Chasing Summer –

February 24- 26

Santos

Santos is in the São Paulo region, which has the largest city in Brazil and is the largest port in South America.

Once we arrived and I was cleared, I needed to figure out what to do. A ride into São Paulo takes about 2 hours, so I decided to stay in Santos instead.

It is hot and humid here, with temperatures that feel like 37 degrees Celsius.

Praia

A group of us (6) decided to head towards the beach area. The city is divided into sections based on the canals that are here. Every time you pass a canal, you are in a new section or zone.

The port authorities have also stated that it is dangerous to walk around the port area, and taxis or Ubers are the way to get around. Ubers are cheap and plentiful here.

So with 6 of us, we split into 2 Ubers to meet at the Santos sign. It was about 25 reals or $5 for the ride.

While I waited for the second Uber to show up, pictures were taken and sea turtles were spotted.

We spent the next couple of hours walking along the beach.

We walked without any purpose until we reached the Basilica.

The water is warm and stays shallow pretty far out.

Old City

Day 2 was just as hot (feels like 37 Celsius), so Steve, Angela, and I headed for the charm of old town and the funicular up Monte Serrat.

Let me tell you, when it is this hot, just breathing makes you sweat, so I feel no shame in not climbing the stairs up the hill. At the top, there is a great view and a church.

The old town is not that large, but the heat sapped my strength pretty quickly. There were quite a few interesting buildings, but many were falling into shambles or empty.

As with most cities, there was a variety of murals to see.

There was even a small section of pedestrian streets. The Coffee Museum was on such a street, and we stopped there to cool down. My phone was shutting itself off from overheating.

Somewhere in Between

We ended up with an extra day here due to a bunkering fuel delay, so four of us ventured to the mall and other shopping areas.

I was super excited when I saw that there was a Daiso here. I used to shop all the time at the Japanese Daiso stores in Korea. Sadly, it wasn’t quite the same, but it did have a lot of cosmetic and personal goods that I scooped up.