Published June 20, 2005

Pre trip details (June 01, 2005)

The trip to Brazil included:

• Cary (me), Laura, Erik, & Sarah
• Chris, Marlene, & Christopher
• Frank & Peggy

Day 1 (June 01, 2005)
We rented a car from West Palm Beach to Miami airport. We arrived at the airport around noon and waited around until flight time at 9:15PM. Flew 9 hours from Miami to Rio de Jainero, with a layover in São Paulo.

Day 2 (June 02, 2005)
Valdec, Marlene's brother, met us at the airport in Rio where we exchanged Brasilian Reais for our American dollars at a rate of about R$2.4/$1. We took a shuttle to the Leme Palace Othon hotel on Leme Beach (location of the famous Copacabana). After we checked into the hotel, we walked around town and ate lunch. We made arrangements with a cabbie outside the hotel to drive us around all day the next day. Stayed in the hotel the rest of the afternoon getting settled.

Day 3 (June 03, 2005)
Ate breakfast at the hotel in Rio. Peggy was sick, so she stayed at the hotel. The rest of us met with the taxi drivers (Mauro & Fernando) around 11:00AM and went sight-seeing. One of the taxis ran on natural gas. We went to "Sugar Loaf Mountain" (Pão de Açucar). Ten minutes after we came down from Sugar Loaf, clouds passed over the mountain completely obscuring the top. If we had been there any later, we wouldn't have been able to see anything. We went back to the hotel, picked up Peggy who was feeling better and ate lunch. In the evening, the taxi drivers took us to a local mall where I bought a couple cheap "Taco System" T-shirts. Then we went to dinner on Avenida Atlantica on the beach near the hotel. We ate at a churrascaria where waiters move from table to table bringing different types of meats on skewers from which they slice portions onto your plate. After dinner we went back to the hotel and walked across the street to a grocery store.

Day 4 (June 04, 2005)
Ate breakfast at the hotel. Met the taxi drivers and went to a street market in town. From there we went to see the "Christo Redentor" (Christ the Redeemer) statue located at the top of the Corcovado Mountain. The drive up the mountain was amazing. After we left "Christ the Redeemer," we stopped at an overlook where there was a helipad. We took a bunch of pictures. After that we went to the Jardim Botanico (Botanical Garden). We got there around 4:45PM, and they closed at 6:00PM. The let us in anyway, and we walked around until it started getting dark. Afterwards, we went to dinner at another churrascaria where they over charged us and added an 'optional' charge to the bill for the piano player who was overwhelming loud. We went back to the hotel. Later, Chris, Frank, Sarah and I walked to the "Venezian" restaurant and ordered pizza. It wasn't pizza like anything here in the states. There was an American there who had been in Rio for many years working as a translator. We chatted with him for a while until the pizza was ready. We went back to the hotel and most everyone was already asleep.

Day 5 (June 05, 2005)
Ate breakfast at the hotel. Walked on the beach for about half an hour. Checked out of the hotel, and the taxis took us to the bus station. We got on a bus for an 18 hour trip to a city named Divisa Alegre in the state of Minas Gerais (General Mines), which actually took 20 hours. We stopped twice on the way quickly to eat. The scenery driving through the mountains was breathtaking. I'm sure it was more beautiful country than anywhere else I've seen in person. The thick foresty trees and sloping mountains are indescribable. Some Bahian women in the back of the bus nicknamed Erik "Hell Boy," because he was playing and talking to them late into the night. The were laughing and talking, so I imagine he thought they were having fun. I learned later that they were telling him to "go away," and "we want to go to sleep," etc. In the mean time, Valdec was awake all night talking non-stop. There was a curious woman in the front of the bus who insisted that she "only had to pee," but on each successive trip to the bathroom, there was an unspeakable stench after she opened the door. We all learned to chant in unison, both in English and in Portuguese, "Close the door!"

Day 6 (June 06, 2005)
We met Marlene's mom, Joana, at the bus stop in Divisa, and a mini bus drove us an hour or so to her home town of Machado Mineiro (roughly translated Miner's Ax) in the state of Minas Gerais. We stopped on the way a few times to visit relatives on the way. Once we finally made it to her house, we unloaded the luggage into our room. In the afternoon, we walked around the streets of Machado for a little while.

Day 7 (June 07, 2005)
Stayed at Joana's house all day getting settled in. The house has windows, but no screens. The windows just have wooden doors, sort of like kitchen cabinet doors, that open in. The shower has an electric head that has wires going to it to heat the water as it passes through the head. The main street in town is made of a cobblestone type of rock. The rest of the streets are dirt roads in very poor condition. One road has a trench in it at least ten feet deep and several yards long. There are several little stores along the main street, almost exclusively little mom & pop type stores. Joana has a ten-year-old neighbor girl named Karol who helps her around the house for around R$1.00 (approx $0.40) a day. She works like crazy. She helped wash all our laundry by hand.

Day 8 (June 08, 2005)
We took a bus to visit Marlene's uncle, Joana's brother. He lives about a half hour away. He owns a little store, so he does better than some. After that, we went to Marlene's dad's farm just down the street. Her dad, Giovanni, has a pretty large tract of land, but he doesn't use all of it. Much of it is undeveloped. He has cows, chickens, pigs and all kinds of agriculture. Some I was familiar with, and some I wasn't. After we left her dad's farm, we visited another uncle who lives a short walk down the street in the other direction. He also has a similar farm. He has a couple birds - parrots or something. As we walked around his farm, Valdec picked a little red chili pepper from a bush and encouraged me to "Experiment." He told me it was "chili dulce" and then ate one to show it was good. I figured if he could eat it, I would too. It was unbelievably hot, but I told him it was good. Anyway, my stomach was upset for awhile after that. He said later that he swallowed his pepper whole, without chewing it. From there, we returned to the first uncle's house to meet the bus. While we were there, Joana's uncle gave her a chicken as a gift. Joana handed the chicken, which was in a grocery store type plastic bag, to Peggy. When Peggy understood there was a chicken inside, she assumed it was a dead chicken, but when she opened it to see, the chicken popped his little head out and looked around. Peggy promptly looked around for affirmation that what she saw was for real, and I took the bag from her. I carried the chicken on the bus and named it Janta (translated "Dinner"). It never did get to be dinner until after we left. In the evening, a bunch of neighborhood kids gathered in the living room, and Laura & I practiced English with them. Everyone seems facinated with learning English. Some of the kids names were: Josielly, Priscila, Karol, Hebert, Karina, Klayton... There were more, but I can't remember their names.

Day 9 (June 09, 2005)
We walked around Machado and did a little shopping. We were supposed to get up early with Marlene's 15-year-old sister, Marcelani, and visit her school. She overslept and didn't go to school, so we didn't go. I asked 'Lani' if her friends at school knew that she had visitors from the US. She looked at me and said "Everyone knows you're here." Little did we know what that meant. Their school runs on three shifts, so there are students coming and going from morning to late in the evening. Later in the evening, we talked Lani into taking us to the school so we could see what it was like. When we got there, chaos broke out. Students left their classes, and the halls were crowded with them wanting to see us. After a few minutes, someone told them all to go back to their classes, and we were whisked us away to an office. The office was in the center of the school and had large glass windows. After a couple minutes, the windows were crowded with students looking in at us. We were served coffee and buiscuits and asked if we would be willing to spare just one minute to visit a classroom. I wanted to go, so I said yes enthusiastically. In the office, there was a girl who stood there smiling. When she got a chance, she leaned over to Chris, face to face and told him "You are beautiful" (more about this later). We were taken around from classroom to classroom introducing ourselves and answering questions. I'm pretty sure no school work got done that day. After that we walked home, and on the way, people were looking and laughing and waving at us saying "Hi."

Day 10 (June 10, 2005)
We hung around the house all day. Around 4:00PM Chris, Erik, Sarah, and I went fishing with Valdec at the dam. It was about a half hour walk. Only Valdec fished. When it started getting dark, and there were no fish, everyone left except Valdec. Later that night, there was a dance at school, so we went. We had the same reaction from everyone as the day before. People crowded around us. A few were brave enough to try to speak to us, but many just wanted to hear anything we had to say. After a little while, the crowd got larger and the girls seemed to migrate toward Laura (except for the girl who thought Chris was beautiful), while the guys migrated toward me and Chris. The crowd moved in so close that we were literally pressed up against the wall. The girl who thought Chris was beautiful was standing in front of me talking to Chris, who was right next to me. I had my face turned to Chris, and she was so close in front of me that I told Chris, "If I turn my head and look forward, I'll be kissing her." After the crowd backed off some, we watched the very sensual dancing on the dance floor. The "beatiful" girl wanted to show Chris how to dance Forró, a driving and energetic, yet romantic style of music from the Northeast of Brazil, so Marlene encouraged him to let her. While they were dancing, Chris looked away for a second, and when he did, she pressed her leg in between his tightly, and I think she enjoyed it. Around midnight the dance was over, and things started winding down, so we left. As we walked home, the same thing happened, people waved and giggled and said "hi."

Day 11 (June 11, 2005)
Went to Marcelani’s quince anos. The party afterwards was kind of crazy and unorganized.

Day 12 (June 12, 2005)
Today is Frank & Peggy's anniversary. Walked around the market in the city square. The market is only on Sundays and closes around noon. In the evening, we packed in preparation for leaving in the morning to Visit Shirley in Campinas.

Day 13 (June 13, 2005)
Frank & Peggy, Me, Laura, Erik , Sarah, Valdec, & Joana caught a bus outside Joana's house. Chris & Marlene stayed behind to spend more time with Marlene's family. We said goodbye to everyone, and the bus took off around 7:30AM. The bus drove about 45 minutes or so to the bus stop in Divisa. We were supposed to take a bus to São Paulo, then switch buses in São Paulo to go to Campinas, but Valdec helped us purchase tickets for the 22-hour bus trip direct to Campinas. He thought it would be better not to have to switch buses in São Paulo. In the mean time, the straight-through bus didn't leave until 3:30PM, so we had a good part of the day to kill in town. Valdec walked us around town introducing us to several cousins of his that lived there. Finally, Joana's bus arrived to take her back home. She said goodbye to all of us, and it was sad for her to leave. The girls cried. Then our bus arrived and we loaded our luggage and got on around 3:45PM. We rode that lovely bus for hours and hours.

Day 14 (June 14, 2005)
Still driving on the bus. We hit a cow during the night, but because the condition of the roads was so rough, and the ride was so bumpy, I didn't even know about it until we stopped to eat. When we got out of the bus, the windshield had a huge crack from the poor cow's carcass. I don't know what happened to the cow; I'm sure I never will. We arrived in São Paulo around noon and switched buses because of the cow damage. We arrived in Campinas around 2:00PM. Shirley and her daughter, Auina, picked us up at the bus station, and we spent the rest of the day at Shirley's home. Campinas is a big city very similar to here in the states. Shirley's house is very nice, and she had everything ready for us when we arrived, including little gifts laid out for us on our pillows. Later in the day, I was able to check emails on the first computer available since we'd arrived in Brazil. Peggy called Joana's house to tell them we had arrived safely. That's when we learned the horrible truth - meo amigo (my friend) Janta had been slaughtered for dinner, and they apparently enjoyed happily consuming his poor defenseless animal flesh. Even now I can hear a distant voice saying "I've eaten animal flesh, and I've enjoyed it." Goodbye forever Janta. Frank & Peggy packed to return to the US in the morning.

Day 15 (June 15, 2005)
Shirley took Frank & Peggy to the airport before the rest of us woke up. During the day, we relexed and recovered a little from traveling. We had all contracted the flu.

Day 16 (June 16, 2005)
Shirley took us to visit Parque Taquaral (Taquaral's Park). After that, we went to another park/zoo. I can't remember the name of it. Later, we went to the Dom Pedro mall in Campinas. Dom Pedro is the largest mall in Latin America. There are 390 stores, 36 fast food stores, 9 restaurants, 15-movie theatres, a gymnasium, and a stage for concerts. It's a pretty upscale and impressive mall. We have some pretty impressive malls here in South Florida, so even though it was pretty impressive, it wasn't as glorious to us as it might have seemed to the locals there. Then we went to a smaller mall to shop for souveniers.

Day 17 (June 17, 2005)
We went to the bank, because I wanted to get Real coins for souveniers. Traded R$30.00 for coins. We stayed home all day, because everyone was sick. Today was Laura's birthday. Shirley made a cake, and we sang Happy Birthday.

Day 18 (June 18, 2005)
We went into town with Shirley. She took us to her English class, and we introduced ourselves to the other English classes. Laura, Erik, Sarah, & I assisted Shirley with her class of 4 preteen boys. We read about some animals, and played a game of matching using Noah's Ark flash cards. It was fun. While we were out, Chris and Marlene arrived at Shirley's house, so Shirley wanted to rush home to meet them. We got to the house and Chris was sleeping. Shirley's son, Fransergius arrived later from São Paulo. In the afternoon, Valdec left for his home in São Paulo, because he had to get back to work. We all said goodbye to him. In the evening, a friend named Emerson came over and took us to the mall. After that, we all went to Bonfim club for some kind of local celebration. On the way, we drove with Emerson and practiced speaking Portuguese and English with each other.

Day 19 (June 19, 2005)
We went to Sunday School at Shirley's church (Igreja do Nazareno). The class was held in English. We didn't go to church afterwards though. When we got home, Shirley ordered take out from a place called Habib's. It was some kind of middle eastern food - sort of like little 5" pizzas with an unidentifiable pinkish meat and other strange stuff. Fransergius left. In the evening, we went to the night service at Shirley's church. There was an interpreter, but the microphone and speakers wern't working, so I had to lean in close to try to hear him translate. He was too quiet to hear. After church, Chris & Marlene and Laura and the kids and I ate at an Italian restaurant down the street from Shirley's house. The food was good. We walked home.

Day 20 (June 20, 2005)
Stayed at Shirley's house all day. It rained all day and was cold in the house. The girls (Auina, Laura, Marlene, & Sarah) all went shopping, so Chris and I chatted most of the day. We all packed our things to prepare to leave for Miami the next morning.

Day 21 (June 21, 2005)
We woke up at 5:00AM, took a minibus to the airport. Shirley and Auina rode with us. We said goodbye, and the plane took off around 10:30AM. Some of the stats on the plane were: we flew at an altitude of 38,000 ft., plane speed was 537 MPH, air temp at 38,000 ft. was -63ºF/-53ºC. We arrived in Miami at 5:37PM. Frank was at the airport waiting to pick up Chris & Marlene. Laura and I got a rental car. I was very sick from the flu and the pressure from the plane landing, so we rented a hotel room in Miami and stayed overnight. While I slept, Laura and the kids went swimming at the hotel pool. After I slept for a while, we all walked down the street and ordered Chinese take-out.

Day 22 (June 22, 2005)
Woke up and ate breakfast at the hotel. Called in sick, but Linda wanted me to come in anyway, so I was able to make it in around 2:00PM. Stayed until 5:00PM and went home and crashed. Vacation over... ??