Brazil. We are here, finally

A minor hiccup at the beginning of our trip when a major snow storm caused the cancellation of our flight from JFK to Sao Paulo and we were rerouted for the next day via Dallas, so basically we arrived 24 hours late. No big deal really and small adjustments to the schedule can be made.
We spent the day in Sao Paulo with Candida's sister and niece and went out around 9pm for some food and "chops" which are basically draft beer bought to the table as quickly as you can drink it. We had some excellent picanha which is a particular cut of beef that is special to Brazil and also VERY tasty!. They bring a hot grill and set it on the table and you cook your own and eat it with other side dishes like cole slaw and tomatoes and rice. Very simple and very good. Home around 1.15 and a nights sleep. We left for Sao Jozse de Rio Preto in the morning by bus. It took about 8 hours with a bus change in Campinas and a couple of short stops for food etc along the way. It is about 400 km and is thru mostly rural farmland and LOTS of sugar cane. The roads are mostly toll roads (quite expensive) but good roads between major cities.
Sao Jozse De Rio Preto is a town of about 350,000 and has good air service to Rio and Sao Paulo.
Brazil is huge and cities we have not generally heard of have large populations. Brazil in total is about 200 million and cities like Belem in the north have 3 million. Sao Paulo has over 20 million!
I will try to come back and discuss how Brazil has been quite successful in becoming mostly self sufficient in oil and alternative fuels.

Candida has family friends there, Dad is retired and Mom is about to, and they have a “chacara” or small farm, maybe a hectare or so about 8 km out of town and a house in town that they are gradually moving out of.

I was immediately struck by the similarity between the chacara and the houses in Zambia and South Africa. Large airy rooms with high ceilings and covered porches with hardwood or tiled floors. Very relaxed and easy to live in.

Relaxing at the chacara

The chacara. They even have a football pitch!

View from the front gate

Zambia house for comparison

View from the front gate

The road could be Zambia too. Red dirt road. Amazing

  

Sr. Jose (Dad) had worked on the house for many years and is in the process of helping the youngest Diane and her husband to build a home on the property.

Sr. Jose’s reputation as a cook is legendary particularly for ribs, which are a combination of prime rib, and a pot roast cooked in a brick oven outside. It is SO good!

The brick oven for cooking "ribs"

It is all very social and family oriented and various family members and friends stop by for a beer or coffee and to eat and just visit. 

Sunday visitors

Daddy enjoys some time with Lara

They have a pool which was very welcome as it is hot (maybe 34C) at this time of year 

Cooling off

Diane and baby Lara with Aunt Juliana. All cooling off.

The view out over the adjoining fields complete with cows and monkeys

Monday was taken up looking around town and visiting the house in town where the kids grew up. We also visited a couple of housing developments. Brazil is not suffering the same problems with housing and have an expanding economy and gradually improving wealth overall.
I am planning some specific posts about housing, fuel and energy self sufficiency, business and public health. I have had the opportunity to observe some of this first hand.
On Tuesday we headed to Piracicaba about 250 km away. We had planned to go by bus but Sr. Jose & Bett had other plans. They drove us there and said it was a good opportunity to have a day out. In reality this was just amazing hospitality, and much appreciated.
More later.

Somehow I forgot!! The last Carribean post. St Croix with Jen

I am not sure I have an excuse but as I opened my blog to post from Brazil I realized that I never finished my Carribean posts. Apologies.
We flew from Sint Maarten to St Croix on the Saturday morning after (eventually) an excellent dinner and breakfast at our small and adequate hotel very close to the airport.
Upon landing we (again) went thru Immigration, US immigration this time, we thought for the last time.
My friend Jen, who I had last seen in Auckland NZ at the beginning of March had decided to quit her job in Charlotte and move to St Croix "because she had always wanted to live there" and had moved down about 3 weeks earlier. The island was not what I had anticipated in that it was way less developed and touristy than I had imagined, and from my view point that is great.
The island is about 30 miles wide and Fredriksted (where Jen lives) is on the western coast. She has a small but very comfortable apartment and can sit on her balcony and see (and hear) the ocean. Not bad!!
Fredriksted is the second largest town, but not large in any sense and is the sort of sleepy Carribean town you might imagine. There is an occasional stop by a cruise ship and all hands turn out to sell what ever crafts and goodies they have. Otherwise the town has an active scuba diving community with several schools and a variety of dive trips available.
Jen had purchased a Jeep a couple of days earlier so we had transportation and took a drive around the northwest side of the island some of which was on roads defiantly suited to Jeeps rather than cars! We ended up at one of the beach side bars and met up with some of Jen's friends and shared a few beers and some stories. There had been a lion fish fishing competition and we were there for the adjudication and prize giving.
Lion fish are a huge, and little known threat to the natural species on these waters. The story goes that there were some lionf ish in an aquarium in south Florida when hurricane Andrew struck in 1991 and they escaped into the sea and have proceeded to multiply and eat most any other species with the exception of grouper and a couple of others I cannot recall.
The lion fish are certainly exotic to look at but voracious predators.

We had the opportunity to sample some of the local cafes and bars, and it seemed that everyone knew each other. The guys that ran the coffee shop were refugees from the Illinois winters and we met several others who had made a conscious lifestyle choice to kick back and live a less stressed life. Good on them I say! 

Breakfast on Jen's balcony

It was also time for some laundry and Jen told us that the local Laundromat was at the hotel about 200 yards away.

I headed down there, put my laundry in and lay on a lounger with a book while Jen and Candida chatted. There was a group of young people there with a mix of American, British and South African accents. They were having some sort of a company meeting and were leaving that day. 

 

We chatted and one guy (and his Japanese girlfriend) came to speak with Candida. He spoke Portuguese very well and had visited Brazil on many occasions. Frankly they all looked like they had enjoyed themselves the previous evening and were preparing themselves for the long (longer for some) flights ahead.

On Monday Candida and I borrowed Jen’s Jeep and left around 5.30am to go to Point Udal that is the most easterly point in the USA. The US Virgin Islands are considered a part of the United States (when it suits the government I believe) but they do not have states rights, and do not (I think) participate in Federal elections. I need to check this.

Anyway we headed out in the dark and with the benefit of Jen’s GPS we arrived just before sunrise around 6.15. Were it not cloudy it would have been spectacular, but it was an interesting place anyway and we enjoyed the experience. 

View to the west from Point Udall

Pt Udall looking east. Next stop is West Africa!

 We went on to Christiansted, which is the other (and largest) town on the island and arrived as the town was waking up and had a good breakfast.

There is a float plane service from Christiansted to some of the other islands and we had a cup of coffee and watched the activity as people dressed for business arrived at the seaplane base and boarded the various flights. We were amused to see a rooster walking around like he owned the place. 

The Boss!!

Ready to taxi. Note Canadian reg on aircraft.

Love the idea of a Departure tent rather than a gate!!

We walked around the town and visited the fort, which had initially been built by the Danish who were the first westerners on the island. The Commandant certainly lived well with his family but I suspect the average soldier was not as comfortable, and probably had to wear a uniform designed in Europe for much colder weather and that they sweated a lot!!

Downtown Christiansted

Downtown Christiansted

Friendly fellow on a gun turret at the fort

Christiansted Fort

Obviously the sign did not apply to him!!

Jen had initially announced that she was leaving her Charlotte job, but was asked to stay on for a while and that she could work remotely from her balcony. I think the bank were keen not to lose her talents and needed her expertise. I have to say she looked relaxed with her laptop on the balcony, but think she probably got more work done because of fewer interruptions other than guests like us!!

It was raining on and off during our whole visit as we felt the after effects of Hurricane Tomas. Tuesday proved to be a wetter than normal day and we mostly hung out and took a walk along the beach from Jen’s place and did a little shopping. We were able to find a few things to make Jen’s life a little easier (like it is tough!!) and had fun doing it. The day culminated with Beach Bingo” with friends at a bar about 8 miles away.

Overall we had a wonderful time and I would not have gone to St Croix if Jen had not been there. Our paths cross in different parts of the world (dinner in Auckland NZ, home stay in St Croix!!) and I am privileged to have her as a friend. Candida loves her as much as I do!!

Sint Maarten and the sights of Maho beach

Friday morning saw us catching the ferry that goes from Gustavia St Barths to St (Sint) Maarten. A pleasant 45 minute ride with some wave action and  we were again at...Immigration!!. All very quick and then a cab ride to our hotel. We were getting a little concerned as it was about a 30 min ride and of course no meter!. Anyway it turned out to be very reasonable.
We had booked the hotel from Saba at the recommendation of Donna the Taxi. We had looked at the Maho Beach hotel and it was expensive but the "Royal Turtle Inn" was way more reasonable and located on Simpson Bay and not far from Maho Beach.
What is the attraction on Maho Beach, topless European women and guys in Speedos? Not really! Once again it is ...airplanes.

The airport at St Maarten is short by international jet standards at around 7000 ft and the easterly approach (normally used) is over the ocean, then over Maho Beach (about 50 ft (15m) wide and a road (maybe 30 ft (9m) and then the threshold of the runway. There is a bar off to the side and watching the planes land is a popular past time for locals and visitors. The bar even has a sign that details the expected arrival times for the major carriers. So you can sit at a nice beach bar with a cold beer and watch airplanes all day. What is not to like about that!!

I think we arrived around 12.30 and had walked from our hotel, maybe a mile or so. Just enough to work up a decent thirst!


There are lots of comings and goings of the small aircraft like the ones we flew to Saba and St Barths, and some regional carriers. There are large signs that warn people about jet blast, particularly from departing aircraft and we saw several people who were apparently invincible who stood (at least for a while) behind departing aircraft. Not too clever.

LIAT Dash 8 landing. I would say he had this just right.

 

Us with Maho Beach in the background

US Airways A319. A tad low but OK. Note the sign warning of the jet blast

Air France A340 departing non stop for Paris

 

The aircraft is VERY close to the road and takes all of the runway as it is relatively short

American 757 from Miami "on slope"

  Earlier I had seen a DHL Cessna Caravan make what looked like a deliberately low approach to give the crowd a thrill, but he did not come close to the 727 freighter that landed soon after the American 757. Fortunately I got a shot and Candida got one a second or so later

I think his wheels are maybe 10 ft over the heads of the people and he cleared the fence by about 5ft!!

And he was down. Spectacular!! Not smart but spectacular

We wandered back to the hotel before dark and after an attempt to get dinner at a local restaurant we gave up and came back to the bar and restaurant at the hotel. The food was excellent and not too expensive, so we had a nice evening even if we were awakend early by the inevitable roosters!!
Our room was adequate and the place was very small, maybe 8 rooms, but the dinner and breakfast the next morning was excellent and we had a good view of Simpson's Bay

Onward to St Barths

Morning came soon enough and we had to be at the airport by 6.45 for check in and the inevitable Immigration!
All went smoothly and we were in St Maarten before 8am to a mostly deserted airports and a connection at 9.45 (in place of the original 11.00)
Again the flight was about 10 or 12 minutes over blue water and passing many small islands. I think the pilot climbed to 2500 ft. On this occasion there were 4 passengers and I managed to get the front center seat that placed my view out of the windshield between the two pilots.
Saba is said to be one of the most challenging airports, but frankly from a passenger perspective unless you KNEW this you might be unlikely to notice. This cannot be said of St Barths which I rate as among THE most exciting landings I have observed to date.
The runway ends with a public beach and then a bay, and at the approach end there is a hill about 300 ft (90m) tall that terminates where the runway begins. The good news is that the runway is over twice as long as Saba. I estimate that the pilot approaches at about 8-10 degrees. To put it in perspective a normal jet approach is 3 degrees. He basically dives at the runway and flares at the last moment lands and crams on the brakes and reverse thrust. It is all quite controlled and normal for them, they may do it several times a day, but it was a fantastic experience for me. I went back the next day for a couple of hours to watch them from the ground and gained a different perspective.

A Cessna Caravan over the traffic island

Looking down the runway from the hillside

A Winair Twin Otter shows the descent angle

Occasionally someone does not make it in style, and the results can be seen in the image below. I think it is the same aircraft featured in the video link St Barths botched landing

Aircraft with blue tail and collapsed left main gear

Once again Immigration, this time French, and now we are in the Eurozone, and it shows. We grabbed a cab to the hotel, which like most things here was not very far, except for the traffic and ongoing street reconstruction that basically routed half of the island traffic past our hotel on what would normally be a quiet side street. We decided to go down to the beach a couple of hundred yards away, and also just look around and had lunch at a very nice  French bakery that opens way early for breakfast and closes at 1.30 for the day. We swam in the bay and our initial location was ill advised (by us) as there was coral only a few yards out and we were in to it before we knew it. We retreated and moved down the beach for a while and later in the afternoon made our way back to the hotel,passing the local cemetery (a sight to behold) and  relaxed by the pool and removed coral splinters from our feet (or at least most of them!) A good lesson early on.

Graves all decorated with (plastic) flowers

We discovered that not having a car on St Barths is a distinct limitation, so we booked one for the following morning. A combination of that and the traffic limited our dinner options. We discussed this with Melane who had welcomed us to the Hotel Normandie when we arrived and seemed to serve breakfast, run the front desk and clean the rooms all with excellent humor!

Melane. She seemed to do it all

Petit dejuneur a l'hotel

Outside the hotel

She mentioned several places and briefly mentioned "Le Portugal" literally just around the corner and a hang out for the Portuguese workers who do seasonal work on construction sites on the island. So kinda basic but once they figured out that Candid was Portuguese speaking everything changed. I do not think the lady who is part owner saw many women in the place anyway and was delighted to talk and eventually made us some dinner in spite of the fact that they do not serve food other than at lunch time!!. Food was basic but very good and reasonable (for St Barths) and a way better experience than some fancy place in my mind.

Le Portugal. Good food!!

We spent the next day with the car. Candida indulged me once again and we watched airplanes for a while and then just wandered around the island for the rest of the day.

St Barths coastline

Nice location for homes

We found the sister shop from the bakery at the other end of the island and had lunch there and found some good vantage points for views and saw a couple of oddball vehicles including a couple of different vintage Land Rovers, and I was able to explain the history and significance of these vehicles both from the 60s is my guess. We also saw an all electric vehicle complete with baby seat!!, and a Mini Moke a variant of the original Mini. My guess is somewhere mid 60s for a vintage.

60s vintage Land Rover

Late 50s or very early 60s version (narrow headlights) Also had a plate from Jersey Channel Islands

A Mini Moke. VERY basic transportation

Small all electric vehicle with child seat!!

It is a beautiful island but so much more the "tourist destination" and place of island homes for the wealthy, and not so much "our style" like Saba!!