Recently, Jason had a mid-week holiday, so we loaded up and set out for an innocent joy ride through the mountainsides north of Rio in search of the waterfalls in Sana and the landslides and mudslides in Nova Friburgo. This was our second such attempt. Luckily for us, trip two went much smoother than trip one; although the sites were not quite what we had in mind when we set out. We found a few waterfalls along the way alright; but, we also unexpectedly discovered the Brazilian 'National Capital of Lingerie'.
Only in Brazil.
Trip 1 - February, 2012
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Burnt engine in the middle of nowhere in a foreign country, dead cell phone battery, and a 7-months pregnant wife...needless to say our first try riding through the mountains did not go according to plan. I guess the guy on the donkey-drawn carriage passing us by that night had the last laugh.
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Trip 2 - May, 2013
Yes, you can imagine our disappointment?! The realization that we drove four hours with a 10 1/2 month old in pursuit of nature's wonders to a town where the only real sight-seeing to speak of were the scantily clad manikins displayed across practically every storefront on every street corner in the town. Yes, Jason and I shared a good laugh about this all of the way home. Sure enough after we arrived home, a quick search on Google confirmed that Nova Friburgo is noted as the manufacturing hub of female undergarments and lingerie. Well, at least the town folks seem to have recovered from the devastation and have their economy is up and running again.
This trip and the first trip were definitely confirmation of Jason's saying about everything being an "adventure" in a foreign country.
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The mudslides and landslides in this region in 2011 are said to be one of the worst natural disasters in Brazil's history. I took the photo on the left and as you can see there wasn't much destruction remaining. I am always amazed at the resiliency of people after such calamities. Photo on right: http://ambientalsustentavel.org
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We spent a few days in Rio last week. And Saturday, we made our usual first Saturday of the month stop at the Lapa antique market before driving back to Macae. Sadly, no treasurers were to be found this day; but as I remind my husband, the "thrill of the hunt" keeps me going back.
And lastly, my husband knew how much I have been craving some Louisiana crawdads, so he brought this scary-looking critter home from the fish market one morning. We think it is a Brazilian lobster. Jason boiled it with some shrimp and we enjoyed a Louisiana-style feast.
A very Happy Mother's Day to our mothers and grandmothers and my Nannie! We love y'all and see y'all next week!! :-)
Happy Mother's Day, Alaina! These pictures are great! All that lush green rolling hillsides and waterfalls... they look like postcards. So glad you took that second trip! Can't believe the turnaround from the mudslides. That's impressive. Almost as impressive as the Brazilian lobster. =)
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