Topo do Mundo and Ouro Preto

Last weekend, with a few friends I made at the gym, I went to two places:
Topo do Mundo is a little hill just outside the city that is used a jumping off point for paragliders. This is something that I may be interested in, but it will be a long while before my Português is good enough to think about getting a license to do this (my friend suggested I do it in tandem with someone, but this is very unappealing to me). It was cool to hang out and watch these dudes take flight.


Ouro Preto is an old colonial town an hour outside of BH. There isn't too much to say about the place. There are a ton of churches there and we did take a tour of one of the churches built by the colonizing Portuguese: it is a huge power symbol, ridiculously elaborate -art, gold, and the like.

My friends and I in the town:


This is my last week at work. I have 4 weeks off to do...something. I just bought a plane ticket to the middle of the amazon, but beyond that I'm gonna pretty-well wing this one. The plan right now, in it's entirety, is so: hang in the amazon for a few days; take a boat down the amazon river to the coast; make my way down the coast; see how far I get (Brasil is freakn huge!); try not to get robbed, killed, or eaten by an anaconda. Looking forward to an adventure!

Another Long Weekend, Another Bike Trip

So Ted and I took a three-day weekend a couple weeks back to do some biking. We took a 5 hour bus to a little town of Três Marias and began biking back in the general direction of home. We biked mostly little dirt roads, passed through small villages, and just enjoyed being in the clean open air, away from the big city. We stopped in one town that I really liked: super-small, of course there was a church (this is Brasil after all), little bar complete with a hitching post out front -but no horses were hitched to it, they were just left to wander free! We saw probably 15 people in total in that town.

A pair of blue-and-yellow macaws:


Always the math teacher, I've got a little problem for you:
In the aforementioned town we met a woman, her daughter, and her granddaughter. The woman (the grandma) is 43 years old, her daughter is 28, and the granddaughter is 13. Should the pattern continue, when will the granddaughter get pregnant? It was really crazy to be there and talk to all three of them at once, and to think that this little girl may be a mother soon. This is not uncommon in Brasil and I have more thoughts on it, but that'll be for another post.

Everything went quite smoothly except for one minor incident: We had been biking for hours; had passed no towns, and no one. The sun was strong that day and, together with the rough dirt roads, made the riding tough. The water in my bottles looked at once more and more appealing as I lost more and more fluids, and less and less appealing as it's temperature rose. As chance would have it we passed by a flowing brook: good, clear springwater. I thought...what are the chances? I dunno, maybe it was the heat, maybe we were delirious, but there you go. Wouldn't you know it, that bloody water...just kidding. There was no drinking of any spring water on this trip!
Although to tell the truth, we did stop at a bar in a little town to ask where we were and to ask for directions. When the dude in the shop asked if I wanted anything to drink I said sure, I'll have water, expecting him to bring me a bottle that I could buy. Instead he brought out a pitcher from the fridge and poured me a cup. The last experience drinking untreated water was still fresh in my head and having no idea where he got this water I knew it could cause some problems. But I'd rather get sick than be rude (you do it your way, I'll do it mine), so I drank it all. In hindsight though, I could have tried to slip a purification tablet (which I make a point of carrying now!) into the glass.

Small Towns, Big Cities

Small town mentality/hospitality is something global I’ve found. However, in the little town of Alto Caparaó it is really something else. I had made my way there to climb Pico da Bandeira, a nearby mountain. This is winter just turned spring in Brasil and it is not a peak time for tourists. Certainly there were few that I encountered during my week, and all but a few in Rio were Brasilieros.
As I got off the bus in the little town of 5000 and began to stroll about, a woman, Alaíde, approached to ask if she could help me with anything. What proceeded was a visit to her super-nice house where we sat down and chatted about travelling; Note that she spoke no English, so when I say chatted, I mean struggled (but in a very enjoyable way) to share our experiences in my limited Português. She then made phone calls to the various pousadas (guesthouses), helped me select one, walked me over and introduced me to Alaní, the owner/operator of the place.
Alaní and her husband are incredibly nice people who went out of their way to make me comfortable. Her husband knew that I wanted to get an early start on climbing the mountain, so he woke up and had breakfast ready for me at 6:00am! (It is more common than not, here in Brasil, for a hotel or pousada to include breakfast in the price of the room). Further, he went on to ask if I had/needed sunscreen/a hat/flashlight/lunch and more!
The mountain, the third highest in Brasil, is easily accessible and climbed by many people, but as luck would have it, I had it nearly to myself that day. Unfortunately it was quite cloudy and the view, allegedly stunning on a clear day, was not the best.


Still, it felt great to, once again, stand atop a mountain and feel like the king of the world. I waited at the peak for two hours hoping for the skies to clear; no such luck, but a moment lasting no more than a few seconds made, not just the wait, but the trip worthwhile: As I waited, an eagle flew out of the thick clouds, at exactly my altitude, directly toward me, maybe 30m away. It was only but a few seconds before it veered off back into the fog, but it was truly magic!
I descended the mountain, and shortly after I began the 9km walk back to town a car passed and Julia and Renan offered me a lift. Renan had summited the peak numerous times but said that coming from the other side is much more rugged, less travelled, and more pristine. He dropped me off at my pousada with his phone number; should I be interested in climbing the peak from the other side, I should give him a ring. Insane!
Shortly before I left the road to start climbing the mountain, I had bumped into another couple, Antonio and Maria from my hometown BH! Antonio is a retired cop and they both gave me their cell numbers in case I ever needed any help in BH or anything at all during my time in Brasil. Once again, the only word I can think of: Insane!
I woke up the next (Monday) morning and decided to take a walk. I had two hours till my bus left. There was a waterfall about 8km away –no chance of getting there and back in two hours, but as I was strolling along, a car passed in that direction. I flagged it down and asked if they’d pass close to the waterfall. Within seconds I was cruising along with Sonia and her husband (coffee bean harvesters on their way to work). They dropped me off within 1km of the waterfall. I checked it out (there really wasn’t much of a waterfall there –It is the dry season after all) and proceeded to head back. Now I had about 75min to make it back to town to catch my bus. Unfortunately the way back was all uphill –there was little chance of me making it on foot. I was at the mercy of passing motorists. And as it happens there were none. So I started off at a slow jog, knowing that the odds were slim, but willing give it a shot. About half-hour into it, a car passed, I asked for a ride, and was dropped off right in front of my pousada with just enough time to pay for my room, say bye to Alaní and her husband, and get to the bus! Beautiful.
I left the town marked by the exceptional warmth and friendliness of these people.
I wanted to try to surf again so I headed next to a little town called Saquarema, known for its breaks, but the only place in town where you could rent boards was closed, and nobody knew when/if it would open. As it turned out, the place never did open but I spent a nice half-day relaxing on the beach.
I moved next to a town called Arraial de Cabo –here to do some diving. I did do two dives –in the coldest freaking water I have ever been in! According to the thermometer on my divemaster’s computer the water was 17oC!! I wore a fully hooded, 5mm wetsuit (my first time ever in this type of suit) and I still froze! Furthermore, the visibility was brutal! You couldn’t see more than 5m in front of you. I think it’s safe to say that diving in Southeast Asian waters really has spoiled me!
Next on to Rio; It is not nearly as bad as some say, and not nearly as good as others say.


It is definitely a beautiful city from afar. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t great while I was there: it was cold and cloudy most of the time. I did get up to the “Christ the Redeemer” statue, spent some time strolling the lengths of the beaches at Ipanema and Copacabana, watched surfers at Aproador, and hung out on Copacabana beach watching a bunch of dudes play futevolei (volleyball with no hands –just feet, head, etc); this was really impressive: up and down the beach, pretty near everyone playing had crazy skills!
It was a really good week; I was just pumped to be out on the road again.

It's a Sad State of Affairs When...

over a month has gone by and the only thing to report on is a conference I went to in New Orleans. Yep, work has been keeping me quite occupied (same old story). I haven't had much of a chance to get out there and see a whole lot. But, things are not bad at all and I am enjoying myself.

It was, however, really good to get away from teaching for a bit. My school sent me to New Orleans for a week to attend an IB conference. While there I did manage to get out and check out the town (I was in the French Quarter), the nightlife, the great live music, and Harrah's casino. One thing I didn't do a lot of is sleep, but it was well worth it.

There's not much more to say -there are a few pics in my albums from the trip, but I didn't take my camera out with me at night, so there isn't a whole lot.


I wish I had more to say about Brasil, but for now...
In a couple weeks I do have a week off and I hope to get out somewhere and check out someplace. What/where hasn't even begun to cross my mind.

Photo Album

...when it crashes again, I know I'm gonna get a bunch of "well, what did you think was gonna happen" or "dude, you're a slow learner" but such is life when you are too busy to find alternatives.

Yep, I'm going to continue posting my pictures to Atpic. For those people that do not care to read my jargon but would still like to see pictures, you can click on the Photo Album link to the right. Alternatively, if you click on a pic in the blog it'll take you to the Album containing it.

Weekend Bike Trip

Our bus arrived (10 hours after leaving BH) in the town of Guaratinguetá, Sau Paulo @ 5:30am on Friday morning. Ted and I had breakfast and hit the road. Friday was a good day, we biked on paved road, over mostly flat ground and some small foothills as we approached the mountain range we were to cross:


After 95km including what, at the time, I thought was a super-tough 8km climb, we called it a day.

It's different travelling here. In Asia, everyone looking at me sees a foreigner. Here, friendly people will just come up and start speaking to me thinking I'm just another Brasilian travelling through...until I open my mouth of course.

One thing that was really tough for my super-paranoid self to accept: In these tiny little towns, Ted will just leave his unlocked bike against the wall of a cafe and go inside for lunch. All I can think of while we're eating is about someone swiping the bikes. Ted, whose bike is worth 4 times mine, is totally relaxed saying that this type of thing doesn't happen in these types of towns (he is just as paranoid as I am as soon as we get to a city).
One more: Ted drinks spring water when he's in the mountains -unfiltered, untreated. He's been living and travelling in Brasil for 5 years and has never been sick. To me this seemed totally insane: I would never have considered drink untreated water in the past, and I carried enough of a supply to always make it to the next town.

Saturday started out really well. We biked only 55km because it was so tough. We were on dirt roads and nearly all of the first 30km were uphill. The last 20 km, though downhill, were not so easy as it was super-bumpy and if I moved too quick my chain would fall off or if I wasn't moving slowly enough I may have flown off the cliff as the road sharply curved hugging the mountainside.

The scenery was really fantastic. Green everywhere, hills and mountains surrounding us, very few people, little towns, ranches...brilliant. It felt great to be out there enjoying nature.

On our 30km uphill, Ted continued to stop at these springs (where the local townfolk get their water) and would have his fill. In a not-too-bright moment, I was looking at my warm water-bottles and at him drinking this nice, "clean", cold water, and I thought what-the-hell...

As you may guess, I chose the wrong spring to drink from. Ted and I both were sick as dogs that evening and spent a restless night emptying the contents of our stomachs in various ways. Speaking to some people in the town (called Alagoa) we found that some of them too had gotten sick recently. They told us that it'll be a three-day recovery time. The women at the Pousada (guesthouse) where we stayed were super-nice and very motherly. They took Ted's temperature because he thought he was feverish (we would go from super-chilly spells to being really warm), and they mixed up this horrible, bitter concoction and told us to steadily drink it throughout the day.

To make it to the town where we were to catch a bus back home, we still had to bike 120km on Sunday. We made it about 100m before the nausea was too much and we pulled over heaving. Agreeing that there was no way we could bike in our condition we, 2 dudes with bicycles, tried to hitchhike on a Sunday (the day of rest) in a small town in the middle of nowhere. After three hours with no luck we decided to take the only bus out of town for the day...in the direction opposite of home. 4 buses later and at 6:30am on Monday morning we arrived in Belo Horizonte. I showered and went to work. Ted called in sick, stayed home and took care of himself. He came to work the next day feeling mostly better. One week later, I can say that I am finally over most of it.

All things considered, I still chalk this one up as a good trip.

Safe and Sound, if not quite settled

So, I’ve been in Brasil for nearly three weeks. I have been super-busy; mostly with work. I haven’t had much time to get out there and see/do anything, but one of our colleagues took us new teachers into town the day after I arrived and showed us around; Also, I did go on a little bike ride last Sunday with Ted, an American teacher here. I found out that “little” for him means 50km. Ted and I have a lot of similar interests and I’ve been hanging with him a fair bit.

I live in the state of Minas Gerais in a city of 4 million people, Belo Horizonte (BH). The hilliest place I have ever seen, this city is built up and down the rolling hills. The “little” suburb where I live:


It will be difficult to survive here without knowing Portuguese. This is not at all a touristed area and very near to nobody speaks English. While I have started learning, it will be a good while before I can utter anything resembling a coherent phrase (particularly because I’m spending all my time with work and I am not spending enough time studying language...or getting into shape!).

Another part of the city:


Rated by the UN the safest city in Brasil, I’ve discovered that the important part here is “in Brasil”. Of course it’s all relative. Everyone here has a story of being robbed or having a relative or close friend that has been robbed or mugged. Even my roommate Peter (an American teacher at the school) was mugged a few years ago on a visit to Brasil. Ted was on a city bus that was boarded by 3 armed dudes who cleaned it out. I’ve been warned even about riding my bike in certain parts of town; Ted himself has seen a cyclist going up a hill lose his bike to an armed bandit.
Having said all that, almost all of the banditry happens in certain areas of the city, and the particular suburb where I’m living is super-safe.
A favela (poor area):


Last Sunday I went with Ted to visit an orphanage that he visits a few times a year –sometimes on his own and sometimes with his class (he is a 5th grade teacher). Ted really spoils these children. We took a group of 7 out to the mall, had hamburgers, saw a movie, got ice cream and then went back and hung out with them and the others at the orphanage for a few hours. It was tough to do because of my inability to communicate. For most of the day, I would just stare at them and them at me while Ted was chatting to others. The last two hours there I made a breakthrough –I thought of a game that I could play with them. I asked Ted to explain the game to them, and after they understood it, I played with them for a solid hour and a half (as all I needed was to know how to count to 20 in Portuguese –and this I can do!!) We had a ton of fun as all the children wanted a turn to play me and they could not understand why/how I would win the game every single time. Below is a description of the game:

In this game, to be played with a partner, you must count consecutive numbers. The first player begins with the number 1. You are allowed to count one number, two numbers, or three numbers, and the two players take turns counting. For example, if player A said 1, 2. Then player B could say 3; or 3, 4; or say 3, 4, 5. Then player A would take a turn and again can say 1 or 2 or 3 of the next consecutive numbers. The first player to get to 20 wins

Upcoming is 3-day weekend, and while it would be a perfect opportunity to get caught up on work, I’m going to get out of town. Ted has biked and documented probably around 4000km in Brasil and he asked me if I’d like to go for a little ride with him through the Atlantic rainforest. So after work tomorrow we will hop on a 10 hour overnight bus with our bikes, head into Sao Paulo State, and proceed to bike our way back towards home. While I do feel some stress with the amount of school work I have to do, I am really looking forward to this trip!