The English Woman's blog

I moved from England to Prainha Do Canto Verde, a small fishing village on the N.E coast of Brazil, in 2004. A huge change in life style that has bought more than the expected challenges and benefits. I hope to capture life in the village in words, paintings and photography and get better at it along the way.

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New site and blog

Hello my dear and patient followers, it’s been a long time since I wrote anything here. I have loved this free version of WordPress, it allowed me to share my adventures when money was far too tight to mention but changes that happened years back in the way Search Engines search and find things, meant my infrequent postings simply didn’t get seen. I also felt it was about time I made a site that…

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Apples, Ailments and an Easter blessing

Apples, Ailments and an Easter blessing

I’ve been busy, not always intentionally, things just keep popping up and some of those things have been more welcome than others. Just before Christmas, I joined the Norfolk school of Painting. For a very low fee I get to watch the weekly Studio Talk, where Martin and Bryony lead us through a study of an oil painting, usually by an artist I am familiar with, but there have been others who were…

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Season's Greetings

It might be a strange Christmas this year but hopefully we will reflect on it in a positive way in years to come.

So here we are, in what to many is a very unusual Christmas time. I feel for all those who are missing out on family and longed for reunions with loved ones. Having moved away from many of mine, I know how hard it can be but I have also learned how not to let separation at this time of year, be a source of pain and loss. When we first came to live here 16 years ago, Prainha was a very much more…

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A newborn Manatee stranded on the beach

Yesterday Neu went down to the beach early morning and then came back to wake me up. A fisherman had found a newborn manatee (known here as Peixe boi) that had washed up on the beach.

It had been brought to a quiet area of the beach, where it could be kept in the shade until the team from the NGO Aquasis (based in Fortaleza) could get here to rescue it. The poor thing was newborn, its…

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Covid, DIY and back to the hospital.

Covid, DIY and back to the hospital. I'm doing up the kitchen and Neu, in the latest round of his ongoing fight with kidney failure, has been back in hospital.

Back in August, with the Covid restrictions in place, I decided to use the time at home for a spot of DIY and set about turning some lovely wooden doors, which I’d saved for just such a project, into new kitchen worktops.

I’d no sooner started the work when Neu was referred by the doctor at the dialysis clinic, to see a vascular surgeon at the hospital. Scaring, from the multiple catheters…

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Mystery bales continued.

In 2019, I wrote about my investigations into the mystery bales that washed up on the beaches along the North East coast of Brazil. Since then, I have been in touch with Professor Luis Ernesto from the Institute of Marine Sciences (LABOMAR) at the Federal University of Ceará. This post is about his team’s findings.

After speaking to Luis and, perhaps due to spending even more time at home…

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A computer glitch and a Covid update

A computer glitch and a Covid update

A few days after we were ordered into lockdown here, with terrible timing, my laptop presented me with the black screen of death. I tried everything I could think of, followed all the advice available on the internet, this and that trick with the plug, all the key combinations, had a look and poke about inside, but it remained stubbornly dead. 

I was thankful that I’d recently replaced my…

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Sailing the new boat home.

Neu's new boat was built, now to sail it home.

This was before the lockdown from Covid-19.

In the middle of 2019, Neu decided that his jangada (a traditional raft-like sailboat) was simply too heavy for him to operate. The fistula in his arm that he uses for dialysis needs to be cared for and that means not using too much force with that arm, he hoped that a new, lighter jangada, one made of marine ply covered with fibreglass, would allow…

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Unfortunately, a lot of people in the village seem to think the lockdown rules don’t apply here and are going about their business as normal, getting together in groups and visiting friends and family.

May 2020

I think many people are sick of hearing about the Covid virus, so I really wanted to write about something else but, I also think it would be odd if I didn’t have anything on my blog about how it is affecting us. So with the intention of keeping it brief, here goes.

Brazil had its first official case recorded in São Paulo on the 25th of February. I live in the Northeastern…

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Nature's Brigade, drumming up attention for Manatees.

Nature’s Brigade, drumming up attention for Manatees.

One evening at the SESC event Povos do Mar, I was rushing to the restaurant before it closed for the night, when I was stopped in my tracks by a fantastic show from the group Brigada da Natureza. Take a look at the video below.

Aren’t they great! The poem the young man recites at the end, tells of the need for us to live…

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Povos do Mar 2019

Povos do Mar 2019

Last year I wrote about going to the event Povos do Mar / Peoples of the Sea, hosted by SESC and held at their *Ecological hotel, Iparana, Fortaleza. This year I was lucky enough to be able to go again.

Paulo Leitão and Talitta Albuquerque from SESC, had once again done a fantastic job of bringing together community leaders, activists, elders, artists, musicians and artisans from all along the…

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Bio construction

Another long gap since I sat down to write. Lots going on, with more frequent visits to the hospital, still trying to sort out the mess that my husband’s stomach surgery back in 2016 has left him in. Possibly from the stress of it all, I have had several ear infections, then a horrid bout of flu and bitten by a street cat, having to be vaccinated against rabies, all of which I could have done…

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Mystery bales.

Mystery bales. A stark reminder that what we discard just goes, or in this case is still going, somewhere else.

What we discard just goes, or in this case is still going, somewhere else.

A couple of days ago, Neu and I went for a walk on the beach. I was astonished to see these large blocks, dotted along the whole length of the beach, for as far as the eye could see. They were fairly well spaced apart but Neu said that further up the beach (just out of sight in the first photo) there was a huge…

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The ebb and flow of life.

The ebb and flow of life.

It’s been a while since I’ve visited this blog, much has happened in between times.

In September of last year, I went to an Ayahuasca ceremony with people from the Yawanawá tribe. That was an incredible event, spiritually healing and restorative, held by people who made all of us attending feel safe and cared for. I am very glad I went to it and would very much like to go again. I may write about…

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At the end of August I was lucky enough to go to the 8th annual gathering of Povos do Mar (Peoples of the Sea) organised and hosted by SESC Iparana at their Ecological Hotel in Caucaia, Fortaleza, Ceará.

SESC (Serviço Social do Comércio – Social Service of Commerce) was founded in 1947 with the purpose of promoting culture and, using it as a source of education, to transform and improve people’s lives. SESC operates in all the Brazilian states and is involved in a diverse range of the arts, as well as in recreation, health and education.

For Povos do Mar, SESC provided luxury coaches to bring groups of people to Fortaleza from communities all over the coastal region of Ceará, including our group of eight from Prainha. All these people were given accommodation in the top class hotel, with three meals a day included, free of charge. We really are incredibly lucky to be given this festival, which is open to the public, free to attend and set in the most beautiful grounds of the ecological hotel.

View from the far side of the lake

The event began on the Wednesday morning and went through five fully packed days to the Sunday. My only complaint was that there was so much going on, it was impossible to take part in everything and some hard choices had to be made between this workshop or that, one lecture or the other, seeing a dance group or learning a new skill. Events began at 7am and went on all day until late in the night and I would have loved for it to go on for longer.

Learn stand up kayak

Mestre Tarina who makes wonderful traditional cooking pots from clay

Making music in the forest

Look at those gals!

Music was everywhere

Prainha’s crafts

Made from PVC pipe.

Roasted tarpon

dried fish

dried fish

Crochet

Lace

Giant dolls

Masks

On the Friday morning I went on a walk through the forest with the Pajé (medicine man) Luís Caboco from the Tremembé people. A man with so much knowledge of plants and their medicinal uses, listening to him was fascinating and inspiring.

Pajé Luís Caboclo (on the left holding the staff)

In the afternoon I went for a healing ritual with Carlinhos Pitaguary of the Pitaguary people from Maracanaú. This was also held in the forest and I was one of about twenty people, of many different faiths. At the end of the ritual, Carlinhos led a prayer for Neu which was very powerful and deeply moving. Following on from which, Mãe Bia offered a blessing and advice on healing herbs for Neu and Mãe Katiane blessed me and gave me a necklace of silver beads with a little gold fish which symbolises Yamaya, Goddess of the sea. I felt truly blessed to have met them all.

Mãe Katiane, Carlinhos Pitaguary and me

On Saturday morning I went to the Ecomuseu Natural do Mangue (The Natural Ecomuseum of the Mangrove). This is an environmental project run by Rusty and his wife Sineide, who decided to rescue and restore the mangrove on the river estuary in the area of Sabiaguaba, Fortaleza. They do fantastic work, educating visitors on the importance of the mangroves and encouraging people to clean out the rubbish which unfortunately accumulates there and, to plant more mangroves.

About to plant some mangroves

Some of the things that are found in, or depend on the mangrove

Sineide

Rusty

I thoroughly enjoyed myself at Povos do Mar. There is such a festive, friendly atmosphere and when on the Saturday night, one of the dance groups invited the audience to come onto the dance floor, I was more than willing to have a twirl. At the end of the dance I went to pick up my camera which I had, perhaps rather rashly, left with a woman who I didn’t know but was sitting next to me. Thankfully she was still there with my camera and, as I took my seat, her husband asked if I would be at the Herança Nativa (Native Heritage) event on the Monday. The man, whose name was Rogério, told me that he is one of the leaders of the Gypsies and said he thought I would enjoy the dancing they would be doing.

(This is the fourth year of Herança Nativa, it follows on immediately after Povos do Mar and brings in more of the Native Indigenous people, this time those from inland regions of Ceará come too. This event also includes Gypsies, known as Ciganos here, as well as people of Iberian descent.)

I told Rogério that I had relatively recently discovered that I have gypsy blood on my mothers side, it was something my grandmother was embarrassed by so I really know nothing about that ancestry. The man and his wife nodded at each other and she said, “Rogério knew you have the blood, he said so, he can always tell”. Rogério also said he meets very many people who, like me, have that heritage but know nothing about it. They were lovely people and it was a pleasure talking to them about their way of life. I would have loved the dancing and was now even more sorry that I would be going home on the Sunday.

Part of the reason I was at the event was to help with selling arts and crafts items made by people from the village, as well as my own things. After we had set up our stall I went to have a look at the other stalls and found Edimar Mendes from Paraipaba. Edimar burns images and designs onto wood, all beautifully done free-hand. One of his pieces really spoke to me but, as I had bought very little money with me, I decided I had better wait until the end of the event before buying anything.

Pyrography by Edimar Mendes.

I was so happy that, on the last day, the piece that had so captivated me was still there. Edimar told me the wood was Ipé Roxa, which made the piece all the more meaningful to me, this is the tree that Neu focused on while he was in the intensive care unit, which helped him to hold on to life. Obviously the piece was meant for me and now sits over my desk.

I missed the first part of the closing ceremony but the second part, run by the various indigenous tribes was fabulous, just a shame it was all over.

On the way home I read a little more about the events that would take place during Herança Nativa and found that on the Monday, as well as the gypsy dancing, there would be a workshop on making a bow and arrows and then another workshop on using them correctly. I decided to ask Neu and our son (who is always making his own bow and arrows with varying degrees of success) if they would like to come to the event, it was too good to miss.

On the Monday a friend drove us back to Fortaleza for Herança Nativa. Sadly I didn’t get to see the gypsy dancing, it was coming on late in the programme and we had to leave beforehand but our son did get to meet some people who happily shared their knowledge with him.

A little lesson in firing an arrow

And then let it fly

Our son, the proud owner of a new bow and arrow set, beautifully made by Dias Holanda.

One of those people was Dias Holanda from the Potiguara people of Crateús,* from whom we bought our son a beautiful bow and arrow set. I was more than happy to buy it because Dias obviously really knew his stuff and the price was incredibly low considering how much work had gone into it. In fact all of the items Dias’ had made and was selling that day were beautiful, all be it deadly. Money permitting I would have purchased more, he is a true craftsman and not only knows how to make the weapons but how to use them too. Dias later won Bronze and two Gold medals in the Indigenous Olympic Games in Canoeing, Battlefield skills and Archery, very well done to him.

I made a short compilation video, which really doesn’t do Povos do Mar justice but does give a flavour of what was on offer during the week. Enjoy

If you are interested in buying items from either of the craftsmen mentioned above (and can speak to them in Portuguese):

Edimar Mendes, Pirografia e Artesanato Rústico. Rod. Sol Poente, Sector D2- Paraipaba, WhatsApp [phone]

Dias Holanda, Indigenous weapons – Tribo Potiguara, Aldeia Mandeira, Crateús WhatsApp [phone]  

Museu Natural do mangue, Rua Professor Valdivino, 48 – casa 1 – bairro: Sabiaguaba Fortaleza, Brazil. Find them on Facebook here

If you are planning a visit to Fortaleza around August in the years to come, it would be well worth checking out when the event will be on. I can’t recommend it highly enough. http://www.sesc-ce.com.br/povos-do-mar-heranca-nativa/

  Peoples of the Sea At the end of August I was lucky enough to go to the 8th annual gathering of Povos do Mar (Peoples of the Sea) organised and hosted by SESC Iparana at their Ecological Hotel in Caucaia, Fortaleza, Ceará.

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The photographer Luiz Neto is part of a small team who have been travelling around the country, tasked with photographing the Reserves of Brazil for a book about them. Prainha do Canto Verde is an Extractive Reserve and at the beginning of August Luiz came here.

Having a bit of a passion for photography myself, I jumped at the chance of acting as his guide, taking him around the landscape I love so much. Luiz had told us in advance that his schedule was tight, with only 2 days to get the photos he needed. Thankfully, going about in his 4 wheel drive would allow us to cover the area far more quickly than on foot.

Luiz arrived on the Saturday morning and we set off immediately before the light got too harsh and the sun too hot. First stop; Lagoa Salgado.

Lagoa Salgado

Lovely to see the lagoon so full, thankfully this rainy season was a good one. The whole of the North East region of Brazil has had many years of insufficient rainfall and in 2013 the lagoon was reduced to nothing more than a muddy puddle. Hard to believe that looking at it now.

Lagoa Salgado in 2013

A few photos later and we were back in the vehicle, heading overland towards the beach. Sometimes Luiz would stop and get out but more often than not, he’d simply lean out the window to take a photo. This really was a whistle-stop tour.

Luiz Neto, photographer.

Down on the beach, we came across a dead turtle. Sadly this wasn’t the only one we were to see over the weekend, we found another on the other side of the village. No way of knowing what they died of.

Remains of a turtle

We waited on the beach for some of the jangadas to come back. One boat had a small lobster catch so Luiz got some of his needed fishing photos.

By now the sun was high and the heat intense. We headed home to eat and wait for things to cool down a little.

Mid-afternoon, we headed out over the dunes to Lagoa Jardim, a smaller lagoon in the opposite direction from Lagoa Salgado.

Then down to the beach and along, out of the Reserve to Sucatinga. The sandstone cliffs looked imposing as the light from the lowering sun played across them.

Cliffs near Sucatinga

From there, back towards the village, going up to the top of the high dune known as Morro das Cacimbas. Morro means Dune or Hill and Cacimba means something that holds water within the ground, as in a well or cavern. Morro das Cacimbas is one of my favourite places, I always feel a deep sense of peace there and the views and sunsets are spectacular.

Looking towards Morro das Cacimbas

View towards Prainha from Morro das Cacimbas

Clicking on any photo will enlarge them all.

Sunday, 6.30am start. We drove up to where a dune is encroaching on the forest, then walked down to and through the forest that bounds the reserve. Another favourite of mine. Neu and I have often seen snakes, unusual birds and other wildlife in the forest but, today it seemed everything was being camera shy, all was still and quiet.

The encroaching dune

A stroll through the forest

Coming out of the forest we drove over the dunes to the last areas Luiz wanted to photograph.

By 10am, our photographic tour of Prainha was complete, Luiz was very pleased. All that remained was to get some shots of the boats going to sea, which would have to be done at the crack of dawn on Monday morning, before he moved on to his next location.

On a previous project, Luiz had driven along and photographed the whole of the coast of Ceará, Wow! The only part he had missed out, was the stretch between Prainha and Canoa Quebrada. Now, as he’d basically finished his work in Prainha, he would take the opportunity to complete that project, by visiting Canoa in the afternoon.

Marked by the red stars, from left to right, Prainha, Parajuru and Canoa

The main road runs parallel to the coast but inland, with no views of the sea. Luiz wanted to drive along the beach as far as possible but he knew there were two rivers to be crossed. Neu explained that at Parajuru the only way to get over the river Piranji is by going back to the main road. Further on, it is possible to drive back to the coast and cross the mouth of the bigger Jaguaribe river on the car ferry, then continue along the beach to Canoa.

My dad loved driving and on family holidays he would take us on “Magical Mystery Tours”. My mother’s face always fell when he suggested one of these trips. In those pre- Google maps days, setting off with nothing more than a compass point in mind, could result in hours of driving with querulous children and a disappointing destination.

Having arrived in the back of beyond, we’d go off down some promising looking lane, only to find ourselves in a cement works or such like. Not quite the day out we’d envisioned. However, sometimes, sometimes, we’d end up somewhere special and I have some very fond memories of those unplanned trips. As a consequence, I am rather fond of going off the beaten track on Magical Mystery tours.

I have never been to Canoa, which always surprises people here, it is one of the most well-known places on this coast but its reputation as a tourist resort doesn’t appeal to me at all. However, I was happy to take Luiz up on his offer to take us with him, more for the drive than the destination. I love driving along the coast and we should have Plenty of time to explore and photograph.

At midday, we set off for Canoa along the beach. About half an hour later we arrived in Parajuru. We passed the road that would take us up to the bridge but Luiz was keen to see how close we could get to the river. A little further on, it was obvious we’d got as far as we could go. Whilst doing a U-turn, what looked like firm ground, suddenly wasn’t. We were stuck and quickly sank up to the engine block in thick black mud. We were not going anywhere!

Mud, mud, glorious mud!

Of course we tried. Getting out of the car, we found some of the ground firm but another step and you’d sink up to the knees in mud. In no time at all the ground around the car turned into a slippery mess. With bare hands we dug out the wheels, only to have muddy water rush in to fill the space. We found some timber and wedged the pieces under the tires, but it was hopeless. More digging, more timber and more frustration. Luiz wouldn’t have looked out of place in a mud wrestling competition. The vehicle was, if anything, sinking further into the mud. Lucky for us, the tide wasn’t coming in.

Another car was parked nearby and the owner came and helpfully told us that lots of people get stuck where we were. Knowing it trapped others might have helped Luiz’s hurt pride but it wasn’t going to get us out. The man offered to try and pull us out, which was kind but his car was tiny, a city run around. Luiz’s vehicle was big, heavy and very stuck. The man took Neu off to see if they could find anyone who’d be able to help. Luiz and I continued digging and, as if by magic, out of nowhere more people appeared and even came with a couple of shovels too.

Finally, the cavalry arrived. Neu had managed to find some guys at a small garage and they brought a huge car jack, strapped to the back of a motorbike. First they jacked up the front of the car. Once clear of the mud we shoved as much wood under there as we could, to stop it settling back down in the mud again. Then the back of the car was jacked up and more timber put under the back wheels. It was lucky for us that the timber was there, though I felt a bit bad that if someone had purposefully collected it, they would come back to find their pile greatly reduced.

Jacking up the back

The car still refused to budge. The guys from the garage made a phone call and shortly after, reinforcements arrived in the form of a guy with a brand new off-road vehicle. The first rope snapped, the second rope snapped but finally, with a heavy duty towing belt, they were able to drag the car out. What a relief. We had been stuck there for over 3 hours!

About to be pulled out

Free at last!

The guys who helped were great, hats off to them, we’d have never got out of there without them. Everyone kept their humour, no one was hurt and no damage done.  Though Parajuru will no doubt, remain etched in Luiz’s mind forever!

We gratefully accepted the offer of going to the garage to wash the mud off ourselves, before heading on to Canoa. By now we had little daylight left but hoped we’d get there before sunset at 6pm and without further unexpected events.

View from the ferry crossing the river Jaguaribe.

At the river Jaguaribe, waiting for the ferry took a while and by the time we crossed the river, the sun was going down. Luiz managed to get some shots as we drove along the beach but by the time we reached Canoa, it was dark. I don’t feel I can really say I’ve been there yet.

We headed for home. Not so much of a magical mystery tour, as a lark in the mud but one that we will laugh over for many years to come.

You can see more of Luiz Neto’s work here and here

Photographing the photographer. The photographer Luiz Neto is part of a small team who have been travelling around the country, tasked with photographing the Reserves of Brazil for a book about them.

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A sudden and final goodbye.

A sudden and final goodbye.

This blog is about my life here and all the differences I encounter. The approach to death and funerals is one such difference. It took me a while to post this as grief is a private thing and I needed to be sure that Neu was ok with me writing about the sudden sad death of his mother.

Sunday the 10th of June. Mid morning.

Neu came back from his parent’s house next door, saying that his sister had…

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