Carnaval adventure in Ouro Preto

Spectacular Ouro Preto

Each year in Brazil Carnaval comes around and takes many cities by storm. Communities come alive with pride and tradition. Musicians hit the streets. Youth enjoy the sanctioned excuse to drink. Drag queens (and their wannabe secret admirers) dust off colorful aging separates and concoct new fabulous outfits. And most of all, in places like Rio, businesses and politicians alike roll out the red carpet for visiting tourists seeking an over-the-top bucket list party extravaganza, preferably in English.

The main event in Rio.

Rio’s Carnaval scene has been evolving over the years. The world famous Carnaval parade has continued to expand while still staying anchored in neighborhood pride and local competitive determination. The neighborhood street party (or bloco) scene has seen a serious resurgence of late with this year’s calendar sporting more than 500 separate events all over the city. This year in particular it appeared that restaurants were test driving their spiffy new English language dinner menus as a prelude to the upcoming World Cup crush.

It’s all good.

Praça Tiradentes in Ouro Preto.

This time around Luiz and I found ourselves seeking an out of town alternative to Rio’s big event after learning that many among our group of friends with which we typically take in the big parade at the Sambadrome were going either to the States to do some shopping or to visit family in distant cities. So we returned to Ouro Preto (OP).

Ouro Preto, an historic, colonial, mountain town of less than 80,000 people, is rather famous nowadays for its raucous city-wide Carnaval celebration. The party starts in earnest on Saturday and continues every night through Tuesday. The local municipality sponsors several live music stages throughout the historic district offering a variety of musical styles for every taste. Every night the streets are PACKED with people coming out to let loose for a while and just have some fun.

A big driver behind the crowds is the fact that Ouro Preto is a significant university town. In 1969 two highly respected and long standing institutions: the School of Pharmacy of Ouro Preto, founded in 1839, and School of Mines of Ouro Preto, founded in 1876, were merged to form the Federal University of Ouro Preto.  Today it is one of the most respected universities in the state and the country. And that university comes with A LOT of college kids ready to party.

To further froth up the mix, there are a good number of “Republicas” (much like fraternity houses) throughout the city occupying large residential buildings which get a temporary make-over for Carnaval to host thousands of visiting young people. Some of these Republicas have begun to sponsor their own ticketed weekend events complete with serious sound systems and endless flowing alcohol. If the drunken college scene really turns you off you may want to reconsider your plans for Carnaval in Ouro Preto. There are definitely ways to steer clear (mostly) of the worst of it, but the reality is that the city-wide event is most definitely geared toward this scene.

The view from Carlinhos and Du's sala window.

At any rate, we went to spend some time with our good friends Carlinhos and Du, who live in OP. They’ve got a big apartment with an even bigger view – and it is nowhere near a raucous Republica. They were (again) hosting a crowd from Belo Horizontes. To our delight, Luiz and I rated a bedroom and real bed, in contrast to so many others sleeping on inflatable mattresses on the floors of other bedrooms and a living room. Lucky us.

The weekend was filed with bountiful Minas breakfasts, noisy group chatter, afternoon cooking marathons, naps, costume changes and repeated visits into the heart of the seemingly non-stop street party surrounding us.

Here are some highlights. The photos are from trips to the street while there was still sunlight. Things definitely cranked up later into the night, but my camera ceases to record events once the sun goes down.

When we weren't in the streets we were usually cooking. I brought some ingredients so Carlos and I could prepare fresh corn tortillas and a full on Mexican taco spread with refried beans and guacamole. Big hit. On another night it was chicken with Thai red curry sauce. And just to push it a bit further, I showed Carlos how to whip up a batch of homemade tofu and walked his niece and nephew through a batch of chocolate chip cookies.

After 10 days camping out at Carlos and Du's we said our farewells and returned to Niterói. Another Carnaval well played.

Adventures of a care package from the States

There are few pleasures as joyful as getting a care package from a friend or family member filled with the stuff you want, really want, or the stuff that’s simply impossible to find where you currently are. Sometimes it is just the idea of a care package that soothes the soul. Oh, a box filled with your favorite things…

It is often the case for many an expat here in Brazil that the emotionally comforting box also promises to save you a bundle of money. Getting any sort of electronics, baby items, specialty bath items, or even some simple kitchen zip lock bags can mean cost savings easily into the hundreds of $Reais over having to purchase them locally.

But – as any expat in Brazil will tell you: care packages are more easily dreamt of than realized. Finding an ally in the States to pack it and make a trip to the post office; paying the crazy expensive shipping fees; passing through customs without being slapped with ridiculous import taxes; or even just seeing a fully realized delivery in an understandable length of time -- believe me, there are bumps in the road in the life of a care package.

Several months ago my beloved iPod Shuffle bit the dust. Luiz had encouraged me to buy a backup Shuffle when we were in Florida last May, but I foolishly ignored his good advice. My iPod is a daily companion while riding busses, standing/sitting in lines, or just going for a walk in the evening. Losing my best electronic friend was motivation enough to try and scare up a care package from the States.

Locally I could buy a replacement 4g Mp3 player (Sandisk) for about R$225 on Mercado Livre, Brazil’s eBay, plus shipping. The same item at Amazon.com goes for $R84, with free shipping within the US. Buying an actual iPod down here would just be stupid expensive… I don’t have a cell phone (by choice), so obviously I cannot use my phone to play Mp3 or Mp4 files.

So I figured I would bundle up some other items Luiz and I would like and leverage it all into a value-filled box of practical and “treat” items. A true care package.

Here’s the story. (Heads up – this is a rather long post. But it is a good one.)

[Note: values in this post are listed in Brazlian reais, not US dollars. I earn and spend reais, so dollar values are really irrelevant. All things considered, residents of the US can just think in terms of dollars and get a feel for the relative costs – i.e. shit is expensive, plus salaries are lower. Unless you earn dollars and are spending in reais, making a currency conversion is misleading. For the record, values here are based on a 1:2.4 exchange rate from dollars to reais.]

In September 2013 I casually inserted an off topic request into a Face Book msg with a dear friend in the States. Actual msgs.:

Me: “Hey - another topic - my iPod died. I went to look at replacements and saw one - super cheapo Chinese-made thing for R$90. Then I looked on Amazon.com and they sell the exact same thing for R$12.”

Unsuspecting friend: “No shit! Really?”

Me: “Any chance I can buy what I want and ship it to you and have you drop it in the mail to me? I could also pull together a short grocery store list. LOL.” Electronics here are shit and STILL stupid expensive.”

Unsuspecting friend: “Sure no problem.”

Me: “Sorry to put you out so much, but there are some shortcomings to being here that get you to lean on family and friends for relief. Thanks.”

Unsuspecting friend: “Happy to help. I love you.”

Hook set.

Feeling only mildly guilty for roping a dear friend into what I knew was going to be more than what she bargained for I went online to shop for a few items and had them shipped to her house. She really does love Luiz and I and she really does have a super huge generous heart. I had my fingers crossed this would go as smoothly as possible. But I had my doubts.

Those of us who live here and have traveled back to the States for a visit know the immediate popularity you receive when others learn of your vacation plans. Phone calls, emails and msgs stream in with lists of items people either casually ask you to bring back for them or quite brashly insist won’t be any trouble for you to buy and bring back on their behalf. This is the kind of favor you agree to do only once. You quickly learn that being a mule for others desperate for a bottle of maple syrup or a new notebook computer is ALWAYS more trouble than it is worth. Transporting things is a favor reserved for those on your short list.

But just putting a box in the mail… simple, right?

Let me see if I can shrink this 4+ month saga into a few paragraphs. Yep. You read that right. 4+ months.

Like I said, not long after my friend agreed to help out I went online and bought an Mp3 player plus five rainbow hot air balloon wind spinners. Luiz brought one of these wind catchers back in May and uses it to grab attention at his flowers booth in the park on the weekends. EVERY weekend people ask him if it is for sale. While it costs R$36 online in the US, he can easily sell it for R$110 here in the park. These would be re-sale items to help pay for the box.

As promised, I sent my friend a short list of items to pick up at the grocery store, plus, as is generally the case, I added a few additional items that would require an extra trip to a housewares store on our behalf. Oops- I was acting like the others I have so little patience for. But I repeated time and again that my friend could say no to anything and that I would be grateful to get just the basics. And there was no time rush. Of course my dear friend was happy to tack more errands onto her personal favor for me. The monster had begun to grow its second head.

Before long I was occupying space in my friend’s garage as the pile of items grew. First in the pile were the items from Amazon.com., then the stuff from the grocery store.

I was hoping the things from the discount housewares store would be fun to shop for (keeping Luiz’s smiling face in mind). We did, in fact, have fun with this. Well, I certainly had fun. I hope the feeling was mutual. It became clear to me that my friend and her partner were embarking on a multi-stop errand morning. They were messaging me photos of fun stuff from various stores along their journey. I was giving the thumbs up or down. It was a virtual shopping adventure at Sam’s Club, HomeGoods and elsewhere from the comfort of my home office. My fingers were crossed that they were not too quickly tiring of the whole affair. I certainly had fun.

The pile in the garage (and another head) grew. Once everything was in hand it was ready to be shipped.

Reality check: none of this was “on the way” in the course of my friends’ lives. Making time to accomplish the shopping, the packing, the shipping… That time had to be carved out from an already hectic and tiring weekly routine. That pile in the garage was not going to get to Brazil on its own. There needed to be packing material, shipping tape, boxes (we decided to go with two smaller boxes over one large one to try and avoid unwanted attention from the Brazilian Customs office), and ultimately time standing in line at the post office. The monster continued to grow heads.

For my part, my emails and FB messages oozed with happy talk and words of thanks and encouragement. As the weeks went by I knew my friend was feeling pressure to get these boxes in the mail and harbored a growing desire to get that damn monkey off her back. I assured her there was no rush. I suggested she forget about the whole thing until after the holidays when life would calm down a bit and the lines at the post office would return to their normal slow-moving selves. Keep breathing. Don’t go sour on me.

As my friend would come to discover, there is a bit of a trick to packing a box for international shipping. To save space it is best to remove extraneous packaging from the original items. Shipping costs are calculated by weight AND size. Protect fragile items. Evenly distribute weight among the boxes.

You could write a book on the tips and tricks for getting your box shipped without drama through Customs. Everyone has their favorite method – or wants to learn yours. Gringos here can tag a hundred replies to a post on Face Book trying to help out a fellow care package dreamer. Do this, don’t do that…

Here’s what we did.

The main issues are postage and avoiding import taxes.

It seems like I've heard stories from all over the spectrum regarding shipping. Some folks swear by UPS for a promised delivery, even though it may cost a little more. UPS is supposed to handle the package right to your door, but I've heard tales of it being plopped into the Brazilian postal service for the final bit. If this is so, it trumps any “strategy” to avoid a grumpy Correio (Brazilian postal service) worker who never really attempts a delivery but just fills out paperwork documenting three attempts to no avail and then sends your package back to the sender.

Some folks swear by Brazil’s postal service, citing international comparisons that place their level of service well above average. So for them going with the US Postal Service who then hands things off to Correio is a fine choice.

Everyone, it seems, has a horror story. Folks talk of waiting months for a completed delivery. Many folks speak of pieces of postage and packages alike disappearing into thin air (the common assumption is that they are snatched up by workers along the way, for whatever reason).

For me, actual cost trumps real or imagined tales of woe. I go with the US Postal Service.

Then there is the concern over if and/or how much the package(s) will be taxed by the Brazilian Customs office for the contents therein. Scary tales of ridiculous taxes assessed on boxes of used clothing and such abound. How do they discern what is in the package? Mostly you tell them by whatever is written on the required Customs Declaration form that gets affixed to the outside of the box. The form requests a “detailed description of contents” and their value. Plus they guesstimate further value if you have paid for extended insurance coverage. And many times if a tax is assessed they will include the cost of shipping when totaling the to-be-taxed value (go figure…). The tax is 60% of the value of most items.

Generally speaking, shipping veterans encourage you to be more general in your description and to try and keep declared values below US$50 to avoid drawing the attention of the tax man. So for example, we chose descriptions like: “kitchen ingredients” and “party decorations” to generally describe most of the items being shipped. If particular items fail to make the inventory, well, sometimes innocent mistakes can happen.

We divided all our items into two boxes so that a smaller value could be declared for each. Shipping costs would go up, but if import taxes were avoided then we would save in the end. General inventories were made and the value of each was kept well below US$50.

As an extra bit of “strategy” to avoid a randomly tired or irritated Customs worker who might be therefore choosing to be especially stern or strict in the execution of their duties, we prominently taped a number of pictures of Jesus, the cross, and some common prayers to most of the surfaces of the boxes. I listen to countless people go on about Jesus, Mary and the Father around here, why not work that to our advantage? Kinda like the survivors on The Walking Dead smearing rotting flesh all over themselves to avoid being seen by the “walker” zombies. Make our packages invisible.

Around the last week of January my by now weary dear friend found her way to the post office to wait in line and finally peel that monkey, now entering adolescence, off her back. At this point we had done all we could to make this whole care package folie à deux a good experience and avoid it turning into a super expensive shipping and tax adventure gone wrong. Everything was in Jesus’ hands, if you will. Note: the postal worker in the States looked at our piously adorned boxes and asked if they were being shipped to a missionary. My friend bit her lip and said “No, we just want the Lord to look after them along the way.” With that the packages were sent. Done. Multi-headed monster slain. (Thank you!!)

To wrap this part up… the shipping time was actually quite surprising. Once they were dropped off at the post office they were dispatched to a sorting facility in another city. The online tracking details reveal that it took 4 days for them to pass through that facility and be sent to Brazil. Seven days later they passed through a sorting facility in Brazil, clearing Customs. The very next day they were both delivered to our door by noon. Just 12 days! Record time.

Plus, there were NO TAXES applied to our care packages. Whoo hoo!! Big score. Thank you Jesus!

Now – to run the math. Was this whole rigamarole worth it? The willingness on the part of our dear friend and her partner to help us out was simply priceless. That value cannot be put into the equation. But I can give you a general idea about content values and overall expenses.

Our total shipping costs were R$396 (about US$165). That seems like a high bar to get over to recoup a savings on items shipped. But don’t forget, we are talking about Brazil. Shit is expensive here.

The money we saved over just three items: the Mp3 player, a single 120 count bottle of 1,500 mg glucosamine dietary supplement caplets, and a collection of 12 boutique bath soaps MORE than paid for the shipping. The Mp3 player was R$141 cheaper in the States. The supplements were an unbelievable R$304 cheaper. And the soaps were about R$125 cheaper. Everything else was gravy. And a valuable gravy at that.

Opening the care package was like Christmas in February. In addition to things already mentioned there was stuff for Luiz’s flower design activities, Thai curries for me in the kitchen, other beloved spices and extracts, and more. Yeah!

All in all it is a process worth doing, if only once. But be careful. And hope for some luck. If we had been hit with import taxes this whole tale would have had a sour ending. Be creative. Buy a Christian wall calendar and use the images… hahaha.

If you are a dear friend back in the country of origin of your good buddy abroad – have a heart. Be patient with us. We really, really appreciate the extra effort it requires to make a care package happen. And if you are coming for a visit, consider bringing an extra piece of luggage – care package express.

2014 Rio Carnaval tickets

Sunday and Monday tickets. Tab at the bottom gets you in. Tab in the middle gets you into your Sector. The big badge you wear all night to get in and out of your sector.

Every year Luiz and I sit alert at our phones (and computer) to blast into the mad rush phone feeding frenzy that is the sale of Carnaval tickets in Rio. The tickets are made available at 9:00 a.m. on a set date via a series of telephone numbers. Depending on which Sector you are seeking tickets for, you dial that number and hope to get patched through to the business-like computer voice prompter to buy tickets. This year we got lucky and have some extras. More about that at the bottom of the post.

Prior to the sale date we coordinate with our friends to see where everyone wishes to sit and we all gear up to buy as many tickets as we can in that Sector. If one of us does not get through the hope is that someone else will and we can then buy them from each other. Ultimately we are working as a group to ensure our group can all see at least one night of the Carnaval Parade.

The big parade/competition takes place over two days: Sunday and Monday of Carnaval weekend. The neighborhood Schools of Samba are randomly assigned to parade at a particular time on either day. Which night is the best night to go is often a topic of great debate. Everyone has their favorite School(s) so if favorites among friends are split between two nights we have a debate on our hands regarding which night we should be trying to get tickets for. Some years the choice is obvious and clear. Other years some folks will follow the group on one night, but then spend the extra bank to see their personal favorite School on the other night.

Which Sector to sit in is a discussion that has been settled for many years. Among our group of friends the decision is largely a financial one. Carnaval tickets are expensive, even when buying them directly from LIESA, the Central League of Independent Schools of Samba, the official ticket vendor. The so-called “best” Sectors are generally seen to be Sectors 6, 7, 8 and 9. They are good because they are located far enough back from the beginning of the parade route that you can get a visual overview of nearly the entire School. The numerous sections of the parading School tell a visual narrative that corresponds to the music. Seen all together you get the best impact. Prices in these Sectors are way too steep for our crowd, especially for just one night out.

Sectors 4, 5, 10, and 11 are also good choices, if you have the cash. While not the ideal locations they still provide that long(ish) view you are looking for.

Us regular folks who go almost every year (some of whom have gone dozens of times over the years) look for a good value combining price and location. Since this is neither the first nor the last time in the Sambadromo we know the drill and are quite happy with Sectors 2 or 3. They are near to the front so the energy of the School is very high and the precision of their choreography is still on point and not frayed with fatigue. Sectors 12 and 13 can offer cheaper seats, but the Schools at that point (the end of the route) are often disorganized and sometimes running frantically toward the finish line to stay within the rigid time frame allowed and not receive a penalty for going over.

The night of the event we arrive early and claim a large area for our group at the down-route side of the Sector. You quickly learn that you have to stake a big claim on space at the onset because slowly but surely that shrinks in the face of a growing crowd of spectators worming their way into fractions of space throughout the seating area. It is inevitable. But we have some practiced skills at maintaining our spot throughout the night.

It’s always a great night. As a group we bring with us plenty of food and drink to last the long 9 hours or so of the show. Everyone knows all the songs and have years of stories to correspond to every School. The friendly competition insisting which School has been best over the years, insider scandalous gossip regarding the current Carnavelescos (the creative director, like the futebol coach), and assertions of confidence as to who will surely be named Champion this year make the many hours pass quickly. And the show itself NEVER disappoints!

Sound good? Well, like I said. We have some extra tickets available for both Saturday and Sunday nights. Send me an email if you want more information.

Bom Carnaval!

Ecotourism in Chapada Diamantina National Park

There are 67 national parks in Brazil. Luiz and I have been to just 7 of them.

The smallest (and most visited) park at about 39 square kilometers (km²) is Tijuca National Park, located entirely within the city borders of Rio de Janeiro. Residents of and visitors to Rio: don’t listen to the scary stories about robberies people banter about to discourage you. It is a great place to hike and it is right in our back yard.

The largest (and currently not open to the public) is Tumucumaque National Park in the Amazon, coming in at nearly 40,000 km² (larger than Belgium). This park covers a huge area of interest to nature lovers. It is supposed to be a testing ground for how to allow the public to visit a sensitive natural area for tremendous enjoyment without tremendous destruction. Scientists and naturalists have been tasked with creating a model plan in this regard. So far I can find no info about a pending grand opening.

Chapada Diamantina National Park, where we just visited, is located in Bahia state in the northeast of Brazil and is among the somewhat larger parks at 1,500 km². The park, created in the 1980s in response to the ever-expanding demand for ecotourism, is named for the steep cliffs that fall off from elevated plateaus throughout the region as well as for the wealth of diamonds discovered in the area during the mid 1800s.

The place is gorgeous as well as diverse. There are rivers and waterfalls, mountains, canyons and plateaus, as well as numerous cave systems. The relatively mild temperatures as well as its long dry season make it a perfect place to go for a hike most of the year.

We traveled with our friends at RJ Adventura. Junior, Margarida and Christiane head up a passionate, friendly and professional ecotourism agency that we trust. On this occasion they were leading two versions of a visit to Capada Diamantina. Half of our group would be heading off into the mountains and onto the plateaus while the other half would stick to the more easily accessed rivers, waterfalls and caves. Luiz and I were eager to do some swimming in the waterfalls and caves.

Everyone met at the airport in Salvador where we boarded a large, comfortable passenger van pulling an equipment trailer. The drive to Lençóis, our jumping off point to adventures beyond, took a lengthy six hours, but we traveled during the evening and night so much of that time was spent sleeping. Once at our destination we settled into the pousada that would be home for the next several days, caught a few more hours of sleep, and then awoke to an early breakfast. Bellies full, our group broke into its two sub-groups and we set off.

At a rest stop on our way to Lençóis. You know the hot sauce is hot when it is called, essentially, "Burn the Butt Hole."

This is pretty much a photo-dense post. Why chat about the view when you can just see it?

The town of Lençóis is the most popular town in the park serving as a jumping off point. It is stocked with pousadas, guide agencies, restaurants and supplies stores. It is an old town established originally to serve diamond prospectors in the mid 1800s. The buildings are historic in nature and generally architecturally interesting and charming. Luiz was quick to point out upon our arrival that the beautiful stone paved streets, central plaza and arched stone bridges came into being by the hands/blood of slaves. It's an important reminder. Nearly all of the beautiful colonial towns you visit in Brazil were built with slave labor.

On our first full day in the park, heading out to Poço Azul (Blue Well), I commented to the driver that it was a good sign that the road was so whack. That way fewer people would be headed this way. He laughed and assured me that this was a recently improved road and that it was used daily by tour buses.

While the houses in the area were quite modest there was apparently a government program providing improved cisterns and water collection. Note the white drum on the left of the house above and the new rain gutters rimming the roof.

At one point along the road, thinking we had been traveling for just too long to be going in the right direction, the driver asked a boy walking along the side of the road if the cave was ahead. The boy said it was "a little long distance" up the road. After a good 15 more minutes we finally arrived at the cave.

Descending into the cave for a swim.

Using snorkels we could see amazing rock formations under the surface.

After a tasty lunch of local foods, including a green papaya salad and some kind of cactus side dish that tasted like crunchy green beans, we headed off to another cave famous for its blue water pool, Poço Encantado.

Between April and September the sun in the sky lines up just right with the entrance to the cave to shine directly into the deep pool within. The light, shining through the water rich with magnesium, sets the cave aglow from the brilliant blue water. As we would have it - we were visiting in November. We saw a really cool cave, but had to rely on photos to see the choice images.

The sign reminds us to take care to preserve things as they are for the benefit of all.

Our guides Christiane and Margo. The pool behind them is 40 meters deep.

After Poço Encantado we returned to town for a cup of coffee and then to visit the local cemetery famous for its Byzantine style and for being lit up at night. 

Photo credit: virtualtourist.com

The town where you can find this cemetery is Mucugê. I loved this town. I thought it was way cuter than Lençóis. But to be fair, Mucugê is smaller than Lençóis and thus less developed for the tourist crowd. Both towns are wonderfully preserved historic towns with stone paved streets and 100 year old buildings. But for the cuteness factor - I liked Mucugê.

We had coffee at a SUPER CUTE coffee shop. They took themselves VERY seriously on the coffee front. Each coffee drink was served with a tiny cup of mineral water to cleanse your tongue before tasting the coffee. The ambiance was over the moon cute with fresh flowers, art, photographs and everything else. If you visit Mucugê  be sure to stop by Piriquita Café.

On the wall of the café Luiz found proof of global warming.

The next day we set off for another cave and another swim. But first we stopped at a waterfall swimming hole, Poço do Diablo. It was a short hike from the roadway.

Luiz found a shortcut down the cliff to the swimming hole.

ZIP! Splash.

Luiz MUST enter all waterfalls.

On to Gruta Pratinha. There we broke into groups and were outfitted with a flotation vest, mask and snorkel, and an underwater flashlight. A guide took us into a cave where the water was quite deep below us, but the ceiling of the cave was only a couple feet or so above the surface of the water. It was pitch black, but as a group we could light up the walls of the cave and some features below the water.

After the dark area of the cave we shed our equipment and took some photos in the mouth of the cave where there was much more light. Overall it was an amazing experience.

 

Once back in Lençóis we showered, napped and then went to dinner to celebrate our guide Junior's 38th birthday. He knew we were going to dinner, but was surprised to see the decorating we did and the delicious passion fruit birthday cake.

The birthday boy is in the center.

Oh, I almost forgot. We also climbed to the top of a plateau to get a glimpse of a sunset.

After the sunset we turned around and saw a full moon rising!

Finally, the next day, after a good long sleep, we walked to a very fun swimming hole near Lençóis.

Halfway to the waterfall there was a snack bar made of locally sourced building materials. The proprietors were selling fruit, chips, nuts, sodas, coconut water, regular water and beer. The guys had the perfect location to catch all the traffic. It was a great example of Brazilian make-it-work ingenuity. 

This swimming hole was great because you could slide down the waterfall and splash into the pool below. It was a little bumpy on the butt, but you had to do it all the same. It was a great way to relax away most of our last day before setting off to Salvador much later that evening.

I need to give a shout out to some of the other folks in our group whose photos which we all shared on Face Book  found their way over into this post. For the most part, the really good shots are by either Adilson Rezende or Renato Oliveira. Thanks guys, for helping us capture how beautiful this trip was.

It is worth mentioning as well that this post references the waterfalls and caves group while there was another group that took to the longer, overnight trails with spectacular views. Some of those photos are at the top of this post.

Luiz and I really want to appreciate everyone at RJ Adventura for their passion for nature, commitment to safety, love of people as well as the outdoors, and their totally professional operation that never misses a beat. I have mentioned them before. We have gone with them on day trips in Rio, weekend trips around Rio and Luiz even walked through the clouds from Teresopolis to Petropolis in their company. They are great. We feel totally at home with Junior, Christiane and Margarida. We truly share their enthusiasm and values when it comes to ecotourism and our time under their leadership is never disappointing. Check them out at their Face Book page. (Margarita speaks English very well so English-only guests do not miss out on any information.) If you connect with them - tell them Luiz and Jim sent you.

Here's Luiz waking up above the clouds on the RJ Adventura trek from Teresopolis to Petropolis.

More to come. I'll save photos and tales of our time in Salvador right after this part of our trip for another post. Stay tuned.