Los Colores de Brazil!

Pausing for a moment, I can see clearly I have had ridiculous luck, seeing Chile, Argentina, and Brazil in just the last few weeks, not to mention the previous trips to Bolivia, Ecuador, Mexico, etc. I like this travel stuff, I plan on doing it for some while. Thanks mom and dad for all these opportunities you have provided.

Anyway, I just got back from a 10 day trip to Brazil with my class, and it was an amazing trip.

Our home base was Comboriou, a tourist city in the south of Brazil. From there we explored (in our own chartered bus) Blemenau, Florenapolis, and their surrounding beaches.

I really feel in love with Brazil. The people are amazingly friendly, happy, and helpful, and culture vibrant and dare I say it, sexy, and the whole place has a very laid back feeling.

It was a really nice break from school, and from college applications, which I am working on finishing up this month. Although it rained the first few days, we had some truly magnificient days in the end of the trip. The dripping heat was a big change from the snow of Coyhaique,

and the culture very different as well.

I have been playing around with a program that helps you "stich" pictures togethor to make panoramics, this is one I took on a beach near Camboriou.

One our first day we went to Blomenou, which was one of the first German colonies in Brazil, and seeing as it is October, we went to Octoberfest, which is a really big deal there.

Here is a photo of the "varones" in the class enjoying some German brew at Octoberfest.

Some "ninas alemanes" after their traditional german dance, at Octoberfest.

Beer (english)= Cervesa (Spanish) = Chopp/Cerveja (Portugese)

Another Panoramic, same beach, near Camboriou

German Architecture in Blumenau

From left to right: Charlie, German Lady, Panchito

Me and my brother in Blumenau

The whole class in Florenapolis

Both sides of Brazil

One of the best experience of the trip was going on a "pirate ship" that took us on a 4 hour ride a North of Camboriou to a private beach. There was dancing, kariokee, and of course the national Brazilian drink: Kaiparina

Sonnely and I waiting on the dock for the pirate ship.

After a refreshing swim, pirate ship in the background

Pirates!

Dancing Ache, a Brazilian club dance

More dancing

A view of the ship from our private beach

A view of a mellow beachtown from the ship, again using Autostich

Hanging out on the roof of the hotel

Lago General Carrera and the Rodeo

Sorry, I haven't posted photos for a while, I have been super busy. Two weekends ago I went to Sonnely's campo (country house) which is super close to the Argentinian border on the Lago General Carrera. Here are some photos of that trip

The "jumping falls" of the Rio Ibanez, which leads down into the town of Ibanez, and eventually into the Lago Carrera

The view from just outside Sonnely's campo. Absolutely stunning.

Sonnely's house in the Campo. It's cozy. No electricity, no running water, but still very comfortable.

The Cerro Catillo, which is named so because the jutting peaks resemble a medieval castle. It is one of those things that is so massive, and so beautiful that pictures really can't do it justice, kind of the like grand canyon. But here it is anyway, on the way home back to Coyhaique.

On the way to the Lago General Carrera

This photo is actually from before we left to the Campo. Gauchos in the rodeo, o media luna near Coyhaique. During the weekend of Sept. 18th (independence day) there was a rodeo going here day and night.

EL RODEO! Yeeha!

Gauchos in training.

Guachos herding a angry cow. The idea of this type of rodeo is to make the bull run into a designated wall on eithor side of the arena, using the horses to direct and push it. When one really does it well the cow breaks its horns, and starts to bleed, and that is how you win. Pretty brutal. In this picture the gaucho on the left is Sonnely's older brother.