After Rio de Janeiro we had one more month in Brazil left. We decided to spend it for the last volunteering of this trip. We found a couple from São Paulo. They wrote that they need someone to take care of the surroundings of their other house, not far from the little town of São Roque. They are able to visit it only during weekends.
It turned out it's a massive property, real hacienda. There weeks that we enjoyed in this paradise in the middle of the tropical forest was more than we dared to wish for the end of our southamerican experience.
Property was actually very well maintained. Our job was to keep the same situation :)
Besides known gardening tasks, we also learned new ones.
Like picking and drying coffee beans. On the photo below left you can see beans still on the plant, but on the right after two weeks on the sun.
Or harvesting cassava root (below left) and sweet potatoes (right.)
Of course we had a lot of free time too. We started exploring surrounding hills.
When all of them were conquered, we headed to São Roque. The journey included walking besides the road on photo below left. When we later explained to our hosts where we've been, they almost didn't believe us. How we dared to walk on the side of such a dangerous road? In Brazil only people who don't have money for the bus walk by the roads.
One more remark about the traffic. In an article about Mexico I was writing how many Beetles is still possible to see on the roads. What are in Mexico Beetles are in Brazil old Volkswagen's minibuses. It's impossible to miss them.
Not far away from our temporary home, was located an airstrip of local club for model aircrafts - Aerobello. I'm mentioning this because I think it's organisation and services should be taken as a model by many Slovenian sport aerodromes.
Let's make it clear, for this commercial I haven't received any paycheck, except a tee and a hat :)
For the finish, a couple of words about São Paulo. As any big city it did not convince me in comparison to everything what countryside can offer.
With some imagination steep streets remind me of San Francisco, and graffiti of Melbourne.
But nowhere else I haven't seen a street artist playing in the middle of an intersection and entertaining drivers while waiting for the green light :)
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