07.47 The last day of the month of July is here. The night here in Presidente Prudente has, compared to its predecessor, been cool and chilly. Today we will travel on. Our fellow passengers from yesterday have still not arrived in Rio de Janeiro. It feels good to have got off.

09.37 By now the bus to Rio de Janeiro should have arrived there, but who knows, it could easily have been delayed. We´ve got some time left before our bus departs from here. We will spend that time with some strolling around in the city. There are some pigeons on top of a tin roof close to here.

Presidente Prudente, a city in the western part of the state São Paulo.

09.49 So far we have found out that Presidente Prudente is a pretty hilly city. The streets are heading up as well as down. We have at least found the straight and broad Avenida Manoel Goulart that hopefully will take us towards more central parts, and maybe even a few sights and attractions. It's a warm sunny Saturday today.

10.22 We are sitting in front of yet another cathedral. This time it is the Catedral de São Sebastião. Across the street from the cathedral there is a nice park with a fountain. The square is called Praça 9 de Julho. On the way here we saw a man who was carrying a tire with a rim. The sun makes its way through the clouds.

A street in Presidente Prudente.

Who is he? Where is he heading?

Praça 9 de Julho with the Catedral de São Sebastião in the background.

10.43 We've strolled along the various streets on our way back to the hotel. We got thirsty and went to visit a petrol station that had ice cold Guaraná drinks, there are two kinds of soft drinks here in Brazil that are made from guaraná, a bush and fruit that comes from the Amazon area. It tastes good in hot weather and is also refreshing. Guaraná contains twice the amount of caffeine compared with coffee beans. Guaraná Antarctica is the most common drink, but today we had a Guaraná Kuat.

10.58 So, for the last time we went back to room 37 here at the Hotel Avenida. Now we will make sure to get everything with us from here. Well that is from what we brought here except what is left of what we consumed.

11.39 We filled up with fluids. We have been sitting for a while and talked about previous trips, past memories. Soon we walk to the bus station. It is of course very close so hopefully it will be a quiet walk without too much sweating this hot day.

Blue house made of wood, Presidente Prudente.

A man and his dog taking a walk along the abandoned railroad tracks in town.

Our home for one night, Avenida Hotel.

12.19 I just let Christer leave. He will go and surf the internet for a while at a nearby internet cafe. I’ve already made my share of surfing. Now I sit backpack guarding at the bus station. A guy in a cap walks around selling DVD movies. Something tells me that it is not the original. We are trying to kill some time while waiting for our bus to take us forward. It is more than an hour left before it departs.

13.27 Christer came back and left again to buy some food for the upcoming journey. Now we are once again on board a bus. Once again someone was sitting in my seat. This time it was an old man who had misread his ticket. A child is crying a little further down the bus aisle.

At the bus station in Presidente Prudente you can find this educational information about the symptoms of dengue fever.

13.36 The bus left, the child stopped crying, the bus drove back and a new passenger was added. The child remains silent. Now we´re driving backwards and are off. Today we once again travel with the bus company Andorinha.

14.41 The bus has stopped in Assis. This was the place our last bus ticket had as its written destination, the one we bought in Campo Grande. Probably both Presidente Prudente and Assis are in the same zone and have the same fare on the ticket.

14.52 It's quiet in the bus. Everything you hear is the rustling of bags and sleeping humans. The landscape is flat and dry.

16.07 I’ve taken an afternoon nap. Now the bus and we are going to have a twenty minute break. I like a bus which has a break. Christer and I are sitting on a stone bench. Between a few tables and red plastic chairs with advertisements for the beer Conti there is a tiny gray-black dog. We are in Echaporã, one of those places you pass, but almost certainly will never return to. It is too quiet here. The birds are singing, the sun is hot and an old man takes himself step by step closer to the bus station.

The bus has stopped in the small town Echaporã.

16.54 We have stopped in Marília with it’s to say the least, unique bus station. It looks like a giant hat, similar to the ones the Chinese farmers have in the rice fields. With good imagination, you can also think that it looks like a flying saucer.

17.27 It remains 70 km from today's bus trip. There is not much air conditioning in the bus. It's too bad, pity. A cool trip is always a pleasant journey. We passed beautiful scenery of green hills and valleys. Had it not been for the vegetation of the tropical kind we might have believed that we were in Ireland or in Scotland. When will we get there?

18.03 Sure it is fun to travel and fun to be out and move around and meet other like-minded people. Right now, however, I mostly want a cool room and then a cooked meal. Let’s hope that it will be so later tonight.

A beautiful hilly countryside south of Marília.

18.30 We finally arrived in Bauru, got out of the bus and we sit on a green bench. Christer is looking at the map and soon he will go and buy the next tickets. We have to travel on tomorrow.

19.03 I got my room. However, it is not so cool. But it is at Hotel Cidade de Bauru (http://www.hotelcidadebauru.com.br). The room number is 301. A few gentlemen in overalls, helmets and face masks turned up as we checked in. Has the union of construction workers a conference in the city? It's time to take a shower, wash clothes and relax before looking for somewhere and something to eat.

20.22 The room is still not cool, despite the air conditioning. It can be due to the fact that it has blown hot air. Now we´re having cooked food at Pizzaria Vila Rica (http://www.pizzariavilarica.redeopen.com.br). We were lucky to find this great restaurant. Otherwise it was dead in the streets and most places were closed this Saturday evening.

21.15 It was tasty, very filling and just what we needed. At the pizzeria there was an elderly gentleman who took telephone orders. He answered mechanically. It sounded like he had said the same phrases in 30-40 years. Perhaps he had done that too?

23.34 While I watched CNN, Christer cut his hair. He has used scissors and a hair trimmer. Sometimes things happen in the primitive way when we are out on the trips.

Sunday 1st of August

07.55 There is a new day, a new month and soon a new journal. The one which I am writing in now has only one page left. Sleep has been good. We heard sounds from cars and church bells ringing. We are in Bauru, a city that is known for being the place where Pelé started his football career and for the Bauru sandwich, a common meal in many fast food outlets in Brazil.

09.29 It is time to let the breakfast settle. After that we will clean the teeth before we temporarily leave the room and most of the properties to see what this city has to offer.

A high-rise building dominates the view from our room at Hotel Cidade de Bauru.

The shopping street Rua Batista de Carvalho did not offer a lot this Sunday.

10.47 After a short neighborhood walk we´re sitting in a big leather couch in the lobby. We wonder about our next move on this day. On our first walk, we saw mostly empty streets with closed shops. It is, after all Sunday. The activity we saw going on was at the churches and at some restaurants preparing for lunch. It's another sunny warm day.

11.41 This is what happened next, we went out for a walk again and took pictures of the church of the parish of Santa Teresinha do Menino Jesus. After that we bought drinks at a Shell gas station. There the clerk brought out the innermost and coldest drinks to Christer. On the way home we took photos in a square with a fountain, church and belfry. Now everything is packed away. Some of Christer´s hair is however left behind here in the hotel.

A church in central Bauru.

Peter is on his way to our hotel.

12.06 Base camp is established at the bus station. Now we will learn how everything works here. What they´ve got to offer and what might be of use for us.

12.53 We bought some postcards and I also bought a small Sudoku magazine. Christer has found out that a piss passport/WC ticket is purchased in counter number 3. He has also found out where the café is and what they have to offer. Now he checks out what all the pastries are called, in order for us to translate and order. We want to order right stuff in correct language.

13.44 Who needs to translate café and muffin de chocolate? We are at the Frans Café. A young guy with a huge model of a carry-on bag asked us with an American accent if we were Americans, if we needed help and if we had bought our tickets. We thanked him politely and explained that we have already arranged everything. Now I'm drinking my coffee. Christer´s juice is finished.

14.08 Go to counter 3, pay 70 centavos, get a receipt, submit it to a gentleman and you may eventually come into the bathroom. This bus station sets new record in urination bureaucracy.

Avenida Rodrigues Alves, Bauru.

Praça Rui Barbosa, beautiful square with a church, palm trees and fountains.

14.30 Christer barely had time to visit the toilet because of the queues at counter three that take care of the tickets to both the toilets and parking garage. Sandals are off, backrest is moved backwards. Now it's off. We leave Bauru behind us. Today we travel with a new bus company, RIL (http://www.ril.com.br).

15.59 Sudoku is tricky. It gets more difficult in a bus on a bumpy road.

16.50 A man placed himself in front of Christer, brought back his seat, and then walked away without putting it back. He then sat at the front right corner, followed by the same procedure. Now he sits on the second line at the front to the right. However, he just moved the seat in the first row. This is the end of the first notebook/journal. 80 pages are written. A lot has happened so far and soon the next book will probably be filled with new experiences.

We are waiting for a bus. Photo from Bauru bus station.

17.48 Eighty new pages waiting to be written. New notebook has been opened. Our bus from RIL, Rodoviãrio Ibitinguense Ltda, has for the last fifteen minutes been standing still at the bus station in Jaboticabal. People get off and on. When will the bus leave?

18.00 The bus started shortly after I finished writing and now it’s on the road again.

18.43 There is clatter from the shoes of a little girl who is running around here at the bus station in Ribeirão Preto. I sit here as a guard while Christer is looking for some hotels nearby. We have them marked on a city map that we found on Google Maps. What are they like in reality? It remains to be seen.

19.07 Outside the bus station, the traffic was impetuous, the streets are hard to cross and the hotels of questionable standard. All this was found out by Christer on his short walk. Some of the hotels seem to be ok though, it´s time to find a hotel.

Even this night we sleep in beds. Peter has just arrived to room 229 at Hotel Aurora in Ribeirão Preto.

19.31 We ended up at Hotel Aurora, where we are now in room 229. Our window view is currently an iron jalousie. We'll see if we can get it up. Now I'm just hungry.

19.45 The catch to the limited vision/view was a catch. When it was removed all swung open. It wasn't a jalousie but rather shutters. Another mystery in the room is a small door locked with a padlock. What's behind it?

20.17 Languages are difficult for me. I pronounce badly and understand less than nothing. However, I know that we are at the bus station, namely the restaurant Sandubas and we are waiting for our sandwiches. Just sandwiches, yes it will be light dining tonight. At a table a short distance away there is a guy in a yellow shirt sleeping. In front of him he has a glass of juice and a sandwich.

Dinner at the bus station. In Brazil you can eat sandwiches for dinner, the size is sufficient.

20.59 The sleeping guy woke up and went without food or drink. It probably was not his. Our food arrived, two large sandwiches. My sandwich has meat, cheese and tomato, Christer´s, chicken, lettuce and tomato. The sleeper came back and went to the counter and ordered. Now we are home again.

22.35 After looking at a TV show about people with obsessive thoughts, people who collected everything they found, one with a fear of germs and even one with extra pedantic ideas, we decided to watch a story about police officers. Our bathroom door stops 20 centimeters above the floor. Our phone is an old Ericsson model, has one dial without holes and is inhabited by ants.

Monday 2nd of August

08.22 The sunshine and the sounds of everyday life come to us through our window, a sun and a day that we will soon find ourselves in this second day of August.

09.22 The sounds and the lights continue to pour in, to invite. We will accept the glance, the invitation and go out and join the two of them. We are going out in the streets of the city which brought us the football-playing brothers, Socrates and Rai.

Aurora Hotel, Ribeirão Preto.

09.44 We’ve come a long way in our journey through the centre of Ribeirão Preto. First we walked past lots of small work shops and then along a pedestrian street (Rua General Osório) full of small shops, mostly clothing stores. It's a hot day today. It is hard to believe that it is winter here.

10.32 At this moment we are in the city center, Praça XV de Novembro (15th of November Square). It is a beautiful green area. The park here is a movement of people, not a single bench is available.

10.39 On one building a few streets away, you can read Prefeitura Municipal. Palacião Rio Branco. There is some kind of official building, probably a town hall.

We´re walking along Rua General Osório towards the center.

Old trees along Praça XV de Novembro.

Prefeitura Municipal can be translated to town hall/city hall.

10.58 We found no bench earlier. We are now instead on a bench without a name in a park with no name. Possibly the park might be called Praça das Bandeiras. There is in all cases a reddish-beige cathedral, Catedral de São Sebastião close. The park is located along the street Américo Brasiliense. We refresh ourselves a bit. Between the last notes and now we´ve seen people weighing themselves at one of the pharmacies that are here, and a blind man who stuck out his cane and then walked across the street.

11.45 We’ve found some of the things that we are looking for, the post office, something to eat, we know where at the bus station that we can buy bus tickets and where we can go out on the web. Now we take a bench break in the park. What do we do next? Ideas are being shifted back and forth in full swing.

We walked past the beautiful Methodist Church.

The cathedral in Ribeirão Preto is called Catedral de São Sebastião.

A nice bench resting in a beautiful park by the cathedral.

12.04 We're back in our room again for a short stop. We need a toilet, a little rest and refreshment. Now, well the rest of the afternoon is planned and structured.

12.43 Phase one of the afternoon is about to begin. It will be a lunch at the restaurant/brewery Pinguim (http://www.pinguimochopp.com.br) in the center. Pinguim makes its own beer. It will be interesting to taste. We're sitting right now on the restaurant terrace with the square next to us. Our table as well as the other tables has penguin feet. Wait, do penguins really have feet?

Pinguim restaurant is strategically located at Praça XV de Novembro.

At the counter inside the Pinguim.

Ribeirão Preto

13.50 It was a nice lunch and the food was good. However the beer glasses were minimal, not much for us who are accustomed to drink beer in central Europe. As we waited for our food a blind lottery seller came across the square. He stood a few inches away from us and called out before he walked on. Full and happy we are now sitting with two pieces of paper with the number 542 and number 543. It is our queue at the post office. Now the monitor shows 538. We will send our postcards on a long journey.

14.29 Surfs up. Well, we are surfing the internet anyway. It is hot today. Around +31˚C, if you believe the information we found online.

15.58 We set off in search of a watering hole, a beer serving place, Cervejaria Colorado. We had read about it on the internet before leaving Sweden. Something, however, went wrong. We only found a warehouse. Right address, wrong place. Now we are drinking Guaraná and Coke instead. We pour down our liquid! Out on town, we have seen the temperature at +34˚C hot and it feels realistic. At this year's trip was we´ve had temperatures from +4˚C to +34˚C, a certain variation.

The refurbished bus station in Ribeirao Preto.

This drink is an adequate reason to emigrate to Brazil.

Cats in various colors wandering around on the roofs.

18.12 We're back in the room and for a little rest, we amused ourselves by studying five cats, one white, one black, one brown, one black and white speckled, and one gray. They have been on the roof and walls of the houses opposite our window. An elderly white-haired lady has attracted the cats and most of them have climbed a steep stone to lady's balcony. The white and gray have been invited into the lady's apartment. The black and white climbed down again.

19.09 The brain, the body and everything becomes dull to walk in the heat. However, we know that we must go out soon for dinner. No direct hunger but we probably will still need food.

20.04 Our feet have taken us back to the place with tables with penguin feet. It is time for a dinner meal at Pinguim. Before we came here we bought something to drink in a shop that also sold tires.

There was also a dinner at Pinguim, but indoors this time.

21.40 Pizza with catupiry (which, incidentally, is a Brazilian cheese), olives and ham is heavy. We are to say the least full. In through the window comes the smell of food.

23.09 Plans are made up for tomorrow. Up early, breakfast, walking, bus trip, base camps, and more that I do not bring up here and now, for various reasons.

23.56 It's time to go to bed. There are those who are awake, people on motorcycles on the town, and so even the lady with the cats. There are lights in her window and she is still busy with her cats.

São Paulo state.

Tuesday 3rd of August

07.13 So, our globe has turned yet another lap. Another morning is here, a morning which will turn into a day, a day filled with the usual, breakfast, bus trip, hotel searching, check in, etc.. Will I miss this when I come home to Sweden?

08.33 Now all the things that must be done are done. A small child in a dark turquoise hooded jacket is passing us. The child was all by himself and clearly eager to leave. We are in the waiting area at the bus station here in Ribeirão Preto.

08.55 Today we are sitting at the front of the bus. A little further back in the bus is the child with the dark turquoise hooded jacket. The thoughtful excursion/escape failed. Now it is time to get the coach belt strapped on. This day we travel with the bus company São Bento (http://www.viacaosaobento.com.br).

09.20 The bus stopped and a lady stepped aboard. She said something to the driver, handed him a brown C4 envelope and got off.

10.36 There has been a lot of writing recently, including about different types of landscapes that we travel through. This one is agrarian, hilly and green. It is crossed by fences and roads. Look there, a power line!

The bus station in Uberaba.

11.32 It was a fairly short bus trip today. However, we have made it to a new state, Minas Gerais. We’ve arrived at yet another bus station. This time it’s the bus station in Uberaba. Was it this city’s lights that I saw from the plane during the approach of the last month? Here, the thermometer shows +25˚C. Soon Christer will go and find a suitable hotel for us. There should be some near the bus station. But first however, tickets for tomorrow's trip must be purchased.

11.59 Two hotels, Portobello and Havana Palace were found around the bus station. We first went to Portobello but they had no rooms. Havana Palace had rooms for 184 real (around 90 US-dollars), not exactly our prices. Now I'm back at the bus station and Christer is on a walk to look for other alternatives. In the meantime, I look at the Simpsons. There is a TV here at the bus station showing it.

12.24 Christer is back with an update of the situation, new bids. Now we are thinking about whether we should eat lunch before trying our luck.

12.45 We concluded that a home is better than a meal. Fenician Hotel is large, white and has rooms, but unfortunately there is no check in until 14.00 hours. The front desk guy was wondering if we would have the room today when we asked for a double room. Wasn't it obvious that we needed the room today? We stood there sweaty with large backpacks on our backs.

13.08 Eventually it was a success. We will stay in room number 328 at Del Rey Hotel. One of the guys at the front desk thought that my English had a British accent, which he thought was more beautiful than the American. I have never heard that about my English before. It was cleaning stuff in the room. The stuff was carried out of the room by the guy that showed us here. Then he left and took the room key with him. It was returned quite directly. The English-speaking man at the front desk asked politely what we actually did here in Uberaba. Is it true that there are few tourists here? We explained that we were only passing through.

Uberaba seen from our hotel.

Peter is having a simple but delicious lunch at Cantina do Nego.

14.20 At the bus station we found some postcards, but not something to eat. The lunch buffet had lots of food left but had closed as the clock had passed 14:00. Now we are instead at Cantina do Nego. Here we eat meat, rice and vegetables, completely self-picked from the buffet. An alternative offer is marmitex, what is it? Moreover, it is a tree here inside the restaurant.

14.53 It was tasty and not expensive. Sometimes you can eat really great for very little money in this country. The challenge is to find a lunch restaurant where the ordinary people go. Now we are sitting on a wooden bench inside a mall with the unimaginative name Shopping Uberaba (http://www.shoppinguberaba.com.br). Although it was only a short walk here, we have become really warm.

17.05 There was some lazy time in the mall before we went and bought some useful things in the supermarket there. We took a cashier each. Just as it was my turn a young clerk came and shut the gate in front of me. I was let through and able to pay for my things. Christer got a small collection of coins as change. Christer also bought a gift for his nephew Anton's birthday, a mug in the shape of a football, in a small store. Now we are home again. It's nice to have a room of our own.

If people ignore the text (pare = stop) one can test with metal poles instead.

Shopping Uberaba Mall

18.49 Not much is being done here. You will lose strength and energy when it is hot. I hope that it has cooled down before we head out for dinner. We might get back to the restaurants we found at the mall.

19.50 When did it become this late? Here we are talking about past World Championships in Athletics and other nonsense. Now we need to go before it becomes a really late dinner.

20.02 We went for a quick and easy solution. A bell just rang. There will be dinner at the nearby Cascata Pizzaria (http://www.cascatauberaba.com.br). A piece of meat feels distant and it is after all a great distance to a place that serves that stuff. Now a phone rang. The pizza making man has a cloth over his mouth.

20.44 We're back home. Our pizzeria is in the Yellow Pages. You will also find their menu, clever.

22.37 Studies have been made of BH, the city that we're going to spend the next few days in. Now we filled up with some fluids to our bodies. It was badly needed after this day.

Hotel Del Rey, Uberaba.