the earth is fertile

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orchids and more orchids, spiders, waterfalls, rattle snakes..
all of these can be found in the small town of altinopilis.(sao paulo state)
Fannette's 2nd cousin runs an orchid plantation along with her
charismatic husband who shares genes with croc. dundee!
They live in the middle of an agricultural paridise. Flowers
are cared for by 5 loving women in humid greenhouses where they
are prepared for the brazilian market sold using a dutch auctioning
process.hmmm fascinating..
They wake up around 6, leave their small town house to arrive at their farm
house where the coffee has been prepared on the breakfast table overlooking the hundreds
of hectares of land -deep green, aubergine, red and there is the maracuja juice which
is a a warm yellow colour. It s a little noisy mind, Toucans harking on the papaya tree,
parrots screaching and some monkey whistling .
The day is spent in pots , admiring the trees and looking at the ground for rattle snakes
fortunately the chickens and "serpentieres" have been providing the security alas, the paths to the lake/swamp and waterfall are far away and dense undergrowth makes for a nervous journey.
Still without puncture wounds we finish the day on the veranda where "Ze" ( jose)
grills us some chicken legs to the chyme of lime and pao de queijo... hmmm ..before , we are allowed home , we are informed that we have to see the spiders, where Ze the farmer refuses to venture because he fears there are snakes on the pathway. Joao (croc dundee) shows us the way to the rows of spider webs who spin together to create a volley ball net of entrapment.
Safely in bed .. the sprawling city of Sao paulo awaits where the snakes are of another variety...

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