My first two weeks

Hey everyone in Germany,

Although I hadn't planned it, I think I will write a blog to show you what I am experiencing here in Brazil!

As most of you know, I will be in Brazil from mid-January to early May. I will be living and working in different cities.

I spent my first two weeks in Salesopolis, a small town with approximately 16.7 thousand inhabitants. My grandpa owns a large property in the countryside with a house, pool, and a big garden.

Living here has two major aspects for me: paradise and adventure.

I don't think I need to describe paradise in detail. It's warm, around 25-30°C, birds are chirping, and you can relax by the pool with a cool Guarana drink.

Or a different situation, you get in the car, drive for less than 20 minutes, and you're at a beautiful, uncrowded cachoera (a waterfall). You can take beautiful photos, swim, and then drive another 5 minutes to the next amazing cachoera.

The adventure starts right at the property with seven dogs, two cats, and a cow. There's always something to do. And even if it's just changing your shirt because Malulu (a female dog) left her dirty paw prints on it just as you were about to go into town.

There's also an adventure waiting during a hike through the rainforest, which is part of my grandpa's property. It's on higher ground, very steep, and almost untouched. I'll tell you more about this excursion later.

There are even more adventures on the 6-kilometer long road (no, not a paved road, but a dirt road) between the property and Salesopolis, as it gives you a bumpy ride.

Furthermore, you don't walk through tall grass without rubber boots because otherwise, you risk a venomous snake bite. Before putting on the rubber boots, they must be checked for snakes or spiders that like to hide in them.

But let's start from the beginning. After finding out from my aunt on the first day that yellow fever is not only prevalent in the Amazon (as my doctor in Germany told me), getting the vaccination was the main topic in the first few days. Since I have Brazilian citizenship and every Brazilian can get vaccinated for free, it wasn't a problem to get the vaccination. I just had to wait in line (there are a lot of people getting vaccinated quickly due to the news coverage). It was a simple process, show your ID, enter an open area where two doctors were giving out the shots, and leave with the vaccination after 30 seconds. I was actually glad to get vaccinated here since in Germany it would cost around 70€ for the vaccine alone. Unfortunately, I spent the following two days in bed. Later, I found out that everyone who got vaccinated at the same time also got sick. But after that, we could really get started.

The first thing my grandpa and I did was visit a small cachoera, not far from Salesopolis. What fascinated me about the waterfall is that you can simply park your car by the roadside, take a few steps through nature, and arrive at a beautiful cachoera. There are no signs showing the way or even indicating the existence of the cachoera, yet it was fairly crowded on that day. Since it's not very high, you can easily climb to the second level and swim there as well, but you have to be careful of the currents. Because of the two swimming options (top and bottom), it never felt crowded. We swam, took photos, and enjoyed the sun.

The next day, the three of us (my aunt, my grandpa, and I) drove to another waterfall that's located on the same river. This one was much higher, but on that day, there was a lot of water in the river, making the current too strong for us to swim close to it. We were the only ones there, but that was because a large branch blocked the path to the cachoera. For my grandpa, that was not a reason to turn around and go somewhere else. He got his machete from the car and cleared the path within 15 minutes. Unbelievable. After a refreshing swim and some photos, we went back to the smaller waterfall. It wasn't as crowded anymore because the weather had cooled down and rain seemed imminent. After seeing some people going behind the falling water at a particular spot, we wanted to do that too. A man, an unofficial lifeguard of the cachoera, knew the area well and helped us climb up and down. The feeling of sitting behind the wall of water and getting air was crazy and a bit scary. When you felt the water on your back while climbing in and out, you realized the power the water has in those spots! It felt like the air was being squeezed out of my lungs.

Just as we got out of the water, it suddenly started raining heavily, so we ran to the car and drove home. Despite the freezing cold water and the rain that followed, it was definitely worth climbing the waterfall!

Next on the agenda was a hike through the forest with my grandpa. Equipped with long clothing, rubber boots, mosquito repellent, a camera, and a machete, we started on the dirt road. First, we walked on the road to a neighboring property, whose path we were allowed to use, and then we climbed up to our property. The middle section of the ascent was quite exhausting under the blazing sun and with long clothing, so I was relieved when we finally reached the property, where the forest provided shade. After 100 meters, I got the first mosquito bites, which (no joke) hurt more than the ones at the property. From the higher ground, you actually have a nice view and sometimes you can even see the sea. Unfortunately, on that day, the view was blocked by trees and branches, but it didn't bother me that much. Because a neighbor cleared large parts of their eucalyptus trees, a new beautiful viewpoint was created, but it doesn't face the sea. On our way back, my grandpa quickly cut two walking sticks for us, which made the very steep descent much easier. At first, I was skeptical if the sticks were really necessary, but after slipping for the first time, I was very glad to have the walking stick.

It was very interesting to experience pure nature. Since the property is not utilized, everything grows as it pleases, and you feel like you're entering nature's territory. I found it particularly shocking how difficult it is to navigate there.

Speaking of eucalyptus, a huge amount of eucalyptus has been planted in the area around the property in recent years, and some people have made a fortune from it. However, my grandpa consciously decided not to grow eucalyptus because it's an economic disaster. Eucalyptus consumes a lot of water, which it draws from the ground, completely disrupting the water balance.

On Monday, we went with a small group and a rented bus to two beaches in San Sebastao. We left at 6 o'clock in the morning and by 10 o'clock, we were lying on the first beach (Barra do Sahy) and enjoying the beautiful and pleasant water.

At noon, we went back to the bus, which took us to a shopping center, where we had a buffet lunch. Afterward, we went to the next beach (Cambury). The water was just as pleasant, but this time there were waves, so we spent most of the time in the sea and the waves. At 5 o'clock, we took the bus back to Salesopolis.

Next up was my grandpa's birthday, which we celebrated with his friends and delicious pasta.

On the last evening, my grandpa and I shot with his air rifle. We started by shooting at cans from a distance of ten meters, but since that wasn't particularly challenging, my grandpa brought a small target. So, we tried to shoot at a pea-sized dot. I didn't manage to hit it even once, but it was a lot of fun and we got better over time. After that, we played a round of darts.

Those were my first two weeks here in Brazil! Thanks again to my grandpa and Rovena for the wonderful time!

By the way, I have already been living in Sao Paulo for a week, staying with my mother's friends and doing an internship. But I'll tell you more about that in the next entry.

Until then, sunny greetings from Brazil!

Lisa