First came the Tupi tribes, then the Portugese and even the French have been here. Now it's us........
After the transit in Miami, an 8 hour flight took us to Rio de Janeiro, the city of endless charm. We decided to be in a secure place the first day, as we know the crime rate in Rio is high, so we made a reservation at The Intercontinental Hotel before arrival. (we later found out it was next door to the biggest slum in Rio, and the most dangerous place to take an evening walk....)
But beeing outside the city made us feel isolated and the high price made a hole in our budget. We decided to move. The third day we found a small apartment in Copacabana with ocean wiev (and very cheap). We soon found out why. No hot water!!!! Well, we succeeded to arrange that and it turned out it was worth it, the wiev was astonishing; emerald colored waves, the white sandy beach, chokolate tanned brazilians with just a "dental thread" (brazilian name for tanga; swim wear).
The jogging along Copacabana beach in the morning kept us fit (this one is for you, Will...) and sipping coconut milk in the afternoon made us relaxed.
Christian impressed me with his brasilian-portugese. He has been living here for a short while when he was younger. It's an old love story for him and he is happy to be back. For me it was a new romance that just started.........
It is winter in Rio ....only 20-25 degrees, a lot of space on the beach and no overcrowded restaurants. The brazilians say its colder than ever.
Brazil is a mythical country with a vibrant landscape of unexplored rainforests, tropical beaches and endless rivers. The people themselves delight us with their energy, friendliness and joy. Brasilian people are kind and highly spiritual despite the poverty. The spiritual doctrine is widely spread and interfering with the spiritworld is nothing uncommon. We had definitely come to the right place.
We didn't know anybody in Rio but trough the Cayce Foundation in Virginia Beach and thanks to our new found friend Alice, we where able to contact Nicole and Jose two talented musicians and Francesco, with a never ending curiosity, living in the mountain area in Tresopolis. When visiting him in this beautiful area, he made us taste piranha-soup in a local brasilian restaurant. Delicious and tasty experience.( Later we found out, it is an afrodisiac.......)
Together with Nicole and her family we spent a day in Cabo Frio (north of Rio) enjoying cristal white beaches, sand dunes and turquise waters.
Through them we also met friends like Celia, working with past life therapy and Thais and her husband, both mediums, who shared the story of their beautiful daughter.
Meeting this wonderful people, slowly opened the door to the spiritual world of Brazil. We had to extend our time as we realized that some things could not be rushed and approached without patience.
PANTANAL
While we waited for our spiritual encounters to unfold we decided to satisfy our need for nature and wildlife. We thought that ecoturism would be the ideal way of doing so. You only take photographs, leave only footprints and keep only memories. And best of all, you participate indirectly in the conservation of the area by contributing to the local economy.
We heard that the Mato Grosso Pantanal area in the southwestern part of Brazil was one of the largest natural paradises on Earth with up to 13 different kind of vegetation. The landscape, covered with djungel, grassland and savannah was the result of heavy rains in the region during November to March, known as the "flood period". South Pantanal is home to one of the largest habitats of animals in the planet. The diversity and abundance of animalife here is incredible, we were told.
Staying at the authentic Fazienda (ranch) Pequi, embraced by warm brasilian hospitality, we did not get disappointed.
By the river of Aquidauana we photographed the birdlife (more than 650 species), participated in rural activities such as cattle work and horseback riding (still have a soar bottom...) and felt like real "pantaneiros" (brazilian cowboys). We visited native tribes (Terenas), went for piranha fishing and alligator safari. Crocodile Dundee (Christian) even held a baby alligator in his hand and pulled a big one in the tail....We could not help feeling like in a film of National Geographique (only better).
We felt honored when our new friend Isabel's husband Paulino offered to cook his very special catfish for us. A real delight, both the dish and the company. (Paulino, you could easily get a work with the best chefs in France!!!!!)
The hardest task was to leave Cinderella, our very own private guide. She was a foxterrier, proud and dedicated her job to supervise the guests of the fazienda. Following us an early morningwalks, we saw her play hide and seek with her young deer friend, while we watched in amazement. She was a a special dog. It was raining the day we left Fazienda Pequi and Cinderellas eyes followed our car down the road.
We continued to travel, filled with awe over this beautiful part of our world.
ABADIANIA
After leaving pantanal we took the flight to Brasilia, the capital. From there we continued to Abadiania, a small village not even found on the map, in central Brazil. All this to visite Joao de Teixera de Farias "spiritual hospital".
Staying only 3 days we had the feeling of being transfered to another reality where miracles occured every day. From what we saw, heard and experienced we knew that some extraordinary healingwork was done by Joao and his workers.
In this athmosphere of love and compassion we met Peter, John,Vasilis, Fergus, Jessica, Tania, Claudio, Miriam and many others. Unbelivable lifestories were unveiled before our eyes. A truly wonderful place filled with hope.
MINAS GERAIS
We just had the time to arrive in Rio, sleep the night and then take off to Minais Gerais ( 6 hours by car). Our appointment with Thomaz was scheduled for monday afternoon. We were exited to finally meet this mind-bending personality with what we had heard, incredible paranormal powers.Thomaz reputation was not at its best. The rumeurs described him as an egocentric person and not very spiritual. But we wanted to find out more about the person behind the rumeurs.
To our delight, we met a warm and friendly person, concerned by his fellow human beings, using his powers to heal and help people.He did not want to make a "show of his powers" anymore, but welcomed us into his home. He shared his lifestory and asked us to join him for dinner with his family and friends. We also participated in his everyday mentalization on the terrace in his house. An unforgettable experience. We were touched when he explained about the importance of positive mind power and the importance of participating in the mentalization-chain he conducts every day.
After only 2 days with Thomaz, we felt like if we were old and dear friends. With his "RAmigos para sempre" still ringing in our ears, a wave of nostalgia arised when we left. Thank you Thomaz for your warm hospitality.
FRIAR LUIZ
This is a nonprofit institution that practice material and spiritual charity where thousands of people go to, in search of cure for diseases and spiritual supports. We wanted to know more about this special and social work, created by Dr Rocha Lima.
Together with our new friends Thais, Celia and Nicole we made several visits and were also granted the permission to assist during a materialization and to be treated. We can assure you this was an amazing experience.
At the institution, there were 8 rooms for special kind of spiritual assistance and a sanctuary up in the mountain, surrounded by trees and flowers for materialization works and healing surgeries, some performed through mediums.
One of the objectives of the institution, we were told, was to create a holistic hospital and join the spiritual and conventional medecin, put into practice by doctors and health professionals. A new approach for the cure of serious diseases which could prove effective and open the door to a new way of understanding and practice of medecin.
With all this spiritual healing we were now prepared to discover the shamanic world in the Andes and took the flight to Bolivia.
What we learned in Brazil:
Miracles do exist.
The mind is more powerful than we can imagine.
Matter is not an obstacle to the spirit.
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