Porto Alegre's Airport + tips

Salgado Filho International Airport

(29:59:39S, 51:10:17W, Elev 11 Ft)

International Civil Aviation Organization - ICAO: SBPA

International Air Transport Association - IATA: POA

Porto Alegre (Brazil) has a perfectly modern airport that attends national and international flights. Compared to major European airports, it is, of course, small, but just as well planned and just as beautiful. Unlike the European airports I know, it has a cinema, where you can watch a movie for a very good price, if your flight is delayed.

The Salgado Filho International Airport has a site in English and in Portuguese that you can find here, thus I am not going to repeat all the ways you can get to the city or what kind of services are available in the airport – I thought it would be much more fun to give some insight information for those of you traveling on budget!

Useful information for backpackers 

Porto Alegre is a relatively small and safe city (I can’t believe I am saying this, considering I grew up in a city of 15 thousand people in the safest country in the world), compared to many places in Latin America. Thus, the last thing you need to do is worry about being kidnapped or worse.

To get to the city, take the bus T5 (the airport site doesn’t mention that line for some reason, but it goes from right in front of the airport arrivals exit). The ticket currently costs 2,85 BRL (about 1,40 USD our 1,15 EUR), kind of pricy for Latin America (or even Europe), but a reasonable price in Brazil. The bus will not take you to the center, unfortunately, but quite near. Check the route here.

Another option is to take the train (or call it metro, it’s the same thing here in Porto Alegre). It costs about the same and will take you to the bus station or to the center of the city (Mercado Público).

About the taxi – if you take the taxi to the center, it should cost you (at the moment, July 2012) around 25 BRL. With bad traffic conditions, perhaps 30… If they ask more than that, look at them with angry eyes and say “gurí, que sacanagem!” (it’s something like “you’re trying to fool me!” but in a funny and Brazilian way). The airport taxis and the regular taxis all supposedly have the same rate, and you can find one anywhere in the city at any time. Don’t worry, it’s ok to take one on the street. I do this all the time, at any hour.

In Brazil it is not common to sleep at the airport, or bus station, or in the metro (Trensurb Company), or in the park, like backpackers might do in Europe. Here, this is considered a behavior of the homeless (and for the locals here there is no other reason for why anyone would want to camp out in such a place), and is forbidden in middle and high class places, such as the airport. In other places, it is simply dangerous.

Reference: Procempa Map

Latin America in Porto Alegre

I like Porto Alegre most for its pure identity. Almost everything in the city exists for the locals and because the locals feel a connection to it. Therefore it’s hard to find anything here that is not Rio Grande do Sul.

However, lately I started taking salsa classes. While you can find several teachers who can teach you to dance a rhythm that is not Brazilian, there are very few places to actually go and practice.

So, I am taking it upon myself to introduce the two places that I found that play Latin American music, such as salsa, merengue, bachata…

Pub Insano (only on Sundays) in Cidade Baixa

Sunday nights at Insano have become legendary for the salsa schools and their students. Although you will find “normal people” (also known as “beginners”) dancing there, it is usually packed with semi-professionals and genuine dance gods and goddesses that will make you want to give up on your dancing efforts in 5 minutes. They have a band and the music is truly good!

Bar Sierra Maestra in Cidade Baixa

Sierra Maestra is a Cuban bar that has salsa playing every day of the week. On Fridays and Saturdays they bring in a band, on other days the music comes from a CD player. The owners are a Cuban-Brazilian couple who have the most fascinating life stories to tell. When you go there, make sure you ask them about how they ended up in Porto Alegre, and bar owners. This is my favorite place to go out at night in Porto Alegre. Despite it being completely charming, well-priced and in a convenient location, the place is almost always empty. Which is a good opportunity to chat with the owners!

Does anyone know of another place?

Read about other bars in Porto Alegre, by Barry Flynn.

Green Porto Alegre

A local newspaper, Zero Hora, published an article stating that Porto Alegre has more green areas than stated as ideal by the World Health Organization.

According to the article, there are 14,78 m² (17.6% according to Wikipedia) of green areas for each inhabitant in the city, while the ideal is stated to be 10 m². This is altogether 31% of the city’s area. The biggest park, Parque Farroupilha or Redenção, which also happens to be conveniently 2 blocks away for my home, is 37-hectars. 

Portoalegrens can be even more proud, though. Because this statistic doesn’t take into account the number of trees in the city. 

Anyone who has ever visited Porto Alegre, has noticed that most streets have more trees than pedestrians on them.

Since the architecture of the city, in my opinion, has an inconsistent, sloppy feeling, these trees really help to make the place look charming and homey.

This photo was made world-famous by the 9gag community:

This is the view from the street:

 

Indeed, there are approximately 1.3 million trees in the streets, almost 1 for each person. 

As the seasons change, so does the face of the city. Here is a spring view from someone Carlos Kazeu:

Perhaps, besides experiencing the not-so-Brazilian Gaúcho culture, this is another interesting reason to visit the city.

Surviving the Winter with humor

At this moment, the whole state of Rio Grande do Sul is complaining about cold. Take a look at a photo that was taken by Ronaldo Mendes near Santa Maria this morning:

Yes, Porto Alegre gets cold, very very cold.

I come from the north of the planet. I witness temperatures like -35 degrees almost every single year. That’s why people are so surprised when I tell them that the winter in Porto Alegre is the coldest I’ve ever experienced. 

But it’s true.. The houses are as cold as the streets (2.2 degrees this morning). And it is so unbelievably cold that I spend full weekends in the sleeping bag, under a pile of blankets and curse the day I decided to stay for yet another winter.

In Estonia the houses, buses, cars, schools, and supermarkets are heated. This is not the case here (except for some supermarkets and a few offices).

In 2011, our co-blogger Virgina posted (click on the link) the questions: "But why is POA like this? Why are buildings so ill-equipped to deal with colder weather? It’s not as if this scenario were new. Presumably winters have always been chilly in southern Brazil.Are the engineers hoping for some kind of genuinely warmer global future?" Believe me, I have the same questions!

Let’s take a look at the positive side – this has taught me some funny lessons:

• Even though there is no snow here, you still need separate pairs of shoes for the winter – 2 numbers bigger to fit 5 layers of socks.
• I’ve learned to make horse noises, due to the fact that it’s “prrrrrrrrrrrrrrr so cold” to leave the shower.
• Sometimes it makes sense to wear a full ski-suit underneath the pajamas.

You have to have an excellent sense of humor and a whole load of positive thinking to survive the winter in Porto Alegre (Or in Rio Grande do Sul). These are some of those things that make the Gaúchos so particularly special!

My Favorite Things I

Lately I’ve been reflecting on my routine here in Porto Alegre and thinking about what things I like most about my life here that I did not used to do back home.

Going to Mercado Publico
I love to go there and spend hours learning about gaucho handicraft and souvenirs. Typical things you will find there are gaucho outfits (look like cowboy outfits), stuff for the kitchen (plastic bag collectors, hand painted towels, all kinds of containers), chimarrão equipment. I've taken a true interest in cuias - the sort of cups where you drink chimarrão (or mate) from.There are no two cuias exactly the same and as I've learned to love the ritual of drinking chimarrão, I've been obsessed with finding the perfect cuia.
Mercado Publico is one of the oldest buildings in Porto Alegre (currently almost 142 years old) and is located in the historical center of Porto Alegre.

(Picture from Coletiva.net)

Sundays at part 'Redenção'
followed by drinking fresh juice at 'Lancheria do Parque'
If it is a sunny Sunday, this park is full of people. There is a handicraft fair happening there every Sunday from morning until late in the afternoon. The place is filled with street musicians, vendedores, and local families walking around. You can try foods from different parts of Brazil and later sit down with friends for a chimarrão. What I love most about this park, compared to for example Parcão, is that Redenção attracts people from all social classes. I am deeply disturbed by such division of people because I had never experienced that before in my life. But on Sunday and in Redenção park they are all there, doing exactly the same things - playing with their kids, walking with their boyfriends/girlfriends/dogs and enjoying chimarrão. Black, white, Indian; poor, rich; gay, straight, confused - everybody!

Sunset at 'Usina do Gasômetro'

Porto Alegre is famous for its nice sunsets. On a clear evening, the sky gets red, orange, pink and purple. I suspect it has something to do with how polluted is the city, but nevertheless, the view over lake ‘Guaiba’ as the sun goes down is priceless. It was used to produce electricity between 1928 and 1974. Nowadays it is an architectural example and an important cultural center that hosts fairs, exhibitions, and other events. The street that takes you from the center to ‘Gasômetro’ is a very nice walk as well.

Porto Alegre is very rich in culture so it is impossible for me to list all my favorite things in one single blog post. Stay tuned for when I describe my favorite places to go at night. Maybe you’ve already heard some rumors about the nightlife in Porto Alegre, maybe not… all will be revealed soon.

The World in Porto Alegre

This post is for our local readers.

You know, to get to know our precious world, you don’t need to spend a lot of money, quit your job and go live on the other side of the world (like I did). Instead, you can go to places where people like us hang out! We are always glad to make local friends, because this is a way to adapt and dig deeper into the culture.

I am going to share some ideas with you on how to do that:

Facebook group “Estrangeiros / Foreigners in Porto Alegre”
A meeting point for foreigners in Porto Alegre, as it says. I have noticed it’s a more mature group of people. Many of them/us have a career and a family here. The meeting point is an Irish pub called “Shamrock”, mostly on Wednesdays, as I understand. I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting up with this group, but I will go and see what’s up in the near future. I am sure of it.

CouchSurfing.com
Get to know a new country by lending a person your couch! This way, the person gets to see real local life, meet your friends and at the same time tell you everything they have learned about the world. I once did a trip of 3 weeks just using CouchSurfing and I absolutely loved it! There are never too many friends in too many places in the world.

AIESEC
The slogan says it’s an “international platform to discover and develop your leadership potential”. It’s the world’s largest student driven organization with units that cover the whole planet. Besides that part, it has a unique global culture that spreads through its members who are constantly being exchanged between the countries. At any given moment, there are several young global citizens living in Porto Alegre, eager to share their culture and experiences in the wide world. This is the place where my international life got started somewhere back in the beginning of 2007. If you are a student or a college graduate under 30 years old, check Aiesec site.

Getting to know foreigners is not just something fun. It’s a process of self-development where you get the chance of understanding yourself better than ever before. You will learn who you are as a person, as a citizen of your community and as a citizen of the world.

I still remember vividly my first long conversations about cultures and realizing how small is this planet, how interconnected we all are and how influenced by the same problems and questions in life. It makes one’s heart immeasurably wider and the life incredibly richer!

Churrasco – the Gaucho equivalent for Estonian sauna

Churrasco is the Portuguese term for barbeque. Here in the south of Brazil, it is deeply traditional. It is not a meal; it is a process and a ritual.

I believe anyone organizing a party, a get together or a welcome/goodbye for someone would first suggest having a churrasco. Just like in Estonia, where we would organize a sauna party (I have to admit, I am from Saaremaa - an island far from the capital). Learn more about the ritual and meaning of sauna before continuing with reading this post. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_sauna (Estonian sauna tradition is 100% the same).

Both sauna and churrasco are the main family event of the week.

So what does a real churrasco look like?

We have to start by looking deep into Gaucho soul and asking ourselves – what is the perfect state of relaxation, understanding of the best spent quality time, and the image of true manliness for Gauchos?

A Gaucho is very proud of Rio Grande do Sul and its traditions. He, like an Estonian man, finds it important to be able to start a fire, which is a lost value in the western world. The highlight of his weekly accomplishments in his true heart is when he serves his dearest people perfectly juicy, just enough salty meat that he made himself, from scratch. Traditionally that would include killing the cow with his own sword, but nowadays, in the city, the tradition mainly starts at the butcher’s by choosing the right kind of pieces of meat.

In the case of sauna, the whole procedure starts with chopping firewood. It is important that the wood comes from the right kind of tree and it is completely dry. Then the man can proceed with chopping the logs, placing them in the sauna oven and setting the whole thing on fire.

The meat (according to the piece) is rolled around and then kept a few minutes up until some tens of minutes in coarse salt. Then it is put in the churrasqueira (kind of like a big fireplace) where it is turned every few minutes. A bit later the chef will use his sword (that he keeps on his belt) to spank the salt off the meat. When it’s ready, he serves the meat on people’s plates right off the metal stick, cutting slices with his manly sword. He is the last one to eat, when everyone else is satisfied.















He serves different pieces of meat, but I find it most important to mention picanha (I believe it is located somewhere on the 'ass' of the cow) and chicken hearts (coração de galinha). The hearts because they were a part of my culture shock and because I’ve learned to think they are absolutely delicious!

Returning to the topic of sauna... The man will spend hours adding firewood, measuring the temperature, setting the hot room ready for visitors. When the temperature is right (depending on taste, between 80 and 110 degrees), he invites his friends and family to join him for a night of sauna.

Both rituals take hours and are not taken lightly. But somehow, they are rituals of relaxation and confirmation that everything is all right – the family is together, the bellies are fed/cleaned and the man of the house is still the man of the house. Complete mental and physical relaxation. Every Sunday (sauna’s case - Saturday) the family becomes closer together. It is something that kids run back home for once they’ve grown up and are leading their modern stressful lives.

My Gaucho friend agreed, he said “I would say churrasco is the reason to survive the week - to wake up, go to school/work, because after a long week - there is the churrasco.”

That is how I feel about sauna.

Just for fun, here is a little comparison between the two:

CHURRASCO	SAUNA
It’s a family-friends event	It’s a family-friends event
It feels completely natural and essential in a weekend	It feels completely natural and essential in a weekend
There is a special place in your house only for that	There is a special place in your house only for that
The ritual revolves around a fireplace	The ritual revolves around a fireplace
It takes the whole morning and noon	It takes the whole evening
Normally on Sunday	Normally on Saturday
It’s on fire	It’s hot
There is a set of special tools	There is a set of special tools
You wear traditional gaucho clothes	You wear traditionally nothing
You enjoy it with beer	You enjoy it with beer

Warm Brazilian embrace

I am new to this blog. In fact, this is my first post, so I will start with myself.
My name is Maris. I am 26 years old. My real home is way up north - Estonia! I would describe myself as a very curious person, mainly about people and nature. I guess what I am doing in Porto Alegre is exploring the gaucho (that is how people are called in the state of Rio Grande do Sul) in me and learning about a society, human behavior, and the world in general. In everyday life I work on a big international educational project that works with public schools here in Porto Alegre and in many other places in Latin America. It’s my 4th time in Brazil, 3rd time to live in Porto Alegre. Except, this time I might stay for a while.

Enough about me, I will continue with my very first impression I had when I first landed in Brazil in the beginning of 2009 (and which hasn’t changed ever since).

One thing that amazes me about Brazilians is the warm welcome I receive from anyone I meet or anywhere I go. Porto Alegre is no exception. Gauchos are not used to tourists but, seems, they welcome every newcomer with the most admirable curiosity, respect and warmth.

I have not traveled a lot (a bit less than 20 countries) but I have to admit, here is where I feel the most welcome. Ironically, I include my own culture in the comparison. It feels good here, really warm!

It’s very common that people I’ve just met invite me to their home to meet their family. They prepare the most delicious dinner – a table loaded with an endless number of traditional dishes – and very excitedly wait until I’ve tried and approved each one of them. It’s an easy task because the food here is truly great! They continue with telling me about their football team and Sunday barbeque (a topic so special, I will write a whole post about it) and convincing me to join both of them.

Gauchos are always curious about how I ended up here and what my home country is like. They very genuinely listen to everything I tell them and even search for more information later. By the end of the night I feel like I’ve known those people all my life. They’ve already become a part of me - my family. We kiss several times and hug for minutes before I leave (everyone in the family joins in this event – kids, mother, father, grandparents, sometimes neighbors...). Then I go home, on my way thinking about how my heart is filled by the warm Brazilian embrace.