On Monday morning we dropped our laundry off (mine cost $R 35 for 7 kilos of clothes) and went to see a travel agent. The travel agent wasn't as helpful as we would have liked. We met with the rest of the group around 1:30 to go to a lecture at URBS, a specialized transportation planning and operating unit which is responsible for administering the renowned bus rapid transit system in Curitiba. The lecture was in Portuguese and was a some what technical explanation of the system. We rode the busses to and from the lecture - so overall it was a good introduction to the city.
The basic concept of these busses is as follows (I'm not a transportation person, and the lecture was in Portuguese so this is what I gathered, bare with me!). The streets here have three flows of traffic - two are for cars and run only in one direction (these may be one, two, or three lanes), the third flow is in the center of the two single direction lanes and is exclusively for busses (there are two center lanes for busses going in each direction.) Riders enter the busses from tube shaped terminal things that facilitate rapid entry for two reasons. Number one, passengers pay their fare before entering the tube, and number two the raised platform of the tube station allows people to walk right onto the bus - therefore time is saved when the bus arrives because people dont have to wait in line to board during the cumbersome paying fare and climbing the stairs process. They're two small innovations but they make a big difference in the time it takes for everyone to board - its similar to boarding a subway. I didn't take this photo but this is what the tube stations look like:
After our lecture at URBS we went off on our own in search of food. I had a really disgusting "cheeseburger" at a little restaurant we found (that only served variations of cheeseburgers). It had chunks of bacon fat on it, two tablespoons of mayonaise, and a piece of ham! Ew. After this gross cuisine experience I decided it was definitely time to go grocery shopping so I would be able to cook my own food in our apartment. Jen, myself, Shani, and Elli ventured to the supermarket which is in the neighborhood of 10 blocks away. I had never been so happy to be in a grocery store before. I got stuff to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (finding peanut butter was a mission in itself), sliced chicken breast and sliced cheese, cookies, boxes of milk (weird), tuna, some veggies, and french bread. The other girls bought a lot more than I did so walking home was also a mission. Oh well, at least we'll be fed!
Today at 8:50 am we were abruptly informed that we had ten minutes to be downstairs and ready to go. I of course was still in bed because I was under the impression we had to be ready to go at 9:30 - woops. So I rushed around like a chicken with my head cut off and managed to get downstairs with barely enough time to throw back a cup of coffee and steal some mini croissants for the road. Jen and I lamented the lack of to-go cups in this country - what's up with that!
So after our attempt at breakfast, we boarded a little bus that took us to IPPUC - where it all began! IPPUC is the Instituto de Pesquisa e Planejamento Urbano de Curitiba - the institute for planning and research for Curitiba. We enjoyed a lecture (in English!) that gave us a great overview of the evolution of Curitiba's planning. It was great, but Eric and I struggled to stay awake - we're not morning people. After the lecture we walked around the premises of the IPPUC - it didn't feel like a municipal building - it felt like a woodland retreat!
After exploring IPPUC we had a few hours for lunch. Most of the group stopped at the first por kilo restaurant we saw (por kilo is like a buffet where they weigh your plate and charge based on the amount you eat) - but Dan and I were tired of this type of cuisine so we ended up walking for another half hour looking for alternative lunch options. We passed a lot of interesting looking (possibly German influenced?) little buildings, a huge stately looking high school, the public park, the mall, some huge sculptures and monuments - it was a good walk but didn't yield any better food options. We finally settled on a little lanchonette and ate empanadas, and then decided to yield to... the golden arches. When we passed the mall we saw a huge advertisement for McDonalds so we figured we could kill two birds with one stone - find a food court and find a new camera for Dan (his unfortunately kicked the bucket). No dice on the camera, but on the top floor (there must have been 6 levels?) of the mall we both found what we were looking for: Dan a Subway and me a cafe with iced cappucino (a rarity here). This made the long walk worth it!
After this mall adventure we met up with the group at the Secretaria Municipal de Urbanismo where we had another lecture about the zoning techniques in the city. The zoning here is pretty typical. There is a density hierarchy that allows greater density along the transportation corridors.
When the lecture was over we started walking in the direction of the hotel but took a short detour through the public park. Curitiba has many public parks, but most are on the periphery of the city. This park had facilities for bicycles, lots of people hanging out and eating icecream - and best of all... animals!! There was one caged area that featured THE WEIRDEST CREATURES - there was a pelican that was the size of a human. This is not an exaggeration, it was crazy. There was also an egret in this enclosure along with another odd looking bird that continually bent its neck all the way back so its head was touching its lower body - so odd!
Tonight was pretty uneventful - just took a nap and relaxed in the room and made myself a delicious american style sandwich for dinner. Tomorrow we have a lecture in the morning on housing and a tour of settlements in the afternoon. Sorry this post is so long with no pictures! Thanks for still reading!
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