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Published: July 22nd 2007
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Well after 4 days of traveling by plane, bus, and taxi I am finally at Caiman. My trip was very long and adventurous to say the least. The first night (Wednesday July 18, 2007) was spent on a plane from Chicago to Sao Paulo. Unfortunately, it was storming in Chicago so my plane was delayed for 3 hours. Therefore, I missed my next flight from Sao Paulo to Campo Grande. So I ended up sleeping on my suitcase in the airport. The airport was very loud all night so I probably got all of 2 hours of sleep tops! The next morning my plane was supposed to leave at 8 Am. However, the airport is a zoo right now due to the huge plane crash on Wednesday. So my flight was changed again and my plane did not leave until 1:15 PM.
I finally arrived in Campo Grande at 3:30 PM on Friday only to find out that both of my suitcases were lost! Fortunately, my two new friends Fernanda and Marcelo spoke with the baggage claim handler and were able to locate one of my bags… so now I’m just waiting on one more!
On Friday night
I stayed in Campo Grande with Fernanda. Fernanda is a sweetheart and she is a consultant for a few ecotourist sites in South America. That night we ate the best mushroom pizza ever at a little place called Cantina Roma. The pizza was very simple, fresh, and full of flavor!
After dinner we went to a small outdoor restaurant/bar called Barbaque. Fernanda´s boyfriend, Rodrigo, and his business partner Juliano just opened it four months ago. Rodrigo, or “Boss”, was very shy and timid to speak English at first. But after a little while he loosened up and was very nice. Juliano, or “big foot”, is not shy at all and is hilarious. They both are from southern Brasil and studied hospitality management at a university there.
The restaurant is beautiful and is decorated in a very traditional Brazilian theme. All of the tables, chairs, and bar are constructed of all recycled wood from demolished houses. They also had a great jazz band playing. It was very beautiful and truly a unique place. Hopefully when I go back to Campo Grande I will get some pictures so everyone can see what I’m talking about!
That night I slept
like a rock and woke up around 8AM to a great breakfast. Fernanada made me some really strong coffee the old fashioned way that woke me right up! We also ate papaya, sweet bread (bread with coconut in the center), and rolls. Fernanda put mayonnaise on her roll but I opted for the strawberry jelly!
After breakfast Fernanda dropped me off at the bus station. From there I paid about $15 to take a bus from Campo Grande to Miranda. The bus ride was 3 hours and allowed me to see a lot of the countryside. A lot of the land has been cleared and is now being used for cow and sheep pastures. Most of the cows are a milky white color and the males have a hump on the back like a camel. I have heard that the hump is the best part of the cow to eat… I will let you know when I try it!
Finally, on the third stop I got off the bus in Miranda at a small restaurant and gift shop called Zero Horas. Thiago (the head guide) had a cab waiting for me there to take me from their to Caiman. It was about an hour cab drive down a dirt road which cost me $35. And again all I really saw a lot of cows, birds and termite mounds.
I am so happy to finally be here. I have my own room to myself with 3 beds and a huge bathroom. Caiman is truly one of the most unique places in the world and I so fortunate to be able to experience it first hand. There are two lakes and one river here. This morning I woke up to the largest parrot in the world, the hyacinth macaw, squalling outside of my window. They are so beautiful and I’m going to try to get a good picture soon!
Everyone here is very sweet and welcoming and I already have made a lot of new friends. I will start giving English lessons tomorrow. All of the guys are excited to have a female “professora” so I’m hoping for a big crowd. I am also learning a little bit of Portuguese from watching TV and talking to the people here. Hopefully by the time I leave here I will be able to hold a conversation in Portuguese...or thats the plan at least!
This afternoon I am going to go on a horseback tour. Hopefully I will see some animals! I will let everyone know how its goes!
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Jennifer
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Pictures
Hey Chica!!, I hope that your teaching career is getting off to a great start. We all miss you. Get a picture of that macaw for us so that we can all enjoy it.