Day 6: Shoes and Rearranged Plans

Monday, May 18th was our transition day from Gramado to Porto Alegre. After we checked out of Kaster hotel in Gramado, we headed to McBenett shoe factory in a town on the way to Porto Alegre. We got a tour of the small factory where around a hundred employees hand-make leather shoes and bags. The designer of the shoes took a group of us around the building to show us each step in the process of making leather shoes and bags. She also explained how the business works with and compensates their employees. It was very cool to see a shoe from its origin as a roll of leather to its final product wrapped in a shoebox.

After touring the factory and learning a bit about the business, we took a trip to a local McBenett shoe store. Many people bought a pair or two of shoes. It was nice that the summer shoes were on sale because Brazil’s seasons are opposite of America’s seasons.

Next we stopped at Orocatto Grill for lunch. It was a typical Brazilian buffet with a variety of fruits, vegetables, and meats. The restaurant we were supposed to go to was closed. For some reason a lot of restaurants seem to be closed on Mondays in Brazil. The Buddhist temple we were planning on visiting that afternoon was also closed, so we just kept driving towards Porto Alegre.

The bus ride to Porto Alegre was around two and a half hours. Many people slept on the bus, as usual. Once we arrived at Adagio apart-hotel, we had a couple free hours in the afternoon before dinner. A few of the girls and I went swimming in the hotel’s lap pool, which was quite warm and had a cool small waterfall on one end.

For dinner we ate at Pampa Burger in Porto Alegre. There they served burgers, hotdogs, french fries, and onion rings that were fairly American, as well as a couple Brazilian appetizers. There was an option to have different types of patties that were unique to Brazil. Overall the burger I ate there was probably one of the best burgers I’ve ever had.

Our last stop of the night was a grocery store, Zaffari. We all bought water, as well as whatever different foods people wanted. Some people bought cookies, yogurt, icecream, or other random things. Finally we headed back to the hotel to sleep before our busy next day at PUCRS University.