Wednesday Jan 6, 2010 Part one: Sun and Water

On Monday night while were walking in our neighborhood, the same night we watched the soccer game,  we stepped into the Radisson Hotel and discovered they had a full breakfast in the mornings. We decided to have breakfast there Wednesday morning. Wednesday dawned bright and clear with sunshine.

Before we had left for Brazil, my brother-in-law Mariano had given Ernani a few contacts he thought we would enjoy hanging out with and meeting. Mariano had gone to Maceio previously a number of times to teach and also organized and led class trips to Maceio as a teacher. He met Christiano on one of those trips. We called him and met him at the hotel for breakfast.

Christiano was wonderful. Like me, his scholarly interests were in contemporay American Literature. He was pursuing a doctorate in the subject and teaching at the University.We had a lot of common interests and as we discussed the job market, we discovered the differences between the market in American and the one in Brazil. He told us about his family and his girlfriend in London. His eyes shined when he talked about her. Christiano was a wonderful Brazilian connection. We enjoyed his company and invited him to go to the passina natural with us, but he could not go. We exchanged email information.

Flavio joined us while we were eating since the plan was to go to the passina natural after breakfast. Thais could not make it this morning. The breakfast consisted of a huge buffet and was the most expensive and luxurious breakfast I have ever had. It was worth it to spend that much every once in a while. They had pastries of every kind, empanadas, breads, sweet breads, fruit, eggs and even made to order if you so desired. It was lovely. And Brazilian coffee is the best coffee ever, so I treated myself to some strong, wonderful espresso.

We stayed there a couple hours enjoying the company and conversation until it was time to go. At the beautiful entrance to the Radisson in the bright and warm sun, we said goodbye to Christiano and then went back the apartment (only a block away) to change and put on sunscreen for the passina natural, which we knew was possible today.

The night before Luciana told us a story about one time she went to the reefs. She and a group of friends had been drinking and partying and they decided to go out there one night at about midnight. When they got there, the water was ankle deep. She was the only one sober and she admired the moon light on the water. She said it was beautiful and strange to be out there in the middle of the night. She had not been there at that time before. But, everyone was drinking more and more, including the boat drivers, and the water was rising and she was getting a bit worried. She said she started to encourage everyone to leave and she was getting scared because drunks are not good listeners and of course lack judgment. She managed to convince them and now has a story to tell about her night trip to the passina natural.

We were going in the day, finally. It was exciting. We took new pictures at the new boat. The jagandas  were wood boats powered by the wind. They had a large sail and advertisers would use that space and pay a nominal fee to do so. Our boatman worked for his Uncle who had owned a few boats and rented the beach space from the city to take tourists out to the passina natural.

I joke that I grew up on a lake. We lived next to the largest lake in Illinois, Carlyle Lake, and summers were mainly camping and boating on the lake with my parents’ friends and their kids. It was a good childhood and I love boating. I love the launch, preparing for it--waiting in the scorching sun until the boat is ready to be launched. Then, as we finally move into the water, waiting to get past the no wake area so we can go fast and the wind  refresh us.  Then, the anticipation of jumping in the water, hard at first, but easy once you were in the water.

 I loved putting on the skies—slipping the rubber over each foot and finding the perfect fit—snug, but not too tight so that if I needed to I could kick them safely away. Then, the moment when my heart races and I tell the driver I am ready to go and I hear the motor kick on and then the tug of the rope as the boat moves forward quickly. There is a moment right then that you have to think by feel. I always pay attention to my body, keep it tight and in a sitting position, let the boat pull me up out of the water, not pull against the rope. Then, when I am up, I am free. I get to move, adjust the life jacket, assess and admire the waves and scenery. Check out the wake and decide when to cross it.

This was what boating meant to me. Skiing is walking on water and riding in the boat, face to the wind and the sun, was the best place in the world to be. It is a definition of happiness for me. I miss it and so being out on the water again was instant joy. We had no motor either, which was exciting and new. Plus, we were on the ocean. Not a lake big enough to sail a sail boat on, but an ocean where cruise ships traveled. I had never been on the ocean before in a boat. I was happy.

As we got closer to the reefs, the masts of the boats out there showed up on the horizon and become more prominent. We passed many boats going out to the reefs and coming back from them and even a man pulling some kayaks. Flavio told me he knew someone whose Dad kayaked out to the reefs every morning. I could not imagine a better way to start a day. When we got to the reefs, the water was about chest level and went down as we stayed out there. The initial jump into the water, we wanted to jump into the deep part and swim over to the shallow, was as usual a mind over matter issue.

We were in the ocean, many feet away from the beach, and my feet found a rocky and sandy place where I could stand. It was amazing. Ernani borrowed some goggles and saw fish he said were awesome. I never got the hang of using them, so I missed those fish. If we looked out towards the open ocean, we could see the waves crashing on the shallow reefs. There were many boats all around and lots of people. It is a big tourist area and I could not help but wonder how that impacted these reefs.

Too soon, but about an hour and a half later, it was time to go back to the beach. On the way back, I paid attention to our boat. When we arrived, the boatman detached a large beam that I associated with the rudder. He put it aside and wrapped the sail around the mast. It was neat to watch the workings of this boat without a motor. He prepared the boat to go back and we were all smiles. The sun, the sand and the wind. Who could ask for anything more?

Tuesday Jan 5, 2010: “The day Everything Went Wrong,” But Was Okay Anyway

Soon after we decided to go to Brazil and after we bought our tickets in late October, I got on the internet to find out what I could about Maceio. I excitedly emailed Rebecca the websites I found that were most promising, like the one that pointed me to the village that sold filet, Pontal da Barra. Then, Ernani realized I was reading about the place, but not seeing any pictures of it. He remembered how beautiful it is, so together we went to You Tube and watched people’s vacation pictures of Maceio.

I was awestruck by the beauty of the place, even on a grainy website that was showing me palm trees, dark blue water, sand and a windy and perfect beach lined with coconut trees. It was really hard to even believe I would be there in the flesh in late December and early January. One of the videos was about the passina natural, natural tidal pools which reveal the reefs that make the bays so calm and beautiful. They only exist in a few places and Maceio has five. Ernani told me that he and his Mom had never been out to one. It was immediately put on our to-do list.

Tuesday, January 5th was to be the day we were going. We had told Flavio the night before that this was our plan and he said he would go with us and find out the best times to go. We were to go in the morning and he and Thais met us in the lobby of the apartment. We walked across the street to the jagandas, small wind powered boats, that take you out to the reefs. The weather was fine when we walked across the street. It was sunny, the sky overhead was blue. But, to the north out on the ocean, the sky was a deeper blue and after we found a boat owner who said he could take us and we paid him, the wind started to pick up. We took our picture in front of the boat. Then, the wind really picked up and we asked our guy if we really could go. He kept saying yes, but I looked at the bay and saw whitecaps and the other men who had boats begin to talk to him. My translators told me they were telling him we could not go out there because a storm was coming in. The idea was to wait it out.

We sat under an awning and it poured and poured and continue to pour. We decided this was not to happen today after about 20 minutes of the rain not letting up. We retrieved our money and headed back home. Flavio and Thais decided to go home as well, but told us that we would have lunch with them and Eduardo later. Eduardo wanted to take Rebecca and Ernani to a place near the university that he said had the best feiojoada in town. Feiojoada is a traditional Brazilian dish and contains countless meats and black beans cooked into a kind of stew. When Ernani told Eduardo they wanted some, he said, but Lisa cannot eat that! I do not eat meat besides fish. I told him not to worry, I would eat lunch before and just sit with them. It was important that Ernani and Rebecca eat this dish they had not had in ages. 

So, Flavio, Eduardo and Thais picked us up for a late lunch, around about 1:30. I had an egg and cheese sandwich at the apartment on fresh bread from the padaria. I was not hungry, and ready to spend the lunch conversing and watching Rebecca and Ernani enjoy a meal they could really only get in Brazil. I was not even hungry enough for dessert and thought I might just possibly get something special to drink.

We all piled into the truck. Thais, Ernani, Rebecca and I sat in the back, which meant I was sitting very uncomfortably on Ernani’s lap. My leg was wedged against the door and I had to duck my head a bit. The truck was a 4X4 with very bad suspension, so I did hit my head a couple times as we zoomed and shifted our way from the ocean back to the airport. Poor Ernani had my boney butt cutting of his leg circulation. Eduardo kept asking us if we were okay. Traffic and lights worked against us. It was taking a very long time to get to the restaurant called Cantina Maritel: Feiojoada da Maria Gorda. Thais was very hungry and approaching what our friend Brian calls being hangry. Huger anger. She was complaining mainly to her father and we told her in North America kids would repeatedly say to their fathers when they were on a long car ride: Are we there yet? The restaurant was off the main road on a dirt road and because of the rain we had early in the week and this morning, the dirt road was a red, muddy mess that only a 4X4 could traverse. This meant more bumped head for me.

Eduardo dropped us off at the curb and we jumped over the mud onto the grass that lead to the open restaurant. It was not very full, but we sat down and even prepared to order and where ready, when the waiter came out and told us there was no more Feiojoada left today. Rebecca puffed out her checks and her did her very distinctive lip sound she does. It is like blowing a harmonica without a harmonica. It means shucks or disappointment of some kind. Thais put her hand to her head and rubbed her eyes. Rebecca put her head on the table. Thais declared it was “the day everything wouldn’t work they way we planned.”

We moved to a second location. A Churrascaria. A vegetarian’s nightmare. But the meat lovers were in heaven. They bring every kind of meat to the table on long spikes and cut off the piece you point at and want. And as much as you want you get. Eduardo was excited about one in particular he made Rebecca and Ernani try that was lamb. I had a juice and tried not to look. After lunch, we went back to the apartment.

That night we were to go to Luciana’s for dinner. She was having a special shrimp dish and all the cousins and some aunts would be there. Eduardo picked us up and took us there and stayed longer than he planned. Mario Jorge said he would take us home. Alini made Ernani his favorite dessert: torta branca. It was a dessert his Aunt, Luciana’s mother made. But, she and her husband had both passed away, so Alinia made it tonigh. It is a layered frozen chocolate dessert and I have been looking everywhere for the recipe. It was heaven. Alini said it did not set right, but we did not care. It was fabulous. We took a lot home with us and made sure we ate it all. At one point we had it at lunch because we could not bear to let it go uneaten.

The cousins were fantastic. We chatted and I wish I knew the language. I like the women a lot and wanted to talk with them, but we had that language barrier. I vowed to learn more Portuguese that night and after we move to Iowa, I am going to start taking some classes or find a tutor. There is nothing more frustrating than being unable to talk with people and when they are family, it is even worse. I was so grateful for those who were translating for me. They made it much easier and I was very grateful for them.

That night as we were going home with Alini and Mario Jorge, we discovered how big a fan of Lampião he was. He talked about him and again I wished I knew the language. But, the universal language is passion and I saw he had that for this topic. I love the openness of human emotion. It can cross the bounds of language. 

Monday Jan 4, 2010: Decadence in the Ordinary

Monday put us on the other side of the week we were spending in Maceio and it became apparent we would be leaving sooner than we thought. We were anxious to see more and do more so that we would not regret anything when we were on the plane home thinking back about what we had seen. We decided to start our day by going to the Centro. Maceio’s downtown was a pedestrian mall.

We walked to the Bompreco where the taxis stood in a line, ready and waiting. We took one downtown. He dropped us off near an outside market near the center of town and we walked along narrow, cobbled streets lined with shops whose doors where wide open. It was the first time I felt I was seeing the true Maceio where people went to shop for kitchen appliances, a garlic press, notebooks for class, pens and pencils and other household necessities tourists don’t generally buy on vacation.

I had been starting to imagine what it would be like to live here. This is game I like to play. When I go to a place outside of the states, I especially enjoy playing it. I assume I know the language, for if I did live there, I would have to, and I start to imagine what kind of apartment or house I would have, what kind of job, and what I might buy to live in that apartment.

What would my Saturday be like? Would I walk to a local padaria and pick up that thick, fresh bread Rebecca said she used to buy? I would imagine what kind of wonderful French toast (or blind fish as my Mom always called it) it would make. Would I then head to the beach, take my bike or sit under an umbrella with a good book, to enjoy the air and the ocean? Would this relax me enough so that I was ready to go back to work on Monday?

Shopping the centro sparked my imagination because of the crowds of ordinary Brazilians, the quantity of goods for sale, the open market feel to the place as we walked the rows and rows of shops that lined blocks and blocks and blocks of the centro.

One of the first shops we stopped at was a stationary store and I loved it. I love paper. I love office organizers. I deliberately avoid going to those aisles or to those stores dedicated only to that because I would spend, spend, spend. This little store was loaded with paper, pens, journals, notebooks and all in a 500 or less square foot space. It was heaven.

Rebecca was in the market for a certain kind of day planner she used to have when she lived here. So, I had an excuse to look and buy without buying. Prices were good and reasonable in the centro and we find her a nice little planner that met her needs.

We wandered around browsing the shops until we decided we should get lunch. We found a deli and bakery. I had a grilled cheese sandwich made from the thick, fresh bread I mentioned earlier that I thought would make good French toast. It would. When grilled, it melted in my mouth. Ernani had a meat pastry, something he been looking for even since the plane landed in Sao Paulo.

While we were in the long line to order (a good sign in any restaurant), we meet a woman behind us who started up a conversation with us. She was mainly talking to Ernani and asking us where we were from since the English gave us away that we were not from Maceio. She was very helpful and nice. I am glad we got to meet people like her and I wonder about her sometimes even today. What is she doing? I wish her well for the kindness she showed us when we did not understand the menu and she explained it to us. It was wonderful to meet such people and it made me think about my fantasies of living here and working here. She  might have fit the image of  the women living the life I was imagining might be possible in Maceio.

After lunch, we walked the shops. There were churches everywhere and I could not resist walking into one. It was smack dab in the center of the centro. I thought I could use it as a reference while we walked, but I was mistaken. The streets were not a grid. They branched out at angles and there were so many churches that they could not serve as a landmark. I assume everyone else just knew where they were going and knew the streets by heart.

It began to rain so we ducked under the awning of an appliance store along with everyone else who did not have an umbrella. I spent the time looking at the umbrellas that passed by and admiring how colorful they were. No one had just a solid colored umbrella. They were multi-colored or sported a design. We should have bought one. It was something we needed at home anyway. I also noticed across from us, a man selling one of the tennis rackets that was a bug zapper. I took his picture and right after he waved and smiled at me.

The appliance store behind us sold little gas stoves. I was very happy to be cooking on a gas stove again. They were the best thing about living in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Every home had a gas stove in Tulsa and in Maceio too it seems. It was a given. I missed that being a given. And, here in Brazil, I encountered the smallest gas stoves I have ever seen. They are tiny and they need to be lit as you use them. At least ours did. It did not have that automatic light feature, but that was okay. I loved the size. They were not overpowering and easy to handle. They had a lid you could put over the whole stove top, another great feature for when it was off.

When the rain ended, we browsed more shops. We looked for aerosol sunscreen but were told they did not sell it in Brazil. We browsed a dollar general Ben Franklin like have it all store and I almost bought a set a coffee cups. They drink from espresso cups in Brazil and I love those cups. But, Rebecca said someday I could have hers, so I refrained from buying. She saved us some luggage space. Later in the day we stopped at a shop and bought some juice. We had goiaba of course and it was wonderful.

The sky looked darker, so we caught a cab in the late afternoon. As we got into it, it poured rain. Our cab driver had a sweet console, a video screen that was playing a music video. We commented on how cool that was and talked to him a bit about how nice cabs were in Brazil.

We relaxed at home and had supper together at La Sucra another self serve restaurant. The best part of this restaurant experience was the fried bananas. I have been making them at home ever since.

We took a walk after we ate and Ernani watched a bunch of guys playing a soccer game on a muddy field with bare feet. They did not seem to mind the mud at all. Passersby stopped to watch. A young street kid, dirty and skinny, slept on the bench while we watched. He was deeply asleep and I found it sad to think about what a horror his life must be begging for food and jobs. And so, so young. He looked about 12 or 13. The mosquitoes were flying above the field, which was all light up by the lights. Bats were feasting on them.

Later that evening, Eduardo and Falvio came to take us to Bali, a favorite local ice cream shop. It is super busy and as we stood in line, we contemplated what to get. There were tons of flavors and about 10 kinds of chocolate. I knew I was getting chocolate and coconut and goaiba. It was delicious.

Eduardo ordered us another dessert too to share as a table. It was a French dessert. A chocolate flan like cake with chocolate sauce in the middle and topped with vanilla ice cream. We were full of course from our first ice cream servings, but it was hard to stop eating the special dessert. It melted in our mouths.

We were having a decadent day of consumption even as we were doing ordinary things: shopping, watching a game of soccer, and encountering the injustice of a life where a young boy goes hungry while we get to eat ice cream. Life is cruel and wonderful and strange. 

January 3, 2010: Part 2 of A Perfect Sunday in Brazil

Paulinha brought out her amazing camera and showed us pictures of New Year's Eve at the house and of her work at the University. They have a class outdoor trip where they learn how to core a tree without killing it, trap ants, and do all sorts of other tests and research in the woods. They spent about a month out in the woods, camping and working. She had pictures of the class's latest trip. She showed them to us. Her class trip took her out to the river which is called the San Francisco River. When I heard them talking about this river, I was confused, until I realized it was in Brazil and until I saw Paulinha’s pictures. See the language barrier.

Paulinha’s class also got to see a major, historical place deep in the woods that is an important part of Northeastern Brazilian folklore. She saw where the Robin Hood like hero Lampião meet his untimely end with his mistress at their hideout in the woods. The group hiked out to the grotto where there is a plaque and the marks of old bullets from the final shootout in the rocks. He is a big hero to the North, but also controversial. We heard a lot about him and the first time we heard of him was from our cousin Mario Jorge who said he loved to talk about this hero. Mario Jorge talked about him with passion. And Paulinha’s eyes lit up as she showed us the pictures and expressed her awe at being at this important place. She told us his name, Lampião, meant lantern because when he raided the rich he brought a lantern with him.

Upon return to the States, I did a little digging of my because I was intrigued and wanted to know more. I found this site among many others: 

http://recifeguide.wordpress.com/2009/05/07/lampiao/

Some like him and some do not. He was an outlaw, a rebel. Someone with very humble roots who was also very educated. He loved a woman deeply and she was a strong woman. The story from the above site, and which I had also heard from our local sources, was that this woman, Maria Bonita, was married, but they killed her husband and she ran off with her only love, Lampião. She died by his side of course when his enemies, the police and the state, finally found his hideout in the woods. He was a guerrilla fighter, so hard to find. He died in 1938 and raided in the 20s.

At one point Lampiao lost an eye. In the depictions we saw of him in the Mercado, he had a patch over one eye. He also wore glasses, so he had glasses too in those depictions. I will always remember this because of Pajucara’s story about Lampiao. First, understand this about Pajucara. She is warm and friendly and funny. She reminded me of a good friend I went to graduate school with in Missouri who has the best sense of humor I have found in anyone. She is funny. A natural comedian. Pajucara comes from the same mold. She told us that she remembered Rebecca was shopping for her kids and looking through all the dolls of Lampiao shaking her head. According to Pajucara, Rebecca thought they were all missing an eye and that made them defective. Now, my mother-in-law is a fantastic person who easily laughs at herself. As Pajucara told us this story, she was laughing and shaking her head, miming Pajucara’s story. We were a group of new and old friends having a wonderful time, telling stories and remembering the past.

Since the house had wireless, we had a chance to check our email and yes, our Facebook too. This was lucky. We got to chat with some of our nieces, Rebecca’s grandchildren, and when my parents came on, we told them to get on Skype. We got to talk to them from Brazil. They were in Arkansas. It was snowing in Arkansas and we were all in our swimsuits. 

We showed them the house since we had a laptop and everyone followed along. Pajucara introduced her family and Rebecca translated. Sergio and Evandro were playing Backgammon on the front porch, so we went to them to say hi. Barb, Olivia and Flavia were on the porch, so we went to the porch to include them. It was fun. It was great to see my parents and to know for sure that they knew we were happy and we were having a great time. It was awesome that they got to meet Pajucara and her family too after all the hospitality she and her family were showing us on our trip. All in spite of being 5,000 miles away. And the connection was perfect, the wireless and the human.

That night we went back out to the beach. As we passed beautiful houses with for sale signs, we dreamed of living here. The night had descended upon the beach and the waves were wild and crashed magnificently with great force upon the beach. Ernani and I were warned not to get too close. It was a completely different ocean: wild and ferocious. The opposite of what we swam in that afternoon. The wind had not let up, but intensified and I realized it was a little cloudy, but with wind like that patches of stars would shine through.

The moon of course was still bright, and Maceio’s lights were to the South, but I had a chance in this moment to look up at the stars. I saw Orion first, but from a different angle than I was used to seeing him. My hosts told me those three stars in his belt where the three Marias: Mary of Nazarath, Mary Magdalene and Mary of Bethany. We had no luck finding the small Southern Cross, but knew it was up there somewhere.

We returned to the house and spent some time talking and killing mosquitoes with what looked like a tennis racquet but the mesh part was electric and as we waved it, it found the mosquitoes and zapped them. I do love animals and some insects, barring spiders which I fear, and mosquitoes, which I hate, so this did not bother me as much as those bug zappers that people put in trees. Those are weird. I mean they are not killing the bugs that bother you, just bugs. 

The racquet at least killed those who deserve it a bit more. And, those which, if they were the right kind and the season was also right, might make you sick. We Americans were impressed. We talked about buying one, but we worried about getting that through security. Last month, my husband and I found one at Wal-mart. We bought one and nostalgically thought back to Brazil.

It was hard to go back to the apartment that evening, but it was an end to another perfect day in Brazil. And we would wake up to a string of other perfect days and the promise from our hosts that we would hang out together again while we were visiting.  

Sunday January 3, 2010: Part one: A Perfect Day at Pajucara and Evandro's House

Sunday was a perfect day for us in Maceio. We awoke to an invitation by Pajucara to come spend the day at her house swimming, having lunch, and visiting with her and her lovely family—her husband Evandro, and their daughters Flavia, Olivia and Paulinha.  Barb and her husband Sergio were also coming to visit.

Pajucara’s daughter Paulinha picked us up. She was practicing her English.  I realized today how hard it is to retain any of a language I know when I am never asked on a daily basis to speak another. It is hard to recall even the few words I know in Portuguese when I am surrounded by English. On an everyday basis Paulinha is surrounded by Portuguese. The opportunity to be around an English speaker was a gift. It gave Paulinha practice in English that she would normally have to seek out and which would be much harder to find, however, here it was in the form of me on her doorstop. I also benefited since Paulinha’s bilingualism allowed me to know what was going on despite my inability to speak Portuguese.

I should have known by her name we would get along famously. My best friend Pauline lives in Dallas and I meet her in graduate school. We had an instant connection of friendship as well. Anne of Green Gables would have said we were kindred spirits. And we are. Pauline and I even share the gift of both being redheads. I should have known that anyone else with that name who showed up in my life might also be a kindred spirit.

Paulinha and I grew very fond of each other and continue to email each other. I think it is safe to say we too had a kindred spirit experience upon meeting. I remember admiring how she would not pay the man on the street who always wanted money for ‘watching’ the car while it was parked and ‘helping’ the driver back out. When Ernani asked her if she was worried they would retaliate, I liked her down to earth answer about not having a car worth their time to violate; it was too popular of a car and indicated she was not the richy rich, so no bother to bother. This was my kind of friend: straight shooting and down to earth.

Since it was summer in Brasil, the college students had off. Paulinha is a graduate student in Environmental Science and Ecology. She and her sisters were home for the holidays. As we drove north to her mother’s house, we followed the ocean. We noted that they had closed off a portion of the road again in town and families were strolling the road normally packed with racing cars. Paulinha told us they did this on Sundays. There were a lot of families riding bikes. We commented on what a wonderful idea this was and I could not help but think how brilliant it would be to take the kids here on Sunday and enjoy the air, the water, and the time off. It was super fun and relaxing, the kind of day I did not know we were about to have at Pajucara’s house.

Traffic was heavy even as the road took us off the shore line. Everyone was heading north to the beautiful beaches to spend the day swimming. We all had the same idea. As we drove and gaped at the scenery, we noticed hotels with strange names: Hotel Amour, The Hideaway. They all had high walls and private entrances. We learned that they were hotels to take your mistress to and were common. They had hotels like these, built specifically for these purposes, for all the classes.

Not everyone likes them. Not everyone uses them.

When we arrived at Pajucara’s house, the first thing I noticed was the beautiful yellow walls and wonderful plants everywhere. The house was open. Doors were wide open, windows too. It was lovely. We were greeted warmly immediately upon stepping from the car. Pajucara and Rebecca have a lovely and deep friendship, so it was wonderful to see how much they enjoyed being together again. Evandro taught me how to say very beautiful: muito bonito. That was the description of the house, the family, the beach, and our Sunday with them.

We ordered lunch after getting ready for the beach and a quick tour of the house.  We had to know where to change. I lathered on the sunscreen, but I would have my first lesson in how my skin reacts to the tropical ocean. I now believe that no matter how much I put on or how often I apply sunscreen, I will get a slight burn because of the reflecting water. Plus, I checked the UV levels before we left and they were all off the charts. I knew what I was getting into. The hats and everyday wear worked fine, but swimming was an entirely different matter. And I did have a slight tan and way more freckles when I got back home, so I got my vitamin D without getting a major burn. 

The house is too beautiful to describe with justice.  It is one story with tiled floors and open, inviting rooms. It is also surrounded by porches and outside seating. The main porch had a roof and a hammock and just outside of it was another sitting area where we ate our lunch. Starfruit and mango trees are everywhere in the yard, so the yard and porches are in shade. Plants we have inside our houses line the walkways and lurk artistically in trees. A small sitting place stands in the middle of the yard and in the back corner is an outside shower. We used it after we swam. It was refreshing.

Pajucara and Evandro live about 2 blocks from the beach. So, we walked to the beach and noted the beautiful houses we passed. I noted some for sale signs too. The roads were sand, pointless really to pave, and a good sign we were very near the ocean. We arrived onto the beach and after trying without success to plant an umbrella in the sand (it was a windy day), we ran into the warm, perfect waters of the sea. And it was perfect. Calm, but wavy enough to be exciting. I had perfect ocean experiences in Brazil. Only Daytona’s beaches come close to the experiences I had swimming in Brazil. The undertow was not scary, the waves were fun, the water was perfect.

Paulinha explained that the tide was perfect now and later that night when we went back I found an entirely different, much more wild ocean, but at noonish it was calm, docile and only wild enough to enjoy. We wildly happy swimming.

On our walk back to the house for a late lunch, I learned from Paulinha what Flavio was to repeat later in the trip to me. Brazil is blessed. There are no storms or hurricanes that threaten Maceio and its beaches.

Lunch was ordered and delivered to the house while we were at the beach. Barb and Sergio also arrived while we were swimming. Lunch, again, was one of the best I had in Brazil. We had mashed potatoes of course, manioc, and tuna pasta that I have been trying to replicate at home since we got back, it was wonderful. It melted in your mouth. And fish, fish, fish in heavenly tomato sauces. And fries. And Graviola ice cream for dessert.

Ernani and I have, since we returned, often talked about how wonderful it would be to have a restaurant who would deliver, even that far out of town, and deliver such good food. Our options here are so limited in that respect.

While we were eating lunch and enjoying the good company, we noticed some monkeys in the tree next to us. Evandro began to entice them down further so we could really see them and the tourists (us of course) could take pictures. They would come right down and take the food from his hands. One of them even had a baby on her back. They also were not eating it all right away. We saw that they were taking it and going back up into the tree where they had a nest to store it there. Clever. 

Ernani got a chance to feed them, but they were done by the time I tried, so we returned to our ice cream and the rest of our perfect day.

Contentment In Maceio: Saturday Jan 2, 2010

Rebecca had asked Barb about a good place to eat breakfast and Barb told her about a place called the Bodega.  Rebecca had been there before and had liked it, so it was our first destination on Saturday. We took a taxi to the restaurant, which was decorated as a giant teapot. We ate in the bottom of the teapot whose walls where lined with teapots. It was a very interesting building, very light and the tables were solid wood, a golden oak. The chairs were rustic in the sense they were made of the same golden wood, but made to look like parts of the tree. The legs were made to look like thick tree branches. Some had 3 legs and were like stools, some were long benches. 

When we asked about meat free food, the chef pointed out all the dishes on the table buffet that were meat free and then he went back into the kitchen and brought me out a freshly cooked fish, all for me. He smiled as he pushed it onto my plate. I have never had such good service. It was yummy, but the best food I had there had to be the cheese empanadas.

We decided after we ate to take a stroll on the beach, which of course was only a block away. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and a light breeze was blowing in from the ocean. We walked for a while and then ended up at a restaurant on the beach, one of many that lined the beach. We had to keep our plastic chairs on the concrete that marked the boundaries of the restaurant. No walls existed. It was an open space near the ocean crowded with plastic tables and chairs full of families and friends gathering to have lunch on the bunch, hang out, and drink beer.

We ordered juices and sat facing the ocean. To our left was a sandy area designated for volleyball. A group of men were playing a game that was called volleyball football. It was half volleyball and half soccer. Ernani enjoyed watching them play.

Vendors would come by selling their wares. Ernani bought a pair of sunglasses. A street artist came by and we watched him paint a sunset ocean scene with boats on the shore. He painted on a ceramic tile in about 10 minutes’ time. It was fascinating watching him blend the colors on the tile itself and then outline the shapes of the objects, the boats, palm trees, sun, as he used another flat tool to shape them and bring them to life out of the paint. And he was fast. Rebecca bought one from him and we learned he was a student of art and worked the beaches for extra money.

We decided to get another cab and see the new mall. The mall was not there when Rebecca lived in Maceio. Our cab driver was great. He told us that he was learning Italian because the majority of tourists to Maceio were Italians. They were coming in droves and even buying land. I was impressed with the taxis. They were all clean and even air conditioned. The price was never a surprise either. The drivers were communicative and only once did one take us to a different place than where we had asked to go. This is the complete opposite experience I have had with Mexican taxi cabs and drivers. I had no reservations about taking a cab in Maceio.

When we got to the mall, the first thing I notices was that it was such a different shopping experience than Ponta de Barro or the Mercados and Artisans on the beach. It was air-conditioned and controlled, plastic and factory made, silver and gold, and upper class. The rich shopped here. Not the tourists or the poor.

I am never comfortable in such places. Never.

We did find a store I was comfortable in: Los Americanos. It was reminded me of what Woolworth’s used to be like,  and it was tucked into the corner of the mall. It was the step-child of the mall. It even had that yellowish light I remember Woolworth’s having and the overstocked shelves and all the items crushed together that simultaneously sucks me in even as it overwhelms me. It was not an unorganized thrift store either. It was one step up from that. It was the kind of place I do feel comfortable in--the kind of place with reasonable prices and lots and lots of miscellaneous items to impulsively buy without bankrupting me.

 There was no air conditioning, just large fans at the entrance blowing into the back of the store. We ended up in the sandals section where I found a decently priced pair of Havianas and a hat. We even found chocolate here. We waited in line a little while to check out, but what impressed me the most was that the cashiers got to sit while they checked us out. This is something every cashier in the States should protest for the right to do. It was so much more humane than standing all day long.

We exited the store and went back into the shiny mall where we window shopped, getting a sense of the Brazilian fashions. I do love their shoe stores and my cousin Jamie would have too. She loves shoes and they had more varieties of shoes in a shoe store there than the Shoe Carnival does here. Almost all of them were high heeled and beautiful pieces of art the klutzy Lisa could never wear, but that was okay. It was like a museum of shoes, so I looked and I imagined and I dreamed.

We took a break, sat on a bench, and watched the people a while before we got another cab to go back to the apartment. I wore my green striped straw hat from Los Americanos home in the cab.

Barb came by to visit later that afternoon with her son’s mother-in-law. Their kids had just had a baby and Barb said they were the two crazy Grandmothers who had sent a parcel to Chicago of baby items for a large price. The mother-in-law also told us about how she tried to go to the States to spend a month helping with the baby and visiting her daughter and son-in-law, but the U.S. would not give her a Visa. They were afraid she would stay past the Visa. She was a single mother in Brazil and I guess women without men are still a threat to the patriarchy. Fear the widow. She might never leave or hoodwink you and defy your crazy rules.

It is amazing to think that an average person, just like us, would be denied the ability to travel and see her family. And it was clear she had a full life in her home country. Why would she want to leave that full life for good and move to cold Chicago illegally? To leave her full and happy life, house, other sons and daughters? It seemed obvious she would visit her daughter after that daughter had a baby and then come back to the full life she had elsewhere. It made no sense to deny her a Visa when she had a return trip planned. I began to feel grateful that Brasil had not denied us entry into their beautiful country. And grateful that they knew we would want to go back to the life we had there even if we feel a little bit in love with their country.

That evening, we had dinner with Ernani’s cousins. Alini and Mario Jorge picked us up and we meet Cristiano,  Luciana, her son Mateus, Eduardo and Flavio at a very nice restaurant. We sat outside and enjoyed drinks and a meal together. Ernani had a very good time seeing his cousins again and I kept wishing I could speak Portuguese. I wanted so much to converse with everyone without anyone thinking about translating for me. Still, it was wonderful seeing Ernani speak so animatedly with his cousins and to see Rebecca enjoying seeing them as well. When your loved ones are happy, so are you.

Fish and Filet and French Food, Oh My! : Fri Jan 1, 2010

Barb drove South from Trapiche to a local fishing village called Pontal da Barra. They keep their village as authentic as possible. The streets are narrow and the houses long. The village is on the lake and the houses on the lake look like this: the first part (near the street) is a store and the back the house where the family lives (and overlooks the lake). The lake is Lake Mundau. It empties into the ocean and the people fish the lake and sell their beautiful filet for their livelihood. Just down the road from the village the fresh water lake empties into ocean.

We had lunch at the restaurant Peixarae known for its fresh fish. The restaurant mirrored the buildings in the village in that we entered from the street on solid ground and as we moved to the back of the building, we moved to the lake. We found ourselves on a back porch balcony over the water with a fantastic view of the lake and the islands in the middle of it. There were stairs that lead down to the lake and more stairs leading into it. We took pictures and tried to feed the fish after we ate (they did not like our leftover rice). You could pull your boat right up and walk up to eat if you wanted to. I imagine that is how the fishermen bring the fish to the restaurant. We were going to be eating the freshest fish.

We order two plates and shared. One was shrimp and one was a local fish. They were awesome. The fish and shrimp are cooked in creamy sauces and the fish dish was the best in terms of the taste of the fish. The shrimp dish also had a local fish in it, but it was more salty and though good, it was not as good as the other. All the fish had bones in it because it was fresh and healthy fish. The shrimp were large and tender.

They also served mashed potatoes with it (again creamy goodness) and we ordered an appetizer that was fried mantioc, a local staple. When fried, it is like potatoes, like fries, but so much better. Faranha, which was a local grain that Barb called sawdust, was also served with our fish and it was delicious. It did not taste or even feel like sawdust, it just looked like it. It was mixed in with dishes. We even had desert. We ordered three doce leches. Ernani had caramal of course and we had a chocolate and I had a coconut which was awesome. I had what I think was the best. It was so sweet, but so good. I told them I could eat this all day. It was the one of the best desserts I had in Maceio besides the goyaba shake.

 After a long, late, leisurely lunch, we returned to our car and drove through the village a bit to see what an older village looked like. As we were driving, I saw that hanging from every balcony were beautiful hand made table clothes, place mats, sweater, and quilts. Before we left, I had googled Maceio and discovered a site that talked about a market South of the city where the women made filet lace.

According to this website, http://www.maosdeminas.org.br/images/NovaBFM.pdf  :

“Pontal da Barra, an old district of Maceió (AL), started as a fishing village where the fishermen’s families lived on what they took from the sea and the lake. Today it is one of the most famous tourist resorts of the region, and its pavements covered with locally produced handicrafts attract lots of tourists. The filet lace follows the lines of a grid, the same process as for fishing nets, and the artisans tell us that the work of the filanzeiras – as the artisans are known – from Pontal da Barra are famous throughout the country and in many countries in the world.”

The women use coconut and banana fiber for their thread. They weave muti-colors pieces and they weave whole pieces entirely in white. We saw baby clothes, belts, head bands, shirts in addition to the table decorations. We bought bookmarks. I bought a belt that I could also use as a headband. We bought place mates for ourselves and for gifts.

I had recently begun to crochet, so I was very interested in how the women made these beautiful crafts. They were true artists. The creativity and quality of their work was stunning. One local woman was making something and Barb asked her if I could take her picture. She said yes and I have a picture of making a shirt. We talked to her and she told us this was how she made the money to pay for her utilities.

By the time were ready to leave the sun was setting and the shops were closing for the day. If I had one small regret, it would be that we did not go back, but someday we will go back.

Since the sun was setting, we headed back to our car and drove through the village and back to the main highway. Barb took us over the long bridge that crossed the Lake as it emptied into the ocean and then turned around and we headed North back to Maceio.

She dropped us off at the apartment. We had had such a wonderful day with her and looked forward to more days with her.

We spent that evening with Eduardo, Flavio, Thais, and Paulo. Eduardo took us out to dinner. We went to Café Palato, a fancy cafe inside an upscale supermarket that was basically a smaller version of Central Market, the large Texas chain of supermarkets that are heaven on earth for the grocery shopper with discriminating tastes. It had everything, every variety of cheese, wine, meat, box dinner, vegi, you name it they had it. The restaurant was in the back corner and packed. We waited a while to get a table, and when we did, I had a wonderful salad with goat cheese.

As a vegetarian, I am picky about salads. So many people think ice berg lettuce is lettuce. It is not. It is not. It is worth saying that twice. Romaine, oak leaf, red, green. Those are lettuces. They actually have vitamins in them and a good, healthy taste, unlike that iceberg stuff that can freeze in the fields for all I care. They used real lettuce and made their own dressing. It was raspberry vinaigrette. And, did I mention the goat cheese? Yes, I know it was not really a Brazilian meal, but I was ready for some Vegetarian fair. And they added fresh berries and walnuts. It was wonderful.

And then we had what was pure heaven and the best dessert all week. Cream of goyaba, They brought about a goyaba hollowed out and inside was heaven heaven heaven. They took the fruit and made a cream out of it and I would kill for that recipe. I was stuffed from all the good food that day, so I tried one Ernani and Rebecca shared. But, I liked it so much Eduardo got one just for me. I made Ernani help me. Heaven.