Christmas in Curitiba

Our Home for the Holidays

Curitiba isn’t really a tourist town, so we got to experience more local living. For instance, our apartment cost less than $40 a night, is right next to a large grocery store and close to capybara park. Mama Bear found a bunch of locals in the tech community, so we got together with a bunch of people for dinner. Everyone was so friendly. We even followed up with a playdate in a Japanese Park a few days later.

We had unusually hot temperatures while we were here, which is tough because buildings in Curitiba don’t have air conditioning OR heat as it is usually quite temperate here (we are at 3000 feet elevation). But we managed to survive and visited lots of nice local parks.

Park Tangui is a former quarry converted into a park with a tall man-made waterfall that is just beautiful to explore from the top and the bottom viewing areas. The top-side of the waterfall has beautiful fountains, gardens, and is set up for a spectacular Christmas light show.

We also visited their Opera House, a gorgeous round greenhouse (remember, it’s not usually hot here) built in the middle of a lake surrounded by a forest. It’s a beautiful setting, even more so if you decide to have lunch there. We ate at the restaurant on the first floor in front of the lake. They had a live band in a little covered stage floating next to the restaurant. As they started to play, the stage motored out into the lake so that they could play from the center of the lake. When we finished our lunch, the stage returned to the dock so that the musicians could take a break!

The botanical garden is quite small but probably looks amazing lit up for Christmas at night.

There are lots of Christmas events happening throughout town. Our first night here, we ventured to Palacio Avenida to watch the famous choral show. It was incredibly packed in crowds so dense it was impossible to move. Though the streets were completely clogged, people were generally calm and quiet and not pushy at all though, so we felt safe. We couldn’t get close enough to really see the show, so we spilled into the nearby cafe and had dinner while listening to the show.

We also saw the shows at capybara park and the main central park (passeio publico). They both had staged nativity-scene style shows with a lot of singing and acting. Though we couldn’t understand portuguese, the production quality and the incredible singing could be universally appreciated. Passeio Publico used to be the city zoo and still has some really cool bird cages including owls and macaws. After the show you could see them sleeping. It’s also right next to cute European-style historic district with cobblestone streets and churches.

And in downtown, we found the best coxinha in Curitiba!

Then there were the Christmas markets. We discovered lots of hand-crafted arts including capybara stuffies. Of course we were most excited by the food. We discovered Palmonha, a sweet tamale that is ridiculously good. We also finally tried Caldo do Cana (sugar cane drink) and found that the addition of fresh lime to the freshly squeezed sugar cane makes the drink amazing. It’s like the world’s best limeade.

We also drove down to see a special street with spectacular lights. Though it started from one family, it has now grown into a highly organized ticketed event with a food court inside, dozens of amazing photo spots, and even street vendors of all kinds outside of the event near the entrance. It was truly beautiful with lots of gorgeous walkways lit with blinking lights overhead and all around.

And what else could be more Christmasy than last minute shopping? One day was so hot that we had to escape to an indoor shopping mall. Mama Bear bought some clothes and shoes while Papa and Baby Bear explored the Christmas decorations, including the Christmas playgrounds, slides, and swings.

For Christmas Eve, we went to get a view of the city at their Panoramic tower.

Then we had lunch at the historic city center where we tried “barreado” a traditional dish from the coast of Parana. It was OK. However, there was a market with stalls throughout the streets, and there we discovered a very special pastel stand. They made capybara shaped pastel! We had to try it. It was not only the cutest but also the tastiest pastel we’ve had so far!

That afternoon we went and pet capybara again! What better Christmas gift than a capybara each! I met a capybara who was a little shy at first but then became my friend, rolling over onto one side for loving and then the other! I named him “Pastel”.

Mama Bear had a capybara that lay down for many long minutes of petting. She named hers “Sam”.

Baby Bear was luckiest of all. When she approached, a small capybara stood up from his grass eating, walked over to her, and then sat down to be petted. She named him “Friendly”. Three bears with three capybara friends!

That night we visited the botanical gardens again for their light show. There were even fireworks! It started to rain during the show, adding some natural lightening to the effects, and when we drove home, it started to thunderstorm. We cooked a light Christmas dinner at home and then watched a Christmas movie together.

Feliz Natal everybody!