Transmitting from Sao Paulo, Brazil...
We arrived here last night. Sao Paulo is the 3rd largest city in the world & it seems to be taken up largely with business areas, malls & some of the worst poverty I've ever seen. Our hotel is fairly new & luxurious but only 2-3 blocks away are people living in houses made up of what look to be thin planks of wood nailed together in whatever haphazard way that would get them to remain upright. It's very sad, very heartbreaking. Crime is very high here & we've been told not to walk the streets near the hotel after dark.
We spent our 1 day of sightseeing in a very nice park, not unlike NYC's Central Park, with tons of people enjoying a summery Sunday afternoon & all that entails. I was hoping to find a little cafe there as I missed our hotel breakfast but didn't & had to come back here for lunch.
I read that Brazil is largely a 2-class country economically &, just from my very limited time here observing, I can see why one would say that.
We'll see what tonight brings. There's some talk of going to a jazz club. Tomorrow is a show day followed by a travel day to Rio on Tuesday. I'll update from there if not sooner.