February 16, 2007
Day 506

Daniela's apartment was only a few blocks from Dragao do Mar, so I walked there in the sweltering heat today. The outside area was deserted unlike last night, but I was more interested in seeing the Museu do Vaquieros (Cowboy Museum). It was quite well set up and gave a great history of the cowboys of Brazil. They lived tough lives in the vast Brazilian wilderness, and eventually they became so important that entire towns sprung up around their existence. They have more modern equipment to help them today, but continue to maintain their important role of providing beef for the meat-hungry Brazilians.

Also included in the price of admission was a room full of ancient textiles and artifacts, and a modern art exhibit. Kurt Schirner, the main artist on display, painted peaceful beach scenes in the late 1990's, but his newer paintings depicted people cutting each others' hearts out and heads off. No explanation was given for this change in style.

Tonight I went with Daniela and her friend Echevania to dinner in another part of the city. Along the way we got stopped at one of the many police checkpoints set up to make sure people aren't driving drunk or stealing cars. This was the first night of Carnaval, so police presence was greatly increased. I found out, however, that there is no big Carnaval celebration in Fortaleza, so most of the locals head out to one of the smaller cities in the area for the party. That's what I made plans to do tomorrow.

February 15, 2007
Day 505

When I got to Fortaleza this morning, I wanted to walk to the beach around the center of town. I didn't see the bus station on my rudimentary map of the city, however, so I just asked a few people which direction to the beach. The consensus estimate of the walking time was fifteen minutes. One and a half hours later, I finally could see the ocean.

Once in the main part of the city, I arranged to meet with Daniela from Couchsurfing. She's a doctor who lives a few blocks from the beach with her four-year-old daughter Lara. She graciously offered me a place to stay, which was great because accommodation was getting expensive around Carnaval time.

Daniela and I went to Dragao do mar, a new, trendy area with lots of restaurants, museums, and a planetarium, tonight for dinner. There we met up with Nathalia and her cousin Marcelo, also from Couchsurfing. I felt rather parasitic when I learned that Daniela is a doctor, Nathalia is studying to be a lawyer, and Marcelo is just finishing his business degree. They were wonderful people with a wealth of knowledge of Brazil, and it was great to make some new friends right away when arriving here. Fortaleza has over 2.5 million people, which is more than all three Guianas combined, so it can be a bit intimidating if you don't know anybody.

The photo album for this entry is here.

February 14, 2007
Day 504

I took one more brief walk around Sao Luis this morning, said goodbye to all the old guys watching their soap operas at the hotel, and headed out on an overnight bus to Fortaleza. It's such a huge country, just the distance on that one bus ride was further than I traveled in three months through the Guianas. It would take years to see the whole country.