so, when i finished typing yesterday~s post
i realized that i would miss my buss if i dallied any longer
(well, there was some time between…
internet search for whatever it is the herb “Malva” does
i kept seeing it at the markets… and it kept ringing a bell
intuition
so i found out what it~s for:
URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS
HA!
listen to your intuition
here~s a little poem:
see, we~re the type of men who don~t care for
Clean
we don~t believe in erradicating diseases
but instead
come into homeostasis with them
i mean, come on
let~s be honest
this world
this society
it~s all about pollution and disease
and you don~t see everyone moving out of the city and working on farms
and stopping driving cars and eating shit wraped in plastic
DO YOU?
then why should we eradicate disease?
no, we believe in keeping healthy cultures of it alive
we~ve got every virus and bacteria known to man living inside us
we make treaties
keep things balanced
and no one gets hurt…
———–
and there~s this one:
yes, vapyrs make vampyrs
drain enough of your life force
and it will put you into despiration
make you do stupid things just to stay alive
how do you break this cycle?
like so many others
death and rebirth always works…
but the trick of staying alive through it all..
can we find balance again?
ok, back to the story..
i run out of the house
and take a new route
and OH MY GOD
had the best Salgado (little fried things) that i~ve had since i got here
it was meet and cheese and eggs in potato and fried
YUM
but i was lost in new streets looking for the train…
(i~m never really lost, folks, i just play it on TV)
i turn the corner and find a market
run through it looking for the herbs
and there they were
Malva and Para Todos..
that is, for everything
that is
two brazilian herbs to help me get back in balance…
i buy them
turn the corner
and am at the station
buy some bananas and catch the train
get to the buss station
and JUST missed my bus
but there was another in 15 minutes to the neighbouring town
so i bought the ticket
and ran to the store to get a map
and find out where the hell i was going
just in time
got on the bus
and nearly passed out
i~m SO tired!
but the scenery was so beautiful..
comming down out of the mountains
turning that corner
and seeing the clouds break
the sun shine on the town below
and the ocean sparkling out before me..
changed buses in Caraguatutaba
i saw a man carrying what i thought were rugs
i asked him if i could see…
they were Hammocks.
hand made, with fringes.. OHHH
i needed one
PERFECT
he asked for
cinquenta
which i misunderstood as
60
so i paid him that
he was so happy
he really asked for 50
but i don~t care, so happy to have this hammock..
got to São Sebastian
where chad had given me two numbers
and i had the numbers for two youth hostels
i was sure i~d be fine..
but the hostel in town was full
and the other was an hour away
and the girl wasn~t home
and the boy wasn~t home.
and i had missed the last buss south
a taxi would cost over 50reais…
hmmmm…
walk around town…
beautiful, intersting
dry-ish canal
loud noises
what is that?
oh, a magic show in a gazzeebo.. children
nice buildings
narrow streets
and then opening on to the plaza by the ocean, ahhhh
beautiful
a fair!
it~s a tuesday night
but there are tons of people walking around
live music
all sorts of food and drinks..
i get an excellent sausage
and walk away from all the commotion to find a quiet place to sleep
at the end of the beach was a bridge that led to an oil rig
and a bunch of moored boats in the ebb tide…
i put my bag down and looked for a good place to set up the hammock..
under the bridge?
or up in the tree?
i climbed the tree and tried many ways
found one that almost worked
and just as i was ready to try it out
a group of kids arrived
(i~d seen a used condomn under the bridge, so i suspected)
two boys and two girls, hmm
and then another group
teen-age stoner kids in familiar g-boy costumes
hmmm
then another group
oh fuck
suddenly the party of outcasts had gathered under me
no one looks up
but my bag is out and one kid notices it
he talks with the others about it
they seem un-certain as to what to do
i am quiet
laying in my hammock in the tree
watching
once decides to reach out and touch it
i whistle
and they all look around
he tries again
i whistle
and say
in a funny voice
“it~s my bag, you better not touch it”
i realize this is not a restful place
so break down the hammock
climb down the tree
and shoulder my bag
walk on…
i call the hostel again
see if there is another closer
i get a bunch more numbers
but they are all further
they tell me they are sure there is another buss
so i walk back up to the buss station
yeah, NOW i just missed the last buss
i~ve been in town about three hours
it~s just past 23hrs now…
i look at the schedule on the wall
( i was asking people before instead of looking at printed matter: a problem when you don~t speak the language )
realize there were many busses between then and now
but i missed them
Hrmph
not-disspirited
still filled with excitement
i decide to try to hitchhike
of course, no good
1/2 hour later
i~m asking everyone around if there are anymore busses
people seem to think there are
i~m waiting at the station again
busses come and go
but not going my way
OK
the taxi driver tells me to wait
and if other people are going to the same place
we can ride together and cut the cost
which is good, because i couldn~t pay it otherwise… after buying the hammock
so i~m waiting
it~s past 1 in the morning now
i~m totally exhausted
and writing in my journal
and all of a sudden there are huge explosions
fireworks are going off everywhere
what the hell?
to make matters worse
loud music
in the style of bad 80~s hair bands doing love ballads
starts blaring out of secret speakers and echoing all over town
why am i in hell?
what did i do?
i~m sorry?
in despiration i head back to the bridge
down there is more lively than ever
the band is rocking out
i keep going
buy a coconut
ohh… the best coconut i~ve had since i got here
they tap them so you can drink them
and then, if you ask them, they cut them open so you can eat them
it was GREAT
i saved most of the meat for the morning
and then they freshly-juiced a raw sugar cane for me
ohhhh
lovely
and all very cheap…
i wander away from all the lights
shocked
it~s a tuesday night…
what is going on?
i find some trees by a canal
but it~s filled with trash and… shit..
hmmm
wander for another hour almost
through mud and …
find some trees by the sea, now
and set up the hammock in them
just high enough to sleep in
and i do
for a few hours at least…
i want to type the rest
where it gets nicer
but they are rushing me of the computer
so i~ll have to tell you later..