Sao Paulo day 5

 Good Morning!

I spent a good amount of time yesterday evening and this morning planning. The plan is coming into focus. Here is what I have so far.

• I will continue to stay were I am until May 18. Today I will visit the Museo de Favela and the Pinocoteca de Estado. Tomorrow ?
• May 18 I will move to Grande Familia Hostel in a different part of Sao Paulo.
• May 20 I will move again to another Hostel very close to the airport. I have an early morning flight on May 21
• May 21 Fly back to Lima and stay 2 days at Ancestral Hostel Baranco. This is a artsy location close to the ocean.
• From May 23 to May 31, I will fly one way and bus one way with interim stops to Cusco, Peru.
• May 31 I will fly to Iquitos, Peru. I will stay a few days there and during that time visit the Monkey rescue center.
• On a not determined date I will catch a slow boat to Leticia, Colombia. This is a only  a 2 day journey, but I plan to get  off the boat and stay at least 1 or more small hostels on the way. Once arriving in Leticia, I will probably stay a few days there.
• Sometime before June 15, I will fly to Cartagena, Colombia for a few days, then onto Medellín, and later to Bogota, Colombia.
• From there I will be heading back to Costa Rica... That's all I have for now. 

I headed out about 10 to visit the Museo de Favela. From talking to the owner of the hostel, he says that this museum is currently owned by the government and that the government is in the process of repossesing many of these buildings that they have lent to the museum, to again use them for government functions.

The museum building is pretty grand. The museum itself only utilizes 1 floor of either 3 or four floors of the building. Very much underutilized.

One room is dedicated to poster art, some dating back to the 70's.  Another room for photography. In the entry was a large woven piece hanging from the ceiling. It only took about 20 or 30 minutes to see everything.

I wanted to take a bus to my next stop the Pinacoteca de la São Paulo (The Art Gallery of São Paulo). With all the U turns, wrong turns and back tracking I did try to follow google map instructions. I should have just walked. I finally did catch a bus only to ride about 4 or 5 blocks when it was time for me to get off and backtrack again to finally arrive at the Pinocoteca.

The Gallery is free for those over 65. I easily pass that criteria. This is truly a first class gallery. On the lower (basement) level. There are several restoration rooms and other offices. The first and second floor have a several galleries featuring different artists. I think this Gallery is solely for the works for Brazilian artists. The interior unfinished brick walls added a lot to the character of the building.

The first installation and by it's position was a feature presentation was a collection of full size gas cylinders turn out of various species of wood. Even the gas valves were carved out of wood. The other half of the installation was piles of wood chips, probably the chips or turnings from making the cylinders. It was easy to see the association of the different colors of the wood chips to the finished cylinders.

This piece caught my eye. It wasn't that big. It was a figure standing in front of a mirror, looking at itself.

There were scultures of various mediums located throughout the gallery. There were 2 of these large stone statues positions to look like they are holding up the building.

I had to cut my time short at the gallery. My legs were done for the day and I needed some food and hydration.

The inside cafe was closed for renovation, but they had an outside garden cafe adjacent to the park. Unfortunately, it was high brow pricing, I had to pass.

While looking for food I passed through the Parque Jardim de Luz.

The Gallery itself is located on one end of the Parque Jardim de Luz. (The Light Park). I really like this park, it is not the biggest I have been to, but definitely the most densely populated by trees, big trees. Interspersed with walkways, fountains and scultures.

Very nice. I was hoping that there were some food vendors inside the park, but there were none.

Across from the Gallery and Parque is the Estação da Luz. (the Light Station). A train station still in use for the subway system. It is just another of many amazing buildings in the city.

I did find a diner to eat at. I had a fried chicken plate that came with a small salad, rice, french fries and serving of beans. (All the combo plates come with beans, like mac salad and rice in Hawaii.) I had a large local beer with lunch. I was tired and very thirsty.

I was able to find a bus back close to the hostel. I was very much ready to get off my feet.