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Published: January 9th 2009
Oi Tudo! (yep - no more spanish for now... only Portuguese!)
Arriving in Brazil was a blessing. We were met at the airport by Artur´s parents and were soon collected in a group of Artur and Claudia, Marion and Martin (their two german friends) and John and I - along with Artur´s parents. We made our way back to their house in Sao Paulo and almost immediately were off for a tour of the stadium (where Artur´s father, Antonio is a director). We had a private tour followed with sushi and a warm welcoming to Brazil.
The next day we were off in a hired school bus to tour the city - from Japan town to the train station, parks, and markets, it was a full day of sight seeing followed by Claudia and Artur´s wedding Barbecue. Despite Sao Paulo traffic, we made it just in time to get dolled up and wowed by the feast. And then we were off to the beach house - or as I like to call it, the beach resort.
We had a house to ourselves that slept 20 in bed, and an attached area that was a lounge, dinning area, and
kitchen. Of course, one of the house requirements was that we hire a cook and house assistant for our stay. Yep, this meant that all our meals were prepared (I think she spent an average of 1 hours non-stop in the kitchen each day) and all of our cleaning, laundry, and the rest was taken care of. I think I can honestly say that we were treated like royalty. So, with none of the regular chores or worries, we filled our days with hiking out in the forest and countless trips to the beach for sunning, playing tennis, swimming, surfing, seashell hunting, rock exploring, or just plain sitting in the shade with a cool beer in hand. The rest of the time we were lounging in the hammocks, tossing a Frisbee, playing endless domino's and card games or scoping out local fishing villages. It was relaxing, rejuvenating, and loads of fun.
Alas, the week came to and end and we ferried ourselves to the countryside, where we were met with equal quality and a picaresque haven. Though I will say say that we did have to work to get there! Artur´s memory managed to land us on the wrong
When the car got stuck...
in a rainstorm and abandoned farm road....road, where we promptly lodged ourselves in the air in the midst of a rainstorm and had to plan out a rescue mission. Artur, Martin and I ran back down the road (barefoot as we were more than ankle deep in sliding mud) and called out at the first gate we encountered. Unfortunately the properties are so large, we had no choice but to jump the fence - after praying for no dogs - and running to one of the houses for help. Marting was scared away by the fence (and rightfully so - it tunrs out the owner had about 6 dogs, that just happened to be lock up for some strange reason that evening...) so Artur and I made our way to the house. We were all but refused help, but heard a truck back on the road so ran off to meet the truck. It went up the hill to pull us out, only to get stuck as well... at this point a kind burly farmer had shown up and got his vehicle to pull out the truck and then us, setting us on the right road and sending us off with his cell phone number, should
Me and Claudia...
in our new year´s white ;-) we get in trouble again. We did make it to the farm by midnight or so, and devoured the dinner rolls while perusing the 500 acre property. There was everything - lakes and hills, climbing and horses for riding, zip lines over the lake and eco adventure courses, floating tables for dinner and billiards and ping pong.
The next day, we wasted no time, and filled our days with walks, riding, fishing, white water rafting, and incredible meals. We were outside all day and constantly awed by the surroundings. But, again, it had to end, so we packed up after one final horse trek, and made our way to Sao Paulo to part ways with Claudia and Artur, and head back on the shoestring travel trail... but not with any disappointment, as we were off to Iguazu falls....
More to come...
Trish xx
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