We now learned that in St.
Paulo no one, not even an hotel-keeper, will receive a stranger if
he be not provided with a letter of recommendation. It is certainly
a lucky thing for travellers that this strange custom is not
prevalent everywhere.
16th December. After having completely recovered ourselves from the
fatigues of our yesterday's ride, our first thought was to view the
curiosities of the town. We asked our hospitable host for
information on this point, but he merely shrugged his shoulders, and
said, that he knew of no curiosities, unless, indeed, we chose to
look upon the Botanical Garden in the light of one.
We went out, therefore, after breakfast, and first of all viewed the
town: where we found that the number of large and well-built houses
was, in comparison to the size of the two places, greater than in
Rio Janeiro, although even here, there was nothing like taste or
peculiar architectural style. The streets are tolerably wide, but
present an extraordinarily deserted appearance, the universal
silence being broken only by the insupportable creaking of the
country people's carts. These carts rest upon two wheels, or rather
two wooden disks, which are often not even hooped with iron to keep
them together.
