BRAZIL

In Brazil I was to be hosted by my good friend Raul de Soroa, who had visited New Zealand earlier in the year and presented a double seminar to students of the Feng Shui Academy of New Zealand. In Suriname, I was to be hosted by my long time friend Jimmy Sontoredjo. Raul had asked me to present seminars to students of his in Sao Paulo and Miami, while Jimmy was to arrange the first ever feng shui seminar in Suriname. This in particular was a very exciting prospect, to be the first person to introduce traditional methods of feng shui to a whole country!

The initial itinerary had me starting with a few days on Easter Island on the way to Chile, where a visit was planned with other friends in Santiago and from there on to Brazil and so on. However, travel plans being what they are, these changed at the last minute and so Easter Island would have to wait until next time and an arduous flight of almost epic proportions from Auckland, New Zealand to Sao Paulo via Los Angeles and Miami was finally undertaken! Arriving more dead than alive some 34 hrs later to a wonderful and warm welcome from Raul, I at last began my South American odyssey.

Thirty students from all parts of Brazil and from as far away as Uruguay had assembled in Sao Paulo to learn advanced theories of the San He School. The two days of the seminar simply flew by and the warmth, friendliness and dedication of the students stays firmly etched in my mind. An enormous amount of fun and laughter frequently rocked the room as students and I grappled with the need to have much of the course translated from English into Portuguese. Raul proved to be an adept translator but whenever he tired of the enormous task, there was always a willing voice from one of the students able to step into the breach. Excellent progress was made by the students and the seminar culminated in the presentation to me by my host and his younger brother of a ceremonial Japanese Wakizashi, or short sword. Gifted as a symbol of friendship, the Wakizashi was particularly appropriate, given the years I had spent living and working in Japan. A custom that accompanies the gifting of a Wakizashi is the need for the receiver to 'pay' for the sword with a small value coin. This in order to prevent any 'fighting' between giver and receiver. Much good humoured laughter went with this old custom! Thanks guys!

Once the seminar was over Raul had promised to show me something of 'his country'. Having asked me where in particular I wanted to see, I had suggested that we might travel to the North eastern parts of Brazil, especially to the state of Bahia. Little did I realise at the time the enormity of the driving task that lay ahead. Never daunted by the long distances or the atrocious and frequently dangerous state of the roads, my faithful friend had planned a fantastic expedition of over 5,500 klms! From Sao Paulo we travelled by car north to the capital city, Brasilia. What a place. Designed entirely by architects and urban planners in the 60's and today judged an almost complete failure by many who live there, an examination of the feng shui of the city reveals many interesting features. Built to resemble the fuselage of an aeroplane with the main body containing the heart of the city and the government ministries, the cockpit holds the legislature, the judiciary and the presidential palace. The wings contain the rather dormitory style housing for the inhabitants of the city. On a tour of the city and its sights one can't help but notice that the 'plane' is headed directly downwards and into the only range of mountains/hills within sight of the city.

Moving on from Brasilia and further into the interior, we headed for the fabled wonders of Chapada Diamantina and the once diamond hunting hamlet of Lencois. We had both done a little reading in anticipation of our trip but nothing could have prepared me for the splendour and majesty of this wonderful and barely touched place. Isolated amongst the vastness of the Brazilian Cerrados, or savanna, the chapada or 'steppes' and the tiny hamlet of Lencois and other ex diamond mining towns nearby now long deserted by their treasure seekers are truly a magnificent introduction to the heart and soul of Brazil. Days spent wandering amidst the natural glories of the great national park slipped by in a haze of wonder and joy. Friendly people, great food and a culture melded together from the disparate and epic pages of Brazil's past have made for a truly unique corner of a wonderful and enchanting land. Huge underground cave systems, the heavenly clear blue waters of hidden rivers and high mountain tops, from where the most incredible sunsets can be watched, all add to the sense of vastness and removal from the everyday cares of a world gone mad.

But even way out here I was amazed to find feng shui known and interest in its value and benefits growing. Several new posadas (guesthouses) are being planned and built in the township and in the nearby area and several proprietors, hearing on the grapevine that we were in town, approached us asking us if were would be able to assist them in their plans. Indeed Raul is now booked to return and hold Lencois' first ever feng shui seminar!

With real sadness we left Lencois and the Chapada Diamantina behind us, and feeling that nothing that now followed would quite be able to match the pleasures we had just enjoyed, we moved on to the fabled city of Salvador. Brazil's historic first capital, and known as the 'African Soul of Brazil', I was not certain of what to expect. Built on something of a promontory jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean, the city is a mass of brick and stucco buildings clinging precipitously to the tops and sides of steep hills, encircled by sun bedazzled beaches. Once again the friendliness of the people, the strength of the African cultural heritage, so obvious at every corner, and the tropical climate make this one of the most exciting and vibrant cities I have ever visited. Weeks could be spent discovering the secrets of the old quarters, especially Pelerinho. This wonderfully preserved quarter of the old city sits atop a steeply sided hill and is an intact example of 16th century Portuguese colonial town planning (or the complete lack of it as some have observed). Cafes and restaurants, their dining areas tumbling out into the twisting, cobbled streets compete for the visitors attention with the sounds of African music and the unmistakable rhythmic chanting that accompanies Capoeira practise ( a fast moving and deadly form of martial art developed by African slaves). The very air of Africa seems to fill every space and airwave in this marvellous city and with a policeman on every corner, it must be one of the safest city sectors any where in Sth America.

Lazy tropical afternoons spent under beach umbrellas on the water front followed mornings of sightseeing. Just watching the other bathers was entertainment enough. The regular evening downpours were just enough to take the edge of the heat and allow sleep to end yet another perfect day in paradise.

The long and arduous trip down the coast from Salvador back towards Sao Paulo began with a couple of days rest at Porto Seguro, original landing site of the Portuguese in Brazil. This route saw us pausing in Rio de Janeiro before finally heading back into the smog and traffic of Sao Paulo. And from there the next leg of our journey began.

[ next : Miami and Suriname ]