I spent my weekend in Vitória, the capital of Espírito Santo. Took 2 days-off from work (Sat-Sun). Went there on Friday afternoon, 4.30 pm with bus. Arrived there about 9 pm at night. Took a taxi to the hotel. About 10 pm, I was on my bed, safe and sound. Called PC, messaged Marcia and my parents that I've arrived and that everything's OK so far.
Saturday
On Saturday, my first stop was Gloria, known as a shopping heaven in Vitória. It's a neighborhood with lots of stores, sells different kinds of things, from clothes to shoes and accessories, and with low prices too!
Anyway, I made a good friendship (or, to be precise: a good business deal :p) with the taxi driver that took me from hotel to Gloria. The taxi driver is a middle-age lady and she was friendly. So we exchanged phone numbers, and she agreed to pick me up in Gloria when I finished shopping. Good for me since I got this taxi from the hotel so it's relatively safe. And also because I didn't see any taxi pool around there. And good for her too, cause from Gloria to my hotel equals to about 30 Reais one way :p
Well anyway, I bought some things, not too much, I must control myself; I'll be travelling in a month... how am I supposed to carry everything? Called D.Dini (the taxi driver), she picked me up, went to hotel to drop my things, and then go directly to the mall called Shopping Vitória.
Went to cinema first to check films' schedules. Turned out Sex and the City is playing in 5 minutes so I decided to postpone lunch and go for movie instead. Interesting, I found out that in Brazil they don't normally put the seat number on the ticket, so we can sit anywhere we want. About the movie, well, yeah I like it. Nice and funny, but to me, nothing very special about it. :p
Had Yakitoba and 2 pieces of Sushi as lunch-dinner. Between 0-10, I'll give 6.5 for taste. :p Hmm...how I miss Indonesian and other Asian food...
Walked around the mall until 10 pm (the time when the stores close :D). Everything here is more expensive than in Gloria. Strangely, almost all of the stores are on sale, and are giving discounts! And guess what, there's Zara there too! I was sooo excited!
Went back to hotel feeling very satisfied, cause I've got the things I have on my to-buy list.
Sunday
I made an appointment with D.Dini's son (also a taxi driver, driving the same car as her mother) to go to Convento da Penha. He came to pick me up at the hotel at 7am. He drove me to the entrance at the bottom of a hill, and I went on foot up to the top. It was about 15-20 minutes walking uphill; The hill is covered with forest, and the road is built in the middle of it. If seen from a distance, the hill looks green, with the white convent on top of it. The roads are hidden by the thick trees.
The view from the convent is just amazing. Well, what else can I say; in terms of landscape and natural resources, Brazil is almost like a paradise. Beautiful beaches, thick tropical forests, various fruits plantations, cattle and farms, and also: petroleum.
I spent some time walking around and taking pictures and at 10am, I met the taxi driver downhill, near the exit. (Dipikir2 enak juga yah, kayak supir pribadi aja, dijemput2 kkekeke)
Before going back to hotel, I stopped for a while at the beach at Vila Velha. Took pictures and walked around a little bit.
The taxi driver recommended me to try Moqueca (Brazilian cuisine with fish) at a restaurant called Geraldo not far from my hotel. Moqueca Capixaba seems to be a typical and famous cuisine in this region. So I decided to give it a try and went there for lunch. The moqueca there was indeed delicious. After lunch, I took a walk on the beach at Praia do Canto, the area where my hotel is. I walk further downtown to Praça dos Namorados, and then further to Shopping Vitória. I walked for 3 hours, good for me, I need to burn all the calories contained in that Moqueca I had.
Bought chocolates for some of my colleagues and took a cab back to hotel. It was 4pm already. I packed my stuff, watched the game Germany vs Spain for 10 minutes, and hurried down to pay my bills.
Jeferson (D.Dini's son) already waited outside to take me to bus terminal. As planned earlier, we stopped for a while at some old and historical buildings at the city centre and I took some pics there.
My bus left Vitória at 6pm and at 11pm that night, I found myself sitting at my room in São Mateus, looking at the photos I've taken on my short trip in Vitória. Even though it was a short trip, and even though I was travelling alone, but I honestly did have a great time.
Hope that I can travel more and experience more of Brazil later.