Mostly art galleries

02.02.2016

This morning, I attempted to venture out of Carambei for the day. Andrew told me that I'd have to go to Ponta Grossa first, if I wanted to go anywhere. So, I found the bus for Ponta Grossa and hopped on. It didn't stop very far from my house. One problem though, I forgot my wallet. I had to jump off and get it. That just added at least an hour to my travel time. Sigh.

I wasn't sure when the next one would come, so I walked to the highway and waited and waited. Finally a big fancy bus pulled up, headed to Curitiba. I paid the driver 40 reals ($13) and we left. Somehow, I didn't have to go to Ponta Grossa after all.

We arrived in Curitiba at noon, half the day was gone. I was sad that it took so long. I thought I'd just wander around the whole day, so I took a random bus going in the direction of the historical centre. I was lucky and the first stop was the right one.

I found myself at Praca Tiradentes to see the Catedral Metropolitan and walk along black and white tiled cobblestone pedestrian streets, almost the same as in Macau.

I had a "pastel", deep fried pastry stuffed with something delicious, in my case, ground beef, and continued getting lost. I found the contemporary art gallery of Parana, which had nothing really remarkable, lots of modern interpretations of Jesus and some photography from the Amazon.

Then, I found the former city hall and the flower market, along with the city's oldest house "Casa Romario Martins". The church next door also had some really old Catholic sculptures which were quite eerie. The Memorial de Curitiba was interesting too. I liked the giant mural illuminated by huge windows.

After visiting all these cultural venues, I got the feeling that the local government may have spent a lot of money setting them up, but not really following through and putting much content inside. The Alfredo Andersen museum might be an exception, I thought it was well stocked with interesting contemporary, politically inspired art, many with anti-capitalist messages. I believe whoever makes the decisions spends more on security than on art.

I was starting to get hungry and cranky, so I headed to Praca Garibaldi where there should've been a bunch of restaurants. But silly me, nothing was open at 2 p.m. on a weekday. Didn't I learn anything in Macau? Ha. None of them opened until 7 p.m., I was out of luck.

I gave up all hope and continued on to the Museu Paranese, where I was absolutely hounded by the security staff. They refused to allow me simply to wander around at will, one man tried to explain that I MUST see the museum in some strange erratic pattern that didn't make much sense. They also kept telling me I couldn't use the flash on my camera, but it was clear that I was carrying nothing of the sort, all of my belongings were checked into a locker at the front door.

When I tried to look at an exhibit of Brazilian currency, the same man came again, to show me something better. I became extremely irritated and told him I was leaving because this museum was no longer enjoyable to visit. His face fell, I think I disappointed him.

Still starving, I walked back to the pedestrianized area, where there was bound to be something open. I finally found a small diner selling crepes, so I ordered a cheese one and a cold beer. Fantastic.

Feeling a hundred times better, I decided just to walk back to the bus station and go home. I was early, but on my way there, I stopped at the Salvation Army and bought me a new dress for 10 reals, about $3. Woop! No longer sweating like crazy, I had a much more comfortable walk back.

It was insanely difficult to navigate the bus station, I walked around in circles for at least half an hour, trying to find my gate. The signs seemingly point in the opposite direction of where you need to go. It was infuriating. Lucky I got there early, seriously.

Then, on the way back, we hit traffic because of a rainstorm and construction, we were 30 minutes late to Ponta Grossa. Andrew also told me that the last bus to Carambei was at 8 p.m. So, I was a little panicked, not knowing if I should take a cab 30 km home, or if it was cheaper to just stay there overnight. Luckily though, on weekdays, the last bus is at 10:30, so I just waited two hours at the boring bus station and finally arrived home at around midnight. Happy to be in my own bed.

Catedral Metropolitan