Brazil, 2003

In July, I flew to Rio to meet Lilian Jacques, whom I previously knew only via the internet. Wonderful thing, the internet. We already knew each other before we laid eyes on each other. I spent two weeks in Brazil. We spent a few days in Rio, during which time we bicycled along Ipanema and Copacabana beach, ate at some great restaurants, and climbed Sugar Loaf mountain (a technical climb, i.e., with ropes and protection). Then we drove to Tiradentes, a restored mining town several hundred kilometers NW of Rio. From Tiradentes, we drove to Buzios, a beautiful beach town north of Rio about 150 kilometers. We spent two days there, then returned to Rio. Then we flew to Campo Grande, which is inland, in Mato Grosso (means "Big Forest", but most of the trees are long gone). Lilian grew up in Mato Grosso, and her mother lives there. From Mato Grosso we drove to Bonito, the closest town to the Jacques family ranch. At Bonito we took a commercial tour through Gruta do Lago Azul (The Grotto of the Blue Lake). When Lilian was a child they used to play in the cave, but now you have to go on a tour. Then we went river rafting on the Rio Formoso. From Bonito we drove to the Ranch -- Fazenda Princesinha (Little Princess Ranch). There we did some mountain biking, and explored two more caves -- this time on the private land of the ranch. Lilian's brother Orlando guided us, and her nephew Nodier accompanied us. The first cave was fairly conventional, with some very pretty stalactites and stalgmites. The second was a water and bat cave. There was about a foot of water running through the bottom, and the cave was not tall enough to stand in, so we had to duck walk or crawl through the water. It was also full of bats, which came out nicely in the flash pictures. All in all, it was a great trip, both on the personal front and from seeing some of Brazil.

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