, that was a fun encounter, but I felt melancholy to be by myself again in a sleepy little town. There was an annoying persistent drizzle. But there was no denying the town had a beautiful location, surrounded by mountains.

I thought I would look around a bit, get some lunch and then proceed to Paranaguá but a look at the timetables disabused me of that plan; there was only one service a day in each direction, and I could only go back in the afternoon. So no Paranaguá. I felt a sense of loss for not being able to complete the journey I had planned. (Now that I have seen pictures of it on the Internet and visited other Brazilian port cities, I have an idea of what Paranaguá is like and I don't think I missed much.)

So I had a few hours to kill in Morretes. Of the several restaurants to choose from one was playing disco music. I went for the one with the most customers. I had been told to try the barreado (page in Portuguese) lunch which is regional cuisine of Paraná. The main dish is beef that has been stewed in a clay pot for up to 30 hours, so I was told.This is served on a bed of rice and farofa (toasted manioc) accompanied by bananas and oranges. It was so rich and filling that I didn't even get to touch the entradas (appetisers). I did however finish with a coffee. The restaurant was on the bank of a swollen and swiftly flowing river. In better weather this would have been a great spot to have coffee.

The return journey was unremarkable and I was so full from lunch that I skipped dinner. Non-sequitur memories from the day: A beautiful pure blonde woman looking out of a window onto the street. Reading about bichos virtual = tamagotchi. And lastly a piece of trivia: the town name is pronounced Mor-het-chis in Brazilian Portuguese.