a wonderful turning point

Read my post and then this video might make more sense....




Wednesday June 8, 2011

Today was such a lovely turning point in my trip. Instead of feeling alone and foreign in such a large country, I now feel excited to explore and get out there.

The day started as I left Pat’s peaceful home on the farm and headed to the Santa Branca Ecotourism centre. I said my gracious gracious thank yous to Pat for hosting me and feeding me for four days and letting me enjoy her wonderful natural lifestyle. Everything I ate was fresh off the stove or picked from the garden in the backyard. Pat taught me that energy in food is directly transferred to us, so the fresher the better.

As sad as I was to leave a free place to stay and free food and have someone communicate for me in Portuguese, I was excited to get out and really experience Brazil.

I met up with a man named Marcelo at the ecotourism center. Marcelo works for the Ecovillage tourism center leading hikes and taking care of the land. From 9am-noon we explored the trails, ate grapes off the vine, and had lots of laughs. Marcelo speaks no English, but my Spanish as well as lots of miming and repetition served as a wonderful way to get along. In just those few hours I more than doubled my Portuguese vocabulary. I loved seeing the jungle and learning about the different plant species.

After a lunch/snack, Marcelo took me into town on his motorbike, with my backpacking backpacking on my back and my day pack on my front. Marcelo treated me very well – demanding I wear a helmet, and asking a man on the bus to carry my backpack for me. I didn’t need to speak Portuguese to understand Marcelo’s kind heart and cheerful spirit.

There I caught a free bus to Anapolis as I started my journey to the next ecovillage, IPEC. The guy that carried my backpacking backpack for me was very friendly and I spoke with him in Spanish/Portuguese about my name and where I came from and what I was doing, etc. Once we arrived at the Anapolis bus station he was sweet enough to carry my bag for me again and escorted me to my next bus stop, so Pirinopolis.

I love riding public transportation in foreign countries. Specifically on buses, I love looking out the window to see the scenery and listen to the language spoken around me. After a while I turned on my i-pod and played some wonderfully calming music as I anticipated what was to come at IPEC.

I would be arriving unannounced, with no idea if there would be an available room to stay in, or how far away it is from civilization in case I needed a plan B. I arrived in Pirinopolis with plenty of daylight to spare, so I decided to venture to IPEC today, and knew I would have daylight lef to figure out housing elsewhere if it didn’t work out.

I didn’t have to say much for the Taxi driver to know where I wanted to go. Apparently IPEC is a training center that takes in lots of foreigners who want to learn about permaculture.

IPEC is an oasis of trees, green, and “bio-construction” in the middle of lots of pastureland a few kilometers outside of Pirinopolis. I arrived with a big smile, finally having experienced Brazil on my own and having not only survived, but really enjoyed the journey. I am so excited for the next week, especially to be here at IPEC, and I am already afraid the time will pass too quickly!

More to come about IPEC soon!