It's just about sunset and I'm sitting in a house on a hill above the town of Lencois, which is an old diamond mining base near Chapada Diamantina in Bahia, Brazil. Except this house is a bit different than most. It is owned by an ex-pat couple, Gary and Kathleen. Needless to say, this place is NICE. My friend Jess is reading a book on a hammock, we just had fresh mango juice, I'm sitting on a newly refurbished back patio (actually, the entire house is newly refurbished), and am looking up at a third-floor lookout which peers down onto the small town. Some fireworks are going off in the background (today is the penultimate day of the Brazilian holiday for Sao Joao - Saint John), and some kids are playing in the yard next door. This is... a nice life.
Interestingly, I've been slightly uncomfortable with the nature of things in this town. But before I expound on that thought, let me rewind the past week...
I spent four nights and three days in Paraty. On Friday (one week ago), most of the American side of the wedding invitees chartered a boat to take us around to a few beaches around Paraty. Later that night we had the rehearsal dinner (where the Brazilians, unaccustomed to the rituals of rehearsal dinners made very... longwinded toasts about Dave and Cassia), then saw a great upbeat jazz band (Paraty was hosting a 3-day jazz festival). On Saturday we woke up late to prepare ourselves for the all-night wedding ahead of us. Then the wedding. The wedding party took a 10-minute boat ride at 3:45 to Ilha Kontiki, an small private island off Paraty that houses an upscale restaurant. Dave and his groomsmen met everyone on the dock, after which I spent the first 30 minutes on the island looking around and saying to myself "what the hell IS this... ridiculous." My vocabulary failing me in the midst of my incredulity, I walked around the island and just admired the scenery at dusk (I'll post photos later, but here's a photo and the website.
The wedding ceremony started at 5:30 or so, and was more of a spiritual ceremony rather than religious. Cassia's "guru" presided (guru - a term that doesn't quite capture the importance of this woman to Cassia), and some ethereal music played while Dave and Cassia exchanged vows, etc. As they were walking away after the ceremony ended, the music started playing. And by music, I mean party music (the second song was Bruno Mars' Nothin on You, to give you a sense). Apparently this is Brazil style - music and dancing for a full two hours before dinner is served.
Dinner was buffet style, and the caipirinhas and Flying Horse (a poor man's Red Bull that became a great joke) + vodka were flowing. We all noted that once you took a couple sips of your wine, the waiters would immediately fill up your glass to the brim.
Dave and Cassia had a few surprises for us. First was their gift to all the attendees... Havianna sandals (ubiquitous in Brazil). Second, at midnight Dave processed in with a 10-15 piece drum corps, in true Brazilian style. The drum corps proceeded to play for 30 minutes... I had never seen anything like it.
Anyway, the party didn't last as long as we thought it would, and I was on a boat back around 2:45. Jake and I went to see a band for a few minutes, then headed back to the Pousada. All in all, the wedding was one of the most unbelievable (in the literal sense) experiences of my life. I mostly hung out with Jake, Josh, and Lisa (the Fuqua crew) and Tim and Kaitlyn.
On Sunday I took things slowly and we watched the US soccer game using the projector from the wedding. Bedtime came early for obvious reasons. Quick rundown of what happened next:
Over and over again, people emphasize that relationships and community are more important than money here. Normally I'd be skeptical of such a sentiment, and of course this place isn't without rivalries. But more than just about any other place I've been, this principle seems to hold true. My hostel owners (Rodrigo and Patricia) have given me the "mi casa es tu casa" green light. For example, this morning I hung out with Patricia, Sari (another American backpacker), Patricia's 3-year old daughter Floraluz (who claims to be six and is hilarious), and other town kids. Patricia bought us a coffee. Another example - last night we started at a small square where people have a local appetizer. Then we moved onto a pizza place where the same crowd followed. The night before I was invited to two dinners for the Sao Joao holiday. Anyway, this is how things go around here. It's a tourist town and people are well off here. This makes a difference in the mentality of the place. I admit - it's nice.
So, back to why I'm a bit uncomfortable. It's uncomfortable not having something on my to-do list. To sit at a cafe with only more sitting and socializing ahead is a bit of a foreign concept to me. It makes me a bit nervous. But to a certain extent, the people of Lencois have earned it, and this is what they want. Certainly Gary and Kathleen have worked very hard and planned to be in this position - and they are incredibly generous with the world they've created for themselves in Lencois. Is this something that I want for my life? I don't know... time will tell. For now, it's enlightening to see this side of life. To get up, hike, swim in a natural pool, come back to town and sip caipirinhas... its not bad. I'm very thankful for the generosity of Jess, Gary, Kathleen, Patricia, Rodrigo, and everyone else on my path here.
FINALLY, my penultimate adventure in Brazil. Dave hooked me up with Nito, who is his guide when he comes to Chapada. Nito is an african rasta guy and lives in Capao - a hippie town near the park. Nito speaks zero English and only a few words in Spanish, but we're going to spend the next three days together. Tomorrow morning I'll take a 4am bus to Palmeiras and a car to Capao to meet up with Nito. We'll buy supplies for the next few days, and start hiking the Vale do Paty. Instead of camping, we'll stay at the houses of people who live in the valley. There are about 12 families left in the valley, and they don't have electricity (other than a solar panel for refrigerators and small appliances. The families cook you dinner and breakfast, and give you a room to stay in.
Check out these pictures. Yosemite Valley is probably the most amazing natural phenomena I've ever seen. Paty is more subdued, but I'm looking forward to its own uniqueness.
Anyway, I have to go pack and go to bed. I find all of these experiences hard to believe, so they probably sound kind of ridiculous when I speak about them. I need to reflect on what has put me into this situation - flexibility, great friends with great recommendations, and a bit of risk taking. Very thankful.
Interestingly, I've been slightly uncomfortable with the nature of things in this town. But before I expound on that thought, let me rewind the past week...
I spent four nights and three days in Paraty. On Friday (one week ago), most of the American side of the wedding invitees chartered a boat to take us around to a few beaches around Paraty. Later that night we had the rehearsal dinner (where the Brazilians, unaccustomed to the rituals of rehearsal dinners made very... longwinded toasts about Dave and Cassia), then saw a great upbeat jazz band (Paraty was hosting a 3-day jazz festival). On Saturday we woke up late to prepare ourselves for the all-night wedding ahead of us. Then the wedding. The wedding party took a 10-minute boat ride at 3:45 to Ilha Kontiki, an small private island off Paraty that houses an upscale restaurant. Dave and his groomsmen met everyone on the dock, after which I spent the first 30 minutes on the island looking around and saying to myself "what the hell IS this... ridiculous." My vocabulary failing me in the midst of my incredulity, I walked around the island and just admired the scenery at dusk (I'll post photos later, but here's a photo and the website.
The wedding ceremony started at 5:30 or so, and was more of a spiritual ceremony rather than religious. Cassia's "guru" presided (guru - a term that doesn't quite capture the importance of this woman to Cassia), and some ethereal music played while Dave and Cassia exchanged vows, etc. As they were walking away after the ceremony ended, the music started playing. And by music, I mean party music (the second song was Bruno Mars' Nothin on You, to give you a sense). Apparently this is Brazil style - music and dancing for a full two hours before dinner is served.
Dinner was buffet style, and the caipirinhas and Flying Horse (a poor man's Red Bull that became a great joke) + vodka were flowing. We all noted that once you took a couple sips of your wine, the waiters would immediately fill up your glass to the brim.
Dave and Cassia had a few surprises for us. First was their gift to all the attendees... Havianna sandals (ubiquitous in Brazil). Second, at midnight Dave processed in with a 10-15 piece drum corps, in true Brazilian style. The drum corps proceeded to play for 30 minutes... I had never seen anything like it.
Anyway, the party didn't last as long as we thought it would, and I was on a boat back around 2:45. Jake and I went to see a band for a few minutes, then headed back to the Pousada. All in all, the wedding was one of the most unbelievable (in the literal sense) experiences of my life. I mostly hung out with Jake, Josh, and Lisa (the Fuqua crew) and Tim and Kaitlyn.
On Sunday I took things slowly and we watched the US soccer game using the projector from the wedding. Bedtime came early for obvious reasons. Quick rundown of what happened next:
- Monday: transfer with Dave, Cassia, and Dave's family back to Rio. Jake and I were dropped off at a hostel, and we met Matt, Josh, and Lisa at this churrascaria: Porcao.(travel lesson: don't go to the "best restaurant in town." Porcao and others like it are good, but they cater to tourists, which means that they're not as good as they could be).
- Tuesday: hung out with Matt, then took it easy, read, and packed.
- Wednesday: the long and short... early morning flight to Salvador. It took me two hours to secure my rental car, which I would split with Jess (Dave's older sister) and drive to Lencois. When I go down to the car rental booths, there wasn't one for Sixt, the rental company. Nor had anyone heard of the company. I called the phone number of the company, and the number had been disconnected. Bad news, and I was afraid that I was the victim of a scam, and a non-existent rental company. I bought an international phone card and called the London office of the company. I told them what happened, and they said they'd check on it and get back to me (which means I would have to call them back). After two hours of this, a guy randomly comes up to me with "Sixt" written on his bookbag. At that moment, Jess walks up. Apparently the London office called the local office and told them to come pick me up at the airport. Sixt's local phone was broken (I have a great photo of the "phone" on Sixt's wall with cords hanging everywhere... totally broken). Anyway, Jess and I go through much traffic and arrive around 11:30 at night. BUT our adventure wasn't over. I kid you not - at the exact moment that we arrive in the Lencois town square, the car dies. Caput. In front of what's probably the entire town, we push the car to a safe place, walk up to Gary and Kathleen's place, and get to bed.
Over and over again, people emphasize that relationships and community are more important than money here. Normally I'd be skeptical of such a sentiment, and of course this place isn't without rivalries. But more than just about any other place I've been, this principle seems to hold true. My hostel owners (Rodrigo and Patricia) have given me the "mi casa es tu casa" green light. For example, this morning I hung out with Patricia, Sari (another American backpacker), Patricia's 3-year old daughter Floraluz (who claims to be six and is hilarious), and other town kids. Patricia bought us a coffee. Another example - last night we started at a small square where people have a local appetizer. Then we moved onto a pizza place where the same crowd followed. The night before I was invited to two dinners for the Sao Joao holiday. Anyway, this is how things go around here. It's a tourist town and people are well off here. This makes a difference in the mentality of the place. I admit - it's nice.
So, back to why I'm a bit uncomfortable. It's uncomfortable not having something on my to-do list. To sit at a cafe with only more sitting and socializing ahead is a bit of a foreign concept to me. It makes me a bit nervous. But to a certain extent, the people of Lencois have earned it, and this is what they want. Certainly Gary and Kathleen have worked very hard and planned to be in this position - and they are incredibly generous with the world they've created for themselves in Lencois. Is this something that I want for my life? I don't know... time will tell. For now, it's enlightening to see this side of life. To get up, hike, swim in a natural pool, come back to town and sip caipirinhas... its not bad. I'm very thankful for the generosity of Jess, Gary, Kathleen, Patricia, Rodrigo, and everyone else on my path here.
FINALLY, my penultimate adventure in Brazil. Dave hooked me up with Nito, who is his guide when he comes to Chapada. Nito is an african rasta guy and lives in Capao - a hippie town near the park. Nito speaks zero English and only a few words in Spanish, but we're going to spend the next three days together. Tomorrow morning I'll take a 4am bus to Palmeiras and a car to Capao to meet up with Nito. We'll buy supplies for the next few days, and start hiking the Vale do Paty. Instead of camping, we'll stay at the houses of people who live in the valley. There are about 12 families left in the valley, and they don't have electricity (other than a solar panel for refrigerators and small appliances. The families cook you dinner and breakfast, and give you a room to stay in.
Check out these pictures. Yosemite Valley is probably the most amazing natural phenomena I've ever seen. Paty is more subdued, but I'm looking forward to its own uniqueness.
Anyway, I have to go pack and go to bed. I find all of these experiences hard to believe, so they probably sound kind of ridiculous when I speak about them. I need to reflect on what has put me into this situation - flexibility, great friends with great recommendations, and a bit of risk taking. Very thankful.
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