the daily-but-short-lived warm, refreshing mist forest

The days between my last post and today have been the best days I've had here at Iracambi, maybe the best days I've had in 2008 in total. I've only been here for 3 weeks, and each passing day I become slightly more a part of the mesh here, less awkwardly pointed, more harmonious. Things are according.

Wednesday
• Hike to Itajuru, i.e., itajuruando in verb form (present participle), in a group of 4. I was the slowest, lagging a little too much with each angled step - reciting music in my mind and moving my limbs mechanically, I made it with the others and enjoyed the same view (which stretched miles and miles away, could see not only the nearby town[s], but also the nearest city [pop 100,000]; but the main view was of hundreds of softly sloped hills, perfect as a painting, like hills you'd find in Mario Bros. [lifted from the English David, the GIS guy]), and fantasized about parachuting down the steep ledge, jealous of the birds, etc.
• Ran in unison down the mountain in a huge rush of adrenaline. Best where it was a mere path of loose dirt. Pressed on, swam in the first pool we came to. Shared what food we had, including some apples, copious amounts of crackers, and from me, 2 Clif bars.
• Stopped in for coffee at a local's house. They were modest and shy, and their coffee was too sweet for us, but you didn't regret drinking it.
• Returned through road and rolling green hill, more beautiful in the twilight than when we'd left at 8 in the morning. Returned with time to shower and have dinner.

Thursday American David and I went to the little city, Muriaé - withdrew money, enjoyed some fresh air, got lunch, then ran into an old Iracambi volunteer, originally from Rio de Janeiro but now living in Muriaé...he showed us around, introduced us to some friends, and invited us back for a party next weekend. It was great to have a ride there and back (Robin, the owner, has a Landrover), to enjoy wind from a car...I normally don't think about it, but it's a refreshing feeling.

Friday, Virgilio (THE tourism guy) was gone, so I took advantage and slept in...following which I read, showered, and by then it was time to start making dinner. Together with a particularly adroit Brazilian, Alexandre, and a Buscabeatas-type hippy Spaniard (but let's not categorize), Tony, we made pizza. All I can say is it was pretty sweet. I learned to make, and made, the dough. At night we played 20 questions (they got to 18 before Alemão guessed mine, which was simply 'door') and the party slowly dwindled down to me, American David, and Gabriel, from Brazil, and we had a modest fire (drawing on our experience from burning excess bamboo under Virgilio's direction at the future tourist house, Casa de Banana, currently undergoing renovations) and some English lessons before calling it a night.

Yesterday, I woke up and smelled slightly so I showered immediately, then made myself a grilled cheese in a crowning, triumphant moment - because you don't realize how good it feels to be in charge of your own food, to decide what you yourself will eat and when you will eat it, until you live communally like this and everyone eats from the same stash of food at the same times. After that, it rained intensely, which extinguished hopes of trailing - so I accepted the invitation to make bread with a seasoned resident baker from England, Kezia. I made 3 sesame seed loaves, 2 smaller ones for everyone, and 1 slightly larger and more shapely one for grilled cheeses, since I would like to make one for me, American David, and Canadian Michelle when I next get the chance. Maybe for lunch today... Anyway, the process of making bread stretched on for quite a few hours, in between which there was a victorious game of chess against Alemão (the Frenchman pulled an upset over me on Thursday), hammock time, literature, a 45 minute nap, dinner, another rainstorm and a short power outage, tea...I finished just in time to watch a movie in the center, from a laptop via a projector onto a white sheet on the wall (you could see tons of ants during the brighter scenes). It was called "O Homem Que Desafiou O Diabo," or "The Man Who Challenged the Devil," and was completely ridiculous, kind of plotless, a total B movie...all in all, funny, but I wouldn't recommend it to a true friend. After that Alemão supplied us with (Hannah, you will love this) a few episodes of Futurama...and we went to sleep.

I don't know what is on the agenda for today, but it may entail going to a waterfall, maybe going into town - but if not, or if people leave when I'm not around, no big deal - I will just read.

Today is Sunday, and I will be gone by the end of this week. The one thing I would change about my stay here is that I'd stay longer. A month is not long enough, considering that I've only now struck the gold of this place, here in the corner of Minas Gerais. Oh, this is being cut short - waterfall time. More later this week.