Serra do Cipo, Minas Gerais

Sunday I went hiking with Carol and her neighbours Debora and Flavian. We drove about 2hrs to a small community in Serra do Cipo national park. It is here that Flavian is hoping to buy some land so that he too can get away from the crowded cities and into nature on the weekends and holidays.

This is Flavian. As the roads changed from cement, to brick, to dirt, to run-out pot-hole filled dirt and last to grown in brush trails, you could tell he was getting more and more excited about where he was taking us - and after seeing the property I would be too.

Flavian has found a hilly piece of property in the top of the mountains with ample water frontage and surrounded by grazing cattle and sugar cane fields. The land is very rugged right now which allowed for a lot of discover as we walked the property. There are cacti everwhere and the vegetation common to the wild cerrado, which apparently has a greater biodiversity than the amazon. We hiked through the trees and shrub to the water where the vista of the surrouding mountains was inspiring. I would ceratinly get up everyday and want to hike to the top of these peaks - like in Cawston, British Columbia.

As we walked around you rocks littered the property, a reminder that we are still in Minas Gerais. Then as we approached the gem of his property (at least in my mind), two vultures flapped above us and landed on their nest. What is the gem you ask? Flavian has two private caves on his property! The rock of the bluff system is composed of calcareous rock with very hard and sharp edges making it easy to climb.

I don't know why I hadn't thought of climbing here in Minas Gerais, but with all the amazing rock I've been seeing I am hoping to get up before I leave.


On our hike we had a run in with a run-away cow. We had come to a river where we stripped down to swim. Flavian was already in the water with is dogs when we heard a man on the other side of the river chasing a cow with his dogs. The cow jumped through the barbed wire fence and launched itself into the water right where Flavian and the dogs were swimming! Luckily we got the dogs out and on leash and Flavian out before the cow decided exactly where it was going, but across it swam and then walked out in front of where I and the girls were standing before continuing on its way. Five minutes later a second cow replicated the same experience.

We all have images of what rural towns in different countries look like because of seeing them in movies or in magazines. Sometimes I wonder how true these representations actually are to the way of life as it is lived. The town we visited in Serra do Cipo was exactly what one would imagine.

Starving stray dogs roamed the streets; people sat around at the local restaurant hiding from the heat of the sun and having a drink; a couple of young men lounged on their porch wearing a straw hat and playing the guitar; a man pulled his stubborn horse while his young son sad on it's back wearing a cowboy hat and slapping it with his stick; a fat man sat on top of a very thin horse and rode it to picnic with his friends; houses were surrounded by chickens, donkeys and kids while the crowds of adults relaxed inside; and as you walked around there were painted wood signs offering land for sale, places to sleep, homemade meals or a shower.

By the time Carol and I returned home we were both pretty tired from spending a day under the sun. But, Lucas was hosting a barbeque for some friends, so I got to meet some more locals. When we showed up the meet was gone, the girls were gossiping and the boys were trying to shoot targets with the pellet gun.

Everyone spoke English at the party which was awesome since my companions for the day did not. I also find that I am much better at speaking and understanding Portuguese in the morning when I am alert than in the evening when I am tired.

Juliana is an architect, Theresa a administrative lawyer and Paula a graphic designer. We gossiped about the difficulties of dating in Belo Horizonte that is saturated with women - apparently for every 10 ladies there are only 7 men, 3 of which are homosexual, 2 of which are married and 1 of which is an asshole. So the pickings are slim especially with so many beautiful women around. I asked about the popularity of online dating in Brazil, as it has really taken off in Canada, but it was explained to me that the risks and dangers of meeting strangers in Brazil are so high that it really is not very popular.

We then talked about weddings and the cost of certain items in Brazil - you would think that buying would be cheaper here but really it is much more expensive. For example, in BH the cheapest wedding dress you can RENT is about 3000 reais; to buy is more expensive. Theresa who got married in a dual ceremony with her sister just over a year ago said that knowing the price of dresses here, it was cheaper for her to buy the dresses for both her and her sister in England while she was living in Europe. (She got them for 65 and 120 pounds at discount wedding stores abroad.) But being a catholic country, weddings do tend to be very grandiose affairs without much room for those couples who want a more modest and frugal event.

Even for Lucas and Carol, they have explained that they will likely fly to Miami to buy items for their baby because it will cost them the same or less to fly to Miami and do all their purchasing rather than buying it all here. For example in BH a stroller costs over $1000! Ridiculous.

Money Poor and Isolated

Currently we are working with six people less than when I arrived. Steve, one of the apprentices, has gone off with one of the other workers from Klippers to Alberta to look for higher paying work together. Coming from the oil rigs, Steve was a good worker and knew his machinery well, however he expressed that he was not capable of living on such a low monthly budget. He doesn't cook and so the plethora of free produce we have at our disposal from the farm held no value for Steve. Further, he was not practiced in being frugal, like those of us who have remained, and so his solution has been to get a job that pays for the lifestyle he would like to live.

Next, both Moosely and Manon are currently away because of illnesses in their families. In both instances, the fact that they are isolated from their families has resulted in them returning to the city to be with their loved ones. Manon will hopefully be back this weekend, but Moosely situation is worse, so we don't know how often she will be able to work for Klippers.

On the flipside, we had a volunteer come from Germany this week to start work for two months - he lasted one day. It turns out that he was looking for something more low key (isolated) with far less people involved in the operation. (He had somewhat of a social angst of too many people.)

And last, Eva has packed up her bicycle and cycled off to Nelson to start her time at the ashram.

All this change in the three short weeks I have been here certainly highlights some of the major issues preventing young people from being farmers or living in rural Canada - the ability to make money farming and the social strains put on individuals who are trying to live apart from their family and friends.

So far I do not feel any of these pressures, and I hope that this remains the case. I know I will discuss these issues further in the coming weeks because they are vital to knowing if I can make Cawston (or another rural part of Canada) my home.