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Monday, September 05, 2011

Carol’s Brasil: part 111

Finally the promised final segment.

DSC_9578I don’t have a clear memory of when I first began to talk to Carolina, but it must have been in early 2009.  She stopped by ‘flowers’ and left a comment, adding her memories of Brasil as it tied into my post. Then I went by her blog (click link above) and began to enjoy her posts about experiencing Brasil as a peace corps volunteer in the late 60s.  It didn’t take long and we had exchanged personal information and began to email about her hopes of returning here for a visit.   She made plans, they were canceled.  She made more plans and once again they were canceled.  Until she contacted me back in May of this year with her final plan, I didn’t really believe she would ever come.  And, unlike her first couple of plans, this time she would include a stop in Rio.   I offered her a sofa to sleep on and she accepted – finally my first blog related friend was coming to visit. 

Back and forth, back and forth the emails flew.  She was listing all the things she wanted to do.  I was trying to give her input without encouraging or discouraging activities on her list.  I did think from the beginning that the list was way too long but it was her trip and her energy; her four days here would be packed.  She mentioned right from the beginning that she wanted to hang-glide.  And I considered joining her, but visions of actually running across a mountain top and jumping into clear blue skies put that notion right out of my mind.  She wanted to do it, had wanted to for years, and I thought she should give it a try.   

DSC_9519Starting early on Saturday morning Carol began making contact with different ‘hang-glide captains”.  What do you call these guys that take you up and down anyway?   She narrowed the list to 2 possible, asking questions like how much, when, how long, do they provide a video, and do they pick up and deliver?   Then once the priority plans were made we decided on our weekend activities and that she would call them on Sunday night for a Monday  fly time.  On Sunday it was, ‘call tomorrow at 9:00’.  On Monday at 9:00 it was, ‘the wind is blowing the wrong direction, call at 3’.  At 3 it was ‘call at 9’ on Tuesday, and on Tuesday it was a repeat of Monday.  And then she was out of time. 

Learned a couple of things;  there is a wrong direction for the wind to be blowing, and that if the wind was right on Saturday or Sunday we should have made the hang-gliding a priority – course we only knew about number one after Saturday and Sunday were over...... So I guess we only learned one thing – that is to ask about wind direction.  

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DSC_9701I think, no I hope that Carol enjoyed her days in Rio – If going by my photos of the weekend are any gage, even leaving out the lost hang-gliding, and the museum workers’ strike, and that the Parque da Catacumba is closed on Mondays, we still managed Niteroi, a walk through the Hippy Square on Sunday, bought vegies at the fruit/vegetable street market on Monday, walked partially around the Lagoa at sunset, she walked the beach once while I napped, she shopped in and out of the Ipanema gallerias while I napped (yes I nap routinely), we went to one nice restaurant for dinner, and last but not least, we had a great stroll through the botanical gardens.  And with all of this said I just have to add, “I can’t wait until she returns so we can finish off her list.”

 

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3 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for highlighting my trip to Brazil on your blog. You and Camillo were delightful hosts and even though I didn't do everything on my list, the highlights for me were meeting you both and seeing and photographing Rio's botanical garden ---and, oh, the Brazilian ice cream ---so many exotic flavors. I would have had to stay several more months to try them all.

    Brazil has certainly changed. The area where I lived in Sergipe has grown immensely and progressed. I saw hundreds of motorcycles ---don't remember ever seeing one 40 years ago ---and yet there are still those who pull carts behind their mules. Although everything seems new and modern, the sertão has retained some of the charm of the simple life of that time.

    Now, I just have to decide when to return for that hang-glide down to the beach.

    Carolina

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  2. I hope your friend gets a return trip and another chance at her dream of hang gliding.

    BTW, That tree in the last photo is too much! It is amazing!

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