WPCNR LETTER FROM SAO PAULO. By Captain Andy. August 10, 2008: Hi John, here are some comments on Sao Paulo.Sao Paulo is the industrial center of Brazil. What Rio de Janeiro is to fun, Sao Paulo is to business. It is a rather large city with a total population of around 20 million when the suburbs are included. There are very modern parts of the city, and there are pockets of poverty.
Sao Paulo Sunset.
Photo by Captain Andy, used with permission.
I arrived early one Thursday morning around 7:00am and immediately was struck by the air pollution notable on the drive from the airport into town. They have not seem any rain for the past two months, and apparently they need the rain to clear the air. From the air on approach, I saw the smokestacks spew their effluents robustly but had no idea how thick the blanket would look from the ground (see Sao Paulo Drive from Apt).
The plan for me was to fly all night and arrive at around 6:35 am, drive into the city and check into the hotel for a little nap, shower and prepare for my meeting at 1:00pm. Good plan, but the hotel did not have a room for me as check in is at 1:00pm. So my host negotiated with the hotel, and I sat in the lobby for a couple of hours until they could clean up a room for me.
Typical Sao Paulo House. Note motorcycles parked at right.
My day business is medical devices, and I was able to visit the Sao Paulo Fire Department who are responsible for all emergency medical assistance to the population of Sao Paulo. They are a branch of the military police and are very well equipped and staffed. Sao Paulo is known for their huge number of motorcycles and helicopters.
I was told that there were 750,000 motorcycles in Sao Paulo, and around 400 motorcycle accidents each day, with one fatality on average. The traffic in Sao Paulo is fierce, and many people need to use these motorcycle messengers, called Motoboys to get their products and documents across town. The motorcyclists appear reckless as they carve through traffic, wildly cutting across lanes of traffic, always going between the cars. They ride generally small machines, in the range of 125cc to 200cc, rarely did I see anything larger than 500cc. The medical service uses motorcycles with paramedics to provide rapid medical response throughout the city.
We had a meeting at the Albert Einstein Hospital which is a very modern and fully equipped hospital in Sao Paulo. The layout and equipment would rival any hospital I’ve seen in USA. And it is just as difficult to penetrate the hospital bureaucracy as it is here. The part of town that this hospital is located is very wealthy with large homes surrounded by heavy fencing and protection.
Raphael Street, Sao Paulo
English is not widely spoken in Brazil or not spoken well. The people of Sao Paulo are very friendly and helpful so the language barrier is not insurmountable. However, nuanced discussions of politics and philosophies are more challenging. I was told not to walk around the hotel late at night, and go only where there were crowds of people around. Parts of the city are not safe and crime is a continuing problem. All buildings are protected by razor wire, high voltage fences, surveillance cameras and alarm systems. Even so, robberies are quite common and are just a part of the life here.
The economy in Brazil is very strong. They are energy neutral, they make or drill all the energy that they use, so they are not at all dependent on imported oil or the Middle East. They are quite smug being immune to all the craziness currently taking place with OPEC and oil prices as their prices have been quite stable. But not inexpensive: A gallon of gasoline works out to be $5.84, and a gallon of Jet-A (for jet or turbine aircraft) is about $11.40. They do have and use ethanol which is $2.92 a gallon but does not provide as good mileage. (See pix of Shell station)
Speaking of Jet-A, my host arranged a helicopter tour of the city over the weekend. Using an Aerospecial jet powered helicopter, we were able to get a much better prospective of the size of Sao Paulo from the air and the huge number of heliports in the city. Again what struck me was how posh some parts of the city are, and then a slum would be located maybe one street away. There are a number of large skyscrapers as Sao Paulo is an impressively large city. While flying over the city, I noticed a large number of helicopter pads on many buildings in the city.
As for how they feel about Americans, I had asked my host if I may bring him something from USA and here is his exact response: “…try to find the most recent CD of Willie Nelson and bring it to me. If you don’t find this CD, cut and bring to me the head of Mr. Bush……”
They feel Bush is arrogant, and despise him for invading Iraq and then torturing people. I have the impression that Brazilians are a good people and appreciate human rights and justice. They are very hopeful that Obama will be elected and be an opposite of Mr. Bush on the world stage.
Later that day as I was getting into the elevator of my hotel, I noticed that it said 29th floor Helipad. So I went back down and asked the front desk if it was possible to see the heliport. They said maybe tomorrow, it is closed now, you need special permission etc. I commented that it was approaching sunset, and the lighting was very nice now, by tomorrow the pollution would be back, so it would be too late.
So the desk called one of the guards (there are guards everywhere in Sao Paulo and at the hotel) and a guard tole the front desk he would accompany me to the heliport. I was wondering if it was one of the heloports I saw from the helicopter so this would be very interesting. It wasn’t though. The guard spoke no English, so we were using hand signals to communicate. We get up on top, and it is..beautiful. I take several photos which are magnificent, and I call the guard over to show him the images on the camera. He gives me a big smile and says “Que bella” which I took to mean, what beauty. And it was. It was a most astonishing day, between the helicopter ride, and the view from the top of this hotel.
I had commented the next day that they could have picked me up and dropped me off right at the hotel and I could have avoided all that traffic…
Restaurants are excellent in Sao Paulo and dining is usually a very pleasant experience. On Saturday night we went Samba dancing, and it is clear Brazilians love their music and love to dance. They even got me dancing! They definitely know how to have fun and relax. They work hard, and play hard. They believe they work better when they take time for vacations and to relax and enjoy life.
A very interesting experience.
