The following day, we had to wake up at 9am so as to not miss the hotel’s breakfast that finished at 10am. After a rather disappointing breakfast too (not as much variety as we’d hoped for), we headed back to our room to get our things, then decided to explore the beach outside the hotel. The weather was slightly overcast that day, and the sea was quite rough and cold, so we didn’t take a dip. We had a wander along the strip of sand and rocks along the tip of the peninsula outside the hotel, then decided to head southwards to the centre of Arraial d’Ajuda, which was about 6 kms away. There were vans and a bus outside the hotel that would take you there, but it was nice and warm outside and we were in the mood for some excercise, so we walked the 6 kms to Arrial along the beach. It was a lovely, invigorating walk. Along the way, we checked out a couple of the hotels to see how they compared to ours. We’d initially been quite disappointed in our hotel, since we’d been recommended it by the travel agency, who’d promised us that it was a luxury hotel, which the hotel’s website’s photos seemed to confirm, but when we got there it didn’t live up to our expectations. Perhaps we’d set our hopes up too high. You know when you expect something to be special and then it isn’t as great as you thought, it leaves you quite disappointed… But after checking out the other hotels in the area, we saw that ours was in fact of a much higher standard than all the others, which made us appreciate our hotel more and realise that we had made the right choice after all.

At about 4pm, we arrived in Arraial d’Ajuda, and had a wander through the centre, which was quite touristic but very cute. We travelled during the low season, so it was quite empty, but it probably gets packed during peak season (between December and March, which is summertime in Brazil). We found a sweet little restaurant with a very friendly ‘baiana’ (a girl from Bahia) waitress, and by then we were starving so we tucked in to some yummy rice, beans and fish. By the time we finished our late lunch, we were feeling very tired (especially after only 4 hours of sleep the night before), so we bought some water, milk and crackers at a local supermarket, and then decided to catch the bus back to the hotel. We spent the evening in our hotel room, since we felt too knackered to do anything else. We watched some TV, and then had an early night.

Breakfast the next day was actually better than the first time, since there was a woman making fresh ‘tapioca’ (typical from Bahia, with a similar shape to tortillas, they’re made from dried, powdered ‘mandioca’, are heated over a frying pan, filled with cheese and ham (or other ingredients, including sweet fillings), and folded in half) – they’re very yummy! After breakfast, we met some of the hotel’s monkeys – a cute little Golden-headed Lion Tamarin and some even cuter Marmosets (see photo albums for photos and descriptions). We bumped into a couple from São Paulo (Renata and Carlos), who had arrived at the hotel the same day as us and who were celebrating their honeymoon (after their wedding on Valentine’s Day the day before). We started chatting, and decided to take the boat over to Porto Seguro to explore the town together. We crossed over, and were about to head towards the centre, when a friendly ‘baiano’ on the street stopped us, and asked us whether we were tourists. After saying we were, he proceeded to tell us about the best places to visit during our holiday. He asked us if we had any plans that day, and then recommended that we catch a local bus northwards of Porto Seguro, to the seaside village of Coroa Vermelha (Red Crown, due to the red coral reefs that can be found along the coast), where we could see the place where the first mass was held in Brazil and check out the local indigenous arts and crafts market. After thanking him for his tips (he didn’t ask for anything in return), we caught the bus along the coast, and got off at Coroa Vermelha. We walked along the beach, known as ‘Praia do Descobrimento’ (Discovery Beach), then found the small square with two symbolic crosses where the first Catholic mass was allegedly held in 1500, when the Portuguese fleet first landed in Brazil. There was a stone engraving, stating that: “Here, on the 26th of April 1500, Friar Henrique Soares de Coimbra celebrated the first Mass in Brazil, on the occasion of the landing of Pedro Alvares Cabral’s squad, as witnessed by Pero Vaz de Caminha in his historical letter. Here, on the 26th of April 2000, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, as bequested by his Holiness Pope John Paul II, and the Catholic Episcopate, celebrated a Congratulatory Mass for the 500 years of Brazil.” We took some photos, then went on to have a look at the market. Carlos and Renata bought some souvenirs from a lovely, pregnant indigenous lady, and I bought a pretty string of feathers to string through my hair. We then wandered on and came across an indigenous museum, which we decided to check out. It was very small, but interesting, explaining the history of the Portuguese arrival in Brazil, and with first-hand testimonials about the (mostly bad) experiences that the indigenous population had upon the arrival of the ‘white’ invadors. It’s really sad to read about what happened, but it’s slightly comforting to know that the few indigenous reserves that are left are being preserved. We visited another reserve a few days later (more about that below) where the indigenous language is still taught to young children at school by the village chief so that it’s not lost. After our trip to Coroa Vermelha, we caught the bus back to Porto Seguro, and had lunch with Renata and Carlos. We then wanted to get back to the hotel to change, so we could then watch the Brazil vs. North Korea football match at 3.30pm that day. Our hotel had a separate section on the beach with a lovely lounge area, about 200 mts down the road from the hotel, called Quinta da Praia, where we decided we’d watch the match. After a rather lousy match (I fell asleep!), the 4 of us caught a van to the centre of Arraial d’Ajuda again, and had dinner at a cute restaurant, where David had a prawn dish and I had a yummy fish ‘moqueca’ (a typical Brazilian seafood stew). We then headed back to the hotel for another good night’s sleep in our comfy bed.

On the Wednesday, the São Paulo couple had booked to go on an excursion to Praia do Espelho (Mirror Beach), where David and I also wanted to visit, but the weather was looking quite stormy. So we convinced them to change the date of their trip with the hotel’s travel agency another day so we could go with them, and David and I booked ourselves into the trip to the beach for that Friday along with them. We also booked a scuba diving trip with them the following day, which was surprisingly cheap – about £40 per person for a 30 minute dive, plus a whole morning out at sea (I thought scuba diving was usually very expensive). We spent the morning together in Porto Seguro, since the previous day we hadn’t had the chance to get to know the town. Porto Seguro is a sweet town, but it’s more lively at night, when there’s a fair selling food, local sweets, arts and crafts and all sorts of souvenirs. We spent the morning wandering around, then David and I left Carlos and Renata, who wanted to buy more souvenirs to take home, and we headed back to the hotel so spend some time relaxing by the pool. The weather had suddenly taken a turn for the better (the first two days had been slightly overcast) and it was hot and sunny – perfect sunbathing weather. The outdoors, decked area by the pool was probably the best part of the hotel – it was pretty, and they had lovely comfortable wooden deck chairs. After spending a few hours in the sun (and David in the shade!), we headed upstairs to our room to have a nap. Later that evening, we met up with Carlos and Renata and headed back to Porto Seguro to check out the fair and have dinner. We found a nice restaurant and the 4 of us shared another prawn and fish ‘moqueca’ – the best meal we had that week. I don’t think we’ve ever eaten as much seafood/fresh fish as we did during this trip. After a delicious dinner, and feeling rather full, we had a stroll through the fair, then headed back to catch the last boat back to the hotel at 10pm.

On the Thursday, we got up early to have a quick breakfast at 8am, because we were then going on our scuba diving trip. The scuba team picked us up at the hotel docks by boat at 8.30, and we then stopped by another hotel in Porto Seguro to pick up another group of people, before heading out to sea. It took about an hour or so to sail out to the reefs where we were going to do our diving, and along the way the fun, entertaining instructors explained the procedures to us and got us all excited about the dive. When we got to the spot out at sea, you couldn’t actually see anything from the boat – it looked like we were in the middle of the sea with not much to see! There were 3 instructors, who could take people diving in pairs, and since there were 12 of us who wanted to dive (plus two girls who stayed on board), there were two rounds of dives. David and I waited for the first 3 pairs to go diving before taking our turn. We were already in our wetsuits, and so we had a swim whilst waiting. Once Carlos and Renata were back from their 30 minute dive, the instructors on board fitted the oxigen equipment onto us, and we dove in. Our very cool instructor (whose name I’ve sadly forgotten) showed us how to breath with the oxigen masks, asked us if we were comfortable, and then took us down. Being our first ever dive, I don’t think we could have done it without an instructor. He was brilliant – he guided us down, steering us to all the right places. It’s much harder than it looks! The only downside was that I thought the water would be clearer and that visibility would be better, but the water seemed quite clouded with sand. We didn’t get to see that much of a variety of fish, but the whole experience was great fun. The best bit, as you all probably know by now, was the underwater proposal. The instructor stopped us at one point to show us some corals and then take a photo of us with an underwater camera. After taking a couple of photos, David held up his hand and signalled for him to wait a moment, and he then pulled out a little black bag and took out the rings. My heart leapt and I almost started to cry (my eyes got all watery) but with the goggles covering my eyes and blocking my nose, my nose somehow filled up with water and I almost choked! David then simbolized a heart with his hands, and we then exchanged rings (more about that further down). The instructor started whooping and cheering (he’s managed to master the ability of talking/laughing/cheering underwater, something that I didn’t even know was possible – David later told me he’d tried to ask me if I wanted to marry him but had swallowed water, so decided to stay silent and stick to signs instead). David and I tried to kiss but couldn’t cos of the snorkel oxigen thingy in our mouths, and we couldn’t smile or say anything either because of that, which was quite frustrating! It was a magical moment that I’ll never forget, especially since it was completely unexpected and took me by surprise. After that, I was eager for the dive to be over with so we could resurface again, so I could talk to David and express my excitement and happiness. When we finally did resurface, the instructor started whooping again and shouted out to all his colleagues about the proposal, saying that it caught him completely unawares too! He seemed just as excited as we were! We thanked him for the fun dive, then climbed back on board to take off our wetsuits – we were starting to get quite cold. It had been quite cold 5 mts undewater!

In Brazil the tradition isn’t always to give the future bride a (diamond) ring (unless the groom can afford it), but rather the groom buys the future wedding rings for the couple, and the couple exchanges them and wears them on the ring finger of their right hand, which simbolises that they’re engaged. Then on the wedding day the couple exchanges them again and puts them on the ring finger of their left hand, which then means they’re married. David bought lovely white gold rings with two thin strips of yellow gold through them, and he inscribed our names on the inside of the ring (mine on his and his on mine). They’re lovely!

After an amazing morning, we headed back to shore. Carlos and Renata decided to stay in Porto Seguro for lunch, but David and I were eager to get back home – so David could shower and so I could share our exciting news with everyone. We then spent the afternoon relaxing by the pool again, and later that evening we went back to Porto Seguro to have dinner – this time alone. David had fish again, and I had a delicious prawn ‘caldo’ (soup). What a fun day it had been!

The following day we got up early again to have another early breakfast and then head out on our excursion to Praia do Espelho. There was a large group of us going, and we all packed into a minibus and set off on the 1 1/2 hour drive to the beach. David and I sat up front next to the driver, so we got the best views. We drove through a large area of ‘mata atlântica ‘ (Atlantic rainforest), past a huge farm that breeds buffaloes, past an indigenous reserve that we stopped at on our way back, and finally arrived at the beach. What a beautiful place it was! There was a small ‘pousada’ (inn/hotel) on the beach, with a restaurant and a lovely are with deck chairs and lounges shaded by palm trees. We set our things down, next to another lovely couple that we’d met from Rio Grande do Sul (the southernmost state in Brazil), who were celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary. We had a dip in the sea – quite cold but very refreshing – and sunbathed a bit, then our guide, Dadá, took some of us on a walk along the beach, and round the cliffs to a couple of other beaches round the corner. If Praia de Espelho was beautiful, these other beaches (including Praia dos Namorados – Lovers’ Beach, called so due to its isolation) were paradisiacal. He took us up a small hill where there was a viewpoint overlooking the beaches. It was a glorious day and the views were breathtaking. After taking loads of photos, we headed back, paddling through the water and enjoying the sunshine. We spent the day sunbathing, chatting, and relaxing. It was probably the most relaxing day we had. For lunch, David and Carlos had ordered a large fresh fish to be prepared for us at the inn’s restaurant, and at about 1.30pm, we tucked into a delicious meal of baked fish with a yummy sauce, potatoes, rice, and a prawn dip. After lunch, David and I walked along the beach in the opposite direction, looking out for shells and checking out the dozens of sea urchins. It was such a beautiful place, I wish the day had lasted longer. Sadly, at about 2.30pm, it was time to leave. On our way back, we stopped off for about 1/2 hour at the Pataxó Indigenous reserve. There were a couple of stores selling handicrafts, and next door there was a cute little classroom, where a little boy showed us the things they learn at school, including words in their indigenous language that the village chief teaches them. There was a group of children outside, playing games with their teacher. It looked so peaceful there, that it made me wonder how easygoing there lives must be. Afterwards, we stopped off at a village called Trancoso (which is apparently a hot spot for celebrities, hosting the most expensive hotels in the area). There was a lovely viewpoint over the beach and coastline, and a pretty little church dating back to the colonial period, but it wasn’t open so we couldn’t check it out inside. We didn’t arrive back at the hotel till about 6.30pm, after a long, but fun, day out. That night, David and I bumped into the couple from the south (Made and Kako) on the boat to Porto Seguro, and we decided to have dinner together. I had spaghetti with a prawn sauce that night, which wasn’t a good choice, because for the next two days I had an upset stomach. I’m not entirely sure whether it was the prawns, but it’s the most likely option since there were a LOT of prawns in the sauce, and thinking about it now they did taste slightly funny! It didn’t ruin the trip, but it was frustrating. Anyway, that night we had a lovely time getting to know Made and Kako. Their 20-year old daughter spent 9 months studying English in London last year, and they have another 5-year old daughter who had stayed at home with Made’s mum. Made’s grandmother is German, and they told us about the large German population that lives in the south of Brazil (apparently there are some towns that are completely ‘germanised’ – German architecture, everyone speaks German…). The south sounds so interesting, almost like a completely different country, and I’d love to get to know it one day.

We had quite a quiet day on Saturday, mostly due to my stomach being quite upset. We spent the morning by the pool, then went down to Quinta da Praia that afternoon and met up with Made, Kako, Carlos and Renata, and spend a few hours relaxing on the lounges. David and Carlos made use of the free hotel kayaks and did some sea kayaking, which David loved – he’d never kayaked before. David and I had dinner by ourselves that evening – except I didn’t have dinner. Apart from breakfast, I didn’t have much of an appetite all day, and just ate a few plain crackers that evening. Still, David enjoyed his meal. Before heading home, we bought a few things form the supermarket, then headed home for an earlyish night.

On our last day, David and I headed back to Porto Seguro in the morning to buy a few things and to look for a birthday present for Marildes (it’s her birthday on the 29th June). We were hoping to go to the historical centre of Porto Seguro (the old part of the city), but I was still feeling quite weak from my upset stomach and the historical centre was quite a walk away, that we decided to give it a miss. We then we popped back to the hotel, did some more sunbathing and relaxing, then met up with the 2 couples to head to Arraial d’Ajuda to find a bar to watch the Brazil vs. Côte d’Ivoire match. The centre of Arraial d’Ajuda was packed, and we found a lively bar/restaurant, which had a happy hour where everything was two-for-one: yummy juices, Mexican dishes (nachos, tacos…), beer etc. So we settled down to order, and had lunch before the match started. It was a very lively match and was great fun. Brazil football matches have a completely different vibe here to anything I’ve seen. The whole country stops when a Brazil match is on – banks close, children get let off early from school, offices close… So that everyone can get home in time to see the match. You don’t see a single soul on the street during a Brazil match. It becomes like a national holiday. Everything is decorated with the Brazilian flag – cars, buildings, faces, nails, hair, clothes… And the lovely thing about Brazilians is that they’ll seize ANY opportunity to have a party and have fun. For instance, during the football match interval, the bar put on loud carnival-style samba music, and everyone got up to dance, especially the women (I’d have loved to go to Rio during carnival – the way women know how to samba here is incredible). I don’t think Brazilians know the meaning of inhibition – people just don’t get shy here. Everyone is always out to have a good time, no matter what the occasion, and if the occasion is something as important as the country’s football match, then all the more reason to celebrate! It’s something I really envy of Brazilians – their joie de vivre.

Sadly, our amazing week’s holiday had come to an end. That evening, David and I had a final meal with Carlos and Renata (who were also leaving that night), found a little present for Marildes (a lovely soft wooden garlic crusher), then went back to the hotel to get 1 1/2 hour’s sleep in before having to leave at midnight. We checked out of the hotel, said goodbye to Kako and Made (who had woken up especially to say goodbye to us!), and caught the boat and van to the airport.

Our trip home was a bit of a nightmare. After arriving at the airport at about 1am, we waited about an hour after checking in, then boarded the plane about 40 mins before it was due to leave at 3am. About 20 mins, just when we thought we were due to take off, the pilot told us that there was heavy fog outside and that the runway had to be closed down because of it, and that we would only be able to leave once the fog lifted. He said it shouldn’t take too long and that as soon as it was ok to leave we would. 3 hours later (yes, 3 hours!!!) we were still on the plane, waiting. David and I managed to drift off now and again, but it wasn’t very pleasant. At about 6am, the pilot told us that it wasn’t improving, so those of us who wanted to could get off the plane to go to the terminal to stretch our legs. The tiny airport was a bit hectic and no one knew what was going on. 1 1/2 half hours later, we were finally told to board the plane again, and at 8am, we FINALLY left. We landed at in Goiânia at 9.30, and David’s cousin Harley came to pick us up from the airport at 10.30am. We didn’t get home till 11am – almost a 12 hour trip since leaving the hotel! We had a maximum of about 2-3 hours of sleep all night. I didn’t even feel tired by the time we got home – I just feel a bit sick!

After such a lovely, relaxing week away, I felt quite down and blue about having to return to Goiânia. Our fun trip had only left me wanting more! I guess all good things come to an end, as they say. Hopefully we’ll have the chance to have loads more fun trips like this one in the future…

About a month or so ago, we spent a lovely weekend at Tio Hosano (Onezio’s brother) and his wife Tia Liria’s farm, which is about a 3-hour drive northwest of Goiânia, in the direction of Mato Grosso. We’d picked David Filho up on the Friday evening, and Hosano and Liria picked us up on Saturday morning. After stopping off for lunch in a small village along the way, we arrived at the farm early afternoon. During the weekend, we fished in their two huge ponds, rode their lovely horse, milked their cows, picked lots of fresh fuit and veg (including a lovely selection of chillies), made cheese, and had a delicious bbq on the Saturday evening. I went on a long walk on Sunday with Liria through the woods to a beautiful small waterfall. Their land stretches out for miles, and is truly beautiful. Over the years, they’ve managed to do up the farm house, so it’s comfortable to use, and they have a lovely outdoor kitchen with bbq/terraced area to laze around in during the day. They have about 100 cows and a few bulls, which are looked after by their ‘peão’ (manual worker) and his wife, who milk and take care of the cows and the land when Hosano and Liria aren’t there. David Filho loved it there, and we loved being there with David Filho, and Hosano and Liria loved having us there, so it was a perfect weekend all-round. David Filho is such a cute boy. He’s very cheeky and incredibly energetic – he doesn’t sit still or stop moving or fidgeting or wanting to play for one minute – but he’s such a darling and has the loveliest laugh ever. I wish we could smuggle him back to England with us!

We went back to Hosano and Liria’s farm last weekend again, this time without them though. David and I drove out there with cousin Alan last Friday afternoon, and spent the night there. The following day, cousin Jacke (Rokslei’s eldest daughter of 19, who’s 5 months pregnant) and her boyfriend Denes (Denes number 2, i.e. not cousin Denes) arrived, and we spent the weekend there with them. This time we didn’t do as many activities as the previous time, which made it a lovely relaxing weekend, spent eating lots of bbq’d meat and lazing around all day playing card games and domino! The farm is a really peaceful place to relax and have a good time with friends and family. I wish our land wasn’t as far away as Mato Grosso. The good thing about Hosano and Liria’s farm is that it’s close enough to Goiânia to be able to escape to at the weekend, but it’s also far enough away to really feel like you’ve left the city and are able to spend a quiet, relaxing weekend away. Jacke and her boyfriend are really lovely – he’s about 20 years older than her, which seems quite worrying at first, but they seem so happy together and he’s such a lovely, friendly, chatty guy that in the end you realise that age isn’t actually the most important factor when it comes to friendships and relationships.

Jacke and Denes left on Sunday evening, whilst we stayed on till Monday morning, wanting to extend the fun weekend for just a night longer. It was just as well we didn’t head back on the Sunday evening, since our car broke down on our way back to Goiânia. One of the belts snapped – the one that controls the alternator, the power steering and the ‘motor cooler’, or whatever it’s called. We’d changed the alternator about a month ago, but apparently the mechanic hadn’t put it in properly, so the belt had been wasting away, and had decided to snap on our way back home. Luckily, we’d just passed a petrol station, so we managed to drive the car back before the motor overheated, and a nice guy at the station called a mechanic in the local village for us. He was able to temporarily put in another belt, but he didn’t have the correct one for our car, so he warned us that it wouldn’t last very long. After charging us an arm and a leg for his services, we set off and managed to make it back to Goiânia safely. However, we then had to spend the next two days trying to sort the car out. We managed to get the mechanic that had worked on our alternator to repair it again for free (it was under guarantee still), which was just as well.

After fixing the alternator about a month ago, the car finally seemed to be ok and working well, but then this incident happened last week, which has now left me wondering how many more pieces are still left that might make the car break down on us out of the blue. We’re lucky it didn’t happen on our way to or from Mato Grosso, in the middle of nowhere. Seriously, I never thought there were so many pieces inside a car’s engine that could go wrong. Pieces that I’ve never even heard of before are breaking, and I think I’ve pretty much learnt the entire motor’s vocabulary by now – in Portuguese, that is. At least it’s been a good lesson, despite all the time and energy and stress spent over this car.

We had a lovely weekend over David’s birthday weekend last month too. On his actual birthday, we went out for dinner with Denes, and were later joined by David’s friend Matheus and his girlfriend Lys. We then headed on to a ‘cowboy’ bar, called Taurino, that played ‘sertaneja’ (Brazil’s equivalent to country music) and showed videos of rodeos, and was absolutely packed. The following day, we were invited to one of David’s IT friend’s house for a ‘churrasco’. About 5 or 6 of David’s childhood friends showed up, along with their girlfriends, and we spent a lovely afternoon with them. Later that evening, we’d been invited to another of David’s IT friend’s ‘chá de bebê’ or ‘chá de berço’ (which translate as baby tea and cradle tea, but mean baby shower), whose girlfriend is 7 months pregnant. During a typical chá de berço here, the guests bring gifts for the baby (in order to help the couple save on money spent buying essential things for the baby), and in return the future parents prepare a yummy ‘caldo’ (soup – usually chicken soup, but often beef or bean soup too) for the guests. We’re actually going to another ‘chá de berço’ tonight – Jacke and Denes’s. On this occasion, Jacke has actually asked for a specific gift from each guest (a baby bottle in our case) – apparently requesting specific gifts at baby showers is normal here. People also celebrate what’s called a ‘chá de panela’ (literally translated as pan tea) here – it’s a party held before a couple get married, but is both separate to the engagement party and to the actual wedding ceremony: it’s a party that’s specifically held for friends and relatives to give presents (including pans) to the couple, and specific gifts are also requested from the guests in advance (again in exchange for caldo). I haven’t actually had the chance to attend a chá de panela here, but if the lucky couple receive a bunch of (specifically requested) gifts in exchange for some chicken soup, I might just have to hold my own one some day!

On the Sunday after David’s birthday, we all went to Vo Pedro’s for a family BBQ/birthday party: Alan and Rayssa, Alex, Tio Hosano and Tia Liria, their eldest son Luis Eduardo and his girlfriend (whose name I’ve forgotten), Jacke and Denes and Jacke’s younger sister Samira, and Vo Cida. Hosano and Liria brought two delicious cakes, and David got a lovely Official World Cup 2010 t-shirt from them. Family reunions here are always good fun and everyone seemed to have a good time. A few weeks later, we had another family reunion at Hosano and Liria’s house to celebrate Hosano’s birthday. They have an outdoors oven, and David made freshly-baked pizza for all of us, which was followed by more yummy birthday cake. Family’s a big thing here in Brazil, which is I guess is typical in most Latin countries. People tend to have children at quite a young age, meaning families are made up of several generations. Take Jacke for instance: she’s going to be a mum at 20, and her dad is going to be a grandad at 40. Or Vo Cida: she has 5 children, 15 grandchildren, and, so far,  2 greatgrandchildren (but soon to be 4 greatgrandchildren, since both Jacke and David’s sister Suzana are pregnant) – and she’s only 70. It’s a completely different culture and way of life to the UK, say. Although I’ve always thought that it seems more sensible to wait till one’s older, more settled, and have had a career before thinking of having children, family is such an important (if not the most important) factor in one’s life, and the family atmosphere here is so enchanting, that I can’t help but admire the value of family life here. And I do love the idea of having a big family and of being able to see one’s granchildren and even greatgrandchildren grow up.

Brazilians celebrate ‘Dia dos Namorados’ (St. Valentine’s Day) today, rather than on the 14th of February, and last night David and I were invited to Cinthya’s (Denes’s grilfriend’s) house for a buffet dinner. She’d decorated the house with heart-shaped balloons and candles, and had laid out a lovely selection of cheeses, hams, salamies, tuna dips, and bread for dinner, which was followed by strawberry and chocolate fondue – yum!

Tomorrow night (Sunday 13th), David and I are going to spend a week on the beach. We’re going to a place called Arraial d’Ajuda, which is close to Porto Seguro, south of Salvador in the state of Bahia. The beaches there are supposed to be beautiful, and we’ve booked into a really lovely-looking hotel, so hopefully it’ll be a great week away. David’s never been to the Brazilian coast, so neither of us can wait to spend some time by the sea. Will keep you posted! Then a week after we get back, around the end of June, we’re heading back to Vila Rica to spend another month there with Marildes and Onezio, before coming back to Goiânia for a last few days before our flight back to Spain in August.

Photos will follow soon, I promise!

Last Wednesday the 21st April was a national holiday here. ‘Tiradentes’ day, which roughly translates as ‘pull-out-teeth’. Tiradentes was a dentist back in the 18th century who fought for Brazilian independence from Portugal, which at the time wasn’t approved of so he was hung for doing so on the 21st April 1792. This day is now celebrated in honour of him. We had an early start that day. David had been invited to go on a 5-day fishing trip with his 3 cousins and some friends of theirs, and they wanted to leave early in order to get to the river and their campsite by noon. They wanted to make the most of the national holiday and had all managed to take an extra few days off to have a short holiday. When we initially found out about the trip, I was going to go along too, but we later found out that girls weren’t allowed. Apparently, the cousins’ friends organise a fishing trip each year, and in previous years girlfriends/wives/mothers-in-law had been allowed to go too, but things hadn’t worked out so well – the boys would drink beer in the evenings whilst playing cards, and start swearing occasionally and talking loudly, and someone’s mother-in-law complained about the swearing and the noise – so it’s now become a boys-only event! I was quite upset at first, since it would have been fun to get to know a new place and go camping and fishing for 5 days. But since girls weren’t allowed, there wasn’t much I could do. David was very keen to go – he’s very close to his 3 cousins, since they’re all a similar age and all grew up together, and he loves fishing – so there was no reason why he couldn’t go without me. The boys were all very very excited about the fishing trip – they’d been talking about it for weeks… Maybe it is a boy thing after all!

So I got to spend 5 days with the granny (Vo Cida, Onezio’s mum). We made the most of getting up early that day, and caught the bus at 6am in order to meet up with Suely (David’s aunt, Vo Cida’s eldest daughter), who had invited us to visit a friend in a nearby town (Bela Vista, about 1/2 hours drive away) close to where Suely works during the week. She picked us up, with her boyfriend (she’s been separated from her sons’ father for years), and we drove southwards out of Goiânia (roughly in the direction of Caldas Novas), then turned off down a dirt track towards where her friend lives. We first stopped off at a gorgeous farm that’s being renovated – and what an amazing renovation! – where another friend of Suely’s works, to say hi. The friend and her husband are in charge of the farmhouse renovations, and the farm is owned by a very rich couple that live in Goiânia and will use the farmhouse as a weekend resort. You can tell they’re filthy rich, since the farmhouse has been turned into a mansion, with a huge kitchen with constantly-running water (fed from the stream) and a mini waterfall (yes, inside the kitchen!), with a huge outside BBQ and terraced area, with a large fishing pond with another waterfall (also fed from the stream), another smaller pond used for breeding their own fish, and a swimming pool. And it’s set in a beautiful area with surrounding green meadows (with horses and cows) and palmtrees – idyllic! Whilst it’s slightly over-the-top, I secretly hoped that our land will look like that one day! We had a quick look around, I took several photos (just to get some ideas, you know), we picked some fresh fruit from their fruit trees, and then we said goodbye to Suely’s friend and set off again. We stopped off in a small shop in a nearby village (or rather, group of houses), where we bumped into Suely’s friend (and student of hers – Suely teaches sewing in Bela Vista), who we were planning on visiting. She was buying some groceries for lunch and then took us back to her farm, just down the road, for lunch. Whilst a much smaller, less classy farm, it was also set in a lovely area, and they have cows for milking, a whole orchard of fruit trees, and also fresh water (which they use for washing dishes) and a mini waterfall fed from a stream! Maybe running water in kitchens few from local streams has become a trend in Bela Vista… It’s definitely a lovely idea, and the constant sound of running water is so peaceful. It was a gorgeous day, and we had a lovely lunch with Suely’s friend and her family. We left around 3 o’clock, and were given three bags of fresh oranges and tangerines before leaving.

Before returning to Goiânia, we stopped off at another friend of Suely’s, a tiny elderly lady who is well-known in the area for being able to heal people by blessing them in the name of God. Apparently Suely used to have awful stomach aches which were healed after the woman blessed her; and Suely’s boyfriend (Geronimo) used to have itchy rashes on his face (which he’d use to scratch raw) which were also apparently cured after the woman blessed him. So Vo Cida wanted to pay the woman a visit to heal her knee, which (I believe due to her obesity) has been hurting for a while now. The woman (I didn’t manage to catch her name) was ever so sweet, and lives in a tiny, humble house at the end of a very long, bumpy track. She shows us around and allowed us to pick caja-mangas (tiny, sour mangoes) from her tree, then went on to bless Vo Cida, Suely and Geronimo. I didn’t want to miss out on all the fun, so I asked her to bless me too! You don’t necessarily have to have a physical problem or pains to be blessed by her, so I just told her about the problems we’d been having with the car and all the documents we’re having to sort out, which at times is quite stressful, and she smiled and said she’d bless me and ask God for help. She instructed me to face the stream in her backyard, she picked some leaves from a nearby bush, started waving them at my back, and started chanting – I only caught some words, but she mentioned God, Jesus and Mary, and several saints, so I believe it was probably a catholic prayer. I’m not sure whether she really is able to heal people through her blessings, but it definitely felt very peaceful whilst she was blessing me. Afterwards, we all thanked her and hugged her, and Vo Cida gave her a small donation to help her buy a new pair of glasses, before making our way back to Goiânia.

We got back home at 7ish, after a long, fun day out. Vo Cida and I watched a couple of ‘novelas’ (soaps) on TV before heading to bed. The following day, I went along to a ‘reunião dos idosos’ (elderly people’s meeting) with Vo Cida. It’s about a 20 minute walk up the road, but took us about 40 minutes to get there since we had to stop every 2 minutes for Vo Cida to catch her breath (we’ve told her she needs to be more careful with what she eats, since she’s REALLY fat, and has diebetes and high blood pressure, but she doesn’t take us seriously…). We finally made it there, and I got to attend a very sweet meeting where about 50 odd elderly people in the area get together to chat, catch up, dance, sing, and have fun together. At the end of the meeting, they each get 2 free litres of milk, sponsored by the local council. It was enjoyable, and Vo Cida was pleased she had managed to make it there, although she keeps on saying that unless she manages to buy a motorbike she won’t be able to go anymore, since it exhausts and hurts her too much – she ends up with knee aches and chest pains… I suggested she should invest in a motorised wheelchair, which she found very amusing!

We’ve spent the past 3 days at home, washing laundry, cleaning the house, and watching lots of TV – Vo Cida spends most of her day lounging on the sofa in front of the TV… And then she wonders why she’s not losing weight! Poor thing… We were going to go to a local food and clothes fair today, but I’m feeling a bit under the weather, with a sore throat, and the granny realised she didn’t have much spending money, so we’ve left it for another day. The boys are due back today, although we’re not sure what time. Knowing them, they’ll have made the most of the day and won’t be back till night time!

Anyway, time for an update. After my last entry, where I mentioned we had succeeded in getting a car, it then took another 2 weeks (!) to actually be able to use it. We picked up the car on the day the sale went through, drove it for one day, and realised there was a problem with it. After taking it to several mechanics, we discovered there was a serious problem with the motor. I don’t know much about car technology, but something like the entire lower part of the motor had to be changed. Luckily, the car was still under (verbal) guarantee from the garage we bought it from, otherwise it would have cost us about R$3000 (£1000) to repair it. It just meant we had to wait another couple of weeks or so before the car was ready to use.

Onezio was very keen to return to Vila Rica, since he’d originally planned on returning with Marildes several weeks before, and David and I had decided we’d go with him. We’d had enough of staying in a city and were keen to see the countryside and get to know the town where Marildes and Onezio live. However, because of the delay in getting the car, we had some time on our hands before travelling to Vila Rica. We found out that Denes and his girlfriend, Cinthya, were planning a trip to Caldas Novas, a city about 2 hours south of Goiânia famous for its natural hot springs, over Carnaval weekend (12-14 February), so we decided to go with them. Another of David’s cousins, Robson, and his girlfriend Luana came along too. We were also joined by another couple, friends of Cinthya’s. We left Goiania on Friday 12th Feb, arriving in Caldas Novas that evening, and David and I stayed till Monday morning, since we had arranged with Onezio to travel to Vila Rica on the Tuesday. The others stayed on till Wednesday. After arriving quite late on the Friday, we all cleaned Cinthya’s chalet (where we spent the weekend), had dinner and went to bed. The following day, we went to the Clube Nautico, a water park/resort with several pools and grassy areas, set beside a lake. Caldas Novas is famous for its natural hot springs, and has become a tourist hot spot (mainly amongst Brazilians) who travel there during their ‘feriados’ (holidays). The hot springs are said to be curative and the city is made up of numerous hotels and water parks that use the hot springs to attract clients to their resorts. Apparently there’s a lake in Caldas Novas where the water is so hot you’re able to cook an egg in it! It’s obviously not available to swim in. Once the hot springs reach the various resorts, the water is only luke warm so a perfect temperature to enjoy and relax in. Clube Nautico is in fact the only resort in Caldas Novas that doesn’t use water from the natural hot springs, so the swimming pools are normal pool temperature. On the Sunday, we went to Hot Park (the most well-known/expensive resort in Caldas Novas – we’d all managed to win free entries, otherwise we couldn’t have afforded it!), which is a huge resort made up of numerous swimming pools, a water park, and a fake beach (known as the only ‘Praia do Cerrado’ – ‘praia’ being beach and ‘cerrado’ being the ecosystem found in the centre of Brazil, with vast areas of grassland and patches of forest, sometimes referred to as the ‘Brazilian Savanna’). I initially thought it’d be odd to swim in luke-warm water on a hot day under the blazing sun, when I’d usually prefer to cool off in cold water, but it was surprisingly enjoyable. Both resorts had live bands and groups of dancers to entertain the crowds – I don’t think I’ve ever seen a swimming pool as packed as the one in Hot Park that day! Check out photos of our trip to Caldas Novas here.

After 2 days of relaxing, sunbathing and having fun with Denes and co., David and I got a lift back to Goiânia early Monday morning with Cinthya (who had to return to work that day). Onezio picked us up in our new car (I refer to it as ‘ours’ although it really belongs to Marildes and Onezio!). Although the motor had been changed, another couple of pieces had to be fixed, so David and Onezio spent the day sorting that out whilst I packed our bags and got everything ready to leave the following day. At about 4am the next day, Onezio, David and I set off on the long road trip to Vila Rica – a journey of around 1200 km, cutting northwards through the state of Goiás (where Goiânia is the capital), northwestwards through Tocantins, across the Araguaia river, and southwards through a corner of the state of Pará and finally into Mato Grosso (which translates as ‘thick forest’), where Vila Rica is located right at the top righthand corner of the state. Most of the journey is along a BR (motorway) that cuts right through the middle of Brazil, starting in the south of the country, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul next to the border with Uruguay, and traversing the whole of Brazil, ending in the north of the state of Tocantins. Driving along the motorway, with vast stretches of flat grasslands and fields of soya plantations, with hardly any mountains in view, it felt like the road would never end. However, the longest part of the journey was towards the end, once we’d crossed through Tocantins, crossed the Araguaia river by ferry, and arrived in Pará. The tarmacked road ends here, and the rest of the journey was along a dirt track. It looked like such a short distance on the map but it seemed to take forever to arrive in Vila Rica. It didn’t help that by then it was nighttime and had started to rain, which made the last chunk of the journey seem neverending. We finally arrived in Vila Rica at 10.30pm. The journey took about 18 hours long and 2 tankfulls of petrol. We stopped a number of times along the way, to eat, use the bathroom and rest our legs a bit. Onezio and David took turns to drive, although Onezio drove most of the way. Marildes was waiting for us in their cute little wooden house with freshly baked ‘pão de queijo’ (cheese rolls) and herbal tea. It was lovely to see Marildes again – we hadn’t seen her in over a month.

We spent the following day in Vila Rica, resting after our long trip. Vila Rica is a tiny town, with only one high street as the ‘centre’, with a few small supermarkets, some shops, internet cafes, banks and a post office. It’s much smaller than Felanitx in terms of inhabitants, although it’s spread out over larger area. On the Thursday, David and I took Marildes to her school (she teaches in 2 schools – a private school in the morning and a state school in the afternoon), so the students in one of her classes could meet us. They’d prepared an interview with me, whereby they each took turns to ask me a question about myself, and I had to answer first in English, and then in Portuguese. Their age group was about 12/13 and they were all very sweet and very friendly. I was probably the first English person they’d ever met! School timetables in Brazil work quite different to Europe. You have morning sessions, afternoon sessions, and evening sessions. Some students have school in the morning, starting at 7.30am and ending at midday, others have school in the afternoon, from 1pm till 5.30pm, and others have school in the evening, from 7pm till 11.30pm. Each year, students are allowed to choose which session they’d like to attend, although you have to be over 15 years old to study during the evening. So each student only goes to school for 4 1/2 hours a day, allowing them the rest of the day off. It seems much more easygoing than in Europe, but their school holidays aren’t as long. For instance, they don’t have 6 weeks off in the summer (or 3 months off, as in Spain) – they only have the month of July off. Over Christmas, they have another month off, but they don’t have half term, and only have 1-2 days off over Easter. There do seem to be more national holidays in Brazil than anywhere else I’ve heard of, so they have lots of bank holidays and ‘puentes’. So whilst their school holidays are shorter/fewer than in Europe, they have shorter days at school, and more bank holidays/puentes to look forward to. I guess the total hours of school per year works out the same as in Europe, it’s just spread out differently.

After visiting Marildes’s school, we returned home, got our belongings ready, and set off for Onezio’s farm that afternoon. It’s a 3 1/2 hour trip southwards from Vila Rica. It’s only about 80km away, but takes that long because it’s along dirt tracks, and towards the end the road gets very rocky, uneven and full of holes and huge puddles – especially in the rainy season – so you have to drive very slowly. It felt like the car would fall apart before even getting there! However, the government is planning on tarmacking the main road (BR) southwards out of Vila Rica this year, which will make the journey to the farm much quicker and easier. But we made it there in one piece. David and I have just bought a piece of land right next to Onezio’s, so we were very keen to see finally see it. Our piece of land leads on to Onezio’s land (so he has to drive through our land to get to his) but then his is a ‘dead end’ (so to call it) so it’s feels very remote – like we’re in the middle of the wildest wilderness! On our land there’s a little stone house with 4 small rooms, and right next to it a wooden shack (where the previous owners had an open fire for cooking). There’s another little wooden shack where they kept pigs, and behind some bushes another wooden shack where apparently the owner’s son used to live. At the bottom of the bushes there’s a little stream, and the entire area is full of fruit trees – goiaba, mango, orange, avocado, sugar cane, banana, etc etc. The outside area is a bit messy since the previous owner left a lot of litter lying around, so it could do with a good clean. But it’s very sweet, in a lovely setting, and I personally prefer it to Onezio’s land! There’s no running water on our land – apparently the previous owner drank and used water from the stream, and Marildes told me his children often used to get sick so it’s probably not very safe to drink the stream water. But Onezio has dug a well on his land and has put a very powerful pump there so he had fresh water and a lovely powerful outdoors shower, and he uses a ceramic water filter so the water is safe to drink. At some point in the future when we have time and money we’d like to dig a well in our land and put in a pump and a sink and hopefully even a bathroom with a proper toilet. Luckily there’s electricity there (thanks to Lula apparently!) so it does make things a lot easier. If our house had running water and a bathroom, it’d be lovely. Then we’d just need to touch up the house, add a few pieces of furniture and a proper cooking area, and give the garden/outside area a good tidy up and maybe plant a few more trees and plants and it’d be perfect! Especially once the BR is tarmacked, making access from Vila Rica much easier.

Onezio’s land is just up the hill from ours, so very close by (about a 5 minute’s walk). He lives in a tiny wooden shack – it’s about the size of our kitchen and dining room in Mallorca (just so you get an idea of how small it is)! It’s made from old wood that looks like it’s starting to rot, and when it rains water drips in in places, and it doesn’t have a floor so it’s on top of earth… but it’s ever so sweet! It’s messy, with tools and ropes and a horse saddle and pots and pans hanging from nails in the walls. It’s split into 3 sections – the entrance area, which has a chair and a fridge/freezer, the kitchen, which has a cooker which he doesn’t use, and an open fire where he cooks, and a shelf with plates and food (rice, coffee, sugar…), and then the bedroom, with two single beds, a hammock, a tiny telly, a washing machine (that doesn’t spin so you have to rinse and drain the clothes by hand) and a washing line – so very squishy, you hardly have room to move! Outside, he has a lovely powerful shower which is great for showering (not really a shower, rather a very powerful hose hooked up on a pole), a sink area for washing clothes too, and a table which he uses as a surface for washing dishes. Then on the other side of the house there’s a huge satellite dish (almost as big as the house itself!) – Marildes started to get worried that Onezio was getting lonely by himself so she moved the telly there from Vila Rica and installed a satellite dish – he does love it! The house is on top of a hill, and to one side there’s a little forested area, where the dad keeps a trough that he fills with salt for the cows (apparently that’s what they eat: salt and grass!), and a small garden area, with banana trees, mandioca (cassava), and several other fruit trees. Then there’s a ditch that’s full of ‘mato’ (wild plants/weeds) and if you walk down the other side of the hill and then up another slope it leads to a small pond (about 5 mins walk away) with tiny fish.

Our 40 cows (actually, 38 cows and 2 bulls) live on his land at the moment, and they’re very cute. Most of them are very scared and get startled if we get too close – and as soon as one gets startled and starts to run away they all get scared and run together (remind me of deer). But there are a couple who are tame, and one of them especially (Marildes’s cow) who allows you to stroke her – she’s very sweet. We fed them salt one evening and got very close up. Onezio also has chickens, and Seu Henrique (Mr Henry!), the previous owner of our land, left some chickens and partridges for Marildes, so we have chickens on our land too. Seu Henrique also left a dog and two cats behind, who have now moved up to Onezio’s house. Although they were very shy at first, we fed them for a few days and they’ve now become tame and allow you to stroke them too, so I think Onezio’s going to adopt them!

Life’s very easygoing on the farm. On our first night there we were so tired from our 3 1/2 hour trip there that we went to bed at 8.30pm! Thing is, by the time it gets dark (6.30/7ish) there’s not much else to do except watch telly or read – except the light’s quite bad so it’s not that easy to read either. And we were so tired that we went to sleep early. Then we’d get up early cos it’s light from about 6am, and get the wood stove going, and water boiling, and then we’d potter around in the morning – feed salt to the cows, dig up mandioca for lunch, go fishing in the pond, check out our land… then at about 10 am we’d start to make lunch (yes, 10am!), so we could eat at about 11/12ish – if you’re cooking rice and beans on an open fire it takes longer to cook. Then after lunch we’d get quite sleepy, especially since midday/early afternoon is the hottest time of the day (and it’s sooooo hot there – I thought it was hot in Goiânia, and was just starting to get used to it, but it’s even hotter in Vila Rica). If you don’t have the fan on you’re constantly dripping with sweat and I felt even more tired there than in Goiânia! So after lunch we’d have a little nap or watch telly/a movie. Then later on in the afternoon whilst there was still daylight we’d potter around a bit more (on Saturday afternoon we went fishing in a neighbour’s bigger pond, about 1/2 hour’s walk over the hill and through a forest), and then we’d make dinner, and by the time it’s dark we were ready to settle down and go to sleep again! So the days seemed to go by very quickly, and they all seemed to blur into one. On the Friday morning Onezio showed us our land and our house/shacks, and in the evening Marildes arrived. Onezio went to pick her up from a tiny group of houses about 1/2 hour’s drive away (called Pé de Galinha – chicken’s foot, because there’s a fork in the road shaped like a chicken’s foot) – it was pouring that evening so David and I got quite worried they wouldn’t make it back, especially since it was dark by then, but luckily they did. Then Saturday morning David and Onezio went back to the Pé de Galinha for a meeting with the nearby farmers. Marildes and I stayed at home, preparing lunch. That afternoon, we all went fishing in the neighbour’s pond, and then on the Sunday we took it easy in the morning and left after lunch for the 3 1/2 hour drive back. Marildes had to get back to work the following day, and we returned with her, whilst Onezio stayed at the farm. On our way back we stopped off at 3 of the rivers/lakes along the way and I had a dip in one of them whilst David tried to fish (but didn’t manage to catch anything – the rivers are very ‘full’ at the moment due to it being rainy season, making it hard to fish), so the journey back took about 5 hours instead of 3. Check out photos of our trip to the farm here.

Although I loved spending a few days at the farm, it was nice to be back in Vila Rica. Despite being able to have showers, you constantly feel dirty cos of the sweat and cos you’re always walking on earth, and you’re always dirty and muddy, so now I know not to take any nice clothes with me there, only old ones that I don’t mind getting dirty. And we were bitten by so many insects – mosquitoes, ants (yes, ants bite here!!), and David was bitten by this nasty little insect called Miquin that lives in the grass, and he came out with a nasty infection of red bites and rashes on his ankles. It was nice to spend four days there and then return to a clean house and a comfy bed! Marildes allowed us to sleep in her double bed whilst Onezio wasn’t there, which was lovely – I was starting to get back pains and aches from sharing a single bed at the farm with David that dips in the middle! After the four initial days at the farm, we spent just under a month in Vila Rica with Marildes. I can’t actually believe we spent almost a month there, since we didn’t do much during that time except for relaxing at home and keeping Marildes company! Marildes loved having us to stay – I think she usually gets quite lonely. Onezio only returns to Vila Rica at the weekend, and sometimes doesn’t return for over a fortnight. Onezio’s sister, Maria Jose, lives next door to Marildes, along with her husband Dorvalino and their daughter (David’s cousin) Keila, so Marildes has them to keep her company. But it’s not the same as having someone to live with. Aurelio used to live with her before going to England, so she must have really enjoyed having company again. We were always home when she returned for lunch at midday and after her afternoon shift in the evening, and we’d always have dinner together. We’d sometimes go out in the evenings for an ‘espetinho’ (bbq’d meat on skewers, served at small bars), and we went fishing one evening when Onezio was back from the farm.

During our final week in Vila Rica, we returned to the farm with Onezio for another four days there. This time we went by moped, since it had rained heavily and the roads were too flooded to cross by car. It was lovely to go back again – although it’s hot at the farm, it feels much cooler there than in Vila Rica, somewhat fresher. One morning we helped Onezio fix the fencing surrounding our land, to stop the cows from escaping, so he can release our cows into our land where the ‘capim’ (grass) is very green since it hasn’t been touched in months. We got to know our land better, and went for a walk in the woods behind our house, which was beautiful! I also got to ride one of Onezio’s mares one afternoon – I took her out across Onezio’s land, and got really close up to our cows (they don’t seem to get at all startled when you’re on a horse). I rode past our grown bull, who was lying under a tree about a meter away from me! I really wish I’d had my camera on me to take a photo of him – he’s so handsome! But unfortunately I’d forgotten it in my bag. After four lovely days at the farm again, we returned to Vila Rica on the Thursday afternoon and the following Friday we left for Goiânia again. We had to return for several reasons, to sort out some of David’s documents, but mainly because my three-month visa was about to expire at the end of March and I had to renew it at the Policia Federal, whose offices are only located in capital cities. Onezio drove back with us, so David didn’t have to drive the entire way alone. He stayed in Goiânia for 3 days (in order to attend a ceremony at the dojo) before returning to Vila Rica. Marildes was very sad to see us go – and we were sad to leave, and to have to face the hectic life in Goiânia again! But hopefully we’ll be able to return to Vila Rica in a few months’ time. I have more photos of Vila Rica and the farm which I’ll upload shortly.

We’ve now been back in Goiânia for three weeks. We’re staying with Vo Cida this time, who lives slightly further out than Vo Landa does, but she lives alone so loves having us to stay, and we get to sleep on a proper bed as opposed to the inflatable bed at Vo Landa’s! And because Vo Cida lives alone, we don’t really feel like we’re in the way, like we did at Vo Landa’s, whose house is always full. Whilst it was easier to live at Vo Landa’s before when we didn’t have a car – in terms of being able to get lifts to places – now we have a car it doesn’t really matter that Vo Cida’s house is slightly further away. Speaking of the car, we’ve had to take it to the mechanic’s again since it makes a really odd noise when the motor’s turned on. It was like this from the moment we picked it up from the mechanic’s before leaving for Vila Rica, but because Onezio was eager to get back home, we didn’t have a chance to check the problem before leaving. So we couldn’t do much in terms of finding out what was wrong with the car in Vila Rica, and had to wait till we arrived back in Goiânia to take it to the mechanic’s and get it checked. We spent most of our first week here trying to make an appointment with the mechanic to get the car looked at, and the car then spent about a week at the mechanic’s! We picked it up again last Thursday, but the noise is still there, so we’re probably going to have to hand it in again. It seems that although the motor was changed, there’s still something wrong with the motor,  but it’s taking the mechanic a while to find out what the problem is. We’ve taken it to several other mechanics to try to find out what the problem is, who all say the motor’s a dud, and say that what probably happened was that although the motor was changed, some of the pieces that were used were probably second-hand (in order to save the garage guy money), and so of bad quality, which is causing the problem. Still, the garage guy has to provide guarantee on the car, so although it’s a pain in the bum, hopefully we won’t have to pay to get the problem fixed. We’re probably handing in the car again today, and might have to spend another week or so without it. One piece of advice: NEVER buy a second-hand car in Brazil! It’s not worth the hassle!

We spent all of Easter weekend at home, since everything was closed. On Easter Monday (which isn’t a national holiday here – they just have Good Friday and Easter Sunday), I spent the day out and about with Vo Cida, since she needed to run some errands in the centre and wanted someone to keep her company. We only managed to get two things done – pick up a DVD from her cousin and reserve a bus ticked for her to visit her aunt on Thursday, who lives about 3 hours away – but it took us almost all day to get these things done, and most of the time was spent on the bus! Just so you get an idea how long it takes to use the bus here, we had to catch one bus, close to where Vo Cida lives, to a terminal close to where Vo Landa lives. We then had to change buses to take us to where her cousin lives. We had lunch at her cousin’s, picked up the DVD, popped by Tio Hosano’s bakery (David’s uncle, Vo Cida’s second-eldest son, after Onezio), then, after waiting about 1/2 hour at the terminal, caught another bus to the ‘rodoviaria’ (main bus terminal in the centre of Goiânia). After reserving her bus ticket, we walked back to the bus stop, caught the same bus back to the terminal, caught another bus to the terminal close to where Vo Landa lives, and then another bus back home. A total of 6 buses to get us around town, and we only got two things done! (She had to do a couple of other things but left them for another day). Not only is travelling by bus here long-winded, exhausting and relatively expensive (they don’t have day/week passes here, so you have to pay each time you get on a bus), but the buses are old, dirty, PACKED, and sweaty… Not a very nice experience! They ought to introduce a cheap, reliable, comfortable bus, tram or even underground system to make people enjoy using public transport and stop relying on cars so much to get around.

Anyway, that’s pretty much the update for now. Now we’ve installed internet at Vo Cida’s, it won’t matter so much if we don’t have use of the car for another week or so! We’re going to a football match this afternoon (the semi-finals of the ‘copa do estado de Goiás’ – the state of Goiás cup), which should be fun! Lots of love to everyone.

However, we’re in a Latin country, so as you would expect everything takes double or triple as long as it would anywhere else in the world. Hence why we’ve been trying to buy a car for the past three weeks and have still not had much success. As they say here, people and things here are very ‘enrolado’ (loosely translated as ‘tied up with something’, but basically meaning incredibly long-winded). For instance, someone tells you they’ll pop by your house to pick you up in 15 minutes, but they don’t show up till 2 hours later. Or someone promises to give you a lift home at 5 pm, but you don’t end up leaving till 8 o’clock. Or you arrange to have dinner with a group of friends at 8.30 pm, but you end up meeting up at 10.30pm (however, since everyone is ‘enrolado’ here, everyone seems to know that 8.30 pm actually means 10.30 pm… So the system seems to work, as annoying as it may be for an outsider). So we seem to do a lot of hanging around here, waiting for things to happen, and I’m having to learn to be very patient… It doesn’t help that we don’t have our own car yet, so we’re having to rely on other people to give us lifts. The reason we would like to have a car here is because it’s practically impossible to rely on the bus system. Goiânia is a big city, especially since it’s very spread out, so to catch a bus into the town centre takes about 1 hour from where we live, and if we wanted to go visit David Filho by bus (who lives on the other side of Goiânia) we’d need to allow at least 2 hours – just to get there. Plus the bus that takes us from the bus terminal in the centre to Vila João Vaz, where we live, only runs once an hour, so you could end up waiting almost an hour at the terminal just waiting for the bus to arrive. It’s not like London, where you can easily hop on the tube or a number of buses to take you to where you need to go. I don’t know why the bus system isn’t very reliable here. The problem is that it makes most people rely on cars to get about, meaning the city’s very polluted – especially since a lot of vehicles are very old and let out huge puffs of black smoke whenever they accelerate. Not only that, but the traffic is horrendous too. People overtake left right and centre, two-lane roads become 3 or 4 lanes if the roads are wide enough to fit that number of cars, no one indicates which way they’re turning, people often drive through red lights  (which at night-time is actually permitted since assaults often happen at traffic lights, but which people continue to do during the day too), and no one respects anyone on the roads. It’s quite scary!

Not only would a car be useful to get around whilst we’re in Goiânia, but we’d be able to go on road trips (for instance, to Caldas Novas, some natural hot springs south of Goiânia, or up north to David’s parents’ farm). It would just be so much more practical, especially in a city where public transport isn’t very reliable. So two weeks ago we went to a ‘feirão’ (a large fair) selling second-hand cars, and we happened to find a guy selling the car Onezio wants, except the guy wasn’t interested in selling it – he simply wanted to transfer the car to another owner to no longer have to pay the monthly installments, since he’d recently bought a much newer car and had an even higher ‘prestação’ to pay for that one. So Onezio and David made arrangements with the seller, and the following day sent off the necessary forms to the bank. The seller then had to wait to receive a form from the bank to fill in to change over the payment details (so Onezio could take over the monthly payments), which we were told would take a few days. So we waited. And waited. And waited. We’re still waiting, 3 weeks later. The bank still hasn’t emailed the car seller the form he needs to transfer the car over to us. So banks are even more ‘enrolados’ than anyone else (especially considering an email only takes a few minutes to send). So we’ve pretty much given up on him and we’ve tried several other cars, but each process seems to take as long as the previous one. Hopefully we’ll get there eventually…

Although we seem to have spent a lot of time waiting around for things to happen, we’ve still managed to enjoy ourselves. I went on a day trip to Brasília with Cinthya (Denes’s girlfriend) to help her sort out her car documents (she bought the car in Brasília so the car’s MOT documents have to be sorted out there), and got a brief introduction to the city. Although our visit was quite short (the journey there and back alone took up over 5 hours of our day), I got a nice feel of the city. It’s much cleaner and more organized than Goiânia is. The city’s only 50 years old (compared to Goiânia’s 77 years – both quite young cities either way), and the city resembles an airplane when seen from above. Different sections of the city are even named after an airplane’s parts – Asa Norte (‘north wing’), Asa Sul (‘south wing’), Plano Piloto (‘pilot’s cabin’)… I didn’t get to see the cathedral, because it’s closed at the moment since they’re renovating it. We had a really nice meal that day, at a restaurant serving food typical of the northeast of Brazil. We’ve also been out for some nice meals with some of David’s friends (including a group of friends who all grew up playing computer games together and who all ended up working in IT – I like to call them his geeky friends). We’ve hung out with David’s cousins at Harley’s ‘Lan House’ (internet café) a number of times. We took David Filho out to a local shopping centre and spent the morning having fun with him there, and we had him to stay one night, which was quite exhausting but good fun since he’s so cute! We’ve been to a number of birthday parties, including Leandro’s (David’s cousin’s son) and Du’s (Cinthya’s son), and to a number of ‘feiras’ (fairs/markets). We went out one night with one of David’s ‘geeky’ friends, Matheus, with his girlfriend and a few of his mates to a bar where a Brazilian rock band played covers of Led Zeppelin – interesting to say the least!

I didn’t feel very well during our second week here – I first had some funny stomach bug (probably due to the change in climate and food) and then found out I had Cystitis, which wasn’t very pleasant, so had to take it easy for a few days. I also managed to break part of my tooth whilst eating a goiaba, a delicious fruit that has small rock-hard pips inside, which you can swallow but you’re not supposed to bite down on. I wasn’t thinking and bit down hard on one of the pips, which ended chipping one of my teeth. Luckily it didn’t hurt, and it just took a visit to David’s parents’ dentist to get a filling and have it fixed. However, I’ve been feeling better since then, and although the heat still makes me feel very sleepy, I’ve realised that having a nap after lunch really helps!

So whilst waiting for this car business to sort itself out, we’ve been taking it easy, getting to know Goiânia, and getting used the different pace of life in Brazil (even David’s found it strange being back here again, since it’d been so long since he’d been away). Check out more of my photos of the past few weeks. More to follow soon!

PS. Great news! As I was just updating this blog entry, I got a call from David (who’s out with Onezio) to say that the bank has just called to say that they have approved our ‘case’ and will give us a loan to buy a car! Woohoo!! More updates to follow…

We arrived in Goiânia at about 9.30 am on the 31st, 25 hours after having left Gatwick airport – a long trip! Marildes and Onezio (David’s parents) and his cousin Denes picked us up from the airport. Onezio didn’t know we were arriving that day, so he was very surprised and pleased to see us – I think he almost cried. Both Onezio and Marildes looked much younger than I’d thought, and whilst Onezio is a quiet, gentle person, Marildes is loud and bubbly, and I took to them right away. They were both very happy to meet their ‘nora’ (they already consider me their daughter in law!). Denes drove us back to David’s granny’s house, Iolanda (referred to here as Vo Landa, granny Landa). She’s Marildes’s mum, is 84 years old and is about half David’s size! She’s very sweet, speaks very quietly and has already sung the Brazilian national hymn to me about 3 times. She also loves to show me her photo album, with a collection of photos dating back to when she was a little girl.

At Vo Landa’s house, we met some of David’s relatives: two aunts (Tia Sonia and Tia Vina, Marildes’s sisters), his uncle (Tio Edson, Marildes’s brother) and Edson’s ex-wife Maria, who still gets on with him, two of his cousins (Ricardo, Edson’s son, and Denes, Vina’s son, who picked us up from the airport and is the kindest person you can imagine) and David’s two other grandparents, Vo Cida and Vo Pedro (Onezio’s parents, who are divorced but still get on well). They were all very excited to see us and who kept on going on about how pretty I was, which was slightly embarassing! They’re all very VERY loud and talkative, which David first told was because they were excited to see us, but that I’ve actually come to realise that Brazilians are like that all the time!

We had lunch with the family, then David and I had a 2 hour snooze to refresh us after our long journey over here. We spent the afternoon chatting and catching up with David’s relatives, then Denes took Vo Cida, David and me to see David Filho (David’s son). On the way, we stopped off to see another of David’s uncles, Ozano (Onezio’s brother), who was just closing his bakery. His wife invited us back to their house for a quick chat, which ended up lasting over an hour since she fed us with fried banana and cinnamon (very yummy) and juice. We then moved on to David Filho’s house, by which time it was about 9 pm and already dark. He was quite shy to see us at first, but seemed to recognise David straight away and after David hugged him David Filho wouldn’t let go. We gave him his presents, which he loved, and met his mum Kely, her other 2-year-old daughter Nicoly and her mum (David Filho’s grandma). After about an hour or so, we left, promising to come back to see him as soon as possible.

We then headed on to Tia Suely’s house, David’s aunt and Onezio’s sister, in order to see more of David’s cousins, Suely’s sons. However, being New Years Eve and about 11pm, they’d all already gone out to celebrate (since David had kept it a secret that we were arriving that day so as to surprise everyone, they hadn’t known we’d be there for NYE so they’d all already gone out). Denes had also gone out to a party with his girlfriend. He´d invited us to go out with him, but entry cost £100 per person, which David and I were quite reluctant to pay, so we stayed at Tia Suely’s. We had dinner with her and Vo Cida, watched the fireworks on TV and outside at midnight, then headed straight to bed since I could hardly keep my eyes open any longer. Not the most eventful New Years Eve, but we were both excited to be there and were so tired after such a long day that we were happy to go to bed.

The following day, Onezio and Marildes joined us for a churrasco (Brazilian style BBQ) at Tia Suely’s house, where I met even more cousins of David’s: 2 of Suely’s 3 sons Harley and Alan, with Harley’s wife Cleonice and Alan’s girlfriend Raissa, and Rokslei’s (David’s uncle who lives in Germany and Onezio’s younger brother) 2 daughters, Jackeliny (with her boyfriend, also called Denes), and Stefanne. We spent all day enjoying the delicious BBQ’d meat and getting to know David’s many relatives. Harley and Cleonice drove us home later that evening, and Denes (who lives at Vo Landa’s house) kindly let us sleep in his comfortable bed that night so we could get a good night’s sleep.

The following day, Saturday, Ricardo had invited us to go on a trip to a nearby(ish) town, Pirenopolis, to visit a waterfall, with his girlfriend Flavia and her 9 yo son Rafael. They picked us up very early, at 6 am, to make the most of the day, and we stopped off at a ‘padaria’ (bakery) to have an early breakfast of  ‘rosquinha’ (kind of like a doughnut) and coffee before setting off on the 1 1/2 hour drive to Pirenopolis. When we got there, we met up with a friend of Ricardo’s, Malcolm, and his girlfriend Juliane. David, Ricardo and Malcolm had brought their mountain bikes (Denes lent David his) to bike up the mountain to the waterfall where we were headed. We dropped them off at the bottom of this steep muddy track, then Flavia, Rafael and I, and Juliane in her car, drove off up the mountain ahead of them. It took them about 1 hour 4 mins to reach the top, which David said was challenging but good fun. We stopped to wait for them halfway up the mountain, then went ahead and waited for them at the waterfall. Pirenopolis and the waterfall are quite a popular touristic attraction (mainly for Brazilians though), and being a couple of days after NYE and a weekend, the place was full of people enjoying the lovely weather and cooling off by the waterfall. Despite the heat outside, the water was icy, but once we got in it was lovely and refreshing. We spent a while cooling off in the water, then we headed back to the car to descend the mountain. Back in Pirenopolis, we stopped off to have a sandwich for lunch, then we drove back to Goiânia, arriving back home at 6ish. Later that evening, David and I went out for dinner with Denes and his girlfriend Cinthya to a yummy pizzeria, before heading back home to bed after another long day. Since spending our first night at Tia Suely’s house, we’ve been staying at Vo Landa’s house, and apart from the previous night when Denes lent us his bed, we’ve been sleeping on an inflatable mattress in the small living room. It’s not the most comfortable of beds, but since I’m always so tired by the time we get to bed I actually sleep quite well on it.

On Sunday, we all went to Vo Pedro’s house, which is actually in a nearby town (which felt like the outskirts of Goiânia since it’s all joined together), to have a ‘pamonhada’ (where everyone gets together to make ‘pamonhas’, little bread/cake-like things made from maize pulp and salt or sugar and cooked inside maize leaves). There, I met Alex, Harley and Alan’s brother (Suely’s 3rd son) and his girlfriend Silmara, and Onezio, Marildes, Denes, Cinthya, Suely, Harley, Alan, Raissa and even Vo Landa joined us for the event. I learnt how to make the yummy pamonhas, we had another churrasco (BBQ) for lunch, and I spent the day relaxing in the hammock and trying not to suffer too much from the heat (Sunday was the hottest day yet, and I had a headache most of the day because of it).

On Monday, David and I drove into the city centre on Alex’s moped, which he’d lent us for the day, and met up with David’s parents to visit the Dojo (the centre for Sukyo Mahikari, which is their ´religion´) and to sort out some documents at the bank. That afternoon, we drove to Cida’s house, who is Kely’s sister (David Filho’s aunt) and a good friend of David’s, where I also met her son Cleyber. David Filho joined us there, and we spent the afternoon playing with him outside (Cida has a lovely garden with a swing and 2 parrots which David F. loved). He got more used to being round us then, and became less shy and more playful as time went by. He’s the cutest little boy ever, with soft blonde hair, blue eyes and a gorgeous face, and I fell in love with him straight away. He’s a little rascal, jumping around and rolling on the floor and pulling silly faces, making us all laugh. When David went indoors to chat with Cida and Cleyber, David F. wanted me to stay outside to continue playing with him, to push him on the swing and have competitions to see which of us could push the other one higher (he won of course). When I finally got him to quieten down a bit, he led me over the table, sat down next to me and told me a bedtime story about 3 little chicks which he’d learnt at school. He’s such a sweet kid, it’s hard not to love him, and I was really pleased to see that he felt comfortable around me even though it was only the second time he’d seen me. We left Cida’s at about 9 pm, said goodbye to David F., and David and I rode back to Vo Landa’s house for dinner and another good night’s sleep on the air mattress.

Tuesday morning, we rode to Vo Cida’s house, where Onezio and Marildes had spent the night. Vo Cida has a lovely little house in the outskirts of Goiânia, with a huge backyard full of fruit trees (mango, banana, tamarind, goiaba, avocado, cinnamon, eucalyptus…) and a pond. We had lunch together, then I fell asleep on the sofa. The heat here leaves me feeling tired and sluggish most of the time, so I always feel sleepy. Hopefully I’ll get used to it after a while. At about 4ish, we rode back to Vo Landa’s, stopping off on the way back to buy a SIM card for my mobile phone and to buy a plant for Vo Landa, since it was her 84th birthday that day and she LOVES flowers. That evening, we all gathered round the kitchen table to sing happy birthday for her and try some of the birthday cake.

The following morning, we went to visit the warehouse where Denes and his older brother Wender work (it’s Wender’s company), where they stock and sell cosmetics. Later that afternoon, Onezio, David and I got a lift into the city centre with Denes to go and have a look at cars, since Onezio and Marildes are thinking of buying one. We spent a couple of hours there, checking out different cars (I was horrified at how expensive cars are here compared to England – I don’t know how anyone can afford one!) before Denes picked us up again a couple of hours later and we headed back home.

Thursday (yesterday) we spent most of the day at home, sorting out our things (we’re living out of a suitcase at the moment, which we keep in Denes’s room, so it gets quite messy after a few days). At about 4 pm, Kely popped by with David F. and Nicoly, and Kely’s sister Raquel, for a quick visit. It was lovely to see David F. again, and Nicoly’s so cute! A chubby little girl with rosy cheeks and curly hair, who loves to imitate everything David F. does, so you can imagine the mischief they get up to together! They couldn’t stay for long, but it was nice to see them anyway. At 6, Michel (a friend of David’s who used to live in Brighton and who shared a room in Hove with David about 2 years ago, who then returned to Brazil last year) came by to see us. He took us out for a drive in his car, and we went to a huge shopping centre the other side of the city, where we met up with Pako and Angelika (another couple who also used to live in England, good friends of David’s and Michel’s). They have a cute 2 year old boy, but he’d stayed at home with Angelika’s mum. We then went for dinner at a ‘churrascaria’, a restaurant that has a buffet style layout, where waiters dressed up as ‘gauchos’ (cowboys) serve huge skewers of a whole variety of freshly BBQ’d meat to your table (very similar to a restaurant we’d been to in London, although more authentic and much cheaper). It was really nice to see Michel, Angelika and Pako again (Pako arrived back in Brazil on the same day we did, althoughnot on the same flight, so he was very excited to be back home again too). We all agreed to meet up again soon.

Today David and Onezio had to go back into town to view some more cars, but since they only had 1 moped to use, I couldn’t go with them so I’ve taken the day to finally update my blog. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it and will update it again in a few days’ time. Meanwhile, I’ve uploaded photos on to a website called Orkut (similar to Facebook), where you can check out my first album of photos taken over the past week.

I should have written this final post ages ago, since it had been almost three weeks (*sob*) since I returned from Ecuador.

As you may have noticed by reading my weblog, I had the most fantastic-est time and have zillions of great memories of the three months I spent out there. However, the time arrived when I had to catch that flight home, and sad as it was to say goodbye to everyone and to the wonderful country I’d grown to love, in a way I was ready to come home. Although there is a lot that I miss about it already, I’m just grateful for the amazing time I was able to spend there, and I’m hoping to have the chance to return at some point in the future. 

I spent a lovely week at home in Mallorca before returning to Brighton about a week and a bit ago – where my life has suddenly become incredibly hectic again (how I wish I could go back to those stressfree days up at the Hacienda!). But I only have one year left at Uni, so I want to make the most out of it and enjoy it as much as possible – and obviously do as well as possible too!

I’m currently writing an essay on my time in Ecuador – specifically on my experiences at my work placement – which I am going to submit for the Trainee of the Year Award that’s taking place in London in a few months’ time. The deadline for the essay is Friday 19th Oct, and two weeks after that I’ll find out if I made the Top Ten list – in which case I would then have to go to London for the final part and give a 5min presentation in front of a panel of judges (gulp!).

First prize is £1000, second £500 and third £250, so fingers crossed!

Anyway, an update on what we’ve been up to these past few days. After spending a second night at Hostal Bambu, on our second day in Canoa we decided to visit an organic farm/hostal, Rio Muchacho, that we’d heard about from several people, so we got up earlyish and caught a bus to the place… Problem was, the bus dropped us off at the edge of the road and, after asking a passing girl, we still had a 2hour walk along a track till we’d reach the place… We were almost about to give up and turn back (we were worried we wouldn’t have a chance to see anything since we hadn’t called to reserve) when a car passed us by and was able to give us a lift most of the way. After a 20min walk, we arrived at the place, and what a place it was! The organisation is run by an Ecuatorian/New Zealand couple, who are really into the ecological, organic way of living. They set up this farm about 20years ago, when they started planting trees and organic crops (and apparently turned the area from a desert into a luscious tropical garden/forest), and then opened it up to tourism about 10 years later. They have a bunch of cute bamboo cabins surrounded by amazing vegetation, and a large farm where they keep pigs (to sell, not eat), guinea pigs, earth worms (supposedly very useful for the earth, cos they make the soil really fertile), chickens, horses…, plus a HUGE ‘huerta’ with hundreds of different crops, vegetables and fruits (from cocoa and coffee beans, to sesame seeds, to mangoes, bananas, papayas, maracuya, pumpkins, cucumbers, tomatoes… You name it, they had it).

We asked to have breakfast (delicious muesli and fruit, which we ate out of bowls and spoon made from coconut shells, and yummy home made coffee) and after chatting with the owner, decided to go for the 3-activity day package. We spent the day making our own set of bowl and spoon, rings from seeds, and learning how to make chocolate from bean to actual melted chocolate (which tasted completely different to the normal stuff you try). We also had a tour of the farm, learning about the ways they recycle water, checking out their compost toilet, and the ways in which they promote permaculture and the diversity of crops and vegetation. It was a fun day, slightly pricey, but worth the money. They also offer volunteering opportunities (cos they work with the local community school too), so I might look into it if I decide to return to Ecuador next year.

We got a lift back to Canoa with an American couple who’s been there for 3 days, packed our bags, and got a bus to San Vicente – a town just 20mins away – where we had to get a boat across the river to another town, Bahia de Caraquez, where we bought a bus ticket back to Quito and had dinner. The bus ride back was probably the worst I’ve had here so far, cos it was incredibly bumpy (which I should’ve been used to by now, I guess) and they kept the music on ALL NIGHT LONG at top volume (despite my asking them to turn it off to allow us to sleep), so it really wasn’t a very restful night. We arrived at about 6am in Quito, and tiredly made our way to Casa Canela, where we asked for a room and to have breakfast. We bumped into Tim there, who’d also just got back from a week of scuba diving at the Coast, and after breakfast, went on a day trip to some natural thermal baths in a place called Papallacta. We spent about 1 1/2 hours lazing around in deliciously warm/hot pools, before having a snack for lunch and then catching a bus back to Quito. It was Tim’s and Mia’s last night in Ecuador, so they’d invited the IAESTE’s and some of their friends over to Casa Canela that night. Funnily enough, I met a Scottish girl called Louise, who’d arrived a week earlier – also IAESTE – and who I’d been in touch with via email before coming to Ecuador. I’d completely forgotten she was supposed to arrive in September, so it was a lovely surprise to actually meet her before leaving. I was planning on having an early night cos both Axel and I were feeling K.N.A.C.K.E.R.E.D. after two weeks of travelling and a terrible night’s bus ride, but Louise and Laura (another Scottish girl, who’s been here 2months already, working for a children’s charity in Quito) and the rest of the IAESTEs managed to convince us to go out clubbing with them, and I actually ended up having a great night out. I was actually the first time I’d been clubbing since I got here (the only other fiestas or parties I’d been to were local ones with traditional national music) so it was great fun to experience the young Ecuatorian party scene at least once before I leave…

However, it did kinda ruin our plans of getting up early the next day to head to Otavalo market. We ended up going to bed at about 4am, and so were unable to get up early enough to get to Otavalo – a 3hour bus ride away – before at least noon (and apparently it gets so busy on Saturdays that it’s best to get there as early as possible). Plus Axel and Laura had hit it off the night before, so Axel wanted to stay in Quito to spend the day with her, and then head to the Hacienda that night to spend Sunday with her wooing her over with his cowboy skills (heehee). But because I was so tired I didn’t mind missing Otavalo, and after lunch Axel, Laura, Mia and I headed down the road to a local Mercado Artesanal (arts and crafts market), where Laura told me you can find the same kind of stuff as in Otavalo, so it was just as useful for buying souvenirs etc. After Axel and Laura headed off to Machachi that eve, Louise and I chatted for a while and then decided to watch a movie at Casa Canela before having an early night. The following morning, after breakfast, we decided to ride the TeleferiQo (cable car) up Guagua Pichincha (the 4100m high active volcano towering over Quito), and then hike a further 700m till the actual summit. We hiked for about 2 1/2 hours, when we decided that it was much further than we’d imagined (and harder too… I think I lost my adaptation to the high altitude after travelling for 2 weeks at lower altitudes, especially after being at sea level) and after asking someone and finding out that the summit was still at least another 1 1/2 hours away, we decided to call it a day and head back. We had a sandwich at the top of the TeleferiQo before heading back down to Casa Canela. It was only 3pm but I was so exhausted I snoozed for 2 hours when we got back. We had an easygoing evening, chatting with Axel and Laura once they arrived back from the Hacienda, cooking pasta together, and then heading to bed. Today Laura and Louise had to go to work, so Axel and I left early and went to the University of San Fran so Axel could visit it, and so we could use the internet. It was fun to see the uni full of people, but you can really tell only the rich Quiteños study here… We then came back to Quito for lunch and had a look round a shopping centre, then popped by the TDV office, cos Axel has lost one of his paycheques and wanted to know if they could write me a new one, and so we could say goodbye to David and Paola, and to Jorge (who for the first time ever was in a really good mood, asking me how I’d been, and giving us a TDV cap as a goodbye gift… Only after I asked for one though!). We’re probably gonna have another easygoing eve tonight, and tomorrow will do some more shopping around for souvenirs… I need to decide when to head back to the Hacienda to say my goodbyes, but don’t know whether to go tomorrow or Wedn. It’s really nice to be spending our last few days in Quito again, taking it easy instead of rushing around doing as much as possible before leaving. I feel we’ve seen plenty of lovely places in Ecuador, and although it’s a shame we didn’t get to go to Mindo (which is supposedly really beautiful) or Otavalo, it’s just another reason to come back again! And it’s a nice way to end my trip, in Quito, like I started it.

Anyway, there will probably be a final update before I leave on Thurs. Goodbye for now.

After dumping our stuff, we headed out to find something for lunch (we were ravenous after not having had a proper breakfast other than a snack or two sold to us on the bus), then went back to the hostal at 4ish, where I fell asleep whilst reading, and woke up again at 8.30pm… Axel was also asleep in the bed next to mine, so I headed out to have a stretch and stopped off at the bar for a crepe and a chat with the barman, before heading back to bed at 10pm and sleeping all the way through till this morning… That’s how exhausted we were! We’re gonna have a relaxed day – read, sleep, read and sleep some more, and maybe venture out for a walk along the beach if we feel up for it… It’s a gorgeous place here, but to our disappointment the weather’s quite stormy and it’s quite overcast – apparently it’s the time of year (the weather’s better here around Dec, Jan, Feb), so it’s not as hot and tropical as we’d imagined. But it’s still really warm and humid (I got to wear my skirt for the first time yesterday!) and it’s a really pretty, relaxed place to be, so we’re really happy we came here. And it’s great to see YET another part of Ecuador… Seriously, this country has EVERYTHING (beach, mountains, rainforest, sun, snow…) and it’s only the size of England! No wonder I’m in love with it.

We’re planning on spending another night and day here, just relaxing, and getting the bus back to Quito tomorrow (Thursday) night, in order to be there Friday morning. Then we’re hoping to go to some natural thermal baths in a place called Papallacta (about 1 hour or so southeast from Quito) during the day, spend the night in Quito, and go to Otavalo market (north of Quito, apparently the biggest indigenous market in S America) on Saturday morning. Then we’re thinking of going to Mindo (a beautiful biodiverse cloudforest northwest of Quito) for a couple of days (probably Sun-Tues) and then head back to the Hacienda for my last day to say our final goodbyes, leave a few gifts behind and pick up our bags) before I fly home on Thursday 20th… Boo hoo! Although there are loads of things I’m happy to go back to, it’s gonna be SO HARD to say goodbye to everyone and leave this country. Still, as they say, all good things come to an end, don’t they?

I’m just grateful for the AMAZING time I’ve had here, and will begin planning a return trip as soon as I arrive home!

Anyways, we didn’t have the chance to do ANY sightseeing in Baños ‘cos it rained for two straight days whilst we were there. Still, it was a nice town to visit, if only for it’s location. We set off on the Saturday afternoon to Riobamba, where we found a grotty old hostal (the cheapest we could fin) beside the train station, and went for the CHEAPEST dinner ever, where we got a big bowl of soup and a plate of rice, potatoes, sausage, fried egg and salad for $1… yes, $1! I couldnt believe it… and it was yummy! before heading to bed, we stopped off at a concert of local National music that was taking place near the train station, in order to celebrate the inauguration of a new train.

We saw some traditional dancing and listened to San Juanito, before heading to bed. We hadn’t been able to buy a train ticket from Riobamba to Alausi cos the train had been small and was already full, so we got a bus down there and once in Alausi (a cute little village surrounding by rolling hillls and mountains, which reminded me a bit of a typical Mallorcan village) we bought our Nariz del Diablo ticket. The trian didn’t leave till midday, so we had time to have breakfast and have a chat with Santiago (one of the guides I’d met at the Hacienda, who happened to be on a tour with a Dutch couple and were visiting the same places as us… Quilotoa, Baños, Nariz del Diablo, Cuenca…). He’s a lovely guy, such a laugh, so we had fun chatting and joking in the sun. Once the train arrived, we piled in and set off, disappointed at not being able to ride on top of the train like we’d seen in so many pictures (apparently it wasn’t allowed anymore since a guy had recently died whilst doing it). HOwever, about 10 mins into the ride, the train stopped and the conductor announced that, for an extra $1, we were allowed onto the roof of the train (so long as we didn’t telltale once we got back to the station…). So we all eagerly piled ontop of the train and set off on what turned out to be a much more exciting ride than it could’ve been. We sped down this winding, zigzagging track and up the Nariz del Diablo mountain, arriving back at the station an hour later feeling exhilarated. we had lunch with Santiago and the couple, and then they set off in his car and we went off to find a bus to Cuenca.

We managed to catch one at 3ish, arriving in Cuenca at about 7pm after having ridden half the way standing up cos it was so full. We found another nice, cheap hostal, and rested for a bit before heading out to find something for dinner. Along the way, we bumped into a taxi driver, who started chatting to us and then, along with his 16/17yo son, tried to persuade us to take a ride to get to know the city by night. We insisted we weren’t interested, ‘cos we only wanted to stay close to the hostal so we didnt get lost, but he told us he’d take us for free, and was so persistant that we got in and he drove us through the historical centre (which was really pretty at night)…

We happened to mention we were interested in trying Cuy (guinea pig, a delicatesse in Ecuador) during our stay, so he said he’d take us to a restaurante where they sold it, but ended up driving us to the other side of the city (at least 20mins away), which made Axel and I really annoyed ‘cos we knew we’d never find our way home without paying for a taxi (which was exactly what we’d wanted to avoid doing), so I complained to the driver and asked him to take us back to where he’d picked us up… which he reluctantly did… I’ve no idea what he wanted from us, ‘cos he’d told us from the start that he’d give us a free ride, but he dropped us off grumpily and drove away…

Still, we were glad to be back at a place we recognised, so we began our search for somewhere to eat, but by then it was about 9.30pm on a sunday night, so nowhere was open, and we ended up having to buy some toasted sandwiches and a choc bar from a shop that was about to close. We stopped off at an internetcafe so Axel could burn some CDs, but I got really tired and headed round the corner home to bed… Turned out I was really lucky, cos as I found out at 2am that night when I woke up to Axel rustling around in his bag, he’d been attacked and robbed on his way home 1/2 hour after me… A guy had asked him for $1, and when he’d refused, they’d got into a fight (the guy punched Axel in the stomach, leaving him sick for the next 3 days, and Axel apparently knocked one of his teeth out), when a second guy arrived with a huge knife, so Axel gave them $5, which seemed to satisfy them and they left… I’m just so glad that didn’t happen to me… It felt like such a safe place, and the hostal was only a minute from the internet cafe, but I guess you never know…

The following day, after chatting with Axel, we both decided to head back to the Hacienda for 3 days, both cos Axel wasn’t feeling well and cos Santiago had told me he was gonna be there for a few days with some new clients and I wanted to see him again, so, despite it seeming silly to go all the way back up north again (only to return to the south a few days later), we packed our bags and headed ‘home’. We bought tickets for the night bus, and had the whole afternoon free, so decided to go visit Ingapirca, some Inca ruins about 2 hours north of Quito. It took us much longer to get there than we’d thought, though, so we didnt arrive till about 5ish, by which time we had under an hour till sunset. We also hadn’t known you had to pay a $6 entrance fee, but we bumped into a local old man, who showed us a secret way through some barbed wire and across a field in order for us to save having to pay.

However, whilst trying to climb over, I slipped on the mud and cut my hand on the wire, so I guess it was a bit of a stupid idea after all. Still, we got in for free, and although the ruins were really disappointing (they really didn’t seem that old… as if they’d only been built a few years beforehand…), they were lit up by hte glow of the sun setting, which actually made them much more attractive than they might have been during the day.

Having arrived so late, we annoyingly missed the last bus back, and ended up walking for about 1/2 hour back towards the closest town in the dark, where we managed to find a taxi to drive us to a place called Cañar, from where we were able to catch a bus back to Cuenca… And ended up paying the taxi driver $6, so I guess something was paying us back fro not having wanted to pay the Ingapirca entrance fee… God, what an adventure that night!

We caught the night bus at 10pm back to Machachi, which was an incredibly uncomfortable, and cold, ride, and the stupid bus drivers didn’t warn us once we got to Machachi, but kept driving on, till we asked them where we were and it turned out we’d gone too far and we’d arrived in Aloag, about 1/2 norht of Machachi. So at 5.30 am we stumbled off the bus and headed back down the highway, having to catch another bus in the opposite direction back to Machachi. about 3hours and two further hitchhikes up to El Pedregal later (one of them on top of a huge pile of wood in the back of a truck), we finally arrived at the hacienda… god, it was good to be ‘home’ and see everyone again.

We spent three days relaxing, Axel especially (who was still feeling sick), and went on a horse back ride each of the three days we spent there, with Santiago and his two clients (two girls, from the US and Germany) and Celsito, who was very pleased to see us again… Which was great fun, especially cos they were three rides we’d never been on before… The first day we rode to the Laguna Limpiopungo, along a new route we’d never been on, the second day we rode to the base of Rumiñahui – again a route I’d never been along – and the last one took us all the way down the valley to Sta Rita (another of TDV’s hacienda’s), which was a fun ride. There, we dropped off the three passengers, who were headed back to Quito, and Celso, Axel and I rode back to the Hacienda with the other 3 horses.

That afternoon, we packed our bags once more and set off for Machachi, where we met up with most of the people from the Hacienda (Celso and his three kids and wife, Rebeca and her hubby Rodrigo and gorgeous daughter Anabel, Alba, Angel, Flora and her little daughter, and Lucia and her cute little son, and Victor (Washington’s lovely, incredibly funny older brother) who has a 16 seat van and was gonna drive us all the way back down south to the Fiestas del Cisne. Again, it was an uncomfortable and incredibly long 12hour ride, but it was fun to be with the ‘gang’ from the hacienda (it felt like one big family outing), and we stopped off at a place called La Toma, close to Loja, which was an Ecuatorian version of a water park/huge swimming pool, where we cooled off by splashing around with the others in the murky water, and tried to teach them all to swim (only Angel knew how to). We then had a ‘cucayo’ (picnic) on the grass, which consisted of a pile of chicken pieces, cuy (guinea pig), empanadas, slices of cheese, and tostada (toasted maize coated in panela, or raw suger)… We had an incredibly good time , and it felt great to be able to participate in a local event, feeling really at home with our Ecuatorian ‘family’… Especially ‘cos it was a situation that no tourist would ever find him/herself in…

The two days we spent at El Cisne were also good fun (it was amazing to find out how incredibly religious theyare here), but I’ve run out of time to go into detail. Axel and I just spent two amazingly relaxing days at a luxurious hostal in Vilcabamba (a cute little town right at the south of Ecuador), where we treated ourselves and spent two days lazing aournd in hammocks (we needed a break and a rest), and now we’re back in Loja and about to catch another night bus to Guayaquil, where we hope to catch a bus tomorrow up the coast to a small seaside village called Canoa (which we’ve heard great things about), where we’re gonna spend the next few days before heading back to Quito on Friday.