People who Rock your Socks Off

The world is good. Yep, that’s right.  When traveling it’s easy to meet others who prove how  awesome people can be.  Lucky for me, I encountered a group that went above and beyond all expectations. They provided me with entertainment, lots of adventures, lessons about children, a place to belong, and a group to call my own.  They went from being a group of strangers to my adopted family.    The group consisted of an American family and a Canadian family, in total four adults and four children.   Each family is currently living in Curitiba for a total of two years for their jobs.  They are using their time off wisely to explore Brazil.  I think it is so cool that the children have such a unique opportunity

They arrived to Meia Lua on Sunday and I guess it’s true that first impressions don’t mean everything because my first encounter with them was our day walk around the ranch.  I think it possibly felt like one of the longest walks of their lives.   The poor kids had been traveling all day and were not up to a 1.5 hour walk through the Pantanal.  On top of that, one thing to learn about kids is that what would be 1.5 hour walk for you is going to be more than a 2.5hr walk for them.  Yep.  It’s a good thing they didn’t hold the walk against me!  Over the next week, Mirjam let me accompany them on several really cool activities.  We went to Estrada Parque for a full day where we did a driving safari, a walk through the jungle, lunch and a boat ride.  We saw armadillos, coati, parakeets, macaws, storks, herons, kingfishers, anhingas, lots of caiman and more.  Later in the week, I accompanied them to Fazenda San Francisco.  It was a very upbeat and busy Fazenda.  We arrived just in time for a snack and then we boarded the jeep for our night safari.  It was one of the coolest things I’ve done.  We unfortunately didn’t see any jaguars but we did see two other small cats, marsh deer, capybara, and more.  Plus, we had our own lighting show in the distance. After the safari we ate a delicious meal and headed home.  It was awesome! At the farm, I was able to help with other activities such as fishing and a night safari.   Both of these went much better than our first walk.  The boys caught a few fish and we were even able to use a go-pro to see the fish nibbling on the bait.  Now that’s cool.   We strategized how to make the night safari more kid friendly and shortened it so we were able to enjoy a stroll to the lake where we saw capybara, camin eyes, and frogs.  We ended the night with flashlight sword fighting and the song “what does the fox say” creatively changed to “what does the poo say.”

In the meantime, I was working out how long I would stay at Meia Lua.  Mirjam wanted me to stay longer than my original two weeks to help out why she was away.  I wanted to see Bonito.  So we worked out a plan.  I would accompany a group to Bonito to help them with translating and after I would return to Meia Lua to stay.   It just so happened that my new friends were headed to Bonito!  Mirjam called to make plans and I tried to figure out a way to tell them I was again tagging along with them. 

Lucky for me, they graciously accepted me without hesitation! I’m telling you these people rock.  We headed out early Thursday morning to Bonito.  It was a cold and rainy morning so we were unsure of how our activities would play out.  We arrived to our first place, Rio do peixe (fish river), and found it closed.  We said hello to their pet tapir and loaded back into the van.  We relocated to another place where they informed us we would be taking a walk to see the waterfalls.  We again asked about how kid friendly it was.  Quinn, the youngest, is only three but he’s a champ. I was so impressed because he took on every activity like a pro.  So our “kid friendly hike” ended up being a little longer and more difficult than planned but never less it was fun!  People usually swim but with the rain and cold it wasn’t on our list of things to do.  That is, until I saw the jumping platform.  Then I couldn’t resist a good adrenaline rush.  We ended our walk with lunch and dessert… and then more dessert.  It was the best dolce de leite ever.  Afterward, our driver took us to our Pousada. 

Things had been a little iffy about the pousada and where I would stay.  Originally, I was supposed to have my own room. Then they told me that wouldn’t work and I would have to share a room with the driver.  I guess this is where I should input that I have a yes man attitude here.  Whatever people offer to do or see or eat I say yes to.  So when they told me that to go I would need to share a room with the driver I immediately said yes.  Sure, whatever, I’ll juggle fire and jump in the lion pit to go to Bonito… Later in the afternoon I started thinking about that and that maybe it wasn’t a good idea.  Maybe sharing a bedroom with some strange guy who doesn’t speak English isn’t the best idea I’ve ever had….  So early that morning before we left for Bonito I quickly asked for other arrangements.   They called the hostel across the street and said I could stay there. 

Okay… so back to my story.  We arrived at the Pousada, they get all checked in and I went across the street to check into the hostel.  As I laid there taking a nap, I was beating myself up about not planning better.  Surely, I could have asked for a room at the Pousada.  What was I thinking?  Did they not have a room available or was there just not one for a reduced price?  Sure I was traveling on a tight budget but I could surely afford to stay with my new family.  I lay there thinking that my mom would kick my ass if she could see me now. 

After a quick shower, I went back across the street to hang out with my peeps and get ready for dinner.  They had two surprises waiting for me.  The mama bears were not happy that I was across the street.  They told me to get my stuff and that I would be staying there with them.  I was in awe of their generosity.  It was not just that they had arranged a room for me there but that they had swooped in and fixed the problem I had created, recognized and decided to do nothing about.  In one simple action, they made me feel loved, included, and worthy.  I only hope that one day, I can pass on this favor to someone else. 

So after Frank, the owner of the Pousada, got me all tucked in we headed to dinner.  We ate at a delicious restaurant called Casa de Jao. I tried a Caipirinha with sake and sampled several yummy plates.   That night I was able to hang with the fams around a good bottle of wine. (The wine and coffee here is to die for!)

The next day, we woke up to the hope of sunshine!  Woo hoo!   We all loaded up into the van and headed to Rio Sucuri  (Anaconda River).  There we got our wetsuits on, grabbed our snorkeling masks and headed to the river.  We floated down on our stomachs for 45 minutes!  It was stunningly beautiful.  The water was very clear and it was easy to see the fish.  The tour guide asked if all the kids would be floating and we replied of course they were.  When you have kids that are this cool, they do it all!  After lunch we headed over to Praia de Figueira  (Fig Beach).  You could tell that it could be a hopping little place, but in the cold we were pretty much the only ones there.  We enjoyed the trampoline, slack line, water, and zip line (kind of).  

Back at the pousada, I got to hang out with the kids and color.  Did you know how much effort goes into making a treasure hunt!? Iso lucky to have been able to hang out with such a cool group.  They impressed me with how much stuff they were willing to do and try.  They also taught me so much.  Like for instance, sometimes trying to understand a three year old’s story in similar to trying to understand Portuguese.  He he.  But really,  they thought I was looking after the kids but really they were looking after me.  After pizza, I had to say goodbye to everyone.  It was hard to leave them.  They showed me what being a family is all about.   

I woke up the next morning and ate breakfast alone.  It was quite and boring!  I was able to talk more with Frank and Maria, the owners of the Pousada.  Speaking of people who rock your socks, they are awesome.  They have owned the place for seven years and are originally from Germany.  They have a farm outside of Bonito where they grow vegetables and keep bees.  They even sold their honey at the pousada!  Too Cool.  I could easily spend a lot of time there!

I caught a ride to Miranda with a transport van that contained about seven guys from Australia who were backpacking through South America. Now they had some… uhhh… interesting stories.  I arrived back at Meia Lua to a lot of rain.  I spent the day relaxing and thinking about my cool journey!

A big thanks goes to my new Curitiba friends!   You guys are amazing! J

(Sorry about not having more pictures.  The internet here is SUPER SLOW!)