I am writing these thoughts retrospectively. Almost 2 months after having left São Paulo.

It was strange being there as I spent most of my time in my apartment working behind a laptop. I realised how obsessed I get about ideas that I find interesting and how little interest I have in cities.

São Paulo was just another capital but with the latin energy that South America is famous for. Everyday I went out for a walk for a few hours around town and saw drug addicts in one part of town and big street parties in other parts. The inequality in Brazil was striking though.

You could take a helicopter from the airport to the city for ~€700 while the minimum wage in Brazil is ~€250.

Growing up in Pakistan and having lived in Karachi I have seen tremendous inequality but rarely so on the nose that you leave the airport and run into ads everywhere for helicopter taxis.

The days here were spent in solitude and focus on work with a bit of loneliness as my last months had been with climbing friends all around and finally a bit of anxiety as I was about to visit my family in Pakistan in the scorching summer heat.