Last night Loni, Sean and I gave a talk about American food.  We explained some of the specialties in our home states, our family traditions and showed some pictures of regional U.S. food.  We also talked about recipes, U.S. measuring systems and made some comparisons concerning eating habits between the U.S. and Brazil.  We were surprised at the amazing attendance (50+) considering that it was a Friday afternoon but most of the students admitted that they just came to try the food.  Loni made macaroni and cheese and apple crisp and Sean and I served up peanut butter and crackers and pancakes with maple syrup.  The sampling lines were long and the students were totally excited about tasting everything - it was really fun!

Sean has been in Ilhéus for two weeks now and has been getting used to life in Bahia.  He has come along to UESC with me, helped in classes and even spoke a bit during last night's presentation at a university cultural event.  Along with getting to know the neighborhood and the beaches, Sean's main focus right now is picking up as much Portuguese as he can.  He has a lot of language exchanges set up to start next week and has been trying to practice as much as possible.

Just trying to fit in with the locals

I feel like a different person now that Sean is here and it has been really fun to watch him enjoy life here in Ilhéus as much as I do!

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I'm interrupting my Chapada Diamantina National Park posts to write a little bit about my time in Rio.  This year, Fulbright gave us the incredible opportunity (and funding) to be able to attend conferences around the country that we were interested in.  I registered to attend a big linguistics conference in Rio de Janeiro and it worked out that Sean could fly in from Michigan and meet me there.  After finishing my classes for the week at UESC, I flew from Ilhéus to Rio on Thursday night and happily reunited with my husband at the Vila Carioca hostel in the neighborhood of Botafogo.

 
The conference starts on Monday so we have been taking advantage of the weekend to do some sightseeing.  While I am attending the conference, Sean will be taking some intensive Portuguese classes.  On Friday we explored the downtown and visited some of the free cultural centers that the city has to offer.  A few other ETAs are in town for either the conference or the big music concert Rock in Rio and a group of us went out to the Lapa neighborhood on Friday night for drinks, dancing and lots of music.


Today, on Brazil's independence day, there was a crazy amount of strikes, demonstrations and violence in the city center so Sean and I took it easy and stayed in our neighborhood.  We headed to the top of a mall for some panoramic views of the city and checked out the nearby beach.   I can easily see why the nickname of this place is "the marvelous city" because it's incredibly beautiful.  There are green hills and jungle mixed in with historical buildings and interesting architecture.  Everybody here is ready to have a good time and the vibe is contagious.  The downside?  Rio is easily the most expensive city in South America and we are constantly warned about our safety while we are out and about. 

 
For me, however, I've been riding on a pretty amazing natural high since I not only get to be in such a cool city but I get to share the experience with someone who I've missed desperately the last few months.  Sean, I'm so glad you're here!

Our second excursion involved a very long and steep day hike to one of the most well-known spots in the park, the Cachoeira da Fumaça, a very tall waterfall and the second highest in the country.  It's kind of strange little waterfall in that it's so high that the wind sprays most of the water into a mist before it actually reaches the ground.



This day we were placed with a new guide and several new tourists including a German student, a Japanese student, a British student and a Brazilian guy from São Paulo.  The first part of the hike was straight up which was made a little more challenging by the hot temperatures and the strength of the sun.  I was sucking on my camel back water pack like crazy and the other tourists were fascinated by it - they had never seen anything like it before which surprised me.  The Japanese student admitted to thinking that I was taking supplemental oxygen instead of what I was doing which was just drinking water through a plastic hose.

Peeking over the steep edge to see the waterfall

The second part of the hike was a lot more relaxing and involved an hour or so on the flat plateau and at about lunchtime we reached the top of the waterfall.  The edge of the plateau was so steep that the guides were very strict about how close we were allowed to walk.  To see the waterfall we had to lean over the edge and have someone hold our ankles; it was more than a little scary.



After lots of picture taking and lunch at the top we started back down.  The descent back to the van was made much more enjoyable by a few stops to purchase homemade fruit popsicles by vendors on the side of the trail.  There was also a little bit of drama when a cobra crossed right in front of us on the trail.  Our guide said that cobras are the most common snake in the park and that they aren't too dangerous unless they are antagonized or afraid.  He also said that everyone in the area has access to the anti-venom which was also comforting to hear. 




When we were dropped back off at our hostel we all decided to go out even though we were tired.  Erica and I met with the Dutch girls for dinner and drinks and it was fun to hear about their day and their future travel plans.

An agouti sighting

Looking for some interesting nightlife with new friends

Our hiking crew

Hiking along Rio Mucugezinho

Since I arrived in Brazil I knew that I had to make it to the country's largest and most famous national park, Chapada Diamantina.  The word chapada refers to the landscape which includes a lot of plateaus and steep cliffs and the word diamantina references the fact that the area used to be prime diamond mining territory.  Now, it's famous for hiking, swimming and picture-taking of some of the most spectacular views that the country has to offer.

The landscape of this park is incredible

Chapada is a relatively new national park having only been formed in 1985 but has been gaining more and more popularity for all that it has to offer.  Although there is not a lot of tourism infrastructure in place yet (no buses, no campgrounds etc.), those who are willing to make the effort (and pay for a guide everywhere) always end up wanting to stay longer.  In fact, people joke about how it's common to go to Chapada and never leave.  Case in point, one of the first Fulbrighters to my university here two years ago is still there subsisting on English lessons and hemp jewelery.

Going caving

Pratinha - couldn't swim here though because of a recent outbreak of the snail-hosted disease 'swimmers' itch'

The park is huge and has massive waterfalls, caves, swimming holes, the Sincora mountain range and lots of wildlife (we saw a cobra, an iguana, monkeys and an agouti).  The other things that attracts and keeps tourists in the area are the tiny, charming mountain towns.  Erica and I stayed in Lençois which was safe, clean, friendly and easy to get around.  I could have definitely stayed longer and I already want to go back. . .  Sean, how good are you at artisanal jewelry?

Gruta Azul

On our first day in the park, Erica and I were paired with two Dutch girls our age and a guide with his car.  I think this was my favorite day of the whole trip since we all got along really well and it was just the five of us.  Our itinerary for the day included: Rio Mucugezinho (river) , Poço do Diabo (natural pool), Resort da Pratinha e Gruta Azul (grotto), e Caverna Lapa Doce (cave).  We ended the day with an awesome hike up Morro do Pai Inácio to watch the sunset over the plateaus.

These blue pools were mesmerizing - the color was because of the way the light hit the minerals

The day was tiring because we did a lot of hiking but we also because we had to do a lot of driving as the distances from the different trails and things to see were quite far apart.  We had great weather, though and everyone was in good spirits.  The excursion was over before we knew it though all of us were ready to crash when we were dropped back off at the hostel at 7:30 p.m.

Famous heart stone at the top of the hill

Sunset on top of the hill

Back after a big day