I was invited by my close Spanish and Brazilian friends as the best man to their wedding in Brazil and spent my time there accompanying them and there family. In this beautiful mountain based town called “Pocos de Caldas” (Which is about 4 hours North of Sao Paulo) we under went as many exploration trips out into the nearby country side as we could in between the busy wedding preparations. The wedding it self went spectacularly well and I wish the bride and groom the all the best in their life together!

If I could only sum up Brazil in one sentence it would have to be “Beautiful country and Beautiful people” Everyone I met in Brazil was extremely kind and friendly people and seemed very proud of there country and hertaige (Allot of people dressing in white and green clothing symbolising their countries flag). Most countries I go to you can see most of the population striding to have the gadgets and high life technology and lifestyle of the western world and USA. But here I found people living a simplier lives, very happy and not so interested in this western drive. Simply just enjoying the beautiful country they live in over the fast pace techno world! This was vary refreshing to see and experience.

I will try and give you an impression on the cultural way of life by telling you how they go about there daily lives. First of all the people here seem to work hard and play hard as the phrase go. Everyone is dedicated to their job but use their free time to meet up with friends and family over staying at home with the TV and computer every night! After all this country has a sub-tropical climate meaning the weather is almost sunny and hot all year round minus the few hard showers and storms. Secondly some of the shops, restaurants, clubs stay open way into the early hours of the morning, meaning the town is still thriving with people in the late evenings. I saw on several occasions in the town centre a live band (playing Violins, etc) playing away with many of the local people dancing around platform with traditional dancing.

Also because of the climate and cultural preference, people in Brazil generally eat very healthy food with a large variety of fruits and vegetables so tasty you could just live with eating them alone! (Pineapples, coconuts, sugar cane, tastes 100% better than at home!). Also in Brazil you can find many water fountains that are tapped into the mountain springs, which the Brazilians have analysed and printed information on what part of the body this water is good for. I seen on a daily basis people pulling over during their busy daily cycle to collect a large volume of this water to take home to the family. And if eating and drinking the local produce is not healthy enough I have seen Brazilian cook books with information on what combinations of food should be eaten together to help digest a meal more quickly (meaning they eat allot of what they like and not put on the pounds!). For instance if you eat a fatty meat then you have a fruit/vegetable that is acidly to help the stomach break the fatty food down. The whole idea is very clever and i can prove it works as after a large amount of feasting for 2 weeks I actually came home 4 pound lighter!

The day after I arrived in Brazil, I was driven by my friends into a valley where I saw a beautiful Japanese themed park, apparently a local Japanese company sponsored the building of this fantastic park.

In this Park we encounter several small wild monkeys jumping and climbing around in the branches above us, I tried to take a photo but they where to quick for me! My friends had a banana with them and we gave it the the children so they could feed the monkeys. The monkeys eventually came down and ran off with half a banana each.

I have to say Brazil have a huge variety of animals and I saw many animals such as vultures, horses, monkeys, parrots, big insects and even a cobra snake while I was there. Back in England we have a sad tradition of hedgehogs coming to an end on the road ways, but i was vary surprised when in Brazil I saw a cobra snake as flat as a pancake on a Brazilian mountain road!

As well as the large variety of animals there is also a large variety of plants ranging from palm trees and bamboo to colourful cactus plants. During one night (unfortunately without my camera) I was taken to a park in the centre of the town during the late evening. This park was locally known as the night lady since at night it gives off a strong and beautiful smell, I found this park amazing with its variety of many strange plants and trees. The trees themselves where huge and look like they might of been from the original rain-forest that was there and a strange ivy like plant grew around the trees which had small leaves like grass. This plant wrapped around the trees giving it a “Furry tree” look with some of the trees so heavily covered you could not see the bark at all. For me, seeing this variety of animals and plants was more then worth the visit.

During my time in Brazil I was also lucky to be shown some several beautiful waterfalls and a river which we walked along side of through a small woodland where a variety of animals where seen.

Another walk took us high up onto the top of a mountain where we then walk around to the other side and down in a valley once more. It was from here that I was able to see the huge town I was staying in spread across the large valley floor, while on the other side I could see a large valley comprising mainly of greeny and farmland.

For those who did not wish to walk to the top of this mountain, a cable car service was available to take people from the city centre right up to the top of the hill. The views from this cable car was great, but i would not recommend it to anyone scared of heights!

After a long walk we ended up on a hill half way down from the mountain, where we saw some stunning scenery.

It was in this cafe on the hill that I was once more able to taste a sugar cane drink, which i have not now been able to drink in 3 years since I went to Malaysia. I recommend to anyone with a sweet tooth to try this drink as soon as they can! Also in this cafe we met a group of bikers who where laughing at why me and my Spanish friend where carrying walking sticks made from branches of trees we found along the way. It did not occur to us that this might of been a very European thing!

Our walk took us so far that we had to rush home before it got dark as this is when the snakes and alike would start there activity, lucky we got to the outskirts of town just as it got dusk where i quickly snapped this shot.

The town I was staying in was based in the hills and valleys below several mountains, therefore it was no wonder why all the roads where so uneven and bendy. Here you could not get a nap in the back seat of the car and probably driving on these roads is just as good exercise as jogging with all the bouncing around! But that’s what made it fun! Also in Brazil I was also amazed at how many Volkswagon beetles there where, as you couldn’t dirve for 5 minutes without seeing one. In England they are not too common to see and treated as classic cars, In Brazil they are just everywhere, even the police force at one time used them.

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All in all, I have to say Brazil is one great place and I hope to return again someday, perhaps when they have a carnival!