reframe

A few words from Brazil

// February 14th, 2008 // Travel

Ahah, the internet, how I remember thee- what with your 30 second guffahs and bountiful information on Slovak legislature. Here in Brazil the Internet, or internet em portugues, rarely enters my world- for it bodes poorly on the perfect sandy beaches of an ecological isle, or stradling precariously upon the edge of a crystal clear waterfall. Nor could this electronic siren withstand the firey samba of a Rio bloco, or the predawn ravings of the twin titans Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires. Yet here in the unlikely lands of Belo Horizonte, after some six weeks upon the trail, I find myself with time, access and some consideration that sooner than later I shall once again number with those unfortunates who know not the gentle touch of mother Brazil.

The journey has gone something like this. Amsterdam (to be my home for yet another year)->Buenos Aires (where one dines at midnight and mocks the dawn)->Florianopolis (an island of beautiful people)->Ilha do Mel (an ecological island of sunset rainbows and deserted beaches)->Sao Paulo (a city that eats other cities and in which one eats fantastically)->Rio de Janeiro (the city of samba, of carnaval, of legends playing out a million tales)->Ouro Preto (a baroque village sculpted out of the mountains). In an hour I will board a bus to the north-eastern state of Bahia, where I shall spend my final few weeks slowly making my way up the coast- crawling from fishing village to resplendent isle- until I reach the great afro-brazilian city of Salvador and this happy trail ends.

I should like to write of my experiences here, of The World in Brazil, perhaps a few words in portuguese, a photo or two when technology permits and a flickering vision of life away from this continent. But it will be slow because the beach beckons, a metaphysics of quality is demanding my consideration and Brazil is still roaring just metres away. Suffice to say for now that all is well and life is being lived and loved in this corner of the world.

peace