Monday November 16, 2009
Alto Paraiso
Dearest friends and loved ones
This has been a fortuitous week of many changes to our perspective and the opening of infinite possibilities. Our chance encounter with the friend whom we met last February was a blessing from our protecting angels and guides. I know this sounds so “magenta pixie” but I also know there are forces unseen around us who guide our way and lead us toward opportunities which are there for our benefit and growth. I also know there are no mistakes and no chance encounters but beautiful poetic messages directing our progress on our individual paths. So this week we were invited and began a relationship with the Open University center where she works. In exchange for our help and guidance to the students who are learning to teach English, we are engaging in conversations to help us learn Portuguese. It is very similar to the arrangement we had with our friends in Pirenopolis, however we are engaging with university students and teachers rather than high school students and teachers.
This is an exceptionally good place for us to be learning to speak this new language because here at the 14th parallel there are many people who share our worldview and the topics of conversation are those with which we appreciate in engaging. How lucky for us that many can speak some English which gives us an entry level for communication as well. We feel so fortunate to have found a community with so many who are awake to a similar reality and even with a small vocabulary of mutually understandable language which has us know we are on the same path.
At the school, or rather I should clarify, the polo which is a central meeting place, computer lab, library and auditorium for a distance learning program, we have been working with the group of local natives to the surrounding regions. While the teachers are still Brasilieiras, they come from as far as Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. It is so heartwarming to feel this loving welcome and acceptance with which we found all over Brazil before coming here. It is missing in the Europeans and some of the Brasilieros who migrate here from other places. I don’t like to separate and compare but it is a noticeable difference we feel. Like being embraced in the arms of a loving Auntie, compared with a handshake of a new acquaintance. But again I’d like to add that here when you meet someone new, they may shake your hand, but they will also then pull you into an embrace and kiss at least one cheek and wish you welcome and say what a pleasure it is to meet you. And they are sincere. And I do feel welcome!
Our dear friend Enrico who helped us to find the house we are renting and took us under his wing for the 1st week we were here has been suffering overly much in the course of a separation from his wife and has decided to move away to a piece of land he has outside of town. With the difficulties he has been experiencing we knew we needed to give him space and time to be without the worry of us. It had, in a small unspoken way, us feeling a little alone and out on a limb for a week or more until we reconnected with our other friend, Eneida who was the other of the two we had briefly met on our first visit here last February. It was perfect really, as our needs after arriving and initial settling shifted to the more mundane and physical and in a sense more mature (adult) nature. Sounds horrible but Eneida who has more years behind her and is more of a contemporary can relate in certain matters more to our situation than Enrico who has more youth and in some ways different concerns. So it was a good and timely transition from one helping angel to another.
So the week opened us to more comfort with the community; a glance into another segment of the population, one closer to us in age though not necessarily in values or even wisdom, yet necessary to our unfolding ease with the place. I think we began at last to feel a sense of coming home and feeling like this is indeed the place we belong and wish to be. There is so much more here than meets the eye. I knew this from the start but it was withholding its mystery. And now the mystery reveals a little more, yet there is still so much more to come.
Another factor which was creating an uncomfortable tension and uncertainty for us was our relationship to our landlady. She is an intriguing woman. I would say she is somewhere in the neighborhood of our ages if not possibly more and has been here for 27 years. Because she speaks no English at all nor understands it, it has been up to my meager ability to communicate in Portuguese. At first we felt like she could barely tolerate us and when we needed to ask about some detail with the house, like how to light the oven for example, and we felt a hesitation to interact. We were feeling a little like we wanted to find a different house because we sit here in this one in the middle of her “garden.” It is a fantastically beautiful setting with 4 houses, each surrounded by beautiful landscape filled with fruit trees, enclosed in a fenced yard and protected by 2 really cool Labrador retrievers, an 8 year old gentle soul with a ferocious bark and a 3 month old puppy who trips over his own feet, in training to be another protector, (but only with loud obnoxious barking.) However this week a new warmth and friendliness emerged. Maybe because I was determined or maybe because it simply took time for her to warm up and get to know that we were good people who could be trusted. In any case it has helped us to feel much more at home and happy to be here.
So the week unfolded in this lovely way, a new ease and comfort with the place and with the people with more new people coming into our life.
Friday night at the end of the evening at school, our friend invited us to meet her at the market in the morning to introduce us to new foods and “have breakfast” together. I was so pleased she extended the invitation because Paul until now had been reluctant to go with me to the Saturday market. You see the Saturday market is the main social gathering event for the town to come together. There are many others actually, but this one brings people from various groups, some who live outside of town all together to shop for the weeks locally grown food and crafts and reconnect and visit. Those of you who know Paul know that this type of gathering where one is required to “chat” is his least favorite activity. But our new Brazilian friends are working on him to overcome this! It is so cool. “Bati papo” is the slang phrase, literally translated means to hit or bat at the loose skin on the neck of a chicken, but means something more like “shooting the breeze” or to chat! This she wanted to teach us on our first night together learning Portuguese because she knew, since Paul had confessed to this shortcoming which he has decided to overcome if he is to live with Brasilieros! A long winded way of prefacing our visit on Saturday morning to the outdoor market…
It starts quite early and it was an effort to wake early, do our meditation practice and forego breakfast at home which is one of our favorite activities, lingering over a 2nd cup of tea on the veranda….. But we did. As we were driving up our road, just three houses past our own Paul stopped the car when he spotted a newborn puppy on the side of the road. As I rounded the front of the car I saw not one but 4 new puppies huddled together on top of an empty backpack. Ohhhh they were so cute! Two yellow labs and 2 mixed colored but mostly black ones. Maybe they were 4 weeks old. So Paul went home and since we didn’t have a box, got Rocket’s traveling crate and returned to where I waited with the puppies. Of course we both wanted to keep them or at least one of them but since we are still unsettled in our own place we thought the time not exactly right to adopt more members into our family. So it was perfect we were on our way to the market filled with people not only shopping but standing around shooting the breeze. Eneida was our first stop at the table where she sells fresh produce from the farm she and her husband have outside of town. In no time 3 of the puppies had been adopted out to various people, while it presented a wonderful opportunity for Paul and me to meet and speak with so many more people than we would have if we hadn’t been standing around with adorable puppies who needed new homes and families. The little one I was holding who was nestling itself into my body, feeling very safe and secure stayed with me for a long time and I thought it likely we would come home with a new baby for Rocket (aka Uncle Ernie – the molester of puppies, the younger the better) But it wasn’t meant to be as a young woman found me and asked to have the puppy. “Say good-bye,” my friend said, “Your last puppy has found a new home.”
As much as we would have loved to have a new baby to bring home, we were incredibly lucky to find 4 people to adopt those puppies! You see here in Brazil, people do not neuter their pets. There are always puppies abandoned on the side of the road, usually left in places where it is known the people are loving and kind and will not let them starve. Our friends and neighbors were amazed that we had had been successful in our mission to adopt those puppies. Little do they know just how lucky we are!
I regret to say Rocket got into a little trouble that morning at the market, as we did not have our full attention on him while we were attending to the puppies. Apparently someone had come there with a hen, perhaps to sell? I vaguely remember seeing a crate with hens inside when I arrived. This one was walking around outside the crate when Rocket decided to chase it around and Paul went to its rescue, banishing Rocket to the car while we finished our business. I had several conversations as did Paul with various people on different topics, two of which were items we had wanted to discuss.
We had been wanting for more than a week to find Tica to see if she would be interested in babysitting for Rocket while we traveled. This is something we’ve hoped to find since arriving in Brazil, someone who could love and watch over him so that we could take trips to discover more of Brazil without him. Because we hadn’t seen much of Enrico for the last two weeks, we couldn’t discover how to find Tica until the morning of the market. After a very receptive conversation (she speaks mostly Spanish and a little Portuguese, but no English) we made plans for a trial visit later in the afternoon to see how she and her baby and Rocket would all get along. I also mentioned to her as well as to a few other people that we were looking for another house to rent and to begin looking at land for sale to build a house.
Amazingly since we don’t speak any of the same languages, she told me about a friend who has some land he wants to sell. She described a place with waterfalls and pools and monkeys 5 feet tall in a beautiful place about 40 minutes from town. She managed to convey to me that when she saw him she would introduce us. Another conversation had me speaking with an Italian woman who wanted me to know that she had a friend who owned some land and was creating an Eco Village there and could introduce us so that we could visit his land to see if it might be of interest. She took our phone number and said she would call later that day.
I may not have told you about us and our cell phone, or perhaps I have? As yet, we had not had a successful conversation. No, that’s not true. We did have one or two with our friend from Brasilia the day we tried to meet for lunch before our phone credits ran out. And I did manage to find a store to buy more and plead with the shopkeeper for help in phoning in to activate the credits. I can not do it in Portuguese- only face to face- not on the phone. And I am phone shy. This is something most people don’t know about me. I have deep seated psychological issues with calling people on the phone. You see, deep inside I fear rejection- it is a deeply ingrained curse of my personality type which I still struggle to overcome. And I am super sensitive, so I can feel a sense of rejection when I call someone who may at that time be preoccupied with another activity and not really in the mood to have a conversation but has none the less answered the phone. It really sucks but it explains why I so rarely call people. I do on the other hand, love when people call me! Anyway, I digress. I had trepidation that we would in fact receive a phone call or that the phone would work or I would know how to operate it, so I was completely surprised later that day when the phone rang to set up this meeting.
But hours before that took place we walked Rocket to our friend Tica’s house for a trial visit. As it turned out she lives just around the corner on a lane we had taken walks down. She and a friend were sitting out back while her baby played close by. We had briefly met her friend once before but not had an opportunity to talk with him much. We were delighted to get to know that he knew and understood much of what has preoccupied our thoughts over the last few years. As we got to know a little more about him, he told us he had been a camera man working in Sao Paulo before moving to Alto Paraiso. He had come over to meet us and tell us about his land. He described the place to us in more detail, explaining how it comprised 40 alqueres which is the equivalent of about 400 acres, forming a valley under a series of several mountain tops shaped in a curve. At the base of the valley is a river where the springs are born which flow through the river forming several waterfalls, the bottom of three of these forming clear deep pools for swimming. He told us of all the wildlife living on this land, including large cats which I believe are leopards as well as 5 foot tall monkeys, anteaters and capybaras among others left unnamed for the moment. He described how half the land was documented and registered and how he wished to sell that half or a portion of it. He wished to show us maps which were left at home but set a time to meet us the following day to take us to visit.
We left then so Rocket could have a chance to visit with Tica and her baby and get comfortable being without us. My God, he and Paul are so attached, it is worse than leaving a new baby with a sitter for the 1st time!
We came home and were swinging in the hammock, talking about the morning when the phone rang with our new Italian acquaintance on the other end arranging a meeting to show us her friends land (and proposed Eco Village) later in the afternoon. Just then I looked up and saw Rocket at the gate looking through from the outside in. I’d forgotten we had left him at our friend’s house and thought to myself how strange he had managed to get out of the fence and wanted to be let back in. Then I remembered where we’d left him and realized he had found his way home. As we were closing up the house to walk him back over, knowing our friend was probably concerned when he ran off, she arrived to check on his whereabouts. Insisting on taking him back to continue getting acquainted, we agreed to meet again in an hour to retrieve him in time for her to take the baby to a birthday party.
When we returned Marcos was there waiting with maps and more detailed conversation continued leaving us thrilled and excited to visit his land the following morning. At this point Paul and I had already begun to envision ourselves in this wild and exotic place, living into a possible future and all we could create in that place… a place where friends and loved ones could come to detox from the realities of life in the US, visit waterfalls, swing in a hammock watching the birds fly past….. and so much more. We do love creating possibility!
At five o’clock, right on time (surprise! But these are Italians not Brasilieros) the car arrived to pick us up. We drove to a place very close to town, only a few kilometers away, just next to the waterfall we had visited just days before. I shall have to stop here for a moment to tell you about this place….
Just minutes from town is one of the local attractions (this place we live is an eco tourist location just outside the National Park and part of protected natural lands called Chapada.) At the end of the road we live on there are signs pointing the way and we have taken walks in the direction but not gone all the way there. This week we finally devoted a day to visit. There was little sign of rain and Paul had at last felt relaxed enough to spend a day visiting a waterfall. This one, like many others, is located inside privately owned farms, but is open to the public with a fee. Delightfully residents of town are charged only half the price of visiting tourists. As we pulled up to the gate we encountered a sign which looked very much like a sign advising private property and a notice not to enter, but I was not to be deterred and insisted on going further to check while Paul was ready to turn the car around to leave. Such has often been his way – he’ll go most of the way and then turn back. But not this time! So much we miss out on because we cannot always read the signs or understand the language. In any case we were given the go ahead to enter until they saw we had Rocket with us. There are no rules here other than what time you can come and when you must leave except that domestic animals are not permitted. But I was able to persuade the gate keeper that Rocket was very good and that we would keep him on a leash and not allow him to swim in the pools and he let us enter. The day before we had driven to a different waterfall and been turned back because of Rocket. In that place the gate keeper was nice enough to offer his fenced yard for Rocket to stay in while we visited the waterfall but Paul didn’t wish to leave Rocket behind.
So armed with this knowledge and the acquiescence to pass under these conditions we set out on the trail to the waterfalls. Not exactly sure what to expect, again because our initial conversations being all in Portuguese we understood only a part of what we had been told, we were surprised to find a suspended wooden boardwalk through the dense vegetation climbing an ascent for several hundred kilometers. At several places along the path an opening would descend down stairways leading to small and sometimes larger waterfalls ending at pools where one could swim. Most of these had platforms and decks adjacent to the water where you could lie or sit and some had benches. We passed a couple before we chose one to stop at called Grandmother something. It was a good sized fall, not as high as some of the others, a little gentler, falling into a pool surrounded on the other sides by stone walled cliffs oozing with mosses and ferns and other exotic plants. We were there alone and I marveled at the beauty of this public place with so many different falls and pools that each visiting group could have their own private waterfall to enjoy. A place with no one else around where you could change into bathing trunks or even simply be nude with no one to see or care. We stayed quite a while swimming and relaxing on the deck watching Rocket meander about the edge of the water with no one to care that he was off the leash or dipping his feet into the water’s edge. New birds flew by we hadn’t seen before. It was clouding over and beginning to sprinkle when we gathered our things to head out, but the beauty of the place was so intriguing we continued to the end of the ascent visiting each of the other falls, just to see them, finding one more beautiful and enchanting than the next. We knew this was a place we would love to return to and spend more time with, and to make it even more wonderful so many different falls there to enjoy and so close to home!
I can’t remember what day it was that we visited Locquinos, but on this Friday evening I am about to tell you about, we returned to the very same place only about 50 kilometers from it’s entrance to a piece of land owned by a man from Italy. His dream is to invite 5 people or families to buy a piece of his land with some commonly shared facilities. His house currently under construction, he has already brought in electricity and water. The land is beautifully situated among the hilltop on several plateaus, each about 1 hectare in size, curved into the hill to face the surrounding valley and hillside in a different direction, creating very private little parcels of land, all with incredible views. His dream of creating an eco village encompasses creating also a shared common space for commercial use- mostly space for seeing clients, holding workshops or yoga classes. He envisions a space with an international community of likeminded people and tells us of a couple coming from France who teach yoga. I think he liked the idea that we were American to add another nationality to his International community. Here in Brazil we have heard the term condominium used in a different way than what we were familiar with and this village uses this concept to distribute the shared expense of maintaining a small house located near the gate for a person whose job is to provide security. In this case this person also tends the grounds and the fruit and vegetable gardens.
As much as we liked these two beautiful Italian friends and this land and the location which is so beautiful and so conveniently close to town, we are not sure this is the environment we are choosing for our future. More and more we wish to move away from the necessity for security. From protecting what is ours from others. From having more than others such that we need to keep it to and for ourselves. It is a problem we wish to turn away from not towards and we seek a place where a fence and a gate are not necessary for our protection. We know this exists and we know, though at this time we had not yet seen the other place which I have already begun to describe, that it is possible to find. But for now we are not closing any doors nor shutting out any possibilities…
Sunday morning at 8 o’clock we drove over to Tica’s house to meet our new friend and visit his land. The drive was beautiful if not a bit long but took us through valleys we’d not yet seen. It led through an original village of settlers who were the escaped slaves that make up what is called the trail of tears, a passage winding its way through parts of this state. It also passed through huge farms many of which are doing environmental damage to the regions eco system. Our friend told us about the impact of huge parcels of land growing Eucalyptus trees which require far too much water to sustain them, robbing the surrounding environment and changing the balance of nature.
Before arriving at the entrance to his land, we stopped at a place called Janelas e Portals, meaning windows and doors which was a formation in the land creating a huge window and doorway to the valleys beyond where we stood. It was quite spectacular. The entrance to his land lies across and just up the road. We drove our little compact Chevy over much of the road in, concerned at the access which would have been much kinder to a 4 wheel drive vehicle much higher off the ground. But we did eventually need to leave the car parked in the shade of a tree about 2 kilometers from the edge of the land because the access was incomplete for a car like ours. We walked down the valley to the river at the bottom across from the encircling mountains that cradled the curve of the valley. Like most rivers here in the Chapada, the trees and vegetation around and on either side of the water is much more dense and mature than the landscape of low grasses and small bushes and trees that cover most of the terrain above the rivers. The shade of the trees was very welcome as the midmorning sun already grew very hot. Once at the water’s edge the path was too dense and so we made our way downstream through the river itself, walking in sandals across the rocks, through mostly shallow water but often thigh high in places. There were many times Rocket was too short to pass and needed to be carried as we made our way. Along the way the river formed pools at the base of the descending waters which came directly from its source at the top of the mountain. Several hundred kilometers of winding our way along the edge of the river and often through the river we ended at the bottom of a large waterfall which created a very deep pool and was surrounded by a huge rock cliff.
There was little conversation up to this point and we followed thinking we were walking towards our friends land, but when he climbed midway up the rock cliffs, removing his sandals and shirt to dive in, we realized we’d been taken to this place for a swim and to enjoy its magnificence for a while before retracing our path through the river to view the land across from where we’d begun. This part of the river was downstream from the part that traversed his land.
Rocket was so funny here, trying to find a way into where we were by climbing the bank to the top of the rock before being convinced to return to the bottom. But he wasn’t satisfied to wait around the corner and barked until Paul picked him up and brought him into the water, where it was well over his head and he could not enter on his own. The swim was refreshingly cold but immensely enjoyable.
It’s so odd using the river bed as a trail, but there are rivers here where the growth is too dense along the sides or the rocks too slippery to make your way safely, but the return trip was much easier for me as I was getting the hang of walking in my sandals without them slipping off to the sides of my feet with each step. I missed the shade of the forest along the river when we crossed to the other side to walk through the valley of our friends land. The terrain climbed into open valleys and then descended, crossing the river three times to get to the end of the valley where he wishes to retain the undocumented half comprising more than 200 acres. At this far end, we visited the place where his temporary camp is set up, waiting to build himself a small house. I was so tired from hours of walking; I sat on a rock in the part of the forest that will be the bathroom, sitting not far from a porcelain toilet bowl resting in the middle of nature waiting for a room to be built around it. My friend invited me to come to his sala (living room) and have a rest there, so I followed him to the edge of a steep cliff where he casually sat and looked over the drop into the forest and river below. Not so crazy about high places, I slowly edged a little back from the edge and I can’t say it was all that relaxing a rest stop, worrying that Paul or I might slip accidentally over the precipice. Actually relieved and happy to move along from that place we continued to explore more of this beautiful place leaving the shade of the forest once again to walk through the open fields of tall grasses back to the car.
As we walked along our friend told us of a time when he and his friends had encountered inter-dimensional beings which he referred to as Dracos and described in ways we had been exposed to and familiar with from our research. He named 4 or 5 different kinds of IDB’s and we recognized these names and descriptions, though never ourselves having had any personal encounters. We could imagine though, seeing them in this place.
All over Brazil we’ve been seeing huge termite mounds and this place was no exception with some over four feet tall, having sometimes 3 or 4 bulging eyeball shaped openings in various places. What we didn’t know was that these light up at night in the dark, filled with fireflies and glow like a nightlight! I could see he had positioned a few of his rooms near these and had carved out an incredibly large one to create an oven and a range top for cooking.
Though we did not see any large monkeys or leopards, we could imagine them in various places after nightfall, but didn’t feel at all threatened or unsafe in this magnificent place.
The walk back was frightfully hot as we were well past mid afternoon and the sun was directly overhead when we were out of the forests, so the cool water of the river was very welcome as we re-crossed it three times on our way back to the final hill climbing the far side of the valley back to the car. I had failed to remember the descent being as steep as the ascent now was in the heat of the late afternoon after walking for 6 hours. I could barely move one foot in front of the other and I’m afraid my lack of strength and energy had me wondering that this place was a good fit for me at this juncture in my life with as many years as I bring with me. Our friend who comes partially from Indian descendents and carries probably 25 years less, continued to move as quickly and agilely as a big cat making the comparison a bit disconcerting, but he was so loving and patient and encouraged me to take my time and rest when I needed to. The car was a welcome site and the 45 minute ride back to town a good chance to rest up.
With no rest in between, Monday morning’s activities came far too soon. At 9 o’clock Vistara came to collect us. Saturday, after the market we had engaged in conversation and we had asked her, being a real estate agent, if she knew of any houses for rent outside the city or land for sale where we could build. As the answer was affirmative, she lost no time in arranging a few things to show us. We drove just a few kilometers to the valley which opens from the end of our street, only to the left today rather than the right side where we’d gone Friday night near to Locquinos. At the top of the mountain we stopped the car to look down into the valley below at a hectare of land for sale priced quite high because of its close proximity to town. We continued on, following the road around the hill, through an area with a small community of houses interspersed among mature forest along very rough road which our car had trouble maneuvering. Again the realization that we had bought the wrong kind of car was apparent and reminded us that we will soon need to trade it in on something with 4 wheel drive. We came to a padlocked gate at the far end of the road, but still only 5 minutes from town and entered an area nestled into the hillside.
We walked another hectare of land located on the side of a gently sloping hill facing a panorama of other hills near and far and the valley far off in the distance. There were several great locations on it for building, all with magnificent views, and we discussed the merits of each. Paul prefers to be at the highest point with a vista out and over great distances, while I prefer to be closer to the bottom or midway up so that my view goes up and out. It’s a point of discussion that we need to mediate to find the place which makes us both happy. As much as we both liked this place it was another condo situation with shared costs to maintain security and the upkeep on road repairs which we are both shying away from. But after walking the land, we continued walking through the rest of the grounds to see the common areas and visited two other houses which might be rental possibilities and also gave us some incredible ideas for building designs. And then we visited the common space which was a huge octagonal shaped building, open in the center with a fire pit. Around the circumference was a kitchen, dining area and large open areas for multi uses including one sitting area with an opening through the wall to a view of the valley. This space we were told was for the use of all the residents for large gatherings and guests, but seemed to have as its residents a young couple with a small child. As we spoke with the woman, the child and her father were outside playing and practicing capoeira, a beautiful dance-like style of martial arts, which is fantastic to watch. You might Google this to learn more about it. Paul and I both adored this building and are considering building our own house in this style. But again the high cost of a small piece of land because it is so close to the city and the condo style security is a deterrent for us.
It’s strange looking at land to build. I’ve never done this before. It takes a lot more imagination than shopping for a house. There are so many more considerations and possibilities and it’s hard to know just where to put your attention. We both feel that it’s best not to rush into buying anything and wish to find the perfect place to rent for a while, yet our hearts keep pushing us to look. So we continue to explore possibilities for the future.
At the end of the morning we made one last stop to see a house owned by an American woman. It was a beautiful design, if not a little too small and set in a magnificent garden, lush with flowers and fruit trees, but not what we are looking for. Returning home, we made a plan to look at more land further from town the next day, priced at an eighth of these close in places.
It was good to have a short rest before heading over to the college for our language discussion where we met with our friend and two students. One told us of how much she wishes to learn English but is so afraid to make mistakes that she hesitates to speak. When I explained how forgiving people are with me at my misuse of correct grammar and tense, and their pleasure at my small accomplishment with the little I am learning, she had a different story to tell me. She is a taxi driver, and when she picks up English speaking people, she keeps a dictionary in her car to help with words she doesn’t know. She told us of how disgusted with her and frustrated at her attempts and lack of ability to converse and understand. When she speaks, she speaks with a perfect accent and has a sincere desire to communicate. I felt so sorry for the lack of warmth and understanding she receives in her attempts to learn a new language compared with my experience. I often feel a need to apologize for my fellow Americans and their behavior when traveling to other countries. This just represents another example of how warm and friendly my experience of the Brazilian people is.
Tuesday morning Vistara drove us to see more land. She brought along a friend who spoke English making the day a little easier as there was much about this place she wanted us to understand. We drove out in a different direction this morning back towards Brasilia through good roads and large farms. The landscape was quite different and none the less beautiful. After only about 25 to 30 minutes we were driving through a farm, passing through a series of gates. On Sunday we did this as well. There are public roads that sometimes pass through privately owned farms. As one changes to another, there are gates, most likely to keep in the livestock, but also to separate the boundaries between farms. I wondered as we drove if we were going to a piece of land just through the back end of this farm we’d passed through, as at this point the information was not forthcoming, we mostly drove in silence. But we drove for a very long time after passing through the farm gate and continued around a hill into a very lush, mature valley with a river running through it. Almost all the valleys here have rivers at the bottom and always along the sides of the rivers there are more trees and plants and more dense vegetation. This is quite notable here because there is a criminal element (my opinion) of farmers who set fire to the natural landscape to create pasture for grazing cattle, all in the name of profit, which is destroying the natural vegetation and ruining the ecosystem, driving away the wildlife who lived there before the fire took away their habitat. It also changes the weather patterns as the trees bought more water and circulated the moisture. My friend Marcos explained it to me so well the other day, but now I can not recall his explanation. In any case, much of the cerrado, this high dessert, was like rain forest before it was set fire to, to clear the land. When we asked what the area was called we learned it was called Paradise Farm and was owned by one of only 4 families who settled the whole region and owned most of the land. Only 10 years before now, most of the area was still in farmland, without even paved roads in the city which was still then a small village with dirt roads.
At last Vistara began an explanation of where she was taking us. There were 18 Alqueres for sale through this long narrow valley. At the very end, nestled into the two mountains which came together to create a closing point, in a sense, Vistara herself owned 4 alqueres which she had bought in partnership with a friend and wished to sell half of. This was of course the most beautiful place of all. Had she not wished to keep the very end for herself, we would likely have offered to buy it on the spot. At this place where the two sides of the valley joined together forming a sort of cove where two rivers met (and of course created some waterfalls) one felt like they had found paradise at the end of the road- with no one or nothing beyond for the eye to see. I don’t exactly know how one goes about describing nature. What can you say other than how magnificently beautiful it is which becomes redundant after a while. I write this as much to help me remember and keep separate one place from another so that I might remember when looking back.
We saw far too much in too short a time. We had too many interactions with people and places over the short period of 4 days and were on overload and exhaustion. We needed time to reflect and check in with ourselves on how we felt. Sunday was a killer and we hadn’t yet completely recovered. Paul had slipped on the rocks a couple times walking through the river and wrenched his back, though he hadn’t said barely a word of complaint. But he desperately needed rest and solitude. I too was in need of reflection time. So when Vistara asked if we’d like to walk about 30 minutes down the river to go to the waterfall, we declined, but she and her friend were not leaving without at least a short stop to bathe in the river’s small pool near where we crossed from one side of the valley to the other. I was pleased too as it was very hot in the sun and the cool water looked welcoming and refreshing. I hadn’t thought to wear a bathing suit this day, not expecting that we would be in water, but our friends welcomed us to feel free to go in without clothing and I for one accepted. The small trickle of bubbling water where one river joined the other made a great back massage.
I don’t wish to bore you with further details of visiting land as I know I don’t really have the skills to describe what I saw or even what I felt other than to say, this last place was somehow different for both of us. It felt right and we continue to have it in our thoughts now two days later and think about the possibilities of being there. It is a place with no electricity and no phone service, and one would have to assume no internet, so it is a lot to consider… We like its easy access to town and although not as close as 5 minutes away, the 30 minute drive would not be a hardship. So we will continue to let the idea simmer. And like so many others here consider having both a place in town and one out.
So this wraps up my account of the week’s activities. It has been exciting, exhausting and full of possibility and we are happy. It’s hard to believe as we are in the Southern hemisphere in springtime that Thanksgiving is next week with fall about to become winter in our former home. One feels so far removes from all that existed before this time. But it is good and we include in our plans for possibilities of the future a place to welcome our friends and loved ones to join us- whether for a short visit or forever- whatever that now means……
With love, until next time….