Nossa Família Brasiliera...

Donna Rita, Jarlene and her daughter, Juana.

Jarlene´s daughter, Julia.

Jarlene´s son (Jose Luís- who has a big crush on Linnea and is pictured here giving her a foot rub) and Ana Clara.

Donna Rita and Jamie.

Jamie... chillin´.

Here is the lovely family we´ve been living with the past month and a half. They´ve been incredibly generous to share their home, meals, family and culture with us. We´ll miss waking up to Jamie whistling away in the morning as he prepares breakfast and Donna Rita´s delicious homemade yogurt!

Novas coisas...

This beanie almost fits perfect, may need a little tweaking so it doesn´t look like the hats cafeteria ladies wear. We were trying for that looser, baggier style.

These ones fit closer to the head. One style with elastic...

and one style without. Baby hats are the next project in the making.

New tank- a definite improvement from prior attempts, but still needs some fitting adjustments. More wearable, functional and affordable than the all renda blouses which are also incredibly time consuming to make.

We´ve made more color palettes for the pillows- thread combos that match the according fabric sample. The pre-chosen color palettes have probably been one of our biggest accomplishments, the ladies love choosing which ones to use and in the end it has saved us from a lot multi- color fluroescents.

All the pillows need cording around the edges for a more professional look. But this is a start at nailing down some designs. Also don´t have the inserts- they´ll be sent to the States without. I stuffed these with towels and whatever else I could scavenge so they look pretty slouchy.

New pillow design, yet to be sewn. Thinking of having the next model be the reverse (gray stem, white leaves) since it´s nice to have coordinating pairs for a couch.

The ladies have done a great job putting the final touches on the projects we´ve been working on the past few months. We now have ready models of bags, pillows, bikinis, blouses and headbands to be duplicated, sent to Annie and then sold. It was really satisfying to lay out all the new pieces on the last day- a sampling of them are pictured above. We had cake, café, lots of abraços, beijos and promises to return. I´m going to miss collaborating with the women of Casa Cultural- this feisty, festive, strong and beautiful group has taught me a lot about patience, simplicity, hope and determination.

Nossa Clase de Capoiera!

Nay and I making our best attempt to battle in the roda.

Kel´s flying kick.

Junio.

Dont´t know if I can truly call myself a capoeirista yet, but you could throw me in a roda and I could probably bust a few moves. This class was definitely a tri-weekly highlight of living here in Terra Prom. It´s been a great way to integrate with the teenage boys in our hood and I adored the teacher- he really went the extra mile to make sure the gringas were included.

Iticaré

first glimpse of Itacare.

Felipe- local surf shop owner who was gracious enough to take me to some prime wave riding spots.

Linnea and Dorit from Israel

Josh had some great dress up clothes and didn´t mind striking a pose.

Sam wearing my favorite outfit from the dress up box.

the whole group at Prainha.

experienced surfer scoping the waves.

Itacaré :

• only inconvenience: applying sunscreen


• biggest fear: no waves


• most difficult decision: whether to have the Açaí bowl with granola and bananas or egg/cheese sandwich for breakfast

Itacaré is your classic, kick-back surf paradise (apparently not so mellow in January/February when it´s packed with tourists,) but fortunately we seemed to hit it at just the right time. It was definitely my favorite spot thus far. One main drag with a few pousadas and good eats. Linnea and I dined at the local falafel place five consecutive nights that served up cheap, heaping plates of tasty Middle Eastern food. The main street continues to meander out of town and past four idyllic beaches separated by cliffs and jungle (all with waves.) The fifth beach, Prainha or "secret beach" was an hour hike through the jungle and made for a memorable day trip with our pack of new-found comrades. Much of the same group we met in Morro had already migrated south. We surprised everyone, including ourselves, with our last minute decision to extend our trip and go the extra distance to Itacaré. Everyone stayed at the same pousada and we formed this grand, ecletic melting pot of friends with Germany, Uruguay, Australia, England and Israel all represented. Days mostly consisted of a morning surf, midday hammock lounge (love how a veranda with a hammock is a standard Brazilian amenity even at the cheapest accomodations) and sunset surf/ frisbee session. Following some of the most relaxing days of feeling sun-kissed and sore from surfing came some of the worst- a 40 hr bus ride back to Fortaleza. The all time low was the stretch were I was seated directly across from the lavatory and the big guy in front of me used the bathroom way too many times for one night. The bus was chilled at about 30 degrees, it was the first time I´ve felt cold in Brazil, but I was repeatedly blasted by a 120 degree stink wave from the bathroom of death. Despite this encounter, the two week trip to Bahia was the time of my life. Now it´s back to work as we wrap up our final week with Fairloom and conclude our time here in good ol´ Terrra Prom.

Boipeba

Linnea soaking up some rays at the floating oyster shack.

We had a grand day excursion to the secluded, nearly desolate island of Boipeba. We disembarked our lively speedboat at one of the most breathtaking stretches of beach I´ve ever seen and took nice hike to the island´s only center, all the while stopping to enjoy some breathtaking glimpses of beach and ultimately wishing we had spent more time at the initial drop off point. Our trusty boat guides- who clearly loved reggae, their jobs, and life- made a few worthwhile stops. One of my personal favorites was at a floating oyster shack where Jude and Rob instructed us on how to properly eat those slimy, but quite tasty little guys.

The next day was a sad farewell after sharing so many good laughs, talks and island adventures together. I´m already looking forward to reuniting with them in Chile as our last and final stop before we return home.

Morro de São Paulo

Jude enjoying a Skol.

new friends- from left: Josh "byron bay," Dave, Ami and Sam...




Morro de São Paulo is an island right off the coast of Salvador. It´s packed with young travellers and said to be Salvador´s busiest beach town. Somehow the streets are still made of sand and once you pass Second Beach there are some secluded stretches of coastline. We managed to find a lovely pousada just far enough away from the action. The extensive, complementary breakfast spread got us all out of bed in the a.m. and we pretty much spent the rest of the day trying to find cooler waters and shade to relieve us of the midday heat and searching for the most authentic caipirinhas (or capernums as Jude liked to say) come nightfall. Linnea and I met some really interesting people from all over the world, but Jude and Rob were by far our best company. Hadn´t laughed that hard in quite some time.

Saõ Joaquim market.

This food market in Salvador was the real deal. Lots of squawking birds being waved and bartered about, cuts of strange parts of meat I´ve never seen before sandwiched together and dominoes being played on the corner of dark alleyways filled with piles of discarded coconuts. It was the grittiest, most alive food market I´ve ever been to, worlds away from a Saturday morning stroll through Santa Barbara´s farmers market.

Salvador De Bahia

First night´s view from an upper window of a gallery.

Linnea checking into Laranjeras- our hostel. The lobby was a lot more impressive than the rooms, but we lucked out getting an 8 person dorm all to ourselves.

Wall of a junk shop that made me wish I had more time, money and a bigger bag.

I think these guys were into having their picture taken, i like the backdrop.

view from our window...

I hung out in this barbershop for some time one afternoon, made some new friends and decided to skip out on getting my bangs trimmed here.

Hakeem- this photo is for you! That´s Afro-Brazilian record heaven in there.

art studio in Pelourinho.


some of my most favorite people: the lovely Jude and Rob Gerrity

Salvador was our first stop on what was suppose to be a 10 day, but turned into a two week jaunt to the Bahia region of Brazil. There is an unmistakable rhythm to the city- drums can be heard keeping a beat somewhere at all hours of the day and capoiera demonstrations are visible at the turn of every corner. They say there´s no other place in the world where African slaves have preserved their heritage as well as in Salvador- the food, music, martial arts and religion all boast an Afro influence. Pelourinho- the historic old town is perched atop a hill- it´s ridden with cobblesone streets, live music and colorful, stately, old buildings.

• By far the biggest highlight of the whole trip was meeting up with Rob and Jude Gerrity- family friends that go way back to my mom´s childhood days. They epitomize the perfect balance of wise, knowledgable adults with the vibrant, adventurous spirit of a young person. Their stories, insights and good humor made for a more than enjoyable trip together.
• My failed attempt to attend an Afro-Brazilian dance class (which didn´t commence till the following week) ended up in my good fortune in meeting a lovely girl from France, Vanessa, who was living in Salvador. She took us to an incredible outdoor reggae concert that happens in Pelourinho every Tuesday - Terça de Beñcao. We also got the chance to work on our samba moves that night at some small, corner bar with a great live band.
• Pretty much everyone who comes to Salvador gets a fita (colored ribbon) tied around their wrist. It is a souvenir of Igreja de Bonfim and each of the three knots symbolizes one wish that should come true once the knot comes undone in a few months time. I had the great misfortune of getting mine tangled in my hair elastic while swimming and having to rip it off- that can´t be good luck.