Day 4
Ola from Brazil! Today was our last day of sightseeing before our performances, clinics, church services and children’s concerts, for the next week, and wow was it amazing! We started off early, 6:35 call time, to hop on a bus to head to Cominhos do Mar state park. It’s a rain forest reserve with hiking trails. Breakfast was some stuff we bought from a bakery last night, and like all of the food here, it was also so very good.
The ride took about an hour and we got to the park right as it opened. On the way out for our hike, we chose to take the trail that is not paved, and the first part was super muddy! There was much slipping and only one person that I saw went down but I won’t tell you who (Johniel, but he did make a great hand save).
Once we got to the start of the real trail, things were much
easier (at first). This trail we were
taking was originally cut through the forest in 1792 as the pathway to get from
the coast to Sao Paulo, which was the first real inland city in Brazil. The Portuguese settlers were looking for
gold. (They didn't find any here) You can still see the original
stones that they laid through the forest to “pave” the trail. That's a lot of work!
Here are a few pics of our trek through the forest.
Here is one at the top of the trail before we started to head back down. The further we went into the forest, the foggier it got. From this vista, we could hear the sea, but definitely not see it. We couldn't see anything. You know how you hear on the weather report things like, “Be careful, there is fog and a half mile visibility out there?” For most of the last half of our trip, we had about 30 feet visibility. I’ve never seen anything like it!
The way up the mountain is hard, but coming down is way worse! We were all grateful for the hard work and countless hours of work that the Brazilian people put in to pave the road in the late 1790’s, but imagine smooth stones, wet because they are in the rain forest, a serious angle of descent, and rocks covered with the rain forest floor moss! It was a slow and slippery trip down and I think everyone slipped at least once, but what a cool experience. When we finally reached the bottom of the first trail, it was time for another pic.
Then, we started on the final paved trail (the first paved road for cars from the coast to Sao Paulo) and that was 2.5 miles straight up! (and it was straight up!) The visitor’s center is at the top of the mountain.
After a quick stop for some snacks and a bathroom trip, we
boarded the bus to head to Santos and the beach. It’s about an hour-long trip that took us two
because of the fog and traffic (and I have no idea how our bus drivers have
been getting this big bus through these streets and this traffic but they are
awesome). After that hike, the back of
the bus was VERY quiet. They were out!
We ate at another buffet style restaurant where they weigh your food, and it was also really good and a lot of food! Then, it was time for the beach, so we walked a few blocks towards the beach. Check out these cool sidewalks. They are everywhere in Brazil.
We got to the beach, but we got some bad news when we got there. There was a red flag warning which meant that the water was too polluted for us to swim. Brazil is working on their water at the beaches, but we came on a bad day. So, it was just a chance to put our feet in the south Atlantic Ocean and get a few pics (and of course a Sic’em).
And then the games started. Here’s a group throwing a Frisbee:
And the trumpet guys bought a soccer ball yesterday on the streets of Sao Paulo specifically to be able to say that they played soccer on a Brazilian beach. There were shoes put out for the goals, and many offsides calls not called, but it was so fun to watch. The beach vendors were watching and they even cheered at the goals and yelled for a foul to be called.
Even Dr. K joined in!
For the last game, they talked me into playing. You will
notice that there are no pics of that on the blog. We will say that, that is because I’m taking
all of the pics! Yeah, that’s why. We will go with that.
After the beach we headed over to the Santos football
stadium. Their team, the Santos Football
Club, S.F.C., has it matches here and the stadium is over 100 years old. This was Pele's team. A fun fact....after his last game, Pele left some things in his locker and took the key. Even after his death, no one has opened it to see what he left, but everyone wonders what is in there.
This is the Wayne Fisher Jazz Football Club, W.F.J.F.C about to take the pitch against the famed S.F.C. of the Brazilian League in a friendly match.
Then we boarded the bus after some jerseys were purchased of our new favorite team (sorry Dr. K), and we headed back to Sao Paulo to a really nice restaurant. Here are some of the meals from this evening:
We are eating well in Brazil! We even got watch S.F.C. play an away match on the television while we ate. There may have been some cheering when they scored.
Something I missed from yesterday...while we were at the museum, there was a little kids group there. Three of the kids came up to Chris and asked for a pic with him. Apparently, he looks like a famous Brazillian YouTuber. Chris was famous for like 5 minutes in Brazil!
Tomorrow, we start our real work in Brazil. We have a children's concert at 10 am and we are working with, holding a clinic for, and getting to know the kids at an after school music program for underprivileged kids at 2. Here we go. Our mission begins tomorrow.
Thank you all for following us.
Thank you Baylor Missions.
Sic'em Jazz
and
Tchau (Chow)
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