discovering the house on Concha (instead of pituba!!!)
at Salo's venture store
Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
spiders and snakes oh my
so ... walking back in the fine sand in the middle of the matta/forest... zak points to something and steps back... I look and there's a tarantula about 5 inches long on the side - so i grab z and back up. Later, upon asking they say this one is not dangerous, only throws it's hairs - which itch... so that evening Gabriel had medicine dance and the kids were placed at his house watching TV. Z went with Angelina and she said he was fine so I went to the dance - began the relaxation/trance , blindfolded.. then someone took my hand and helped me up. I wanted to remove the blindfold but realized it's part of the dance.. and then they kept telling me "your son" "your son" and i finally realized he was there ... crying. One of the school teachers brought him to the dance because he was crying for me - but she was as white as this screen from having seen a snake... well .. so now I'm in Gabriel's house in Itacare (the second one) cuz I got a bit spooked with everyone's story - "Yes, yesterday so and so had a snake in her hammock when she went to sit in it", There are flying spiders - those are the ones to watch out for... i decided to ask if \i could stay in the itacare house...
arrived there - climbed up and up and up (rmeinds me of Zsuzs´place in LA that she shared but HIGHER)... gr8, but totally isolated and farther from the beach... i checked if the other house was avail and we were able to stay there (On concha beach ) where upstairs was the most... helpful character... Salo (Saloman)...
Salo is telling me to write:... I met the most increcible guy - selfish is like cholestoral and agi says no no ...he continues (w/o a thought to my idea) you have HDL & LDL good and bad - life is balance - we have to work out our monsters...
so it goes like this. Salo saved us from total impoverishment as I couldn~t work the ATM machines anywhere in town, not knowing the secret ... and he lent me $20 Reis (~10$)... which we lived on for a day and a half til i spent half the AM in the banc filled with people . We were so tired - /Z and i\ of dragging all over the place that I rented a moped - feeling like I~m taking our lives in my hands, but dunno any alternative. Salo has a great mountain bike for us, but it has no kids seat and I dunno how to solve that prob. Also, I~d hafta exercise a lot w; that so ... better take chances than exercise!
So The really really cool thing is that Z is behind me playing the XBOX w; a bunch of cool kids while I~m trying to learn how to upload videos from here- (which is not succeeding) .
OHHHHHH - Spoke to Jorge/Dani from Casa Da Boneco and they said Z can start percussion lessons anytime. $100 Reis /week!!!! I am dying to arrange staying here in Itacare so he can start.
arrived there - climbed up and up and up (rmeinds me of Zsuzs´place in LA that she shared but HIGHER)... gr8, but totally isolated and farther from the beach... i checked if the other house was avail and we were able to stay there (On concha beach ) where upstairs was the most... helpful character... Salo (Saloman)...
Salo is telling me to write:... I met the most increcible guy - selfish is like cholestoral and agi says no no ...he continues (w/o a thought to my idea) you have HDL & LDL good and bad - life is balance - we have to work out our monsters...
so it goes like this. Salo saved us from total impoverishment as I couldn~t work the ATM machines anywhere in town, not knowing the secret ... and he lent me $20 Reis (~10$)... which we lived on for a day and a half til i spent half the AM in the banc filled with people . We were so tired - /Z and i\ of dragging all over the place that I rented a moped - feeling like I~m taking our lives in my hands, but dunno any alternative. Salo has a great mountain bike for us, but it has no kids seat and I dunno how to solve that prob. Also, I~d hafta exercise a lot w; that so ... better take chances than exercise!
So The really really cool thing is that Z is behind me playing the XBOX w; a bunch of cool kids while I~m trying to learn how to upload videos from here- (which is not succeeding) .
OHHHHHH - Spoke to Jorge/Dani from Casa Da Boneco and they said Z can start percussion lessons anytime. $100 Reis /week!!!! I am dying to arrange staying here in Itacare so he can start.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Carnaval, itacare'
Twas raining too hard and they cancelled the carnaval in Itacare' for the kids but we had one here with contest and prizes for all!
Yesterday, Gabriel maneuvered the landrover through the Matta to the "balsa"/ferry where we took a "canoe" over to Itacare. It was magical! I have videos I wish I could load!!! For now, these pics will have to suffice.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
our house
is a very very nice house
with a hammock on the porch,
life can be a torch,
now everything is easy cuz theresnothingto do,,,,
yea
the funny thing is that we're behind the "school" (where you see the playground) and the ocean is beyond the river behind that. It's very loud but since you can't see it, it sounds like the metro passing directly in front of your house! As for the school, it *should open Mar 3... I can't wait cuz i think it will be good for both of us to have some exposure to things alone...
PIZZA
We went swimming again and tried to surf... The guys/girl surfing were amazing! I can't even stand up on the board. Tonight was pizza night and since we woke, zak was asking when it would be pizza. Poor kid, the meals are 8,1 & 7.. he's used to two snacks in between meals and I ran out of the power bars I brought. we went for a long walk on the beach and found many sand dollars and beautiful shells while we watched the sky turn colors for sunset.
At night after the homade pizza feast, a guest who became a photographer gave an exhibition / slide show of nature photos from all regions of Brazil with a water theme. That in itself was spectacular, but then he showed what he's doing now - making mandalas from the gorgeous images. wow.
Many of the people here have purchased a house here in Piracanga. I don't know anything about this. I think the next place zsuzs should open a pharmacy is here!
Today we are going to Carnaval! The kids will parade with Casa da Boneca - the drumming endeavor I was hoping to get Zak involved in. They will dress up - show u pics soon!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
piracanga.. at last!
gabriel just took a picture of the parrot eating spaghetti off zak's plate... i hope i can post that... the videos don't really upload cuz they;re too big. i'll tty to make them smaller. Went again to the delicious crashing ocean - ate more delicious vegetarian food... talked to more "residents" / home owners... trying to get my bearings...
Had to FORCE Zak to the ocean this morning ... and then of course he had fun... tho he kept asking to return to swim in the pool w/ Fernanda!
Fred and vincente are here again playing w/ Zak in his "house"
Salvador and drive...
2/18 –
the flight from Miami was a sardine can hotel. We were so lucky bcuz we met a great geneticist, Paolo from Framingham, who sat with us the whole way and had traded seats with a huge man who would have stayed in our 3rd seat. Paulo . Paulo had just gotten a new job in Camridge with some genetic company and was celebrating by coming to carnaval – his family being from Salvador and having grown up traveling back and forth. If I had known it was carnaval, I would have picked another time to travel! What a mob… It’s like the inauguration. Bands people, cars everywhere!
Alisson picked us up from the airport (the connection through Bruno from Melrose who I met from Craigslist!) and drove us to the beautiful hotel very close by on the beach!
I emailed fernanda and quickly crashed while zak (who slept on the overnight) played his DS and toys… Fernanda showed up 5 hours later! It took her 1 hour to get to us through all the traffic. Zak swam with her in the pool and we had a great feast on the beach. That night, a friend of hers came over with her daughter nina and we got some Acai, (from the deathwish ice cream place) and went to her beautiful house near our hotel. Her husband is a percussionist with Asa de Aguia and Marivaldo, fernanda’s husband, was playing for Daniella Mercury. Nanda herself is great friends with Ivette Sangalo’s sister… These are all HUGE stars in Brazil on the scale of Christine Agularis or Madonna…. Very funny to see “my nanda from NYC” surrounded by such fame!
2/19/09
Our Trip began with Alisson and his driver Marivaldo picking us up and taking us though Salvador toward our destination. Salvador was PACKED with all the stages ready for the evening’s festivities. “Trio Electricos” all over the place – stages with famous bands and singers to play for the audience… I was so happy to get out! I am now writing from the comfortable VW which is driving us toward Piracanga with a driver and a policeman..? Zak wants to know why we need a policeman. So do I – or maybe I don’t!
2/20 and 21
Marivaldo became very flustered at the end of the 4.5 hr drive (but wouldn’t call Gabriel, the owner of the place - ???) … finally, we couldn’t get thru an extremely flooded dirt road and he called… Gabriel and his daughter came to pick us up in a “snorkel equipped” truck! With his daughter Psorria…
getting accustom to piracanga…
So for the past 2 days, we're getting used to the people, the kids (Fred - Gabriels adopted son from Itacare lives next door - he's 8). The ocean's like bathwater with crashing breathtaking and terrifying waves - the river which flows in front of the ocean is filled with mangrove brown but is delicious - a bit cooler than the ocean.... We're eating 3 vegetarian meals and sleeping in our outdoor bed (1 of 3 -). Sunday, we will go to town, Itacare' for Carnaval. The kids will march with "George" of Casa Da Boneca! the place I want Zak to drum...
the flight from Miami was a sardine can hotel. We were so lucky bcuz we met a great geneticist, Paolo from Framingham, who sat with us the whole way and had traded seats with a huge man who would have stayed in our 3rd seat. Paulo . Paulo had just gotten a new job in Camridge with some genetic company and was celebrating by coming to carnaval – his family being from Salvador and having grown up traveling back and forth. If I had known it was carnaval, I would have picked another time to travel! What a mob… It’s like the inauguration. Bands people, cars everywhere!
Alisson picked us up from the airport (the connection through Bruno from Melrose who I met from Craigslist!) and drove us to the beautiful hotel very close by on the beach!
I emailed fernanda and quickly crashed while zak (who slept on the overnight) played his DS and toys… Fernanda showed up 5 hours later! It took her 1 hour to get to us through all the traffic. Zak swam with her in the pool and we had a great feast on the beach. That night, a friend of hers came over with her daughter nina and we got some Acai, (from the deathwish ice cream place) and went to her beautiful house near our hotel. Her husband is a percussionist with Asa de Aguia and Marivaldo, fernanda’s husband, was playing for Daniella Mercury. Nanda herself is great friends with Ivette Sangalo’s sister… These are all HUGE stars in Brazil on the scale of Christine Agularis or Madonna…. Very funny to see “my nanda from NYC” surrounded by such fame!
2/19/09
Our Trip began with Alisson and his driver Marivaldo picking us up and taking us though Salvador toward our destination. Salvador was PACKED with all the stages ready for the evening’s festivities. “Trio Electricos” all over the place – stages with famous bands and singers to play for the audience… I was so happy to get out! I am now writing from the comfortable VW which is driving us toward Piracanga with a driver and a policeman..? Zak wants to know why we need a policeman. So do I – or maybe I don’t!
2/20 and 21
Marivaldo became very flustered at the end of the 4.5 hr drive (but wouldn’t call Gabriel, the owner of the place - ???) … finally, we couldn’t get thru an extremely flooded dirt road and he called… Gabriel and his daughter came to pick us up in a “snorkel equipped” truck! With his daughter Psorria…
getting accustom to piracanga…
So for the past 2 days, we're getting used to the people, the kids (Fred - Gabriels adopted son from Itacare lives next door - he's 8). The ocean's like bathwater with crashing breathtaking and terrifying waves - the river which flows in front of the ocean is filled with mangrove brown but is delicious - a bit cooler than the ocean.... We're eating 3 vegetarian meals and sleeping in our outdoor bed (1 of 3 -). Sunday, we will go to town, Itacare' for Carnaval. The kids will march with "George" of Casa Da Boneca! the place I want Zak to drum...
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Reasons behind trip
It's all Zsuzs's doing... We saw this drum/dance production by Casa do boneca (CDB) in '03 and Zak loved it. There was a 5 year old who drummed like a master... .. Zsuzs said - "Zak has to go here..." After being totally confused about what his future entailed in terms of the stringent demands of Newton acacemia (while maintaining a half day curriculum) ... and his age (young academically) maturity (appropriate).. I started hunting for alternatives and found the "free school" in Piracanga which incorporated CDB... - so now you know...
So we're going back from this...
Valentines Day
Friday, February 13, 2009
Pre -Trip notes
So - we're off in a few days to http://www.piracanga.com and we're both very excited! This is what the weather /surroundings are like here in February. - We'll fly to Salvador, Bahia and (hopefully) stay at this Pousada (If i ever finish making/deciding on the reservations)... Then we'll head to Piracanga - Next to Itacare (if the people who said they would drive us really do - otherwise, we'll have a huge adventure). Here's how we'll get there.
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