30th July 2009 – Abadiania (?) –Alto Paraiso
Today was a very early start. I was glad of a hot shower but getting up was struggle. The hotel we stayed in put on some breakfast which was a pretty simple affair of coffee, cake and bread. It was good though considering we weren’t expecting anything. We got into the truck and drove to the other hotel to pick up the rest of the group, packed the truck and hit the road.
This would be a pretty long day as we were going to spend the morning in Brazilia and then head out to Alto Paraiso where we would stay to visit the national park (Chapada dos Veadeiros)
We got to Brazilian for around 10am. The first place we visited was the memorial to JK, the president who oversaw the building of the city. Not to be confused with JFK or the lead singer of Jamiroquai! The desire for a capital in the centre of Brazil was even written into the first constitution after independence. Brazil had had three capitals, the first was Salvador and then Rio before Brazilian was built. Until JK many presidents had promised to build a new capital but he finally made it happen. One of the catalysts to push for a capital in the interior was in the 1930’s a motion was put before the League of Nations by the French to create a new country in the interior of Brazil because it was sparsely populated. It was a fairly popular philosophy that it was OK for more populace nations to invade less populace nations in order to annex land. By making a capital in the geometric centre of Brazil, the country would be able to populate the interior and also have a valid counter claim against any land grab by western imperialists.
After the JK memorial we drove further into the city and visited the large radio mast. It was free to go up and the view was absolutely amazing.
From the top you could see all the way down the main avenue towards the government buildings and the lake at the bottom. From the radio mast we walked towards the Sanctuary of Dom Basco. Dom Basco was the monk who had a dream about where the city should be built. In his dream he walked all over Brazil and found the perfect spot in the interior. The Sanctuary was a really interesting church. From the outside it looked like a contemporary concrete box, but the way the light played through the stain glass windows gave in interesting effect inside. In fact it was almost like being underwater with so much blue light. There is supposed to be an amazing chandelier in the centre of the cathedral but unfortunately it was being taken in for repair.
I was finally able to get some money out of the ATM which was a relief as I had had to borrow some money since Pocane. Then Maartje, Charlotte, Mirrka, Lisa and I went for some lunch in a mall. The food was no great, slow service and over priced. We were also a bit late getting back to the truck.
Back on the truck we drove a little further down the main avenue to the metropolitan cathedral, designed by Oscar Niemeyer. I really like this building. It reminds me a bit of the catholic cathedral in Liverpool.
Inside the way the light comes through creates a really interesting space inside. I definitely saw some interesting ideas to try and recycling into some of my own work in the future.
From the cathedral we drove to the bottom of the main avenue to see the government buildings designed by the architect Oscar Niemeyer. As we left the buildings there was a small film crew doing what looked like an interview. The person on film looked really animated and Dion hit the Truck horn to give him a wave. The guy was shouting in our direction. Then composed himself to restart the piece so Dion gave another toot. This happened a few times and was most hilarious as the guy got more upset and animated with each go.
It would have been interesting to go inside these but we just didn’t have the time. I wasn’t too bothered though and if we had to sacrifice something on the trip, to pay for the extra time in the Pantanal, I was glad that it was Brazilia. On the way out of town we called at the supermarket so that the cook teams could buy for the next few days. It was a big shop, between three breakfasts, lunches, dinners and restocking the bar.
On the way from Brazilia to Alto Paraiso we played a drinking game based on Presidents an Arseholes. In this version everyone had a role from the president down to the arsehole and you can order anyone lower than you to do something. Usually like arsehole get me a beer! Maartje, who had been arsehole on the previous round and had risen to a higher position said “OK can I f**k the arsehole now”. She meant to say “f**k with the arsehole” but needless to say the effect was most hilarious. Webster who was arsehole at the time almost couldn’t believe his luck. Jesper made Webster do some press ups as part of his round. Doing pressups in a moving truck is not easy and Webster smack his head into Trevor (Trevor is the steel safe at the back of the truck). Not sure which one came of worst though. The drive passed in no time and if was a great laugh.
When we arrived at Alto Paraiso it was our turn to cook. Most of the group decided to upgrade to rooms but a few of us that were running on a budget opted for tents; Majjrte & Charlotte, Sarah and Jesper, John and me. We pitched the tents pretty quickly and started cooking. The plan was to do a coconut curry but because we had to buy frozen chicken it took ages to cook through on the stove. It was an OK meal, but it could have been better. There was plenty to go round though. After the meal we sat around the camp fire for a bit drinking a few beers before turning in for the night.