Project: Replace Water Storage Tank for Centro

Hey you plumbing fanatics. I know you're out there...are you? Well I will at least pretend that you are.

First, I have to say that Brazilian plumbing is very primitive compared to the good old U.S. of A. It's kind of like it was back in the old days before such things as codes were put in place because people started getting sick. Out here in the rainforest we don't have things like pumps, pipes having to be straight or glued for that matter, etc. What we do here is run a hose up a mountain stream, make sure it is higher than the house and the water storage tank and we have potable water (sort of). It kind of looks like this-my job today:

The tank is above the house, hence water will come out of the sink, shower, toilet, etc. by gravity. The hose leading up to the top of the tank comes from the mountain stream that we talked about and all those zig-zagging pipes all over the place feed the fixtures. Pretty simple, though I don't think the Clifton plumbing inspector would be as happy as I am about the job. Everything looks pretty simple and maybe even easy, but trust me my dear friends, it is everything but. First my tools and supplies were a little lacking... take a look:

Richie Z, thanks for the leatherman. And to top it off I even had a helper:Yeah... I know what you're thinking, but he certainly wasn't my first choice.

The supply department in Iracambi wasn't too good either, but we made do with fittings with holes in 'em, and so on. My biggest tool though was my good old fashioned American ingenuity, which helped me create, invent, and improvize things to kind of work. After much toil and frustration-WE GOT 'ER DONE! (I love you baby!)

Also if you're curious, here is our sewage treatment facility- beautiful, huh?:In addition, it is also a lot of fun from swimming to relaxing on the shore to jumping in from rocks!

I am also in the process of installing a solar water heating system, which you will have to wait for in the upcoming blogs. Till we meet again my good friends.

Salvador da Bahia, BRAZIL (Pelourinho, Barra) 2/7/07 - 2/14/07

Our arrival to Brazil was somewhat rocky due to the loss of Talia´s wallet on the plane and my inability to use Brazilian banks. With a few delays and unexpected transfers, what seemed to be an endless voyage came to an end outside the airport of Salvador da Bahia, BRAZIL. A beautiful taxi ride later, we were facing the entrance of the beloved Albergue Sao Jorge Hostel in Pelourinho, Salvdor where the wonderful Andre and his crew took great care of us for the second year in a row.

Being in the history capital of BRAZIL deserved a history lesson . . . so here it is:

BRAZIL was already inhibitted by 1000 indigenous tribes for a period of as many as 50,000 years when the Portuguese first arrived in AD 1500 (of which only 200 remain today) and it was called Pindorama. Since then, Brazil has been renamed seven times and is actually the fifth largest democracy in the world today. Brazil consists of 26 states (one for each star on the flag, united into the single star above), one of them being Bahia. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after Sao Paolo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size.

According to the legend, Salvador da Bahia was named Baia de Todos os Santos after the day it was ``discovered´´-- All Saints´ Day. Salvador remained the capital for more than 200 years (before giving the throne to Rio and Brazila) and was the second most important city in the Portugues Empire.

The Portuguese landed in Salvador on Praia Porto da Barra (a beach we visit often and the passing sight of a Carnaval.) They built a city on top of a cliff to defend themselves against the Indians. On top of this cliff, also known as Cidade Alta (Upper City), stands Pelourinho, a city of cobblestones overgrown with 17th and 18th century buildings and churches. Actually, Pelourinho has the largest collection of Baroque Colonial architecture in Latin America and has been declared a UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE.

Connecting Cixade Alto and Cidade Baixa (Lower City) is an elevator. Yes! An elevator. Since it was errected in 1610 as a rope and pulley system, it has been modernized into an electical system elevator which transports over 50,000 people a day.

Unfortunately, the glory of colonial Brazil was smeared with the blood and sweat of African slaves brought over in 1538 to help cultivate a fertile sugarcane, tobacco, and later cattle ranching industry. Legend says that some buildings are haunted by the ghosts of slaves.

The dark period of slavery continued for over 200 years; eventually, the number of black people constituted half of the population in Salvador. The Largo de Pelourinho, a square into which all the streets feed into was the historic sight of the pelourigno (whipping post) where slaves where publicly tortured and auctioned. On a lighter note, the buildings used for the import and sale of slaves have been converted to tourist shops, ice cream parlors, and cute restaurants (But who knows what came of the underground network of tunnels beneath Pelourinho, connecting all the churches in the historic center to the port!?!)

Today, Salvador is known as the African Soul of Brazil thanks to the ancestors of African slaves who perserved food, religion, music, dance, and martical art traditions throughout the years.

Salvador also gained the reputation of being a fun place if you know what I mean . . . so much that it won the nickname Baia de Todos os Santos e de Quase Todos os Pecados (Bay of All Saints and of Nearly All Sins)!

(I love you baby!)

... the people are super friendly, always wanting to help out, always smiling, always being very hospitable (exception: if they´re trying to rob you, they´re not so nice) Yes, we got mugged already but we´re alright and are becoming more aware of our surroundings.

Anyhow, for all of you that are a little bored by the history lesson, why don´t you shove it and take the time to learn something. For the rest, it is impossible to summarize 500 years of history in a single blog, so I will keep the research going for the future.

On a side note, we happened to escape the good food and great beaches to go to some local islands (Ilha de Itaparica and Ilha dos Frades) for some more good food and great beaches...hehe.

This is me without a tan and just so you know, Talia and I are like two highlighters walking around here. We glow like the sun, we´re so damn white!! But we´re working on it.

This is a video of some capoeira that we saw on the beach. Capoeira was invented by enslaved Africans in the 16 th century and instead of talking about it, check it out:


And now, after much waiting, my baby is getting on the bus for a 25 hour bus ride to come see me. . . isn´t that wonderful?!? Being without my prince has been tough, really tough. But that will soon be over. . . so excited. . . like a little schoolgirl I tell you.

So the next stop is . . . Carnaval 2007 Bahia!!!! Yeah baby!

(For more pics, go to:http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?&mode=fromsite&collid=48371396110.808139640110.1171551514594&conn_speed=1)

Beleza! & Bloco do Popogayo

Due to high demand (mostly from my demanding sister), here is another blog. First, Beleza. What is Beleza? Beleza is beautiful. How do you feel? Beleza. My love? Beleza. This is how Beleza looks like:

Where do I start? I feel great, though my maiden is not with me right now. This weekend I left gorgeous Iracambi to go back to Muriae', just for the weekend. And hang out with the most generous and hospitable man south of the equator, Pedro. But first, back at Iracambi past Friday we had a wonderful birthday dinner for our newest volunteer, Alexandro. He was really happy. And even though I don't like to brag, I drew the card. Then the following morning we took off on the motorbike to Muriae'.I am very glad that I chose to wear shades, otherwise you guys would be able to see the fear in my eyes. Junior, one of the employees of Iracambi, is a thrillseeking daredevil. Luckily, I survived. Now I want to get a bike myself. I got to Muriae´ to meet up with my totally awesome buddy, Pedro. But while I was waiting at one of the local bar/lunchonette look what I came across:

A most amazing invention, "mictório". A urinal and a sink in one. WOW! Definately makes you feel less guilty about peeing in the sink back home, huh? So of course, I pulled out my trusty digital camera and started snapping pictures. I soon met up with Pedro. And before I go on, I must say a word about him. He is the greatest, most generous and hospitable guy this side of the Amazon! He absolutely refuses me when I want to pay for anything, takes me to see places, puts me up for the night... and even though he is about half my size, I give in. My only wish is that I may have the opportunity to return his hospitality. Anyway, we met up and he brought me to meet his friends, while we enjoyed some Brazilian ice cream. Of course, I ordered the only flavor I ever have: strawberry with strawberry topping.

From left: Fernanda, Rafael, Mirelle, my Pedro, and old me.

We hung out for a while. The guys calling each other: Peba, Viado, Vinte e Dois (slang for gay). I was used to this talk. Then we let each other go only to meet up again that evening for a town festival, "Bloco do Popogayo". A big block party. Thats me in the middle dancing my butt off and making a fool of myself at the same time. For me, very easy to do. Thats my crew above.

During the festival, Pedro was watching me like a hawk. Protecting me from thieves and evildoers. Thanks Pedro. And after, we went to eat. I ordered this amazingly simple sandwich that was so good. (Pedro's recommendation.) A long roll with grilled chicken, potato sticks, mayo and ketchup. Sooo good! Here's a pic:

Thats all folks. My weekend was great. Everything here is so beautiful, the people, the trees, flowers, mountains. Beleza! Here are some pics:

And a pretty cool moth! I almost forgot. Happy Valentine's Day everybody!

Life in Iracambi Feb 3-7

First, I must welcome my sweet princess to Brazil. Sasha is here and we shall soon be reunited. But first I must give some advice for anyone new to Brazil: No estressa. I love you baby!!!
Hey everybody, my loyal readers!!! The internet connection is pretty shaky here in God's country. So I did not waste the opportunity to post this new blog. I have been on this dusty road for a week and a half now and I am really loving it. There are a lot of bugs here though so it is very important to wear protection!

There are also a lot of these guys running around. I literally have to look under my bed before I go to sleep to make sure there are no unwelcome visitors. But you never really have to worry, they keep to themselves and don't bother anybody.

My main job is upkeeping the trails around the forest which is pretty cool. I imagine myself looking like a stud by the end of this month, since the work involves chopping a lot of dead trees and cutting brush, grass, moving logs out of the way of the trail, etc. I even get to have a machete! Life here is so laid back. My mornings usually consist of work. But after lunch, there is hiking, swimming, chasing creepy crawlers with my camera, or hanging out with my super-cool fellow volunteers.We also get fresh milk! You can only understand this if you were born behind the "Iron Curtain". Fresh, like not pasteurized. The kind of milk that you have to peel the film from the top before you drink it. The milk that tastes so good, that it brings you back to your childhood, when every morning, we had to walk to the old lady with the cow, who would give us milk so fresh that it was only minutes or an hour before the cow squirted it out! Yes, that kind of milk! And we also have "doce de leche", the creamy stuff that is created from boiling a can of condensed milk for like 5 hours, that tastes oooh so good.Doce de leche on the left & milk on the right.

I know that I may sound like a milk fanatic, but when you encounter something that brings you back like that, you have to be excited. And I love food.

Iracambi translates to "The Land of Milk and Honey". Here are some pics:

And cigarettes cost about 75 cents! Is there any bigger reason to smoke?

Hello Brazil!!! Jan. 29-Feb. 2

Bon dias! Hey everybody! I’m alive!!! I got to Brazil safe and sound with more than one inconvenience. First, I missed my connecting flight from Sao Paolo to Rio de Janeiro, then my debit card was not accepted at any of the ATMs, which is never great if you are in a foreign country with no money, not to mention no knowledge of the language. But everything always works out, so I found a machine that worked and caught another flight to Rio.
Since I missed my connecting flight earlier, I had to catch a much later bus to Muriae´, one of the stops on my journey, and would have to look for a motel room for the night. Luckily for me (I am very lucky), I met a great young Brasiliero named Pedro who was on his way home to Muriae´ from Paris and London. We introduced ourselves and got to talking. I told him that I had to stop for the night in his town and he offered to help me find a safe place. When we arrived it was very late and Pedro’s family was waiting for him at the bus stop. He walked away to greet them and came back to tell me that they owned a motel in town and would gladly treat me with a room for the night. I gratefully accepted their offer and they drove me away to a dark alley to kill and rob me. I'm kidding mom. They took me to their motel and put me up in a room. It was great. The room was equipped with a jacuzzi, air conditioning, and condoms. I took advantage of everything except for the latter and went to sleep. The following morning, Pedro met me at the motel and after a delicious lunch proceeded to show me his city, his mother's candle factory, and even took me to see his grandmother in a neighboring town. It was so wonderful and I could not expect better hospitality. Afterwards they drove me to the bus stop, from where I would continue on the last leg of my journey. We waved goodbye and separated. Pedro’s mom. She loves it when I say “obrigado”

I got to Iracambi that evening. And even though it was getting dark, I did not fail to see the beauty of this place. Green hills and mountains, wild flowers of every color growing everywhere, (makes you wonder how much more amazing this place would have looked like if the Gringos haven’t cut down most of the rainforest) tiny little dirt roads that would seem impassable. At least to my little, old taxi driver who was driving an old VW Bug. I met the volunteers the following day, who were very friendly and from many parts of the world (England, Italy, Spain, and U.S.A.). Maybe not many. I have been here for three days and I am sun burnt, sore from walking up big hills, but very happy.
That’s me looking tough after a day of digging. Beautiful view, huh?

And of course, this is me at a plumbing supply in Muriae´. I couldn’t help myself.