Evening sky, Jurere
If we were here for a year, it would probably be possible to make a really effective calendar from monthly photos of the evening sky over Jurere. It is so often a stunning sight, particularly in combination with sand and sea.

This photo was taken from the veranda this evening.

Blogging
Recently I have made two changes to the way in which I am keeping this blog, one consciously and the other unconsciously.

1. It occurred to me - all of a sudden, recently - that I had made a number of posts where I had named people in a way in which they could possibly be identified. This realisation brought me up with a start. I was quite appalled that I had made this mistake and went right through all my photos and this blog to take out all the names. I feel more comfortable now that I have done this.

2. I realise that unconsciously I have started to write some posts as if I have an audience. Apart from one or two people who have told me that they read this blog from time to time, I'm not sure how much of an audience there is out there. So a blog is obviously different to a diary which is written for personal purposes, even if the content is in the form of a diary, as for this blog.

Beira Mar Norte, Florianopolis
Yesterday was a beautiful day, so in the afternoon we went to the city to see what its like on a Sunday. I came away with one main impression - very noisy!

You will see from the photo that the city is built right on the edge of the coast and is quite a sight, even with all the skyscrapers. Although there are not many people in this photo, there were in fact loads of people strolling, cycling, jogging along the specially built walk and cycleway. There are also bars and stalls at certain points where many people, especially the young, meet and gather.

The lack of sound with photos, as opposed to with videos, can be misleading in my view. This photo shows a very tranquil scene, whereas, although it was interesting to walk the whole length of the bay and back (7 kms) I wouldn't want to do it again because the noise from the traffic was unbelievably loud. I can't imagine what it must be like living in one of the apartment blocks. How do people cope with living in cities? Give me the countryside any day.

'Winter tidying up'
It seems like the equivalent of spring cleaning happens now in the winter - at least it does in Jurere. The weather is very mixed, but currently there is lots of sunshine and clear blue skies, either associated with warm or even hot days, or associated with really quite cold days.

Either way it is obviously nowhere near as hot as it is in the summer, when from past experience I know that for 3 months a terrible lethargy sets in because of the heat. Now is the obvious time to get all those jobs done that you know will not get done in the summer, so lots of houses are being cleaned up, repainted, refurbished, replanted etc.

I thought this was the most fascinating bit of cleaning up I have seen. Not only is the house being painted white, but also the palm trees and the stones, which then form borders to the flower beds.

The sun is still shining.....
in Florianopolis. This photo was taken yesterday - a beautiful sunny winter day - which is why there are so many seats empty in this beach bar.

From our point of view, this is the ideal time to visit Florianopolis. No crowds, brilliant sunshine, vibrant colours and warm sun.

Great to be back!
This is how a Brazilian feels when he returns to Brazil after a year in England!

The photo was taken at an evening BBQ for family and friends to celebrate his return.

Today's lunch!
This is our favourite restaurant at Praia do Forte (about 5 minutes in the car from where we live). The waiters here treat us like old friends!

However, the reason for this post is to try out posting this photo - which is 8 photos stitched together with a piece of software which I have only just discovered called 'Autostitch'. This is my first attempt and the blurred bits show that I haven't got it right yet. I also need to work out how to size the photos, but I'm quite excited about the possibilities. Clicking on the photo twice will enlarge it.

Weekend meals out (Bar do Arantes, Pantano do Sul, Florianopolis)
We have been back from Pantanal for 2 weeks now, but I still haven't caught up with myself on this blog.

Last weekend, not this(!), we revisited Pantano do Sul, a beach on the southern end of the island. I have mentioned before that the southern end of the island is not as well developed as the north (where we live), but it is just as interesting. The beach is a busy place with fishermen, musicians and craft stalls. Cars drive onto the beach here and there are some popular restaurants/bars.

So, last weekend we returned to Bar do Arantes, which we visited with some Brazilian friends right at the beginning of our stay here, before I had a camera. I have wanted to go back with a camera ever since. From the photo (and more in the Photo Gallery of my website) you will see that it is a unique experience eating at Bar do Arantes. Visitors to the bar (restaurant) are encouraged to write a message on a paper napkin and tape it to the walls of the restaurant. Evidently, this idea originated from Cuba, where there is a similar bar.

Given that the bar is constructed from wood and is lined with all these paper messages, I dread to think what would happen if there was a fire - but it is a great eating out there - quite unlike anywhere else I have been. You can either eat very cheaply from a help yourself buffet, or pay slightly more for a meal from the menu. Either way, for an English person, it is cheap and very good as is most eating out in Brazil.

Housing in Jurere
There are 2 areas of Jurere - Jurere Traditional, where we live and where the original Jurere houses and apartments are. This is the cheaper area of Jurere. And then there's Jurere International - the upmarket area. Here you can find the expensive summer houses of people from Sao Paulo etc. and an upmarket shopping centre.

Both parts of Jurere are interesting and I am pleased that we are living in Jurere Traditional which is where the local (rather than visiting/summer) population lives - but I am also fascinated by Jurere International where there is obviously so much wealth.

I am particuluarly fascinated by the houses that the rich build and the way they plant their gardens. They are all different! In the glorious weather that we had last week these houses seemed 'larger than life' and I noticed how many different colours were used for painting the houses, so I went mad with my camera. (See photo Gallery)

Here is a row of 3 houses painted in different colours. They seem so bright to 'the English eye'!

Hot weather
The recent hot weather here has brought the flowers out in full force. Here is the Bird-of-Paradise flower which is planted in a lot of gardens around here. Quite a sight in the full sun!

Alternative perspective
Another Brazilian we spoke to recently really could not understand why we would want to return to Europe where in his view, the weather is bad, the countries are overpopulated and there is always one war or another going on.

From his perspective, Brazil has enough land for everyone, enough food for everyone, wonderful weather and people who like to party and have fun rather than fight! Why would anyone want to leave Brazil!

Brazilian Perspectives
We have had some very interesting conversations with Brazilians we have met on our travels over the past few weeks. I have mentioned before that my personal perspective is that life has improved in recent years for people in Brazil - but an article we read recently and the conversations we have had with some people suggests that this is not the case.

Evidently the view of some is that the gap between the rich and poor is wider than ever before, the number of people living in favelas (slums) is increasing and the amount of corruption in government is as high as it has ever been.

In addition, one Brazilian we spoke to was despairing of the laid back attitude of the Brazilian people and the failure of the country to take full advantage of the naturally available resources.

Of course, Brazil is such a huge country that it is impossible to generalise, but it is interesting to hear these perspectives.

Sunset from the Veranda
Despite the fact that we returned from our trip last week to beautiful weather, and evening sunsets like this, it has still not been easy to settle down again. I think it has been even harder this time than when we returned from Buenos Aires.

On reflection I think this is because I feel as though time is running out. We now only have 2 months left and in that time have contracts to complete work on and there are still so many places I would like to visit and people I would like to see. How will we fit it all in?

We may just have to come back to Brazil another time!

Lace-making in Florianopolis
It was really good to see this again.

Florianopolis is known for it's lace-making and we used to see this a lot in Lagoa da Conceicao when we lived here all those years ago.

In those days very young girls were taught to make lace and handle all the bobbins. The experienced lace-makers do this so quickly - but I'm not sure if this skill is still being passed down to the younger generation. I suspect it may be one of those activities that is dying out. There are certainly not as many lace stalls in Lagoa as there used to be.

Exhibition Opening in Florianopolis
On the night we got back from our trip to Pantanal and Belo Horizonte, we went straight out to an exhibition opening. We received a personal invitation from Senhor Cipriano, the artist, which was very kind of him.

It was a really enjoyable and interesting experience on a number of accounts.

1. It was great to see all the paintings together. Sr. Cipriano has a number of styles and had produced over 30 paintings for this exhibition.

2. There were more than the paintings to enjoy. There was a choir singing (very impressive) and a lady making lace, since some of the paintings were about lace making.

3. We bumped into a couple of people who we hadn't seen for 30 years. The exhibition was held in the offices of a bank and both the people were directors of the bank. 30 years ago, they were John's students and they still recognised him!

4. The drinks and eats were great!

All in all a good night out!

Getting about in Ouro Preto
I think the reason that I probably don't remember much about Ouro Preto is that if you are disabled, access is just about impossible. Almost all the streets are cobbled and on steep hills. I can't think of a worse combination. I suspect that the last time we were here (30 years ago and without a wheelchair) we just didn't attempt it.

But this time it worked out wonderfully well. We were treated to a fabulous lunch by our friends in a typical Minas Gerais restaurant and then we split up with the women walking round the town and the men going to the Mineralogy Museum.

Its a very good thing that we only had an hour or so to do this and also that John had all the money with him, as the gem shops were fantastic and so cheap and I would not have been able to resist buying something, whereas John easily turned down the offer of a magnificent stone in the mineralogy museum!

This photo is of Praca Tiradentes. When I get round to it, I will put more about the history of Ouro Preto and the sights to be seen on my website. For now I will post my photos in my photo gallery.

Ouro Preto
We were also lucky enough to be taken to Ouro Preto for the day on the Sunday of our visit.

Ouro Preto is an old colonial town, founded in 1698, up in the hills about an hour and a half's drive from Belo Horizonte. It is a national monument set in a national park.

Translated, Ouro Preto means 'black gold', since it was the focal point of the gold rush in Brazil's golden age in the 18th century. At this time it was the capital of the state of Minas Gerais. Before being named Ouro Preto it was called 'Vila Rica' - rich town.

In fact Ouro Preto is a national treasure, both for the beauty of its surroundings and for the treasure to be found in the form of gold in its churches and in the form of gems in the local mines. It is full of cobbled streets, late 18th century buildings and baroque churches.

It is now a quiet university town, although it was not quiet on the day that we visited which was the first day of an annual music festival.

It is definitely a 'not to be missed' place if you visit Brazil and although we visited it years ago, it was wonderful to see it again.

Eating out in Belo Horizonte
I have read that there is a legend here in Brazil that Belo Horizonte has the largest number of bars and restaurants per habitant in the world. Whether or not this is true we were taken to a wonderful chinese restaurant on our arrival on the Saturday evening.

Here are the friends who treated us to this meal!

The City of Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte is built on hills and surrounded by mountains. It has a wonderful climate, not too hot, nor too cold and although it has a rainy season in the summer this is not a problem for the inhabitants. It is thought to be one of the best cities in Brazil for quality of life.

Since we were only in Belo Horizonte for Saturday evening and Sunday, we didn't have time to see too much of it, but what we did see left us with an impression of a well-planned city with well-preserved old colonial buildings alongside new high rise buildings, wide streets and plenty of green areas. The 'ipe' tree was in flower and many of the street featured these pink flowering trees - although not to the size of those we saw in Pantanal.

You can get a wonderful view of the city from a viewpoint at the top of one of the surrounding hills. This is where this photo was taken from.

The wikipedia encyclopedia website can tell you more about Belo Horizonte than I can. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belo_Horizonte

Belo Horizonte
A week ago today we were in Belo Horizonte with our friends and their family. It is many years since we have seen them and we have never before met their 3 children. Their oldest child, is now 15. We first met them about 30 years ago.

Belo Horizonte is a beautiful city which lives up to the translation of its name - beautiful horizon. It is the capital of the state of Minas Gerais, which has a history of gold, gems and diamond mining.

Final thoughts about Pantanal
You will realise - if you have read the past few posts - that I have far more to say about Pantanal than I could possibly write about - and an excessive number of photos!

There is something for everyone in Pantanal, especially at Pousada Aguape which I could recommend to anyone and would love to visit again.

I would particularly like to return in the wet season, when a lot of the land that we travelled over would be under water and when we would see different birds and animals.

I would also like to meet the wonderful people we met at Pousada Aguape again sometime in the future. Ultimately its the people who make the difference.

Food at Pousada Aguape
You will see from any photos of me, that despite all this activity, I haven't lost an ounce of weight. The food is just far too good. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were all in the price at Pousada Aguape, all served in the wonderful open air dining room and all delicious typical Pantanal food.

The only thing that I felt was probably a bit of an acquired taste was Piranha soup! This is a speciality of the area and even if it takes a bit of getting used to, should not be missed.

Self-sufficiency on the Fazendas
In the last 10 years, pantaneiros have no longer been allowed (by the government) to hunt on their land - nor can they cut down some species of trees. This has obviously meant that their style of life has changed a lot. They now rely heavily on the shops in the nearest town, which for Pousada Aguape is Aquidauana. They make a weekly trip into town and come back laden with stores. The owner said he was always relieved to get back from town and get out of his 'town' clothes.

Despite this they do have their cattle and occasionally kill one. They also have cows which they milk at dawn, and guests can have a go - easier said than done! The milk is delicious and makes excellent cheese. There are some fruit trees, chickens, geese and they grow some vegetables such as lettuce.

This girl (from Belgium) who was travelling round Brazil with her father for a month, is being shown how to milk a cow. Between the three of us we didn't get enough milk for one drink, but the pantaneiro was able to fill a bowl in about 2 minutes!

On Safari by Jeep
A jeep is safer if you are going to be out in the evening or at night. Again, our guide managed to not only spot an armadillo, but also to catch it so that we could have a close look at it.

We also had the amazing experience of looking for jacare (alligators) in the dark. If you shine a very strong torch out into the surrounding terrain, you can spot the jacare because their pairs of eyes shine red and orange in the dark. Its quite a sight to see literally dozens of pairs of eyes picked out by the torch.

When going on safari we were given an A4 sheet with 65 birds listed on one side of which we saw 44 and 28 animals on the other of which we saw 17. So you can be sure to see something when you go to Pantanal and what you do see will probably be quite unlike anything you have seen before!

On Safari by Boat
Pousada Aguape also organises a boat trip down the Rio Aquidauana, which is just a short walk from the Pousada and flows into the Rio Paraguay.

Each trip enabled us to see a different range of animals and birds. On this trip, our guide (who seemed to be able to spot animals and birds when no-one else noticed them) pulled the boat into the bank and we crept into the jungle where we were able to see a group of wild boar.

We also saw - from a distance - monkeys in the trees and the enormous Tuiuiu (Jabiru stork) - quite sight - even from a distance.

On Safari by Charete
This is an easier way to travel and allows plenty of time for talking. John is in the photo with one of the fazenda pantaneiros. The owner's son also accompanied them and John was able to ask him everything about the business of running a fazenda.John now knows the price of hectars, how many cattle to 1000 hectars, how many bulls to how many cows, how long a cow will live, that last year over 40 cows were killed by wild cats - jaguars and pumars and many more details of running a fazenda in the interior of Brazil!

Its a tough life and the fazendas need to have thousands of hectars as the earth is poor and will only sustain a small number of cattle - on top of which it is under water for most of the year.

Riding style in Pantanal
The photo shows a pantaneiro's son in the tack room getting ready for a ride. I had an interesting conversation with father and son about how they ride. The style is very different.

They have small saddles (because of having to ride in water so often) and a sheep's fleece over this, because they have to spend so long in the saddle. The owner's daughter-in-law said she didn't use a fleece because although it is softer it means that your legs are spread much wider apart which is not comfortable for smaller people.

They do not rise to the trot and they have metal rings as stirrups, which evidently is safer when travelling at speed and lassoing cattle.

They all wear hats with big brims, against the sun, but not hard hats.

Finally they hold the reins in one hand. It was explained to me that the horses need to be ridden with loose reins and these should be held in one hand only. If the reins are held in two hands the horses do not understand what you want them to do.

The land that we rode through was amazing. I have put 'loads' of photos on my Flickr site! Sorry if you are not interested in horses and riding! I'm not normally, but this was an exceptional experience!

What can you see from horseback?
Lots! We saw a huge variety of exotic birds as well as wild pigs (cateto) veado campeiro (pampas deer), jacare (caiman), capivara, quati (south american coati).

Despite numerous attempts, I did not manage to get a photo of any of these.

At the point in the photo a (tamandua bandeira) giant anteater had passed within about a metre of me. However, I was so busy holding onto the horse with one hand, that I completely failed to take a photo with the other hand. In all the excitement I just didn't press the button hard enough!

The photo shows the fazenda owner's daughter-in-law and one of pantaneiros who works on the fazenda, each in fabulous hats! They had just finished 'flushing the anteater out' so that we could see it. Very skilled horsemanship!

Pantaneiro horses
These are owned and bred by the fazenda owners, but roam free over the vast areas of land. They are sturdy, easy animals, who have feet that can cope with travelling through a lot of water in the wet season.

In the Pantanal there are all sorts of riding experiences to be had for different levels of riders.

I went out for a 3 hour trip, with a group which included a girl who had never been on a horse before. She was fine. Cantering is saved for trips with more advanced riders than we were - so we were able to travel slowly and quietly and see an amazing amount of wildlife.

On Safari in Pantanal
There are 5 ways you can do this.

1. Horseback - a great way to travel far and wide, see a lot and have the amazing experience (if you are not an experienced horse-rider) of swimming on horsback across a lake! This is what the spare pair of old shoes were needed for. In addition, the Pantaneiro saddles are very small to allow for the horses to enter water and the leather saddles not to get wet. Obviously this is a regular occurrence in the wet season.

2. Charete - horse drawn carriage. This means that the Pantanal is accessible to young children, old people and the disabled.

3. On foot - for short distances and definitely not in the heat of the day.

4. By jeep - great for seeing a lot of flora and fauna - as is horseback. Birdwatchers travel by foot, which is quieter.

5. By boat, on the river or on lakes. Boats are obviously used a lot in the wet season.

Working with cattle
It was quite something to see the skills of the Pantaneiros. They could lasso cattle with the greatest of ease and their riding skills were amazing.

The photo shows the pantaneiros vaccinating, numbering and recording the birth of a recently born calf.

The calf's mother was not at all happy with this and had to be kept out of the way.

Pantanal children
This is a pantaneiro with his son. Family life in Pantanal is not easy. Some of the Fazendas have schools, but if there is not a school on the Fazenda, then children of school age have to go to the nearest town and live away from their parents, with relations, or the family is split up, or they are not educated.

This boy is 14 and staying with his father during the holidays. His mother lives in the nearest town. He is a 'chip off the old block'. He already rides a horse as if he was born on it and can lasso a calf with the greatest of ease. When I asked him if he was going to follow in his father's footsteps and work on the ranch he said he was going to finish his education first and then decide.

Pousada Aguape has a school building and used to run a Fazenda school (up to 20 children of all ages), but had to close through lack of support from the local council. They hope to start the school up again soon.

Cattle Ranching - Pousada Aguape
I might have given the impression that the ranch we stayed on is now only involved in eco-tourism, but this is not the case. It is principally a working cattle ranch. What the older and more experienced 'pantaneiros' think about taking tourists out and about, I can't imagine. Maybe they are just grateful that this enables them to stay living and working in an environment that they know and love.

This photo shows the type of cattle seen in Pantanal. They have to be able to cope with the dry and wet seasons.

Length of posts
I have realised that in my excitement about our experience of Pantanal, I have completely failed to stick to my own rule of short posts! If there is anyone reading this and still hanging on in there, I will try and remedy this in the following posts. Can't promise though! Just too much to say!

Fishing in Pantanal
This was an amazing experience. When they told me that our programme included fishing, I immediately said that John would go fishing, but that I would take the opportunity to go walking and take photos. I could think of nothing more boring than going fishing. How wrong I was!

They persuaded me to go by telling me that the lake where we would fish was exceptionally beautiful. I was not disappointed. It was stunning - especially with the reflections thrown up by the evening sun.

As soon as we entered the rowing boat (our guide did the rowing - see the photo gallery for a picture of him), the Jacare (alligators) began circling. Fishing means that there will be some effortless food gain for them, although we had to move location in the middle of the trip to get away from them, as their presence was keeping the fish away from us.

Before we started fishing, our guide rowed us round the lake so that we could see the Aguape plant in flower and play with the otters which kept popping up and teasing us to follow them. (Unfortunately I was not able to get a photo of this.)

And then we settled down to fishing in earnest, with bamboo rods and fish pieces on the hooks. We were fishing for Piranha and we caught quite a few of them! We left our guide to get them off the hooks as their teeth were incredibly sharp and vicious looking and you had to be very careful in handling them. I kept well away and made sure I kept all my fingers!

All the time the Jacare were circling. One of them was particularly large and threatening with so many teeth missing that you wondered whose flesh they were now occupying. We discovered from Silvio that Jacare really do like Piranha. If you dangle the rod with the Piranha you have just caught over the Jacare, they will actually jump out of the water to try and get them off your rod (see photo gallery). An amazing experience! However at one point our guide bashed the large Jacare on the nose with his rod to get him to move further away. He explained that my hand holding a shiny camera (taking the photo attached) was looking very tempting for the Jacare, which could easily jump out of the water and grab it! Quite a thought!

We left the lake as the sun was setting, each of us surrounded by a cloud of mosquitos. However, this should not put anyone off having this wonderful experience. A hat, long sleeved shirt, trousers, long socks and loads of insect repellant keeps them at bay!

I have put quite a few of my photos of this experience in my Photo Gallery (Flickr) on my website.

Pousada Aguape - How was it organised?
It really was very impressive. First of all, the number of guests was not excessive. There were 14 rooms and while we were there there were about 4 couples/families there.

The family who owned the Pousada organised a personal programme for each group, taking account of interests, requests etc. Sometimes this meant that you went out on a trip with more people and sometimes you went out on your own. Your personal programme was posted on a notice board outside the bar each day.

Because of the mid-day heat, trips out were organised for first thing in the morning (between 7.00 and 11.00 am) and later in the afternoon (3.30 and 6.30 pm). We got used to rising at no later than 5.45 am and going to bed between 9.00 and 9.30 pm).

All the trips were fabulous, but the fishing trip, which I really had not expected to enjoy (fishing in England is so boring!) was fantastic!

Taking photos of wildlife
This completely defeated me, as the attached photo of two blue macaws shows. I discovered that although my rather simple digital camera has a zoom it is not up to capturing moving animals. I followed these two blue macaws until they settled in the tree and even then they were so high up that it was impossible to get a good photo of them with my camera.

I also had this problem with many other species of birds and animals which although I was able to see at close range, I was not able to photograph, but the following website has a wonderful image of blue macaws in flight, which is just what we saw every day.

http://www.bluemacaws.org/images/blue244.jpg

Pousada Aguape - first impressions
I knew that we were going to have a unique experience the minute we arrived.

First a paraqueet landed on my head. I quickly learned not to wear earrings which were the attraction.

Second, we were just having a look around when John recognised one of the Pantaneiros (ranch cowboys) from a photo in a travel brochure. This of course delighted the Pantaneiro and we immediately realised what warm, friendly and special people the Pantaneiros are.

Then, there were frogs swimming and jumping about in the loo - every day - which presents its own challenges, especially in the middle of the night!

There was a group of blue macaws sitting on the fence at the entrance to the Fazenda (ranch). They are beautiful birds, especially in flight.

At breakfast on the first day (which incidentally was at 6.30 am) a pair of toucans arrived on the branch next to the open air dining room and the fazenda owner had to share his coffee with a paraqueet.

Finally, there is no chance of sleeping in at Pousada Aguape. The dawn chorus is incredibly loud and includes monkey calls!

There are photos of all this in the photo gallery of my website.

Pousada Aguape
We did not stay in a hotel in Mato Grosso do Sul, but on a cattle ranch. In recent years these ranches have turned to eco-tourism to supplement their income. They are no longer permitted by the government to hunt and live off the land as they did in the past and so they have turned to new ways of making their living.

Pousada Aguape is a family ranch with rooms for about 14 visitors, most of whom are European. Evidently the majority of Brazilians can neither afford to travel to Pantanal nor have the interest in the ecology of the region.

Pousada Aguape was a really special place. The owner of the ranch is wholeheartedly committed to trying to preserve the ecology of the region and the livelihood of its people. This is a family concern. His wife has ensured that visitors have a typical experience. His son is an experienced cattle rancher and his daughter-in-law speaks English and knows exactly how to make visitors feel at home. In fact all the people who work at Pousada Aguape are special and really interesting. They are warm and incredibly open - extremely generous, helpful and very willing to share their knowledge of the area, local flora and fauna. Without them the environment would still have been unique but not as accessible.

I have posted lots of photos of Pousada Aguape in the Photo Gallery of my website - www.jennymackness.co.uk

Pantanal - my expectations
Pantanal is known as the Brazilian wetlands and although I had done my research and knew that it was the dry season, I still expected a lot more water than there actually was. Evidently when the rains start in December and January the level of the rivers rises by 6 to 9 metres and vast areas become flooded and under water. Going in the wet season must be a completely different experience and one that I would love to have now that I have been there in the dry season.

This photo of a cattle ranch which we passed on our journey to the place we stayed, shows how dry it is at this time of year.

I was also expecting it to be cooler, but we hit a hot week when you certainly didn't want to be out in the sun in the middle of the day. Even so, when we landed at Campo Grande airport in a temperature of over 30 degrees centigrade one of the ground staff told me that the weather was cold! They are used to temperatures of over 40 degrees in the summer.

Beyond this I'm not sure what I expected. Brazil is a country that has always excited me ever since I studied it for A level Geography. I was hoping for a unique experience on this trip and I was not disappointed. It was 'magical'.

Campo Grande
We didn't go into Campo Grande, but the whole area is striking for how flat and vast it is, as this aerial photo shows. In fact we had a clear flight from Sao Paulo and we seemed to fly over the same dead straight road for about 800 kilometres or more all the way to Campo Grande without a hill in sight! The other really striking feature is the redness of the earth. Most of the roads in this area are red earth and clouds of red dust follow any travelling vehicle. It reminded me that when we lived in Brazil 30 years ago, our house bordered a red earth road and every surface in the house was permanently covered in red dust. I remember that it was a considerable relief when after a couple of years the road was paved.

Pantanal - where is it?
Basically - miles away - right in the interior of Brazil, almost in Bolivia. It took us a whole day's travelling to get there and when we did get there we were amazed to find that the time there is an hour behind the time in Florianopolis.

The journey involved a flight to Sao Paulo first, then a second flight to Campo Grande, then a 200 kilometre bus journey north west to Pousada Aguape, a cattle ranch where we stayed for four days. The last 54 kilometres of this journey was on a rough red earth road.

Retorno a Florianopolis
It is about 10 days since I have written anything on this blog and I can scarcely believe how much has happened in that time. We have visited Pantanal, Mato Grosso do Sul, Belo Horizonte, Ouro Preto and been to an art exhibition opening here in Florianopolis. I have taken over 200 photos and my head is buzzing. We have had the most fabulous trip. Brazil really is a place where you can still see and experience something completely unique.

We are now back in Florianopolis and I am wondering how to capture our experiences in print and photos. I will do my best but I think I will be writing and editing photos for the next two weeks.

Colonial Architecture
Some of the buildings in Florianopolis City Centre are wonderful. I have posted some photos of the buildings before, either on my website, or in my Photo Gallery (Flickr) or here on this blog.

These old buildings are usually crammed between modern developments and high rise buildings, but they are still occupied and add such a lot of colour and character to the City.

This building is just beside the Mercado Publico (public market) in the City Centre. If I had taken the photo lower down, you would see all the hustle and bustle that you see in any city. I prefer this view!

Undelivered parcels
I have mentioned before that the postal service here seems to be almost a lost cause. Nearly two months ago the family posted me a parcel from England and even further back we ordered a book from Amazon. Neither parcel has arrived.

We enquired at the postal service here in Jurere where we live and were told to go to the Correio (post office) in the City. This I did, this week. Everyone was so incredibly helpful, called me Dona Jenny, took special account of the fact that I am English, coitada (poor thing!) and assumed, probably correctly, that I really do not understand the ways of Brazil!

So it turned out that I should not have been at the main post office in the City at all - but I need to go to the post office at Praia dos Ingleses (is there a link there with the name?) - because it could well be that our long awaited parcels have been sitting there for some time.

I won't be surprised if we never receive these parcels, or if it take 3 or 4 months. This is one thing about Brazil that has not changed in 30 years! However, to be fair, I have received one parcel here.

Praca Quinze, Florianopolis
I'm not sure if I have mentioned this before, but this square lies at the heart of Florianopolis City Centre; if I have mentioned it before it is worth another mention.

It is dominated by an enormous fig tree which is propped up with steel poles. It has mosaic pathways and a variety of other trees and shady areas. Musicians from the continent (particularly Peru) play their evocative music and indigenous tribal people sell beads and artifacts from interior and amazonian regions.

It is always a busy area, with people either passing through, or sitting and relaxing or playing cards, chess or poker. I always try and walk through it when I go to the City.

Florianopolis City Market
I don't go to town much, but when I do I am always so impressed by the City Centre's mix of old and new.

I have mentioned the old colonial market before. It is such a stimulating place.

This time I needed a pair of cheap trainers for our trip to Pantanal next week - evidently we need a pair of shoes that can get ruined! I was amazed at the number of shoe shops in the market area. There must have been 50 at least. I was wondering how on earth they all competed with each other, when I realised (through the experience of buying shoes) that they weren't shops at all, but stalls and that each 'shop' had a number of stalls - so when they didn't have your size at one stall, they would rush down the market and fetch the right pair from another stall.

Eventually, I managed to buy a reaonsable (if not particulary fashionable) pair of trainers - which I don't mind getting covered in mud - for £9! What's more the service was amazingly helpful and friendly and I was called 'minha flor' again (see previous blog)!

Another game on the beach
I have posted this photo in the Photo Gallery of my website. The Brazilians are very keen on board games. On my website I have already posted a photo of men playing cards in the main square (Praca Quinze). You can also see them playing chess and draughts in the main shopping street of Florianopolis City Centre.

Some of the beaches also have tables set up for these board games.

I think this is a great idea. The trees provide nuts for the game pieces. They also provide shade on a sunny day, the views are spectacular and when you are tired of lying on the beach in the sun, you can engage the mind a little!

I did see a couple playing draughts with the nuts on the board in the photo, but as I have mentioned before in my blog, I do not like to take photos of people. It seems like an invasion of their privacy.

Games on the beach
I was intrigued today by a school sports event on the beach. The local school backs onto the beach and today they were holding a volley-ball match.

Certain areas of the beach are designated for sports activities (you are not allowed to play sports anywhere on the beach). So this area in the photo was set up for the match, but as you can see it was also a social event.

There was a loud speaker urging the teams on, pop music blaring out while the teams were playing, some people were dancing, others were playing their own ball games on the edge of the beach and children were building sand castles on the waters edge.

What a great way to run a school sports event!

Kissing and hugging!
The Brazilians are great ones for kissing and hugging. The men always greet each other by hugging, slapping each other round the shoulders etc. and the women always greet each other and men by kissing at least twice, once on each cheek. I never get the number of kisses right! I think it is twice, once on each cheek for men and married women, but 3 times for unmarried women.

I have to say, I still don't feel comfortable with all this kissing with people I don't know (very English of me!). So recently, I was not very happy when a lecturer at the University (male) proffered his cheek to me to be kissed, even though he had offered his hand to John to be shaken. I thought this very 'macho' and a bit old-fashioned in this era of female emancipation!

I also can't get used to the hairdressers kissing me. The first time this happened, it was a man and I decided it was either because he is a rather effeminate man or that he really felt sorry for me with my head of hair (they can't quite believe how fine and thin it is compared to the Brazilian's thick heads of hair). However, the last time I went, I was kissed by a female hairdresser -so it seems that you can expect to be kissed by your hairdresser here.

You can also expect to be called 'Querida' (darling) or 'Minha Flor' (my flower) by people you don't know here.

Although all this takes a bit of getting used to, it is indicative of how warm-hearted and friendly the Brazilians are.

Taking photos
I have never taken a photography course. The only thing I know about photography is what my father told me on my 21st birthday, when he gave me (what was then) a very expensive camera, that photos should take account of thirds, horizontally and vertically.

Now - in the age of digital photography, I find I am once again interested in photography. At the moment, I just want to be sure I have a record of Florianopolis and other places we visit at this time, as I'm not sure that we will ever be able to come again.

However, I can see that there is a lot more to photography than keeping a record. Some of the photos on the Flickr site are amazing. Every so often, I think I have taken a photo that manages to include 'mood' and not just a record of the scene. Most of the time this is just by accident. It helps to have a little knowledge of 'Photoshop', but mostly these photos stand on their own.

I was pleased with this photo (the view from Sambaqui beach to the mainland) but I'm aware that I'm not sure how it will look on other people's computers. It even looks different if I change the position of the screen on my laptop. If anyone is reading this, I hope it looks good on your screen and you know what I mean!

Churches in Santa Catarina
This photo is of the Church in Santo Antonio de Lisboa. (This is a beach area on the west of Florianopolis island.) This type of church can be seen all over the island.

When we recently visited Senhor Cipriano, a Florianopolis artist, in his studio - he gave us a book of his paintings of Florianopolis churches and it includes a painting of this Church.

The tricks of language
I got caught out by the language this week and had a joke made at my expense. I didn't mind as it was quite funny and interesting!

I have recently joined the local gym. As an aside - I am amazed at how much more supple I feel as a result of this! Another aside is that here in Brazil joining a gym means that you have a personal trainer (in the price) and it is nothing to do with losing weight or gaining muscles. It is just a pleasant social event which makes you feel more healthy.

Anyhow at the end of my hour of having been on just about every machine in the place this week, the trainer said to me (in portuguese) - with a completely straight face - 'Now do 5000 sit ups, then have a bit of a rest, then 5000 more and then a bit of a rest, and then finish off with another 5000'.

Now this is where the trick of language comes in. Despite the fact that I knew that this wasn't reasonable, I wondered whether my portuguese was failing me. Was there another way of saying do 15 sit ups? On every other machine I am asked to do 2 sets of 15. Was 5000 slang for 15? All this must have been written on my face as she burst out laughing and told me practically word for word what I had been thinking.

So it seems that there is a strong link between confidence, language and our ability to communicate.

Difficult to get to Blog week
Everything I read tells me that Blogs have to be updated regularly to keep them interesting. This of course depends on whether you are writing for an audience or just for yourself. Despite my reservations about my Blog being 'public' I know that I am writing for friends and particularly for family - as well as for myself - to share our experiences, thoughts and reflections on our stay in Brazil. So, whether or not anyone but me is reading this, I am conscious that it has been a few days since I added to this blog. The reasons for this are:

1. Distractions of work! Yes - seriously. The topic of leadership can be very interesting - not least when thinking about when it has been evident and when it has not in my career!

2. Distractions of weather! We are having a glorious week and it is quite difficult to think about blogging! All available energies seem to have gone first to other things - like sitting/walking in the sun!

3. Distractions of planned travel. Next week we will visit Pantanal for the first time and end the trip with a stop off in Belo Horizonte to see friends who we have not seen for goodness knows how many years. Pantanal is right in the interior of Brazil - the wetlands. We will need torch, insect repellant, sunscreen, hat, long trousers, boots etc. etc. All this needs planning and thought! However, I have already bought an extra memory card for my camera!

4. World Cup. This has certainly changed the life style of late. When you have to be around to watch matches - even after England and Brazil are out - it has an effect on how much you go out and how many new experiences you can write about on your Blog!

However, I see this as the lull in the storm. Wait till we get back from Pantanal!

Mosaic pavements
Brazil is very keen on mosaic pavements and walkways. You can see the type of surface shown in the photo in many places and in other parts of South America. For example we saw a lot in Argentina.

I wonder why this is. It must take so many hours to lay these surfaces. The one in the photo is two and a half kilometres long and is the path which runs behind the beach in Jurere. So many individual small stones to lay.

It looks great, but it does make you wonder about what government money should be spent on. This is not a criticism, just a thought!

Aparecem!
Literally translated this means - 'Drop in'. When we lived here years ago, people used to say this to us all the time - but I was never sure if they really meant it.

In addition, I really never came to terms with the 'dropping in' culture. I can remember once, having briefly exchanged some pleasantries with a young couple in the street who were interested that we were English, and the next thing we knew was that they turned up on our doorstep, expected to be invited in (which we felt we had to do) and stayed for hours. This used to happen quite a lot!

It's interesting that here we are 30 years on and haven't once had someone say to us 'Aparecem'. We have been wondering why this is and have come to the conclusion that it must be because 30 years ago there were not only no mobile phones, but virtually no phones. We did not have a house phone. This meant that you couldn't phone people up and arrange to see them - you just had to 'drop in'. There are, therefore, some good points about mobile phones. This is from someone who hates phones in general - give me email any day - although I have to say that I have enjoyed having Skype during our stay here in Brazil.

Blogging
I look forward to Stephen Downes blog arriving by email each week. He has numerous blogs, but I subscribe to his weekly blog. This week he provided readers with this link: Ten Tips on Writing the Living Web.

http://www.alistapart.com/stories/writeliving/

I started my blog, mainly because I wanted to learn about blogging and give it a go - and this trip to Brazil seemed like an ideal opportunity, but more than once I have felt uncomfortable about writing in such a public space. For example, I was shocked to find that if you put Jenny Mackness into a web search, then up comes my blog. I naively hadn't expected or thought about this.

I think Mark Bernstein's list is interesting, particularly since it was written as long ago as 2002, when I'm not sure that I had even heard of blogs. Like Stephen Downes, I don't quite know what to think about point 8. The whole business of how much you 'expose' yourself on the web is an unresolved question for me. I think it might be easier to have a 'work' or other information-based log, rather than a personal diary or record. I am already thinking about what will happen to this blog when we return to England. I am also wondering whether a blog could equate to a Reflective Diary or whether the public nature of a blog militates against deep reflection.

Doom and gloom!
Well what a day! Both England and Brazil out of the World Cup. From a selfish point of view, its a relief that Brazil also lost their match today and we don't have to face the jibes about England. However, I also feel really sorry that Brazil lost. They are so emotional about their football! And this is from someone who is not in the least bit interested in football (shock horror) - but I am interested in patriotism and what stirs it.

I have noticed over the years that I never really think that I am particularly patriotic until someone from a different country criticizes the UK. Even then, if this happens when I am in the UK, I just think they are rude! But when it happens when I am living abroad, I am amazed at how upset I can feel. This is ridiculous when the criticism may be perfectly justified!