January 21-22

Another couple of very interesting days. Once again, I have not had any time to download or sort my photos, so I will add them later.

Monday we went to a facility that incubates sea turtle eggs. The Sea Turtles were almost extinct. This facility has been able to get the support of the surrounding fishermen and community. Now anyone seeing a turtle laying eggs, notifies the facility. They collect the eggs and make sure that they hatch in safety. They then assist the young turtles to the sea if they need it. It has won many awards and has been very successful.

From there we went to the beach. Arlaine, Gwen, Sheila, and Marilyn had a great time playing in the surf. It took some photos of local kids surfing - they are very good. I teased the ladies that I was photographing them loosing their bikini tops in the surf and that I planned to post the photos on this blog.... Sorry - no such photos.

Next, we went to a shopping mall. With the exception of the food outlets (many of which serve Brazilian foods) it was almost exactly the same as a mall at home.

I had a wonderful visit with my host family Monday night. We listented to music, the kids sang, Paulo danced, and everyone had a good time.

Tuesday we all met at Big Paul0´s for a wonderful breakfast. There was enough food to feed an army. It was all wonderful and exotic. Paulo´s wife made all the food, and also presented us with some home made crafts. They have a wonderful home. It was fun meeting the rest of his family.

From there we had a "free" day. Carolina took Bill, Arlene, and I to the market. We were supposed to meet her at the Cathederal down town, but ended up getting lost. We went back to the market and were eventually found...

Carolina took us back to her house for lunch, and then took me on a tour of the school/Clinic that she runs for mentally disabled kids. It is in a very poor area. She is doing wonderful work there and helping a lot of people. Her school serves about 400 kids.

Back to my host family for a quick shower and then off to another group dinner.

We leave tomorrow night (actually early thrusday morning), so this may be my last post until I am back in Canada. I will try to fill in the photos/names/places once I am back.

Ted

January 20

Another Great Day. I started out the day with a swim in the pool at the hotel.

We ate a delicious breakfast, and then for a boat ride on the fransisco river reservoir. The reservoir is created by the Hydro dam that we toured yesterday.
Carla and Adenilson


Apparently I don´t look like many Brazilians. It seemed every where I went on the boat, people stopped to try to talk to me. It was really fun. The boy to my right is from Brazil, and is finishing high school. He want to travel to Canada or the US for six months with a friend to perfect his english, before entering law school. He was asking me if Canadian girls are friendly. I assured him that two young brazilian men would have no trouble meeting girls in Canada. His mother is to my left, and his younger brother is in front of Adenilson.Caroline enjoyed her swim. We stopped in a section of the reservoir where the canyon narrows. Almost everyone on the boat got out to go for a swim. The water was very clear, and the rocks to straight up (or even overhang) from the waters edge for 50meters or more.

Here we are heading down the river into an area where the Canyon narrows.
We stopped for a break on the way home and watched the sunset!

January 12 - Carnival

Sorry this post is out of order - but I had a chance to go back through some of my photos.

Carnival is like nothing I have ever seen before. The bands play on stages that are permenantly built into large transport trucks (Tractor-Trailer Trucks). There are seven or eight of these bands/trucks. They start at the north end of the main beach road in Aracaju and travel south about 5km. They travel very slowly, so it takes about 4-5 hours to travel the distance.

The trucks are separated so that the music doesn´t overlap. Some of the bands are very famous - while others are less so.

Each truck is surrounded by a "Block". The block contains the Band Truck, another truck which follows for the fans who have paid to dance in the block. The second truck contains a bar, washrooms and first aid station in the trailer. On top of the truck is an area for fans to stand, dance or sit. Surrounding the block is a rope that is held by hundreds of workers. The rope is a moving perimeter around the trucks - in the shape of a large rectangle. Fans who have paid around $100 get a coloured tee shirt and are allowed to follow the trucks within the rope. The rope handlers only let people with the correct tee-shirt (those who have paid) into the Block. There are thousands and thousands of people following the best bands. The block is entirely full of people. Most of these people start dancing at the very start, and continue dancing for five hours until the Band/Truck reaches the end. About mid way down the avenue the band stops for the TV cameras.

Outside the Block - other people either follow the band, or watch all the bands pass. Usually these people would follow a band for a bit, then backtrack and follow the next one.

A secure perimeter is set up by police around the entire down town. You have to go through airport like security to get to the street.

There is also a large police presence throughout the area, with groups of police petrolling on foot, police towers (like lifeguard stands) at intervals, and special forces police petrolling in vehicles that follow the crowd.

We were able to watch from a 12th floor penthouse condo. There were somewhere between 250,000 and 300,000 people on the street. Paulo took me out into the street when a few of the bands passed, and it was shoulder to shoulder. At one point we were pushed out of the way by a group of police who were trying to get through the crowd.

The music is very loud. The rythm forces you to start to dance with the crowd. It was an amazing experience..

There is a tradition in Aracaju, that many men dress up as women in red skirts. I forget what they are called. Very strange, but they have a lot of fun. Paulo tells me that gay men are not allowed. The fans of the first band were from this group only. You can see the red outfits in the photo.

Everywhere that there is space - is filled with people.

If you look closely, you can see the tractor trailer unit with the band and stage on top of the trailer. All the speakers and amplifiers are built into the trailer.

If you look closely, you can see the difference between the people within the block (on the top side of the street around the band/truck) and the others outside the Block (mostly on the bottom of the photo. You can also see the rope, with the workers in their orange shirts. There is a second, smaller rope around the front of the truck to keep the dancers from getting run over...

In this photo you can see the party stretching all the way North to the end of the avenues. There are about five Trucks (Blocks) visible in this photo - and we are approximately at the 1/2 way point, so it stretches an equal distance in the other direction.

This is a christmas tree that is on a sand bar visible from the main avenue. It is 140 meters high. The lights change, and some are coloured. It is very interesting to watch.

Carnaval lasts until about 4 in the morning, and runs for 4 days. May people participate every day. I don´t think much work gets done during the day time as everyone seems to be up all night for the party. We left early, and got home around 2am.

January 17-18

Our team has been kept extremely busy. As you can imagine it takes time to sort and prepare my photos and then to add to the blog - so I am way behind, and probably won´t catch up until after I am home in Canada. This morning, I am in a beautiful hotel in the desert by the Fransisco River - so not able to access any photos. I decided to skip a few days - but give you a description of what we have been doing the last couple of days. I will fill in the other days, and add photos later. Also please forgive my spelling of names and places. Again I will fill in the details later when I have access to maps and brochures.

Wednesday was an extremely busy day. We first went to tour a large Fertalizer plant. I am sure it is similar to large facilities in Alberta. Their product is Urea.



Here is our group at the Petrobras facility. Our tour guide, Process Engineer Rose´Ronaldo De Oliverira, is on the left. Petrobras is a huge government corporation. They also produce fuel, and manage the off shore oil platforms. They also sponsor and maintain many of the parks in the City.

This is the final product - Urea. It is a dry, coarse, product, made up of pellets or balls of about 2mm (1/8 inch) size. We were able to walk up to it and hold it in our hands.

Then we toured the fourth oldest town in Brazil, and a Slave museum. A local African girl showed us through the museum in detail.

This street is original, dating back to the 1700´s.

Very interesting architecture and colours in the town! Narrow streets - some much narrower than this - Paulo´s small car just fit down one of the street - you would be out of luck in an SUV.

The museum was very interesting. It included the tools that the slaves worked with to till and plant the fields, as well as tourcher devices to control and punish the slaves 0- very crule.

The museum is in an original plantation house. Some of the furniture is original.

They also had statutes dressed as the African gods. They weren´t allowed to worship their original gods, so they fashioned them as catholic saints - and re-named them.

We weren´t allowed to take photo´s, but we talked our guide into this one.

Then we had a supprise!! We went to Big Paulo´s home town. When we arrived at the square there was a crowd of people lining the streets, and a Band getting ready to play.

We first toured a beautiful old church which dates to the 1700´s - it is a museum with lots of original artifacts from the first churches in Brazil. We met the Mayor and member of their local Rotary Club. Then they started a parade in our honour. They normally have this festival in June - but they did it just for us. The whole town was out. There was music from the band, and lots of people in costumes. Four giants, and many people dancing in the streets. At first only the people in costure, then everyone joined in dancing in the street and following the parade around town. The TV Station for Aracaju was out and seemed particularly interested in Sheila, Gwen, and Arlaine dancing with the locals! We followed the parade another Church/Museum which is famous for preparing traditional foods and sweets. We had a lunch with many many different kinds of foods and treats. They then presented each of us with a certificate of welcome from the mayor of the City, and also a basket of sweets and treats..

Thursday was a "free" day so we all did something different. My Paulo (host) took me to the beach. We swam in the waves and tried interesting foods at the beach bar. We happened to run in to Gwen and Ana on the beach and sat with them for a while.

We then went home for lunch (the big meal of the day) - and then Paulo took me on a tour of Aracaju. He took a "typical Tourist" photo of me by a statue downtown of a Parot and Caju - the symbols of the city - very large and colorful.

At 7:00 we went to Caroline and Weliton´s house. It is like a Holleywood Mansion! Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful! There is a large area inside the gate - probably used for vehicles, which had been converted to a dance floor. A local band was playing, and many people from Carols school were dressed up and doing local dances. They tried to teach us Canadians. Everyone had brought something to eat and drink, so there was lots of food and fellowship. Everyone had a wonderful time. Again - everyone here is so friendly. We have developed amazing friendships.

Yesterday (Saturday) we had an early start. We first stopped to fisit a fellow who is famous for his handling of falcons and other birds. He is the only person in the world to have successfully bred some of these birds. He trains many of them as show birds. We were able to touch and hold many of the birds. I have a photo of many of us with a Falcon or other bird on our shoulder. Even Arlene, who is terrified of birds was able to hold two at one time!!! I have photo´s to prove it!!

After a long drive, we arrived at a museum of archiology. We saw models of ancient civilization in this area - very interesting.

Next we toured a hydro power Dam - the fourth largest in Brazil. 140m high by 800m wide with 6 turbines. It generates power for the North East of Brazil.

We then went to a beautiful old town on the riverside where there was a beach - but even though we were hot - we did not have our swimsuits so we didnt swim. We had lunch on at a restraunt which was perched on top of a very high hill looking down over the town and river. Very good fish - but also french fries with bits of steak. Very good!!

Some us us walked down a very long set of steps to the town. They had a train station museum in the town with lots of crafts for sale.

At the end of the day, we arived at the Xingo Paroue Hotel. A beautiful hotel in the desert - a few miles away from the river. It had a beautful pool with COLD water - it felt wonderful. I actually had to get out of the pool because I was getting cold. It is the first time I was cold since arriving here. Very nice!!!

We had a late supper in the restraunt - again different food, but very good. They have a type of root that is similar to potato - but served in slices.

Today (Sunday) we are scheduled to go on a boat ride down the river through some canyons. It sounds wonderful - I will tell you all about it.

TCHAU (Chow)

January 15, 2008

Today we travelled to the City of Maceió. It was a long journey of about 3 hours.

This is a "Truck Stop". Lots of interesting things to buy!

Sheila checking in to the hotel.

The hotel has beautiful with a large open area in the center. It was located right across the road from the Beach. Many beach bars and other consessions were located along the beach.

After checking into the hotel, we were treated to a special meal in a local restraunt.

There were many different kinds of food, mostly sea food, but also some steak.

Notice the waiter taking our order with his Palm Pilot.

We met a fellow named Carlos who toured us around the City. The City is built on three levels. The hotels and tourist area is built at the lowest level, just above sea level.

Our first stop was a lookout on the highest level which had a beautiful view of the City.

Paulo and I are eating popcorn. They had several different kinds - this kind tasted sort of like puffed wheat...

Here we are looking out over the City

This is an abandoned water tower, which has been converted to an Engineers Club - with a beautiful view of the City.

Our next step was an area where local clothing and crafts are made and sold.

Of course the Guys didn´t last long in the shop, so we stopped in a local pub for a beer!

On the way home, we decided to stop at a large shopping mall. It was like a big Superstore. They had wonderful selections of peppers, and fruits. It´is a funny story, because after looking around for 15 to 20 minutes and selecting a few items to purchase (In my case some Rum...), we got to the till, only to find that you had to be a member to purchase anything - like a Cosco. Oh well....

January 14, 2008

We had Tuesday Morning off. It was nice to sleep in and finally get a good nights sleep. I worked on my photos, and showed Lailia, and the kids (my host family) some photos of my wife Louise, and the kids. It was fun, but sort of like sherades - as neither of us speaks the others language. Lots of fun though.

We went to the Rotary club of Compartilha, and met president Roberto Baldo Cunha. It was a very friendly club. We were instantly welcomed. The food was wonderful.

Paulo and his wife Marly

Marilyn gave a presentation about Canada, and then we exchanged banners.

Here I am exchanging a banner of the Camrose Club with president Cunha.

Arlaine speaking, Adenilson at the table.

Most of the team went with Carol after the meeting to tour her school for autistic children. The tour was impromptu, and somehow neither I or Ade new about it, so he and Carol drove me home after the meeting. I understand that it was very interesting. Carol promises to take me on a similar tour next week.

Paulo took me on a tour of Aracaju. Very interesting - history, architecture and polatics.
The new bridge, that opened last year, is a work of art. Aracaju is a very interesting and beautiful city....

January 13, 2008

We were up early on Sunday, and met at the Shell station. We were told we were going to a beach on the river. We all headed out, but had to stop at a restaraunt to wait for one of our crew.

Marilyn looks pretty natural, holding Simone´s son Otavio Jr.We stopped at a boat launch/restraunt. Very beautiful.Arlaine, Gwen, Chris, and Adenilson

We boarded a boat, which took us up river past some mangroves, and some beautiful houses to a sandbar which is only above water during low tide.

Adenilson, Carla, Chris, and Ana looked after us on this river paridise. We went for walks n the sandbar and for very warm swims. People continued to arrive through mid afternoon, but it never got crowded. We snacked on Shrimp, and many other treats.....
When we got back to the mainland, we went to a very interesting restraunt, run by a fisherman who built the restraunt up from scratch. The name of the restraunt translates into something like "She had a very small bikini, which blew away in the wind". The food was excellent. They had a sort of fish gravy, which came with the main dish. The main access was via a back alley.

Sheila, enjoying a coconut juice!

Carla was a bit tired.....

But came back to life when the food was served.

On the way home from the beach, some of us stopped to watch some Kiters. There is a kite school on the beach. Great place to learn, as there are hudge areas on the beach to launch with nothing in the way - and miles of sailing with almost no swimmers.

That night, Paulo (from my host family), and I walked to the Carnival. It was very crowded, but lots of fun. Great music - and dancing. Paulo seemed to know every other person. Lots of kids and parents in the crowds.

At one point is was so crowded that we couldn´t move in any direction.

We worked our way to his sisters condo, where we met the rest of the family. We watched a few of the bands from the street, and then others from her condo on the 8th flow. The whole building rocked with the music. I guess you either enjoy Carnival, or you move out for four days!!!