Brazilian homes

We have been lucky to spend at least some nights with family and friends and have been able to see family homes.

I talked a little about the chacara in St Jose de Rio Preto and some of the similarity with homes and gardens in Africa.

City homes are quite different and the common theme is that the exterior or street view has little indication of the interiors.

One evening we visited Candida’s niece and family and the outside entrance looked like a garage or entrance to an industrial building, but once inside we went down some steps and in to a very nice (not large) home. Candida’s sisters home is the same with an electric gate at the street that gives access to three homes and parking for all cars. 

Entrance to Margaret's home in Sao Paulo

Again an ordinary entrance to homes with tiled or marble flooring and large kitchens and multiple bathrooms. All very nice.

Silvera’s home in Niteroi deserves special mention. I believe the family has owned the property for a long time and Silvera has been working on the new home for several years. It is on a hillside and the new home had to be built in front of the home they were living in and then some further excavation had to take place for the completion. The home is beautiful and when we arrived I looked out of the bedroom window and said to myself “wow, look at the big yard and very fancy grill his neighbor has!” It turned out that it was actually HIS yard with a huge patio and built in grill and shelter. 

Silvera at work at the grill

Huge patio and seating area close to the grill

Silvera's grill and pizza oven. I am jealous!

All his own design and a fantastic place to enjoy the cool evenings after a brutally hot day. The attention to detail is amazing.

Enjoying a few cold ones (geladinias)

Rooftop view from above Silvera's patio

The front of the house

Some photos to enjoy

Rio. A dramatic city to say the least.!

We are actually staying in Niteroi, which is across the bay from Rio de Janeiro with friends of Candida’s from way back. Silvera is an airline mechanic, who used to work for the now defunct Trans Brasil airline, and he and several others were assigned duty in Miami for a month at a time to do the overnight checks on the 3 or so flights that came in and out. Candida had these guys as paying house guests. This worked well for both parties. The mechanics had a nice place to stay that was not a hotel (nor did it challenge their per-diem like a hotel) and they got good Brazilian food while Candida made a little extra money.

Several long-term friendships developed from this including that with Silvera and his family. He now works for Trip an internal airline in Brazil that operates ATR 42 and 72s and Embraer 175s of which they now have 16. They have a fantastic house in Niteroi and he has gradually replaced the old house with the new and his attention to detail shows in everything.

It is about 15km from the house to the Niteroi shore and Silvera took us down to the new fast ferry to cross the bay. I had not appreciated the distance between the “old” ferry terminal that is right downtown and the new one which must be at least 5 km closer but more than that in time saved.

The ferry was about $8 and landed at the main ferry terminal in Rio. I was a little disappointed as it is totally enclosed and air conditioned, but the side windows are Plexiglas and significantly degrade the view as you cross. 

We headed to one of the two significant mountains called locally “Christo” as it is the one with the giant statue on it. 

Looking down on Sugarloaf and Rio

Even for a Monday with kids in school there were LOTS of people in a small space, but the views are spectacular. Ii is 710m above sea level and it is possible to see all of Rio and over to Niteroi. We spent about an hour and a half there and then headed on the city bus to Sugarloaf Mountain, which is actually two mountains with an aerial ropeway connecting them with mother earth.

 



  I think the views from Sugarloaf, (at 396m) while not as high as Christo are more dramatic and certainly less crowded. 

Sugarloaf from sea level

Looking up at Christo from Sugarloaf

Santo Dumont airport in downtown Rio. Short runways with the Niterio bridge in the background

There is a great view of Santo Dumont airport which is essentially downtown and is used for domestic traffic. It looks like it was built on dredged fill and the runways are only about a meter or so above the water. The runways also look short,(and they are for jets)  at 4341 feet 
An approach landing towards the bridge would give a dramatic look at the city and would have to be a visual approach only given the terrain and small area.

Old ferry across the bay

GOL (airline) taxiing at Santo Dumont. Elevation 11 ft (~3m)

It was very hot at about 38C (100+F) and we headed back around 5pm. We decided to take the “old” ferry for $1.50 each but then discovered that we had to navigate by bus back close to the other ferry where Silvera met us and drove us home.
We saw some evidence of the landslides that have plagued Rio.They have impacted the favelas (unplanned slum areas) particularly but this one had slid on to a major road in Niteroi.

An expensive repair according to the sign. Not sure where all the money is going!

Sunset over Rio

Revised plan. Sao Paulo for a day.

Apologies.
This post was done in pieces and is not what I would have liked but given the slow connection I am not going to redo.
We had an unexpected additional day in Sao Paulo due to Candida’s business. We decided to leave our big bags at the left luggage in the bus station and take the subway and bus to her sister Margaret. Candida is allowed free travel on the buses but had to sit in a separate area from me and she was to signal when to get off. She did and I went to the back of the bus and only just got off before the doors closed.. I then found that she had not got off the bus. Holy cow!!. There was I in the middle of somewhere in Sao Paulo (I certainly did not know where I was!,  alone at 10pm!! I did what I thought was best and that was nothing. I just waited and Candida returned after a few minutes and we went on. I decided to at the least have an address with me from then on in case I got lost again. She was planning early to be ready to get off at the stop after the one I got off at and I jumped the gun!

View from the bank building

Candida and her sister Margaret

We went back into the center of town the next day and got the business taken care of and then spent time looking around including a trip to the top of one of the bank buildings for a panoramic view of this huge city.

A city park built over the top of a freeway. Kinda like "The Big Dig" in Boston but quicker and not as many $$

There are over 20 million people in Sao Paulo and they range from dirt poor to incredibly wealthy. I think we saw them all.

The Mercado Municipal was very interesting and we ate lunch there at a very small place. Our server as excellent and rally intent on us enjoying our food. I had a beer (so what’s new!) and it came in its own cooler.

















It was a 600ml bottle and the Styrofoam container is durable and common in Brazil. A neat idea.

Moving propane cylinders. I recall a post from India about a year ago with similar systems

 
We saw colorful fruit stands with vendors more than happy for you to sample their wares. 
 
 


















We headed back home through the wholesale part of the market and marginally ahead of the rush hour traffic both on the roads but also on the subway.

Sao Paulo subway. 10 min before rush hour

How do you determine the stage of development in a country?

I have been pondering this issue since we arrived and are trying to equate the level of development with other countries that I know or have visited.

Brazil has a substantial road system, albeit with a lot of toll roads, and an excellent bus and airline system well suited to such a vast country with a population of 200 million or so.

The traditional thinking is “the developed world” and “the developing, or third world”. Not sure who coined the phrases “developing world” or “third world” but the names have stuck.

It is patently unfair to judge a country like Brazil as a developing country in the traditional sense because of the level of development. I am not sure but I believe that Brazil has safe drinking water from the faucet in all major cities, and universal health care that is run by each state, and a federal pension system. Brazil held their first fully electronic election in 2006. Imagine that even the people in the most remote regions of Amazonas were able to cast their votes, and have them counted electronically. No hanging chads and embarrassment on a global scale like we suffered in the 2000 election.

I have not been to Argentina or Chile but I suspect that you might find similar levels of development. Another possibility is South Africa.

Brazil like many countries has a significant number of poor people and are working to improve that situation, but to classify Brazil along with Nigeria, Zambia or almost anywhere in Africa that are considered “developing countries” would in my mind be absurd. Maybe the split between developed and developing countries is whether they give foreign aid or receive it. I do not know in Brazil’s case but they would certainly appear to be closer to being a donor and certainly do not receive any aid, or need it.

There is a significant middle class who live in very nice homes, even if that is deceptive from the street, and there are lots of private schools for those who choose and reasonable public schools with similar problems to those in the US (poorly paid teachers, inconsistent quality of teaching and a general lack of facilities) All school kids have to supply their own notebooks and pens and pencils, and these are expensive in the stores. There is also corruption and people who misuse their political positions for personal gain, but the level does not seem to be any worse than the US and many other places. It is possible that it is just more blatant.

I solicit your comments or ideas

Piracicaba and Aguas de Prata

We decided to stop in Piracicaba for a day or so to visit an old friend and take a brief tour of the Caterpillar facility. I had never been and Candida was interested in Cat as a significant Brazilian exporter.
We took the opportunity to walk down to the Piracicaba falls on the river. The effects of the rains were quite evident and we learned that about 35 or 40 Caterpillar families had been directly affected.

Piracicaba Falls swollen with flood waters

More rushing water

We walked beyond the falls and discovered an area that is being restored. It was previously a major sugar mill and had been closed in the 1970s but is being developed by the city as a cultural center and museum of the sugar industry. It should be finished by 2013. The big building had a kind of Tate Modern (the Art gallery in London) feel and I think the whole thing will be beautiful when completed.

We stopped for coconut water and a snack of pastel de queijo (a cheesy hot pastry almost like a popadum). Very good and refreshing.

We met Glauco for dinner and had the tour the next morning. Quick but very interesting. Over 5300 full time employees and a huge facility.
We were taken to the bus station by Walter who operates a taxi service for Caterpillar and has done for 25 years. An excellent guy and the one who took me to the airport on my only other Brazil trip back in 2004.
We were going to another sister of Candida's in Aguas de Prata which is in the very NW part of Sao Paulo state. We intended to stay until Saturday but had to get back to Sao Paulo for some time sensitive business for Candida, so our stay was short but very pleasant.

View from our room at Nazare's home

Aguas is surrounded by hills and coffee plantations and only has a population of about 8,000. It is a sleepy place with limited (intentional) development but a larger town about 10km away.

Lots of good fresh veg at very reasonable prices

We visited the market (actually about 3 stalls with fresh veg) and rode around the town for a while. There are a whole variety of houses and styles and oddly enough a very German looking apartment building (maybe 8 floors) on the top of a hill in the middle of town. A little random!

Tire pressure monitoring is common on Brazilian trucks. looks like it is an aftermarket system

Trucks also have GPS position monitoring. Roof mounted.

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!!