Sunday Morning, August 19th ....Dawn.
Trip Start
Aug 18, 2007
1
6
13
Trip End
Sep 01, 2007
Campo Grande,
Brazil
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Leaving the airplane, I simply followed my fellow passengers to the customs lines. They were long, but simple. I had nothing to declare, and there were no searches. The customs officials were polite and very helpful. Mostly, I just had to follow the crowd. I exited customs and found my way to the American Airlines domestic departure counter. It all seems so simple. There were very few people in the halls. When I arrived, I found that section of the terminal totally deserted. I certainly started to feel like a stranger in a strange land. My ticket said American Airlines, but there wasn't any staff at the counter! I wasn't worried. After all, I had a few hours. I found a nice person to ask for assistance.
She showed me that I had to switch to the domestic airline "TAM" and go to the other side of the airport. When I got there, I was greeted with a busy, bustling terminal. The place was packed. All domestic flights checked in at one set of counters and I estimated the line was an hour long at least! I got into line and found out it was moving slower than I thought. I started to worry about missing my flight. There was nothing I could do, so I just waited my turn. As I stood in line, I started to watch the crowds around me. It was Sunday morning, and it seemed like all of Sao Paulo was traveling today. As I pondered this, I noticed key differences between the crowds in Brazil and those in America. The airport was packed with families. There were children everywhere.
Plane to the camp
Husbands and wives were traveling together, and they had all their kids with them. I hadn't noticed it before, because unlike the U.S., the children here in Brazil were remarkably well behaved. They are neat, well dressed, polite and courteous. What a delight. Since I had plenty of time to kill, the scientist in me decided to "look deeper" and see what other differences I could find. This is what I observed: The mothers were pretty much managing the group and keeping everyone together. There was no nervousness in them. They seemed calm and assured, keeping their little flocks together with just a look or a quiet word. Most of the work was being done by the younger girls, aged 11 to 13. They were the busy ones. They were busy taking care of baby and keeping silly brothers in line. And here's the fun part: Daddy is "KING" in Brazil. The children adore their fathers. They cannot keep from sitting in his lap, kissing his cheeks, and patting his head...combing his hair with their fingers; Boys and girls alike. And the daddy loves them back, and more importantly, he absolutely adores his wife. You can see it in the way he looks at her, and the way she smiles back. The family unit is strong and healthy in Brazil. It's a delight to see. Add to this, the Brazilian people are absolutely gorgeous! The women are stunning, and the men are ruggedly handsome. The children are perfection to behold. This is due to the complex diversity of multiracial chromosomes in their genome. The primary races inhabiting Brazil are Europeans, African, Asian, and Arabs.
The "bird" team day 1
These races blended with the indigenous peoples of Brazil, and a delightful blend of phenotypes is the result. Gosh, they're pretty.....and friendly too! Brazilians are quick to assist or to answer a curious traveler's questions. They are warm and polite. If you would like to see a Brazilian woman smile, simply tell her that her children are muita bonita y educata. (Very beautiful and polite.) She will hold your hand and kiss you lightly on the cheek.My wait in line went quickly, as my respect for Brazilians grew. Soon I found myself on my next plane bound for Campo Grande. (Say "Campo Grand-jay") Unfortunately, my window seat was the last seat in the back of the plane, and I couldn't see out the window at all. I left cold, rainy Sao Paulo having no idea of what I would find when we landed. Two hours later, and a few hundred kilometers west, by northwest, our wheels hit the runway, and we taxied to the terminal. It was a small airport, so ladder-steps were brought to the plane and we stepped out into the bright sunshine. What a wonderful surprise. The sun was out, the cool breeze was a gentle five knots out of the south, and the temps were a balmy 30 degrees C. (about 80 degrees F.) The airport was smallish, about the size of Riverside International, and the ecology and topography was very familiar to me. What I expected to be hot, humid, and tropical, was exactly like Riverside in spring. If I didn't know better, I'd thought we had just landed in Mira Loma. It looked exactly the same!
It was quickly approaching noon, and I was starving. Rather than heading directly to my hotel, I decided to get some lunch at the airport. I passed over all the fast food, and peeked inside a cozy restaurant at the end of the concourse. I was immediately greeted by my "newest best friend" Rinaldo, the manager of what appeared to be a cross between a fine dining establishment and a cafeteria. This is the restaurante tipico of Brazil. Rinaldo asked kindly how he could be of service, and I told him I was travel-weary and was looking for some bebida fria and some petiscos. (Cold drink and snacks) He graciously showed me to a table, where a waiter was already waiting. I seemed to be the most important customer of the day! I soon had a refreshing drink and a menu.
The restaurant was quite busy, filled once again with beautiful Brazilian families. Tables were pushed together and slid aside as fast as the people could come and go. Even though the people were eating lunch, it seemed more important to them that they be visiting with each other and all the people at the tables next to them. What an uncommon sight! Once again, little girls were sitting in daddy's lap, and mother was smiling proudly at her brood. Little boys were standing at the big windows watching the airplanes on the nearby runway take off and land. In fact, most everyone was watching the planes come and go. They would applaud quietly and smile every time a new arrival or departure would occur. Many times, I would see the men cross themselves and kiss their index knuckle as a plane would take off or land. They were wishing safety and giving thanks for the passengers, crew, and the plane itself. What a wonderful thing. What a terrific people!
Now it was time to eat. Naturally, I planned to eat whatever everyone else was eating. My parents taught me how to act in a polite restaurant and how to seek out the best vittles. It didn't take me long to discover that most of the patrons were partaking of the Brazilian buffet tucked in a discrete corner of the café, and that was where I was headed!
Rinaldo smiled as I gestured toward the buffet, and he decided that he would escort me there to show off his presentation. Oh my gosh what a spread it was! These two tiny tables were packed with two dozen or more platters of strange and wonderful delights. The smells were delectable and I hadn't realized how hungry I was. I LOVE Brazilian food! My dear friends Mariana and Johnny cook for me now and then in Riverside. Mariana is a Carioca, (Girl from Rio D.J.) and a wonderful cook. Brazilian faire is very predictable in some ways and surprisingly delightful in others. You can always count on finding beans and rice...sweet breads and manioca. Often there are at least three types of meat. Chicken, pork, and beef are the usual. As you might imagine, the meat in Brazil is exceptional, especially the beef. (More on this....beef and ranching....later!)
The highlight of the Brazilian buffet is always the salads. There are so many....and they are so colorful! Cabbage, squash, pickles, olives, hard boiled eggs, shredded carrots and beet. The list goes on and on. Many of the greens are not found in the States. Don't look for iceberg lettuce. You won't see it. All are tasty and wonderfully "different" than I'm used to. After stuffing myself, I bid my new friends Adeus and Tchau, and stepped out to find my way to my hotel. A very nice cab driver delivered me to my hotel in less than 10 minutes. He insisted that I sit up front with him so that he could teach me a few more Portuguese words. I checked into my hotel, anxious to meet my two roommates, the two guys I'd be pounding the Pantanal with for the next two weeks!
To be continued........
