Carnaval week through Hannah and Lila’s eyes.

Since it has become increasingly clear that I may be the primary writer for our “family blog”, I have decided to take a different tact with this entry and share our Carnaval Week through Hannah and Lila’s eyes as much as I can.  So I’ll share a quick, for me, update about our latest adventures and then let the pictures do the talking.

In a nutshell, Carnaval is bonkers crazy on a level that puts anything the US calls a party to shame.  The entire country shuts down and cuts loose.  The images of the giant floats and dancers in Rio you may have seen are just the beginning.  We had a moment where we considered going to Rio for one night of the samba school parades, and I even started researching things and found that they went from 8:00 to 5:00 or 6:00, which is a really long time.  And then I read a little deeper and realized that it was from 8:00 PM to 5:00 or 6:00 AM.  So, as much as I love big crowds and loud music, we decided to stay in Brasilia through the Carnaval proper and head back to Chapada dos Viadeiros from Wednesday to Sunday.   Not that Carnaval in Brasilia is all that mellow.  We went to one party on Saturday afternoon around 1:00 and it was already busy with lots of folks dancing and enjoying themselves.  I was completely overdressed in shorts and a T-shirt.  I offered to take my shirt off and find some glitter for my chest hair and beard, but the girls decided I was fine as is.  There must be some sort of guideline around total square footage of clothing that is considered appropriate for a costume.  From a quick visual survey, I would say that the number is about two square feet, not counting footwear and capes.  It is also loud, like skull rattling loud, and we forgot earplugs, so we only lasted an hour or two.  In that short of a time, the line to get in went from 10 people to over 1,000 people in a line around the block.  And this is at 3:30 in the afternoon, at one of the multitude of block parties happening in town.  Been there, done that, and so we decided to keep a low profile for the rest of the weekend.  

Wednesday found us driving north to hike in the same area as we did in October, except this time in the rainy season.   Trickles had turned to torrents, dirt roads were full of puddles and potholes, rivers were at their banks, and the swimming options at the waterfalls were limited.  Luckily the hotel had a great pool.  We hiked in a torrential downpour one day and hot, blue skies the next.  Toucans, blue macaws, green parrots, and ibises were on the bird list for the trip.  We traveled with some new friends from school and even got to play a couple of board games.  

So, back to the girls.  Lots of swimming, some good hiking, and lots of eating.  It seems to be our family formula for a good time in Brazil.  They also got ahold of our waterproof camera and entertained themselves thoroughly at the waterfalls and in the pool.  I’ll add a few general pictures of the week, so you don’t get just funny underwater faces.

Lots of love from Brasil,

Adam