Brazil! I arrived at the Sao Paulo airport and was greeted at the
customs control by a special group just for US citizens. 11 guys in
black suits clustered around the special lane, just for USA, everybody
else waltzed through the easy lanes. I had to do fingerprints, both
hands, an iris scan, etc etc. Seems Brazil is a little mad at the US
for imposing new visa and entry requirements on Brazilians, and are
retaliating.
Plus the price for a visa for US citizens is 3 times the amount for others (Canada, UK, etc). Oh well, war and politics...
Henrique Garcia met me at the airport, a friendly, smiling handsome Brazilian. (how can an entire nation be so beautiful?). Henrique navigated the Sao Paulo traffic with ease.
Bright sunshine, blue waters, rugged coastline, a jumble of huge
granite slabs and boulders tumbling from the tropical forest onto the
shoreline, small sandy beaches... oh so pretty! There was one common
tree in the forest, tall with whitish bark and a broad fanning canopy,
and covered with purple blossoms - Henrique said it is the Ipe tree -
there are other varieties that bloom at different times of the year,
yellow and white.
We arrived at Amy's beach, and docked the boat on their pier. (Henrique had to do some diving to find the broken rope and re-attach it to the pier so we could pull ourselves in). Five years ago this area was wild coast line.
So Vilson and Luis have done many rides, many miles together and have developed a good/fast system for communication. Now - we would have to do it in English (or very poor Spanish.) Luis studied at Columbia University, in the US, so his English is very good, but still...
He told me that the most important things would be when to duck under branches or overhead obstacles (the command to use is ´lay!´) and also when to make a turn - right - derecha, or left - isquierda - or to slow down for hazards. But. Nobody told me that Luis likes to go very fast! My biggest challenge would be keeping up with him and trying to look ahead down the trail.
Firebird felt good going out, the most eager he'd been all day, but it was quite hot and there were some big hills to climb, and I was worried about his downhill muscles, so once we left the flat shaded road, I slowed him down and just relaxed into the rest of the ride, plenty of time.
This loop really was tough, up and down, up and down, and then up and up and up. We climbed high into the hills, through logging areas, pine and eucalyptus forests, cooler air and spectacular views! There is really nothing in the US that resembles this part of Brazil. It is hilly, but in the tropic zone, so the vegetation is lush and the sky is very blue, green rolling fields and forests, and flowers trees and plants everywhere! It's beautiful, no wonder the Brazilian people are so happy.
Brazilian awards ceremonies are unlike anything I've ever seen...It's a very big deal, with microphone announcements and blaring music to anounce everyone, and everything. And Now, The Tenth Place Finisher Of The Sixth Annual Bragança Paulista Haras Endurance... etc, Ta ta ta da! For every rider it was a big deal.
And the top five finishers arranged themselves on a stepped platform, with the first place top and center. More music, photos, Ta dum. Theme music from Chariots of Fire, 2001 Space Odyssey, popular disco music, etc. It's grand fun!