Week 4: Swimming at Itiquira Falls

Freezing cold and having a blast. The water was cold enough that even though the outside air temperature was in the 90's F, I would continue to shiver for several minutes. I was still shivering even after drying off.

Week 4: Cliff jumping at Itiquira Falls

Jacob and I discovered that the swimming hole was at least eight feet deep. I swam out to the middle and went down until it was too cold to stay. Then he climbed up the wall and jumped in. Then I did. Then Joseph. And Sam wanted to try too, so I threw him in. I have never seen Sam swim so fast before, and he did quite well for his age group competing on the swim team this past summer. Between the current and the cold water, we all swam just a little faster.

Jacob and I also tried to swim up to the little water fall at the head of the pool. Jacob made it, but my older, out-of-shape for the kind of intense swimming couldn't make it there directly. I can now understand how people can get exercise in those current-based lap pools. It was fun trying to challenge myself against the current. After two or three attempts, I managed to approach the falls from the side, and then rush forward with the current downstream.

Week 4: Swimming below Itiquira Falls

Just downstream from the falls, there are several pools of freezing cold water that we were able to swim in. The water was slow and deep and clear. There were even a few fish darting around despite the invasion of humans into their territory.

We all had a fun time swimming and climbing on the rocks around the pool. Emma was learning about rocks in her science class at school, so when she found interesting rocks, she would show them to me.

The park had a couple of shelters for changing near the swimming holes, so we were able to change our clothes before and after the swim, though the air was dry enough that we probably would have been completely dry before we reached our cars. It was about a 500 meter walk from the parking lot to the falls.

Week 4: Itiquira Falls

On the US Labor Day, we made our first trip outside of Brasilia and the Distrito Federal state. We went with a couple of other families in our ward to see Salto de Itiquira near the town of Formosa. The falls are supposed to be the second tallest in Brazil, and they are quite pretty. The Cerrado in general is fairly flat, and the area surrounding the falls is agricultural, with large soybean farms and cattle ranches. At this time, everything is very dry since it hasn't rained since May. There are have been hundreds of brush fires, and the cows looked like they haven't had anything to eat or drink in months.

The falls were quite pretty, and impressive, set in a little park not too far off the main road. There were several Brazilian families who had come up from Sao Paulo sharing the cool, moist breezes coming off the falls as well.

Caju

This is probably one of the more unusual fruits that we have encountered in Brazil, the caju (KAW-joo). It is the fruit that accompanies the cashew nut. Apparently, it's too delicate and perishable for shipping, so it's one of those tropical fruits that you need to be on location to try.

The green knob on the end is the cashew nut, but it is poisonous until it's cooked. The fruit part has soft, spongy texture, with a sweet, fruity flavor. It has a slightly bitter after-taste and leaves a film on the tongue. The skin is very thin, soft and a bit waxy. We did not eat the skin.

We first encountered the fruit in juice form at the hotel we stayed at in Sao Paulo. When we saw the fruit at the store, Joseph insisted that we purchased it to sample. I prefer the juice to the fruit, though it's not the kids' favorite juice.

Brazilian Products: Sucrilhos

Tony the Tiger has a presence in Brazil, but I don't know if he's called Tony here. His Frosted Flakes are called Sucrilhos (Sue-CREE-lows), and they taste pretty much the same as the ones made and distributed in the US, but cost about $1.50 more for the large box. Also, on the box this size, there label is also in Braille, on the front side near Tony's right cheek. Our sponsor included this box of cereal and a few boxes of milk in our welcome kit. The kids enjoyed having the sugary cereal, which is about the only kind of cereal one can get here.

Week 2: Botanical Gardens Flowers

Despite the dryness, there are still several trees and other plants with flowers. There are even mangoes and papayas growing on the trees. It's like they weren't told that plants aren't supposed to grow and reproduce when it hasn't rained in three months.