Happy Birthday Steve! - A Message from Fiona

Hey everyone, Fiona here:)

If you’ve read one of these blogs before you know that at some point I make an appearance, and, as like last WC, its Steve’s birthday today so here I am. 

Well, I can’t compete against Steve’s writing prowess, unless I’m writing about feeding baby lions :), so I’m going to bullet point my way through this: -

Highlight - catching up with my cousin Christine and her husband Andres in Santiago – 18 years is nothing to catch up on, and we had a guest appearance via skype from Judy!

Chile – loved it (all of it, even the bits we haven’t been to yet), we immediately thought about how we can move there, as we always do...

San Pedro de Atacama – OK, this is our third WC and as you may have figured out, we love deserts – Sahara, Namibian and now SPdA – those who know me know I can’t stand the heat but somehow it works (maybe it’s the humidity I don’t like...)

Craft Beer – who knew, Chile has a huge craft beer scene, yay!

Yates – great to see his friendly face waiting for us in Sao Paulo – this is Steve and his sixth WC.  David, Yates’ brother, was able to join us for the Fortaleza leg – he is well into his football and was able to offer a more sober view on some of the games we watched.

Brew Dog Bar, Sao Paulo – let me set the scene, 3 or 4 months ago I randomly buy some beer for Steve (Fresh Choice, Parklands – great selection of craft beer).  One of them Steve particularly likes, Brew Dog Punk IPA, “where does this come from” he wonders.... after a minute he knows it’s a Scottish brewer, just about to open a brew bar in Sao Paulo – how awesome was that?  You know from Steve’s blog post what a great night we had there and how much Steve enjoyed it.

Football Museum, Sao Paulo – obviously I like football but even if you don’t this place is worth a visit. Lots of humour and a journey through WCs puts them into perspective with what was happening at the time.

Mexico vs Brazil, Fortaleza – not the best but two teams with great supporters so was awesome being part of the crowd. 

7 v 1 – Right, out of sequence, but at this point I would like to point out something I noticed after the opening game, which we watched in a bar, the majority of Brazilians are not huge football fans, they are Brazil fans – I think they just thought they’d win by default and couldn’t see what the rest of us were seeing.

Mateus & Mariane – brother and sister waiters working in the parents ’snack’ bar – this was opposite the stadium at Fortaleza.  We went there before/after each game and got to know them quite well, especially Mateus.  Very friendly and hard working family.

Fan Fest, Fortaleza – this was right on the beach in front of our apartment so really it’s the view of the Fan Fest.  These guys were right up against the heat and humidity – we only made it in there once – but they put on an amazing show, all day everyday with live acts including dancers, musicians and DJs leading up to the games.  They put the Fan Fest here in Salvador to shame, they only show Brazil games and games being played in Salvador with no entertainment in between.

Rancho do Piexe, Jericoacoara – just go there if you can.

Salvador – my favourite city in Brazil so far, a nice mix of Sao Paulo and Fortaleza – the beach, history, culture, architecture, shopping.

Elevador Lacerda, Salvador – for just 7c you can catch a lift, seemingly suspended in air, from the lower city (port) to the upper city – the difference in the two ‘cities’ was amazing – both beautiful, just different.

Police – there are a lot of police here in Brazil and I don’t just mean quantity, variety also, we have: Military / Local / Transport / Motor Bike / State / Riot / Horse Mounted – I’m sure I’ve missed some – for the most part they wear really cool uniforms and have guns!  NB the police in Fortaleza are a lot more laid back than the police in Salvador, just in case you find yourself in trouble one day.

Fans – we have met some really cool people, some for a passing moment, a bus ride, a queue wait, watching the same game – carrying the NZ flag certainly helps.  People everywhere are the same and that’s one sameness I never get bored of.

Food – well, we haven’t gone hungry since we’ve been here and having spent a lot of time on the coast there’s been lots of seafood.  Salvador has an African heart and that shows in the food and Steve had the most amazing broth the other day. Sometimes we order things not really knowing what will arrive. Lots of meat and buffets/all you can eat’s are popular.  If you are a vegetarian the best option is to go to a ‘self service’ restaurant (that’s what they’re called!) they have great salads/bean/cheese dishes.  If you go to a normal restaurant and order a salad 9 times out of 10 you’ll be disappointed.

Booze – to counter Chiles fantastic craft beer selection, and with the

exception of Brew Dog, the selection in Brazil is lacking and consists of cold, wet stuff, which in all fairness is ideal in this heat.  You are probably aware of Steve and Yates’ predilection for caprihinas – I have had a few but I watched them making them once – about 3 tablespoons of sugar per glass so mine are in moderation – I know, I’m such a bloody saint...

That pretty much brings us up to day, Steve’s birthday – happy birthday!