Good Fences - 8/21/14: "GuGú's Truck"

GuGú in front of our house with his weekly
water delivery.
(photo by Brunie Chavez, used with permission.)

Scroll to bottom of page to view my photo for Good Fences Thursday but you might want to read on to understand why I took the photo.

Click on any image for larger views (albeit without captions.) 

When I lived in Brazil as a Peace Corps Volunteer (1967-1969) no one had running water in their homes in the small interior town where I lived.  Some residents of Glória had cisternas in their back yards to collect rain water from their roofs, but most had to haul water themselves or hire someone to carry it from ponds within the city or from a dam which was some distance from the town.  The dam was cleaner, so the other Volunteer and I hired a neighbor to bring us water from the dam which he carried to our house in four large cans on the back of his donkey.

GuGú across from our house with some typical
homes in the background.

GuGú was a handsome boy of about 14. His sister Teresa was one of my high school students, but GuGú was not interested in school. (In Brazil 4 years of elementary school were required at that time, but some children never attended. I'm not sure how many years of school GuGú completed, but it was no more than four.)

Because he spent his teen years hauling water, it's not surprising that GuGú ended up hauling all his life. As an adult he had his own truck to haul large loads between cities.

His sister Teresa completed high school and went on to become a teacher and had two sons after marrying another of my high school students José Augusto, a minister of agriculture.

At Teresa and José Augusto's home, 2011
 L to R: José Augusto, Teresa, Adebaldo and his wife
Maria Adgenil, Brunie, Nadja, me, Brunie's husband Eric.
(José Augusto, Teresa, Adebaldo, and  Nadja were my
students when I taught English as a foreign language
at the high school, more than 40 years earlier. Most
were in their teens, but José Augusto was in his 20s ---the
school had opened only a few years earlier and it was his
first opportunity to attend high school.)

GuGú in front of our house as a truck leaves town
carrying shoppers and vendors from the weekly
market back to their homes in the countryside. The
passengers sit on top of bags of black beans, rice, and
other purchases from the market.

GuGú is on the far right with his wife Damiela and 
daughter Leninha. At the back is his sister Lucinha, Brunie
(the other Volunteer who served with me) and
her husband Eric in 2011 at the home of Teresa &
José Augusto who hosted us for several days in Glória.
(Note the natural red hair on Leninha ---very rare in Brazil.)

GuGú ended up marrying several times, having a load of children, lots of child-support payments, and in poor health with heart disease and diabetes.

GuGú's truck behind a fence in front of his home in the small town of Glória,
in the interior of Brazil's northeast, 2011.

MEETING OF THE WATERS -odd shot

"Meeting of the Waters"
near Manaus, Brazil
08/21/11

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With a population of approximately 1.8 million, Manaus is the capital of the state of Amazonas. There is an unusual natural phenomena that occurs when the dark, warm water of the Rio Negro, which comes from the northern jungle area, meets the light, cold water of the Rio Solimões from the Andes to the south. The difference in temperatures and current speeds causes the waters to remain separated for several miles until they eventually mix to form the Amazon River.

The Rio Negro, which is on the Manaus side of the parallel rivers, is also very acidic, and thus doesn't support mosquito life.  Despite temperatures that reached 108 degrees while I was there, I had no problem with them. Dehydration, yes.  Mosquitos, no.


A popular tourist attraction is a 4-5 hour trip to see the "Meeting of the Waters" and travel through the rain forest. 

A Walk in the Rain Forest
Before stopping for lunch at a floating restaurant, we
took a short walk through the jungle on this boardwalk.
That's me, walking away from the camera.
(Photo: Eric Lifrak, used with permission)

Me, Erika, and Brunie
(Brunie and I worked together in Brazil over 40 years ago.)
After returning from our boat trip, Erika, the daughter of an
old friend (Nancides, now deceased) drove us to a lovely spot to
view the sun setting over the river.
Then we had wonderful Brazilian ice cream that comes in 
hundreds of exotic flavors: mango, tapioca, passion fruit, açaí,
coconut, coffee-chocolate-rum, pineapple. I wish I would
have had the time to sample them all.
(Photo by Brunie's husband Erik Lifrak, used with permission.)

Sunset On the Rio Negro

SENSELESS

In response to a writing prompt on Mama's Losin' It
“Describe a New Year's where you would have been better off just staying home."

SENSELESS HAS MOVED TO MY NEW BLOG:

A LITTLE "PEACE" OF BRAZIL

Carolina's adventures in the Peace Corps