Christmas Eve in Rio

After months of clouds and rain, December 22 dawned with crystal clear, bright blue skies.
Oh joy to the season.


And with the sun came heat and humidity, snarled traffic and bad tempers.

I have to ask WHERE"S the joy?

Yesterday on the December 23, the streets surrounding our Ipanema apartment were so clogged they were at a complete 'horn blowing' stop. The streets were clogged with busses, trucks, tourists (cars) and shoppers (cars). Yes, in the highth of this joyful season large delivery trucks double parked along the steets further testing the tempers, the goodwill (?) of all the holiday shoppers and beach goers competing for parking space. (The free one of course, the parking lots below ground and in the shopping centers are so expensive everyone drives around and around looking for 'just the right' free space on the street). I don't really know of other areas in Rio but in Ipanema the 'lojas' are not big on holiday decorations. The local association of business people line the sidewalks with what is meant to be a cheerful and welcoming carpet. In past years it was red, 'rolling out the red carpet'. This year is was a faded green and after so much rain and muddy footprints it looks a little worse for wear. There are a few stores with glass balls, some with poinsettias, and some with a Santa or an Angel in their front window, but compared with Gramado the frantic aura of noise, pushing and shoving of Ipanema I have to ask WHERES THE JOY?

Christmas Eve - today the number of cars has dropped to a managable number, fewer busses, only an occaisonal delivery truck and what seems to be more taxis. Today the taxis are blowing their horns, but everyone else seems to have lowered their 'rush, rush' mode to holiday mode. Camillo and I walked around the corner and had a Caiprinha to get into the mood. There are still a lot of shoppers, but maybe they are only tourists - the Cariocas have gone home to cook dinner and begin enjoying the time with their families and the remaining tourists are out to enjoy their hot and sunny Christmas in RIO.

Christmas in Brasil

If you have browsed through my blog entries, you might have found the one I wrote last Christmas when Camillo and I visited Gramado in Southern Brasil.

For me that trip ranks very high on the list of places we have spent Christmas week.

This small town, south of Port Alegre, celebrates Christmas in a very big hearted way. Every street is strung with lights, every shop window is decorated to catch the eye. There is every version of handcrafted Santa that one can possibly imagine. The City Park outside of the city center hosts a Santa's workshop where you have opportunity to visit Santa's helpers' dormitory and Santa's house with his private stash of toys from Christmases past.

And the best, the very best is the Cathedral with its high steeple, brightly lit, and the hand carved Nativity. This is Christmas the way it should be celebrated. With the intent by their family to give pleasure, to be shared with your family.

Merry Christmas
Ginger and Camillo

Winter Festival - Nova Friburgo, Brasil (Festival de Inverno 2008)

Every winter sometime in June / July / or August there is a winter festival in the State of Rio de Janeiro. There are normally concerts, street fairs, street dancing and eco-tourism activities scheduled in Petrópolis, Teresópolis, Nova Friburgo (including Lumiar). (Google Festival de Inverno 2008 for more information) On Sunday morning (August 3), I planned for one of the hikes scheduled by SESC Rio de Janeiro. Sunday dawn bright and clear. I wasn't sure about doing this walk, getting up at 6:00 on a Sunday, taking a hike with strangers (Portuguese speaking strangers at that) and I had no clue of where we were going but I went and I enjoyed.

15 or so of us met at the SESC office in Nova Friburgo, boarded the bus at 8 am and were taken for one hour towards Teresópolis.

This is one of the best choices I have made since living in this country. The hike, taking us through land of small farms, up dirt roads, across horse trails and up some pretty steep grades, took about 4 1/2 hours up to the base of the Three Peeks and 2 1/2 hours down back to the bus, made me once again appreciate the beauty of Brazil.

Christmas - days 3 - 4

On the 24th, Lenira and Paulo left to meet their family at the beach south of Porto Alegre. We were on our own to celebrate our Christmas in Gramado. Besides the bright lights and cheerful store front decorations, the area around Gramado and Canela has attractions for young and old alike. It is full of things to do. [I recommend that if you make this trip you rent a car - we didn't we hired a taxi for the day... cost as much as a car and gas for 3 days but we didn't have to drive unfamiliar roads, some of them dirt - for the most part there is quite a lot of distance between things and if you want to go slow, not within a time frame, driving is best] There is the teleferico in the Parque do Caracol that takes you up & up, circles the platform and as you head down it feels like you are soaring out over the forest.

In Gramado, there was Santa's workshop and home. You can see where the elves sleep during high season, where Santa reads all the letters he receives, and even tour his wine cellar. There are several places to buy "the best chocolate in the world". You can visit the antique car museum - one of the best I have ever visited - and a museum of the history of the steam engine with miniture working steam engines showing all the ways man has used steam since the late 1880s. And, finally there is a camp grounds and an open cable car in the Parque da Cachoreira, that I took one look at and said, "that is for young people - no way!"
In the end even Santa needed a few hours in the hammock to rest and recover from the holidays.

More of day two - Serras Gauchas

THE mystery of Portuguese - Serras Gauchas translates into cowboy hills. Except in the restaurants, I never saw a cowboy in these hills. Gaucho is masculine but in Serra Gaucha is feminine because Serra is feminine - this is pronounced Ga USH o - how am I ever to remember these things?

Back to travel - after the side trip on Maria Fumaça, we drove out into the countryside around Bento Gonçalves. This area is predominately German/Italian in heritage. There is no mistaking the differences between Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande de Sul. The houses are painted in bright oranges, yellows and blues. The vineyards are impeccably kept, streets of the cities clean - everything has the feeling of prosperity and loving care. I think the loving care is more important than the prosperity. Even the most basic homes have a coat of paint, flowers in front of the house and a garden including grape vines in the back. These small gardens and the rolling green hills is what reminds me of Italy.

For the Christmas season though, it was in the mid-upper 70s in the day, the sun was bright and hot, the nights in the low 70s - for me, a Michigander, not at all giving the feeling of Christmas.