Barra do Turvo... Our Final Week in Brasil

Our last week in Brasil... I can't believe it!  Starting from Monday we spent our final week in a rural area within Vale do Ribeira.  The first day involved two bus rides and a boat ride from Sao Paulo to our final destination: Cooperafloresta (see below).  This was a beautiful area within the Atlantic Forest near the south of the state of Sao Paulo.  It was a very poor area where people made a living from their land.  People were up and ready to work at the cocks crow, they worked all day, feasted on the foods they grew, and sang, played music, and danced for entertainment.  Upon arrival we were greeted by Pedro, the owner of this farm, and a group of Brazilian students studying agroforesting techniques.  This group of hippies (to give you a better idea of what they looked like) was very welcoming and kind to us.  After lunch, we met and talked with Pedro who spoke to us about his ideas of global citizenship and the responsibilities we have to the earth we live on.  He told us about the dilemma facing the people living in this area.  He said that even though the people here live in very rich lands, they are very poor.  But they are poor because they see poor, think poor, act poor, and therefore make themselves poor.  Pedro was once like this too, until he decided to switch his life for the better.  He realized how lucky he was to live on this land and he took advantage of the soil to produce crops for his family and to sell.  After talking to Pedro, he gave us a tour of the area very quickly because it started to rain.  After the rained stopped we went swimming in a pool, ate dinner, and danced to music played by the group.  It was one of the last days of Carnaval so it was only appropriate to dance samba.  We learned a very specific type of samba called Coconut Samba.  It was very interesting and fun, hopefully I still remember by the time I get back home so I can show you what I learned!!

Tuesday we woke up at the cocks crow to have breakfast with the group.  Breakfast was then followed by visits to nearby farms.  My group stayed with Pedro and had a more in-depth tour of his farm land and the forest surrounding it.  He showed us some new technology he developed for the transport of bananas from the top of the mountain to the hillside.  It was the equivalent of a zip-line but for crates of bananas.  They were released onto this metal wire from the top of the mountain and allowed to drop down a distance of a couple hundred meters or so.  A trip that would take at least an hour or so walking, was reduced to 1.15 min on zip-line.  After witnessing this system Pedro asked us if we were up for a hike to see where the banana trees were, up near the peak of the mountain.  So off we went for a hike into the forest in search for the banana trees.  The hike took a lot longer than expected because we were by no means experts in maneuvering through the jungle.  There were lots of trees, mud patches, spider webs, and other tiny, annoying, pestering insects.  I actually had a very interesting (to say the least) encounter with some insects that were a mix between flies and bees.  As we were heading up the mountain, we stopped near a hive of these splendid creatures to talk about some of the neighboring vegetation.  Very soon after we stopped I noticed a lot of buzzing near my head, by my face, in my ears and around my hair.  The insects were swarming around me and soon made a home out of my hair.  There were literally 20 or 30 bees in my hair!!!  I quickly took off my pony tail and shook my head back and forth as to get the bees out... but they would not budge!  I had to individually pick them out one by one until I no longer heard any buzzing.  It was quite a scene.  Lesson of the day:  When in nature, don't wash your hair with herbal essences! Apparently insects like the scent and will hastily leave their home to make a new one with you.

But my day was not all that bad.  After our visit to the farms, we headed to a nearby waterfall for some relaxation time.  It was beautiful (see below)!  The water was crystal clear and very very cold, but refreshing for such a hot day.  We then had to say good bye to all of our friends at Cooperafloresta because the rest of the week was to take place in Barra do Turvo, a nearby town.  When we got to this town, we settled in a hotel and went out for dinner as a group.  After dinner we were free to do whatever we liked.  So we took the liberty to hang out at the town square.  There we meet Denin who worked for the municipality as a social worker.  He was briefly introduced to us on Monday by our country coordinator but we didn't know much about him.  We spent a lot of time chatting and conversing in the square that the time passed by too quickly for me to notice.  Until I was all of a sudden surrounded by a group of about 20 students all singing me Happy Birthday.  I was so surprised!  It was only minutes past midnight, and already people were celebrating my birthday.  From this moment on I knew that they day would only get better =)

So Wednesday was, of course, My Birthday! After breakfast we hoped on a bus to go visit a Quilombo.  Quilombos are communities of African American slave descendants in Brasil.  They live off the land through the use of farming and agriculture.  After the slaves were freed in Brasil, they all left their owners in search for their own homes.  They traveled very far distances until reaching areas of plush vegetation near rivers in the Vale do Ribeira.  Many of these communities still exist today, however they are very small in numbers.  After a brief introduction of the village, we got a tour of a traditional herb garden.  We saw plants that were used for diabetes, the common cold, high blood pressure, headaches, and more.  It was very interesting to see.  In this community we also toured their farms since it was one of their main practices.  We had to again hike a little bit to get there but eventually we landed upon an area of land used to grow corn, bananas, zucchini, cucumber, and more.  The area was about the size of a soccer field, and tended by only one man.  He told us that he worked on planting and harvesting every single one of the plants there.  Wow what a job!  After our visits we had lunch with the people of the Quilombo.  They cooked us delicious meals, all made from food grown on their land.

After the Quilombo, we visited another waterfall! What a great birthday present.  Also before leaving the Quilombo, on my way down the mountainside, I was greeted and kissed by a beautiful blue butterfly.  The day was just full of pleasant surprises.  Once back in Barra do Turvo we had dinner together as a group and after dinner I was surprised yet again by a birthday song and cake!  It was delicious.  You can see parts of it left on my face below hehe.

Thursday, luckily for us, we had the morning off!  So I got to sleep in till 10... yay hehe. The whole day was pretty low key actually.  We stayed in Barra do Turvo and visited the municipality building and a primary school.  At the school we got the chance to talk to a panel of health professionals which included nurses, doctors, community health workers, and peer educators.  They talked to us about the troubles encountered with health care in rural areas.  Most people here have access to general care, but when it comes to specialties or medical emergencies patients must be transferred to other hospitals in nearby cities.  And this could take hours.  For example deliveries usually are not done at the clinics here so they have to transfer them to other hospitals, and in most cases expecting mothers end up having their babies on the ambulance on their way to the hospital.

This was our last night here, so we celebrated by having a pizza dinner at a local restaurant/club.  During dinner a live band played famous Brazilian cover songs, and after dinner we showed everyone our thanks by saying a few words on all of our site visits and quest lecturers.  The night ended with a spontaneous dance party hosted by the locals.  We had loads of fun and learned a lot of new dance moves!  Oh and I also learned a new card game called Truco... I will show everyone when I get back =)

Friday was a very interesting day.  I woke up at 8:30, went to class and did my written evaluations, but after that I took a visit to the clinic.  The night before I had noticed a couple of red blotches all over my face and hands and thought that they would go away by the morning, however they didn't, they actually had gotten worse.  So after much debate I decided to go to the clinic to get it looked at, considering that in 2 days I would be leaving the country.  And unfortunately, I have to say that my first-hand experience with the public health care system in Brasil was not the best.  I got to the clinic and all they asked for was my passport.  They took down my name and birth date and asked me to have a seat.  After about 10 minutes I was called in by a nurse who took my blood pressure and my temperature.  My temperature was normal at 36 or so degrees C but my blood pressure was low at 80/50.  I then waited some more for the doctor to see me.  After 20 minutes I was called in by the doctor.  I took a seat, she asked me what I was in for, I showed her my hands, and within 2 minutes she was already writing me a list of medications.  There were no tests involved, no touching, no consulting, nothing.  Only one question was asked and that was "So what is the problem?"  I was prescribed 3 medications, and I only decided to buy one based on my own knowledge of the symptoms and my distrust of the doctor. Below is a picture of one of my hands, as you can see it looked like a sunburn but it was very sporadic and uneven.  It was on my face as well as in between my fingers and on the undersides of my arms... weird!  After my visit to the clinic, we headed back to the city.  We took a bus which was only supposed to take 5 hours, but ended up taking 10.  We hit a lot of traffic on the way back into the city, and halfway there one of the tires got a flat. So instead of getting to the hotel at 7pm we got there almost at 1 am.  What a stressful day.

Saturday was our free day to pack and get ready for our next trip.  I woke up, did some laundry at the hotel, and attempted to go to the post office but it was closed.  In the afternoon I did most of my homework, Skyped with my family and packed all of my belongings.  I am always surprised by the amount of stuff I can fit into my one suitcase.  For dinner, a group of friends and I went to a local pizza place.  The lady serving us was super kind and friendly.  She offered to play samba music for us, lowered the price on our food, and gave us free desserts!  It was great... below is a picture of the coconut treats she gave us to try for dessert.  They were very delicious and sweet.  Tchau Brasil.... You were amazing, I will miss you dearly!!!!