The journey from Porto Alegre to Santo Angelo is a little different: a) propeller engines, instead of the usually jets, meaning b) lots of noise and vibration, and c) flying at a much lower altitude, so can almost see the cows in the fields. Rio Grande do Sul is very green and has quite a few rivers and streams, but not much in the way of forests.
It is Monday, April 8. We begin our odyssey. Our first official engagement is lunch at the Gaucho Club. We eat the first of the many churrascos we will probably eat during the trip. After lunch we visit two newspapers: A Tribuna and Jornal das Missoes. We are told that each belongs to an opposing political group. Our Rotary guides diplomatically take us to both. No favoritism here. Next stop is the Prefeitura, a very old and somewhat dirty building. We meet both the mayor and the head of the town council. Once again, representing different political groups. These people take politics seriously, well at least local politics.
We are put into a Korean mini-van and go to the old São Miguel Archanjo mission, about 35 miles south of Santo Angelo. As soon as I see the location and layout, I immediately know that this is going to be one of my favorite places in the trip. The old Jesuit ruins are beautiful. The deep red walls contrast nicely with the green grass field leading up to the mission. I am told that this is by far the best preserved of the seven Jesuit "reducts" in the south of Brazil. A small museum contains a nice collection of baroque art, featuring wood carvings of saints and miscellaneous religious objects. The main church building is quite large and must have made a tremendous impression on the Guarani Indians 250 years ago. We stay and see the "Sound and Light" show. The sky is very dark and the Via Lactea and Large Magellan Cloud are very visible.
At night after returning we go to a small party, eat churrasco again and are introduced to the newest things in Brazilian dance and music: the "Chan" song and the bottle dance. All I will say is that they would not go over well in a church or almost any American social event. In fact, one would probably be asked to leave any never return - and this was in a family gathering.
Tuesday morning has arrived and we visit the downtown Cathedral. It was build in 1930 over the site of the old Jesuit mission. The most polemic part of the construction is the painting behind the altar, showing primitive, naked Indians. Evidently some folks feel that this kind of art does not belong in a church. I wonder what they would say about the bottle dance. We go to a private school, where Douglas does the snake eggs thing, and is promptly mobbed, partially destroying the trick envelop. Perhaps there is justice in this world, after all. Next stop is URI, a local university. It is poorly equipped, but quite expensive to attend, even by American standards. We also see the Forum - the local court system building. Next to the Forum is the old train station, now a police station. This is where the famous Brazilian Communist, Luis Carlos Prestes, began his long march in the 1930s, covering thousands of miles and many years.
We have dinner at the downtown site of the Gaucho Club, and do the first of our presentations and slide shows. I think everybody does fine and I hope the local Rotarians were impressed.
Visited the Archeological Museum, with a limited number of relics and Jesuit era objects. Went to the Igreja da Matriz, the main church, built on the site of the old Jesuit mission. We were informed that the dozen or so wooden statues in the church are from the original mission, being 250 years old. I wonder -- they appear too new and well preserved. It is a pity that the old mission buildings were torn down in the 1860s. From photographs of the ruins, taken in the last century, the old churches had much more personality then the new ones built over them. In São Luis there is a wall on one side of the main square that is obviously made of the red colored stones from the old mission. We were told that the last Jesuit era building was torn down in the 1930s because it was infested with bats. What a shame!
I guess the São Miguel Archanjo ruins only survived because no town grew up around the old mission, as in São Luis and Santo Angelo. After visiting the main church we walked over to see the Traditional Fair, a local festival featuring typical foods and drinks, as well as dance and song presentations. Back to the Cantina for lunch. Visited APAE - a school for retarded and physically deficient children - about 120 kids with a variety of problems. This was a really sad, heart breaking experience. How blessed am I, with three healthy, normal children. Afterwards we went to "Granja do Inhame", a small (80 cows and 20 cats) but extremely clean dairy farm owned and operated by a very nice elderly couple: Joao and Lola.
At night we did our slide show and presentation at AABB, a club for employees of the Bank of Brazil. After the banquet there was Gaucho music, as well as that of Argentina and Paraguay. Back to the Cometa and to bed.
After a quick breakfast we leave for the city of Três Passos, almost 180 miles away. My general impression is that São Luis, in spite of the nice farm and dairy, is much less prosperous than Santo Angelo. I would also like to add that at least two Rotarians from São Luis remarked that they were unhappy because the Santo Angelinos were always taking visitors to the São Miguel ruins before they get to their city, which is unfair, since the ruins are really much closer to São Luis. In other words, the good people from Santo Angelo are stealing their main attraction.
Next morning, Saturday, April 13, we take a bus to visit the Ucumã Falls on the Uruguay River. We are told these are the longest longitudinal (sideways) falls in the world, about one mile long. The falls are about 45 miles from Três Passos, most of it by a primitive dirt road. The last 12 miles of the trip are inside a National Park, one of the few remaining natural forests in the state.
The main attraction turned out not to be the waterfalls, but the butterflies. There were thousands of them, of 6 to 8 main species, most of which very colorful. They seemed to have a particular attraction for Arcelious, who always makes friends easily. The trail from the parking and picnic area to the river was a nightmare: wet, slippery and muddy. It certainly would not pass an ADA inspection.
The bus ride itself was interesting. I cannot think of any other words to describe it. In the bus with our team were about a dozen adults and another dozen or more Roteract kids. Now these young men and women were quite liberal with the beer, and became somewhat intoxicated. They alternated between wild singing and "piling", which is a game in which 8 or 10 kids jump on top of someone in a bus seat and form a pile of bodies as high as possible. This made for a loud, rambunctious trip back into town.
At night we had music of a different sort: a lyrical music presentation by an opera singer, doing selections from the works of Brahms, Schubert, Handel, etc... Quite a change from the afternoon musical presentation. After the recital, we went out for pizza. Sunday morning. Did absolutely nothing. Rested. Had lunch. On to the next stop.
Monday morning, April 15. Before going to City Hall to meet the mayor, Siqueira takes me to the telephone company main installation. The city is getting a new digital switchboard, adding 2,000 more phones to the present 1,500 (in a city of perhaps 40,000). We meet the Mayor and he graciously arranges a kombi (minivan) to take us to Ametista do Sul, a nearby city to visit the mines.
Another dirt road and, to my surprise, a ferry boat to cross the river. The ferry had a sign declaring the boat's capacity to be 9 people (I counted 12 on board) and advising the life jackets, should we need them, were stored in Porto Alegre, 250 miles away.
Ametista do Sul is a small town that is built on top of the amethyst mines. We went to a newer site about 2 miles from town. The operation looks like giant badger holes in the side of the mountain. Everything is primitive - safety or health concerns are obviously not a priority. There is dust everywhere and nobody uses a mask. The blasting is done with black powder, which can be seen laying around in plastic bags.
The amethysts are in geode form. When found encrusted in solid rock, they are removed by chipping away around them with hammer and chisel - a very tedious task. I wonder if there are ever any sparks that could find their way to the powder laying a couple of feet away. Lighting is by bare electric light, stung along the tunnels and transportation and rock removal is done by strange vehicles consisting of a high torque agricultural motor usually mounted on an old jeep chassis - very slow, but tremendous power, I am told. The geodes, once removed, usually weigh from 100 to 500 kilos, and sale for $5 to $7 dollars per kilo, of which the miner keeps 30%, earning maybe $150/month. When leaving the mines we hear a "bang" behind us and all the gringos make an undignified run out the last 20 yards of the tunnel.
We have lunch in town and then visit the gem cutting and cleaning center. Back into the kombi, down the dirt road, across the ferry, through the fields and we get back to Federico, as it is called for short. Saw quite a few ox-pulled carts along the country roads. At night we make a visit to URI, a private university. Spoke in class about Arizona and computers.
Tuesday morning. Went back to URI campus, and visited a secondary school class (about equivalent to 7-8th grade). Had lunch with OAB, the lawyers bar association. This is Mike's and Douglas' moment to expound on the differences between their legal system and ours. When each of us is asked what we liked most, Darren unfortunately mentions the ox carts. One lawyer demands to know where she could have possibly seen such things in modern, progressive Federico Westfalen. I tell Darren to stick to seeing Flying Saucers, and to quit making up wild stories about animal driven transportation. We leave in the afternoon for Carazinho, our next stop.
Nothing scheduled for the morning so I walk downtown and stumble across a fascinating local museum. It has a little of everything, from pencil and match box collections to wax figures, stuffed animals, 20 foot snake skins, pickled human body parts, guns, old barber chairs, and religious garments. A very eclectic collection indeed. The general rule for getting into the museum collection is that an object - any object - be over 20 years old, and not be operable or able to move by itself. But it was an interesting place.
Went to a Clube de Campo (Country Club) in the afternoon. Nice facilities, including a large swimming pool and many different picnic areas. Returned home and rested and then went to a Pizza place for dinner. It was a Rodizio type, meaning they keep rotating the food, bringing different types of pizza until you give up. After dinner, we went to bowling. I had a bet with Darren, in which the loser (lower score) would have to do whatever the winner requested. She chicken out, which is a good thing, because she won the game. Back to the house and to bed. It is much colder now.
Woke early Thursday, feeling kind of sick. Went to the Jockey Club, where there are 300 or so very nice horses, mostly quarter horses. Carazinho is more prosperous then most cities visited thus far. Went to see a vegetable farm outside of town: corn, collard greens, egg plant, xuxu, peas, lettuce and a very large lake. Returned to the good doctor's house for lunch. Afterwards we jumped into the cars again and headed off to a village called Solidade, where gems are cut and polished. It is a huge place, where all kinds of semi-precious stones and rocks are displayed, sorted by type, size, color, shape and price. There was a very nice amethyst geode, weighing about a ton, that I could have picked up for a mere $12,000. Visited the workshops behind the display area and found them to be quite unhealthy. Back to Carazinho. While eating dinner my fast and dangerous lifestyle caught up with me and I become really sick. I get the chills, which I sometimes do when it is cold. If you must get sick while traveling, try to do it while staying with a doctor. I go to bed and we leave for our next town soon after lunch on Friday. Other than the dinner on the first night, we had no real formal engagements in Carazinho.
Saturday. The District Conference begins. Very formal atmosphere: band, military honor guard and plenty of speakers. At 11 AM the attendance count is 351 present. Lunch is at the CTG (Centro de Tradicoes Gauchas). The meal is a churrasco, of course, and there is a Spanish Dancing group that puts on a nice show. The Conference continues. Speeches and more speeches. The vice-governor of the state of Rio Grande do Sul is probably the worst speaker - not only is he long winded, but because he is boring and ignorant. He talks about the need for "political sense" not "common sense" in government. I would have thought exactly the contrary. Divine intervention causes the lights and power to go off and our friend ends his speech. The power returns and the speeches continue. Not all the speakers are boring, some are quite good. The late afternoon count is 450 or so present, representing 45 clubs. At 4:00 PM we make our 11:00 AM scheduled presentation. Each of us makes a 2 minute speech. We do quite well. The Brazilian team going to Arizona and an Argentine team are also introduced.
I'm still not feeling well. I go back to the hotel and rest. At 8:00 PM we return to the conference site for a formal dinner and dance. The cost is $20 per person (but not us). The food is good and so is the music. I leave at midnight. Sunday, April 21. I awake late and miss the tree planting ceremony and the "mateada", the mate drinking get-together. Waited for ride to go to lunch. Somebody forgot about us. After a phone call or two, we made it to lunch. The Conference is formally over. Saw a lot of the people from the other cities and my hosts from Santo Angelo and Federico.
We rest most of the afternoon at the hotel. At night we have a pizza and go see Braveheart with Mel Gibson. Back to the hotel and bed.
Monday. Another rest day with no formal engagements. I take a long walk with Arcelious and then rest. We watch an X-Files tape that Arcelious has brought. Went to town for lunch and walked back to hotel with Darren, a distance of 2 to 3 miles. I'm feeling better now. Went to a family dinner at Pedro's house, who had rented O Quadrilho, an Oscar nominated Brazilian film that we wanted to see. It is the story for four Italian descended immigrants in early 20th Century Rio Grande do Sul. The lights go out for two hours, so instead of a movie, we sing and drink. A very good time, just the same. Back to the hotel and to bed.
Tuesday morning and it is raining. We do nothing all day, except rent two videos: The Client (predictable) and Remains of the Day (strange). We go to AABB (Bank of Brazil Employee Club) for dinner and afterwards everyone goes bowling except me - I go to bed. Wednesday. Back to work. On the road again. We have breakfast, pack and head out for Panambi, about 28 miles away.
We go to lunch, but Lauter, a doctor, hearing that I have been ill, decides to kidnap me and I end up at the hospital for "medicational" purposes, despite my protests. After lunch we meet the mayor and the local press. At night we do our presentation at the meeting.
Thursday and another rainy day. Instead of visiting farms and walking through the mud, we go see a couple of factories: Bruning Technometal (automotive and industrial sub-contractor, 650 employees, down from 1030) and Kepler Weber (builds silos, elevators, conveyors and even beer brewing facilities, 900 employees, down from 3,000). These two companies work together on many projects. At night we have a churrasco at Bruno's factory number two.
The main people in town are, as far as our visit is concerned: Bruno, Nilo, Lauter, Leo and Estula. On Friday we visit all of Bruno's factories: 1, 2 and 3. The main product is electrical equipment, specially humidity and temperature sensors for the silos. Afterwards went to visit Leo's seed farm. Very nice. Took truck ride out to see the soy and millet fields. At night we went to Dr. Lauter's shack in the nearby city of Prejucara for feijoada. Must be rough eking out a living as a small town doctor in one of the poorest cities in Rio Grande do Sul. Next morning, Saturday, we meet at CIPEX, Nilo's English language school, and leave for our next stop. I feel that Panambi is, with Federico, one of the "better" towns so far.
Visited Fenasoja, a state fair type event, with a little of everything except soy bean products. Martin had a couple of pigs in a booth. I enjoyed the event. Went out to dinner and then to bed. Another nice day. Woke up late and then went to the Country Club for lunch with Rotary group, Argentines and us. After lunch Martin took Arcelious and myself to the airport to show us his favorite toy: an ultralite plane. Arcelious and Martin went up for a spin. Back home to rest and to bed. I am taking care of myself.
Monday, April 29, and another nice day. We visit Ervateira Vier, a mate or chimarrao tea leaf factory. Martin calculates mate produces $1,500 per hectare, compared to $600 for soy beans, but takes at least 3 years to begin producing. We visit the Massay-Furgessen tractor factory. Not much activity on the assembly line due to the general economic slowdown. A big harvester costs $60,000. We have lunch at home with Martin and family. In the afternoon we visit RBS TV station, a "Globo" affiliate. Went across the street to Fenasoja again. Gave interview to TV crews. Must have been a great interview because cameraman vomited immediately afterwards.
Opted not to go to Prenda company pig slaughterhouse and meat factory. Instead walked around town and visited local market with Darren. Home to rest. Tomorrow is another day and another city.
We visit the "Casa de Cultura" and meet the city cultural affairs people. For the life of me I can't figure out what these people actually do. Next we visited a military base - a training school for sergeants. It is clean and the officers are well educated and polite. Before it became a school, the base was home to an infantry brigade, but that was moved to the Amazon.
Had dinner at neighbor's place. Mike M. did one of his world famous pasta dishes. We all dress up as gauchos for the big dance. We are a very funny looking crowd, in my opinion. Went to the CTG, the Gaucho Traditions Center, for the big dance. The event started at 12:12 AM with a couple of brief speeches which ended at 1:15 when the dance began. We all did our best, even Darren and her good friend, affectionately called the Parakeet. I left at 4:30 AM and it was still going strong. I awake at 9:20 and soon we go out to the Hunting and Fishing Club for a churrasco and we give our usual slide presentation. The meeting is more lively then usual. At night Loreno and I go out for pizza and stumble across Douglas, Arcelious and a gang of Roteract kids. Having to choose between a night on the town with them or going to bed, I go to bed. Tomorrow we leave for the last city on our tour.
Friday, May 3. After a nice continental breakfast we visit UFSM, the Federal University of Santa Maria, and meet the president, a gentleman with a PHD in Physics from Berkeley. Visited the PE department and labs. Very bad state and poorly equipped. The instructors seemed to be dedicated people, taking a very practical approach to teaching - doubtless to overcome some of the obstacles caused by the lack of adequate funding.
Didn't get permission to visit the air base next to UFSM, so returned to Santa Maria after lunch. Walked around the center of town. The commercial district is very large and business activity is very intense. A lot of people in the streets. At night went to the Galeto restaurant. Very crowded. Had some good conversation, including a gentleman named Pedro, an expert on the Falkland's war and other subjects. Back to the hotel to bed. Had a great continental breakfast and then took a trip up the mountain to visit the home of a couple of dentists. It was a stone house with a wine producing cellar set on the side of a mountain. Very nice. Would give Lauter a run for his money. Had lunch at a club up the road a few miles. Big lake, simple food and dogs laying around in the kitchen. After lunch we took a long walk through the woods. Played Tarzan. Fell down. Crash.
Returned to Santa Maria. Mike tells us that the tour, for all practical purposes, is officially over. Walked around with Darren. Being Saturday late afternoon, most of shops were closed.
Had dinner at Bovinus, a nice restaurant serving a very good "all you can eat" rodizio for only $9.00. Darren and I had two caipirinhas (pretty strong stuff), but Arcelious stuck to the water and juices. Back to the hotel. This is the last night of the program. Sunday, May 5. I get up early and pack my bags. A gift beer can explodes in my bag. What a mess! After getting permission from Mike, I take a bus to Porto Alegre to meet some friends. I will join up with group tomorrow at the airport, to catch the plane back to São Paulo. The tour is over. What an interesting trip.
Monday. I meet the gang at the airport. All is well, except for Arcelious, who is sick. We arrive in São Paulo at 1:30 PM. I take Arcelious and Darren downtown to see the sight and find some jewelers for Darren. Arcelious still not well. We catch a cab to Denise's sister's house and later I take Darren and Arcelious to the airport. Off they go. The end of my dairy.
t is practically the trade mark of the Gaucho and the thermos bottle of water and the "cuia" gourd are carried around everywhere.
In my opinion 4 weeks is too long of a tour - 14 to 18 days would have been just right.
All in all, it was an interesting and positive experience. I would like to add that all of my colleagues were excellent in their own singular way. Michael did a great job as leader, doing what had to be done to keep us going on schedule and interacting well with the host clubs. All the other members - Darren, Douglas, Arcelious and myself - brought something useful or unique to our group, and this was, I feel, very much appreciated by our Brazilian friends. We certainly were a diverse group, and we had almost something (or somebody) for everyone.
Last of all I would like to thank the Rotary clubs and members, and the GSE leadership for the opportunity to visit Rio Grande do Sul and for all the fond memories brought back from that region of Brazil.