Well I'm writing this on Easter Sunday back in the hotel on Copacabana & for a catholic country we've been surprised at how few signs we've seen of this important day in the church calendar. There may be more shops closed than usual but that's all we've noticed here or on our way back from Teresopolis this morning.
Patrick's colleague at UFRJ, Leo Borghi, had very kindly invited us to spend a couple of days with him, his parents & his sister and her family on the outskirts of Teresopolis, up in the hills about 80km north of Rio where they have a holiday house. It was wonderful to get out of the city and to spend some time virtually on the edge of the rain forest where it was so fresh, green, spacious & quiet.
Leo's family could not have been more generous or welcoming hosts. They supplied us with a constant stream of alcohol and food which included fresh Brazilian sardines & a whole Amazonian fish on Friday and a huge barbecue on Saturday. It was lovely to get some home cooked versions of things we've tried already such as pastel (a bit like samosas, from Asia, via Portugal), Pao de queijo (a cross between mini Yorkshire puds & savoury profiteroles) and we have been made aware of the Brazilian sweet tooth - qinduim (egg yolk and coconut)! We had discussions on wine and Leo pointed us towards the Club de Someliers brand in the local supermarket as "one to hunt" for - and also let us know that the tax on Chilean wine is about to go up!!!
They have quite a lot of land with some beautiful old trees and great views over the surrounding forest area. Patrick was in his element birdwatching from the balcony and his count included numerous parakeets, bem-te-vie (named like it sounds, like cuckoo, but actually a large fly catcher) & humming-birds (beija-flor or "kiss-flowers") as well a pair of toucans! We saw several huge butterflies (irridescent blue, yellow, and orange) too. Bizzy Lizzies and Tradescantia everywhere - mere weeds!!
In January 2011 Teresopolis had experienced some dramatic landslides which had resulted in many deaths as houses got swept away and we saw plenty of evidence, in the form of huge boulders & scarred hillsides, of the damage caused, in some cases quite close to where we were staying.
While we were there they coincidentally once again had very heavy rain for a while on Friday evening and we found out the next day that parts of Teresopolis on the other side of the valley had been affected by flooding and landslides again with 5 people dead & 1 person missing!! It made us very aware of just how big, powerful & active Nature can be out here. We've since read newspapers articles asking why no alarms had been installed after 100,000 people were deemed to have been at risk!!
Once you get out of Rio the drive to and from Teresopolis is spectacular with a steep ascent through a national park giving magnificent views of local geological sites & surrounding countryside. The Dedo de Deus - finger of God - that marks the Serra range had become a metaphor for what is wrong - "it could be you" - so why don't you sort it out. The last but one Mayor ran off with reparations money and the last one died on appointment. We learned a lot about Brazil by watching and listening this weekend! Look forward to many more!!