"Gravestones in English of People We Don't Know"

Ever since before moving to Brasil, I have been intrigued by Americana, São Paulo (or actually the town 7 km away called Santa Bárbara d'Oeste). A couple hours north of São Paulo city is a town molded by immigrants from the United States. After the Civil War, Dom Pedro II offered cheap land in Brasil to the Confederates. Hoping to appeal to those who weren't thrilled about living under the newly re-established United States of America, he thought Brasil could benefit from the farming technology that would be brought by the Southerners. No one seems to know for sure, but it is estimated that as many as 10,000 people moved from the US (mostly Southern states) to Brasil to take the emperor up on his offer. Many of them settled in the state of São Paulo in Santa Bárbara d'Oeste.

Today there isn't a lot left of those original settlers. But there is a Baptist Church, cemetery, and memorial along with what I hear to be a good museum. And there is an organization of American descendants, Associação Descendência Americana, who host the Festa Confederada and other events to honor their heritage. (There is a really great article with more information here, I recommend giving it a read if you're interested.)

I would love to attend the Festa Confederada in April and see the place transformed into the Old South: girls in hoop dresses, men in Confederate Uniforms, fried chicken, peach pie, and sweet tea all around . . . but, as it was, I was a bit preoccupied with giving birth and what-not this year.

So when we decided to make our random 3-day road trip through Southern Minas and São Paulo, I really wanted to make a visit to this oh-so-interesting place. Eric was a bit skeptical, but I think that was only because he was worried how folks would take to a Yankee wandering around those parts! I promised I wouldn't let anyone shoot him, and so he agreed to go.

We started off driving straight to Santa Bárbara d'Oeste to find the Museu da Imigração (Immigration Museum). We only had to stop and ask one person to get directed right to the Museum. We arrived just in time to see the lady locking the door. (I thought they were open until 4:00 on Sundays, turns out they close at 1:00.) We did ask her for directions to "O Cemitério do Campo" (the cemetery) though. She told us it was not in town and was too difficult to tell us how to get there and turned to walk away. We pressed her a bit more, explained we had a car, and asked if she could at least give us an idea of how to drive there. She told us to drive down Bandeirantes Highway.

I had the GPS coordinates, but the GPS didn't show the dirt roads that lead to the point, so we kindly accepted her directions. A couple hours later and after talking to several different people (most of whom had no idea what we were talking about), we found the cemetery. It actually is very easy to find and has lots of big signs directing you there . . . if you are on the highway to Piracicaba and not Bandeirantes Highway (which is a limited-access tollway that doesn't give access to the road to the cemetery) like the not-at-all-helpful lady from the Museum told us!!!

We drove lots of dirt roads through fields of sugar cane heading in the direction of the cemetery. We kept getting close, but not having roads to lead us all the way there. It was a fun adventure though!


Finally found the cemetery!


The area has a monument to the original settlers, a Baptist Church, the cemetery, and a small museum with a collection of items donated by the descendants of the Americans who moved here.

Around the base of the monument were the family names of the immigrants. It included:
Ayees, Baird, Bankston, Barnsley, Barr, Bentley, Bookwalter, Bowen, Broadnax, Britt, Bryant, Buford, Burton, Capps, Carlton, Carr, Clark, Cole, Coulter, Crawley, Crisp, Cullen, Currie, Daniel, Demaret, Drain, Domm, Dumas, Easton, Ellis, Ezelle, Ferguson, Fenley, Gill, Grady, Green, Hall, Hardeman, Harris, Hawthorne, Hogan, Holland, Jones, Keese, Kennerly, King, Lloyd, Mathews, McAlpine, McFadden, McIntyre, McKnight, McMullan, Meriwether, Miller, Mills, Minchin, Moore, Morrison, Newman, Norris, Northrup, Oliver, Peacock, Perkins, Prestridge, Provost, Pyles, Quillen, Radcliff, Rowe, Sanders, Seawright, Scurlock, Smith, Steagall, Strong, Tanner, Tarver, Terrell, Thatcher, Thomas, Townsend, Trigg, Vaughan, Ward, Whitaker, Whitehead, Williamson, Weissinger, Wright, Yancey

So many of these are familiar names to me. People from my hometown, folks I went to school with, Primitive Baptist preachers I know . . .

Tucked back among pine trees and palms (which I felt was most appropriate!) is a little church.

Inside, it felt much like the little churches in Cades Cove, Tennessee


This memorial to the First Baptists in Brasil reads:
Here, on September 10th, 1871, it was organized the first Baptist Church in Brazil. The founder members of that church came from the South of the United States of America, after Civil War. Their first pastor was Richard Ratcliff from the State of Louisiana. That church promoted the ordination of the first Brazilian Baptist minister, Antônio Teixeira de Albuquerque in 1880. It was a missionary church. They requested and received missionaries to Brazil, the families Bagby and Taylor, who thereafter went to Salvador, Bahia. Although they do not exist as a church anymore, the seed planted by those pioneer Baptists produced and still produces fruits for the honor and glory of God.

We wandered around the cemetery reading gravestones for quite a while.

I loved the combination of English and Portuguese on many of them!

And the simplicity (and funny wording, "aged 71 years") of some.

And the spell-it-like-they-pronounce-it mistakes (Lauisiana, U.S.A.)

As I wandered around snapping pictures and taking it all in, Eric looked at me, shook his head, and asked, "Really? We came all this way to read gravestones in English of people we don't know?" "But look, all the pine trees! The little country church! We could be in Georgia", I replied. With a sly little grin, my husband added, "My point exactly." Alas, I didn't expect my Darling Dearest Yankee would get it . . . he didn't.

After thanking my hubby profusely for not giving up on the cemetery search and burning a lot of expensive fuel on my behalf, I told him he could make the plans for the rest of the day. It took him 2.57 seconds to decide we would drive over to Piracicaba and admire heavy machinery. Specifically, the oh-so-fun-to-look-at Case sugarcane harvesters!

We would LOVE to see one of these babies in action! They're such funny-looking contraptions!

After that, we headed over to Campinas, had some supper, and spent the night there. The next day we made the journey back to Belo Horizonte.

6 Months

My Dear Sweet Gabriela,

Half of a year has passed since the day you made your grand entrance into the world. Some days it doesn't seem possible that you're already 6 months old, but at the same time it feels like you have always been a part of our life. (I've already forgotten what it was like to leave the house without a car seat or stroller and 20 pounds of stuff.)

It has been another great month, and one that has passed very quickly. We've done lots of traveling (as usual), you started eating solid foods, and your little personality is developing more every day.

We were going to wait until 6 months to start you on solids, but since your Uncle Justin is arriving this weekend and we'll be traveling a lot with him, we decided to get started a couple weeks early. You started off with avocado, and we've been introducing a new food every four days or so. So far you've been enjoying avocado, banana, pumpkin, papaya, and green beans. You seem to prefer the fruits, but I'm not sure if that is because of the taste or because you prefer some texture over the purees. You've been doing great with it though and enjoy the two real-food meals per day in addition to your usual four nursing/bottle sessions.

Going in for a beijinho for Mamãe

Our travels this month have included a road trip through southern Minas Gerais and part of São Paulo and a trip down to Rio Grande do Sul. Our road trip took us to the cities of Poços de Caldas, Andradas, Santa Bárbara d'Oeste, Americana, Piracicaba, and Campinas. And this last weekend we visited the Serra Gaúcha towns of Cambará do Sul, Canela, and Gramado (and the surrounding local and national parks) after flying into Porto Alegre. You're still a trooper on trips, but you have taken to really fighting naps when there is something else going on; you're just afraid of missing out on something I suppose.

You are becoming more of a ham every day. You can be tired and cranky with your Papai and me, but the second we pull out a camera or a stranger glances your way, your mood changes immediately! You have a giant open mouth smile you plaster on the second you hear the camera turn on. And whenever you pass people on the street, get into a crowded elevator, or pretty much any other situation that puts you in contact with other humans, you start grinning like crazy, blowing raspberries, and giggling until you have put a smile on everyone's face. I have not been able to go anywhere in a hurry for the last several weeks because you're so busy flirting with everyone that I have to stop and let them fuss over you for a while before I am able to continue on my way. If only I had a dime for every time I heard "Fofinha de mais!" or "Uma bonequinha!" or "Uma coisa linda!" or just "Nossa, olha" . . . well, it'd be enough to put you through college. You are quite the little charmer!

Along with getting more beautiful by the minute, you are also getting stronger and more mobile. Although you still can't get yourself into the position, if I help you sit up you will stay there playing for a little while until you loose interest and fling yourself sideways. You aren't exactly crawling, but that doesn't mean you can't move 15 feet across a room. You combine rolling, spinning 360 degrees on your belly, and pushing yourself backwards to make it incredible distances and get into stuff I thought you were plenty far away from. Every time I think you are about to crawl forward, you end up going in reverse - usually much to your own chagrin and frustration as you are trying to get to a toy in front of you!

Your balance isn't so good yet, but if you have something to hold onto you can push yourself up into a standing position and stay there for several minutes (until you forget and let go of whatever you're using for balance and fall over!) And I say pushing up and not pulling up, because you don't use your arms at all, just those chubby little legs of yours. It's funny to see such a tiny little thing standing up all on her own!

Your doctor is on vacation this month, so you won't have a 6-month well baby visit. But according to our home scale you are up to 14.5 pounds (which keeps you in about the 25th percentile).

You continue to keep your Papai and me amazed that we could have created something so perfect and thank God everyday for blessing us to be your parents. You bring immeasurable joy to our lives and to everyone you encounter.

I love you so much, minha querida!
Mommy

See the Resemblance?

My parents always referred to this look as "Fred Flintstone Face". (Yes, she is now enjoying pureed roasted pumpkin . . . along with her avocado and banana these days. This weekend we're going to try out papaya!)

Poços de Caldas and Andradas

Three-Day Weekend.

22 Hours in the Car.

1700 kilometers (1056 miles).

With a baby who discovered her vocal cords can make this very nerve-grating grunting noise for hours at a time.

But really, it wasn't that bad. In fact, I'd go so far as to say we enjoyed it!

We got off to a later-than-planned start, as my hubby-dearest got stuck in a meeting until almost 7:00 pm. Luckily he is married to a very understanding wifey who didn't fuss very much about sitting in the car with an antsy 5 month old waiting for him . . . for over an hour.

But we were only planning to drive about 4 hours that night to Pouso Alegre, and Gabriela fell asleep just moments after we got on the road. We stopped for the night just off of the highway that runs between BH and São Paulo at Hotel Fernandão.

The next morning we drove on to Poços de Caldas. It is a cute town that seems like it was probably quite the place to be 40 years ago. (It used to be home to lots of fancy casinos, although gambling has since been outlawed in Brasil.) It appears that they are starting to work on sprucing it back up though. We enjoyed the teleférico and a nice stroll through a beautiful city park.

The teleférico takes you from the middle of town up to a mountain peak (where they have erected a smaller replica of the Cristo.)

The views from the top are quite magnificent.




I'd like to submit this as proof that my child is part reptile. I'm quite certain it comes from her father's side of the family. ;)

The ride back down to town

There was also a small aquarium and a trail to walk at the top of the mountain, so we spent a good bit of time up there before heading back down. Then we took a stroll through a gorgeous city park and had some lunch. The town is also known for it's warm springs which are said to be healing, but they feed into pools inside of a building and it was closed while we were there. So we didn't get to experience those before heading out to the neighboring town of Andradas.

There was a gorgeous full rainbow across the valley as we came into Andradas.

Once we made it into Andradas, we decided to first find a place to stay for the night. Options are rather limited in the small town and the only decent place was the Andradas Palace Hotel. After getting a room there, we headed over to Casa Geraldo's vineyard and winery.

They have a tasting room in BH that is 3 blocks from our apartment. We discovered them on our very first trip to Brasil (as our hotel was directly across the street from their store) and it was sort of love at first taste. As our preference for wine has gotten drier and drier (especially after our trip to Argentina and Chile last year), we find fewer of their wines that we just love. But they have a couple that are really nice.

Your average Brasilian (or Mineiros, at least) tend to be beer people. They don't drink a lot of wine. And if they do drink wine, they want it sweet. When we visited the tasting room at Casa Geraldo, we were literally the only ones in the whole place trying the dry stuff. I think the server was really excited to have someone who appreciates something other than their cheap sweet stuff. As we asked about the property and their processes, he offered to take us on a guided tour of the place. After turning over the tasting room to another employee, he walked us around and told us all about their grapes and wines, and even opened up the tap on several of the tanks and gave us a taste (sooo yummy!)

Gabs was getting jealous of all our tasting, so we had to stop and give her a bottle of her very own. (Straight up milk for her though.)

After the tour we sampled some more of their wines and then made our way into the shop to make a few purchases. We had giggled on our way in as we passed people carting out cases of wine on a handcart. But 30 bottles later, we found ourselves in need of that handcart as well. Our wine rack is very well stocked now thanks to the amazing discounts we got by buying straight from the source!

Ever wondered what a 5'7" kid in a candy store looks like?

They also had a really cute restaurant there, but they didn't start serving until 9:00 pm. They were having live music that night, so we decided to go rest a while at the hotel and then come back later that evening. We all laid down for a quick nap about 7:00 pm. Next thing I knew, Eric rolled over and looked at his watch and announced that it was 9:15. I had been sleeping so deep, and the last thing I felt like doing at that moment was getting dressed and going out. Gabriela was still sound asleep too, so Eric decided just to run out and bring us something back for supper (as he picked on me about being an old lady and going to bed at 7:00!)

Sunday morning, we got up and headed South to Santa Barbara d'Oeste, just outside of Americana, São Paulo. More on that to come . . .

On the Road Again

Monday is yet another Brasilian holiday. I love holidays. Especially when they fall next to a weekend and I get to go somewhere fun with my Sweetie!

We are taking off this evening and driving Southwest on BR-381. I have reservations at a hotel right off the highway for late tonight. Then tomorrow morning we are going to drive over to Poços de Caldas. After that we have no definite plans. We might stay in Poços de Caldas or we might continue on elsewhere. We might swing down to Americana and touch base with my Southern roots, or we might . . . well, who the heck knows what we'll do. We're not staying here though, that much I know.

It's not much like us to take off without definite plans. But we want to go exploring and not be on a schedule. We'll see what happens!

On a side note, the holiday is Dia das Crianças (Children's Day). The way I understand it, you're supposed to go out and spend a lot of money on a present for your kids. We're opting to take that money and go on a long weekend trip. Sorry Gabs. I guess you'll just have to add this to the list of ways you were deprived as a child. ;)

Maceió - Our New Favorite Beach Town

When I happen upon airline sales, I often just start entering random locations for dates we have available and seeing what I come up with. A couple months back, my playing around landed us tickets to Maceió in the state of Alagoas. We really didn't know too much about it, and no one we knew had ever visited there, but the tickets were cheap. So, we decided to give it a go! After our trip, we both agreed that we had found our new favorite beach town. Love it when that happens!!!

We flew out of BH late Thursday night, September 17, and got to our hotel in Maceió just past 2:30 am. We stayed at Gogó da Ema in the Ponta Verde neighborhood. It was decorated very cute, in a perfect location, and had a friendly staff - we feel like the place deserves a lot more credit than the guide books give it! From our hotel, we could walk 1 1/2 blocks in either direction and be on the beach. (It is located on a point, hence the name, Ponta Verde.) The city's beachfront is absolutely stunning, with gorgeous transparent blue-green water lapping onto beige sand edged by tons of palm trees. Sitting on the tranquil beach, you have no idea you are in a city of nearly 900,000!

Despite getting in late, we got up early Friday morning and headed to Praia do Ponte Verde for the day (one of the two beaches within steps of our hotel).

Clouds hung off-shore and never moved inland providing us with beautiful day and, despite a little seaweed that had washed up, the beach was quite perfect.

And just when we started feeling like we knew a lot about Brasil and had seen just about everything in the way of food, two new surprises awaited us in Maceió. First off, there was this guy:

The beaches of Maceió were full of vendors selling caldinhos (little cups of soup). That was a first on the beach for us. But this guy really impressed Eric with his belt full of condiments/toppings for the soup he was selling from the red thermos.

A little later on in the day, I noticed that the people selling nuts seemed to be offering more than just the usual roasted cashews. Upon a little closer look, it appeared that they had boiled peanuts for sale as well. I thought to myself, now that would just be too good to be true! I pointed them out to Eric, who quickly said that southerners were the only people in the world weird enough to eat their peanuts boiled. We finally called one of the vendors over and, lo and behold, Nossa Senhor! BOILED PEANUTS!!!

Eric told the lady we'd take a small bag for R$1. I quickly interrupted him and informed the nice lady we would have a large bag for R$2. As I cracked open the first shell and popped the boiled deliciousness into my mouth, it was at that moment that I exclaimed that I could die a very happy woman. Now, usually, I try not to be so dramatic, but early that week, it being September and all, I had been thinking how everyone back home was probably enjoying fresh boiled peanuts, and I had been having a serious craving for some. Few things in Brasil have brought me that much joy . . . and I really have been enjoying Brasil, so that should tell you something! Eric just shook his head as I devoured the entire bag in mere minutes.


It was a nice hot day. And that afternoon, Eric decided he should leave Gabriela's beach tent unzipped so she could get more of a breeze. But it wasn't too long before I looked back and caught this little sneaky face peering out at me.

. . . Followed by a head popping out of the tent and eyeballing the sand that I just know she was thinking about taking a head dive into so she could get a mouthful.

And when I told her (in my sternest Mommy-voice) that I knew what she was up to and she better not even think about it, she gave me this "Aw, Mom, Come On!" face. She's a mess, that one!

Later that afternoon, we got cleaned up and went for a nice, long walk along the city's beachfront. It is so clean and well kept-up. And they have SMOOTH SIDEWALKS!!! And a bike path! It was really fabulous and we couldn't quit talking about how pretty it was there.

That night, we were pretty tired, so we ended up just eating supper at the hotel's tiny little restaurant. It was so small that the waitress was also the hostess and the cook. And when she brought our food out to us (we were the only ones in the place at the time), she asked if she could hold Gabriela for us while we ate. So she also served as the on-site childcare! She was so cute playing with Gabs, and Eric and I got to enjoy a meal without two extra little hands trying to grab everything in sight! It was R$22 well-spent, and that included drinks and tip!

The next day, we got up and caught a shuttle to Praia do Francês, a beach just about 22 km south of the city. (It was suggested to us by one of my readers - thanks Vivi!)

It was another perfect day and another wonderful beach. I do love my life!

I don't think there is any place I'd rather be than relaxing on the beach with my two favorite people!

Gabriela really enjoyed the trip too. The water in Alagoas was so warm it felt like stepping into a bath. Gabs, not being a fan of cold water at all, was totally digging splashing around some in the warm ocean. Except for when it was nap time - the second that child gets sleepy it is best to get her somewhere she can nap. She goes from laughing and playing to not-at-all-happy in roughly 2.68 seconds the moment fatigue sets in. Same goes for hunger too.

Although I can't remember in this picture if she was ready for her nap or it she was just upset because the photographer (her Papai) commented on her chubby thigh rolls and laughed at how fluffy she looked with the wind blowing out her outfit like that . . . he forgets sometimes that she is a girl . . . we're sensitive about these things. ;)

Saturday night, we discovered another thing we really loved about Maceió: uninflated prices. It is becoming, I've read, more of a "hot" beach destination, but it hasn't gotten super touristy yet and the prices there reflect that. Eric and I had a huge shrimp dinner for two at a nice beach-front restaurant in the main tourism area for R$28. And R$3.90 caipirinhas. And it was all sooo yummy!!!

Sunday morning we woke up to rain - proving that everything isn't always perfect for us. ;) By late morning it seemed like it was going to clear up though. So we made the walk down to Praia de Pajuçara and sailed 2 km out on a tiny jangada to what they call the piscinas naturais (natural pools) formed by an off-shore reef.

Gabriela finally got to try out her life jacket. I wasn't sure how she'd take to it, but it didn't bother her a bit. She just sat in Eric's lap giggling and chewing on the collar.

It went back and forth between cloudy and sunny and even rained on us briefly a couple times, but it was well worth the trip out. The water was gorgeous and the sand bar wasn't too crowded (thanks to the not-so-fab weather).

There were tons of tropical fish in the area too, so Eric did a little snorkeling while I hung out with Gabs.
Our sailboat captain was perhaps not the most professional in the world, but he was, at least, quite entertaining. While we played in the water, he drank beer. After falling off the back of the boat while trying to push off the sandbar, he didn't seem like he was in much of a condition to "man the vessel". And then instead of getting the lovely, quiet sailboat ride we paid for, he (along with several other guys) hooked up to a passing fishing boat (that had a huge guy passed out, apparently drunk, on the floor of it) and we got to enjoy the sound of a loud rumbly engine while inhaling some serious exhaust fumes. And for extra entertainment, a kayaker hooked onto the convoy as well and then his kayak flipped over and he was almost run over by the next boat hooked behind us and then everyone yelled to the captain of the fishing boat and we circled back around so the lost kayaker (who wasn't even wearing a life jacket) could grab onto our boat and be pulled to shore (while someone from one of the other boats grabbed his oar for him as it floated past). And the whole time I was smiling at Eric and asking, "How is it exactly that so many Brasilians live into old age?"

Gabs took the opportunity to catch a few Zzzz's and missed out on all the action during our trip back to shore. Probably just as well.

Sunday afternoon we headed back to Belo Horizonte feeling well-rested, well-tanned, and recommending to all of our friends that they make a trip to beautiful Maceió.

I do not like green eggs and ham

But a tasty green avocado (abacate, in Portuguese), on the other hand . . .

Mmmmmm, delicious and satisfying!

Most of our family-focused weekend revolved around the person in our household who only barely breaks the 2-foot-tall mark (although we did still go out to parties at friends' homes on both Friday and Saturday night.) And the highlight was starting her on solids. We are a couple weeks ahead of the 6-month point when our pediatrician wants us to start giving her something other than breastmilk. But we are going to be doing some traveling soon and wanted solids established at home before we hit the road.

Gabriela's doctor just said to start with a fruit or vegetable. After much research on our part, we decided avocado would be the food of choice to get her started. Super high in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and healthy fats, naturally baby-food consistency without any preparation, and called the World's Most Nutritious Fruit by the Guinness Book of Records, avocado seemed like a good starting place to establish healthy eating habits! Gabriela seemed to agree as she scarfed down a couple tablespoons of the stuff on Saturday before we cut her off. (I think she would have eaten a lot more if we'd let her . . . little porker!)

During Sunday's picnic and hike in Mangabeiras Park, we took along an avocado, stripped Gabs down to her shorts (easier to wipe off her skin than a shirt), and let her picnic with us too!

Sunday night, we got out the Munchkin mesh feeder and turned Gabs loose with it. (You drop in whole pieces of food, snap on the top, and then the baby can create their own "puree" by eating the food through the mesh. Also great for teething babies - just put in something cold!)

She had entirely too much fun feeding herself (and throwing the feeder across the dining room table). Towards the end, Eric stepped in and helped hold it for her so she could get the last little bit out.

As expected, the mesh feeder was much messier than spoon-feeding. But, luckily, babies are 100% washable!

It was still early Sunday evening and I needed to fix supper, so Eric put on his swimsuit and took Gabriela for a swim/bath in the big tub.


Those two had fun splashing around for almost 45 minutes!

With the change in diet comes some fun changes in baby poo too. I am happier than ever that she usually takes care of that business on the toilet - much easier clean-up that way!

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