My Guide in Fortaleza, Ceará
I requested a guide and the hotel obliged. His name was Roberto. The history of Fortaleza and the State of Ceará was the first topic covered. The State of Ceará is also known as the “Land of Light”. That reminds me of Florida, the Sunshine State. We drove to the university, where we stood in front of a gigantic, outdoor map of Brazil. He explained that the Indians in this area were extremely aggressive, and it took a while to subdue them. He also said that if Europeans had gotten rid of their forests, then why couldn’t Brazilians clear-cut theirs? What? Furthermore, he said that he couldn’t understand the double standard. I so love to hear unfiltered speech from everyday people outside my own country. As a matter of fact, I can’t remember the last time I heard unfiltered speech inside my own country.
Swiss Pervert
Good ole Western Union. Roberto and I went there and stood in line. I was getting the cash Alex sent. While waiting in said line, a Swiss person uttered the following exclamation, “Americans are so arrogant!” I don’t know what provoked this outburst. But, I do know that this Swiss failed to zip up his pants before exiting the restroom. Did I blurt out, “All Swiss are pervs!”? No, I did not. What is wrong with people? What has happened to civility? People are getting wilder and wilder.
The first thing I did was give Roberto $120 Reais. This was his daily rate. I think it was about US$25. Then we went back to the hotel where I put the rest in a safe while Ricardo waited outside. We drove along Soares Avenue to a small favella. Ricardo knew some people who lived there. About 100 people live on this small patch of land. I hesitated. I said I didn’t want to go there. He understood and thought it was for the best that we don’t go, even though I did visit the slum in Lima. For some reason, I felt uncomfortable going into this one. I don’t know why.
A Young Slave
Ricardo took me to his house in Fortaleza where he lived with his mother, father, and Zé (short for José). Zé was 17 but used to be a slave. Ricardo’s father, who is a professor of agriculture, bought him out of slavery. Zé was let out to work in the fields during the day and locked up at 6 p.m. He earned 60 Reais a month or 2 liters of milk. He had a slight build and his hair was “dirty blonde” or “haystack blonde”. I tried to smile at him and say hello, but he didn’t look at me. He kept his head down and walked to his room at the back of the house.
I was stunned by this sudden encounter with a slave. I mean a former slave. But, slavery is thriving all over the world and in Brazil, too. In fact, there are more people enslaved today than at any other time in history. Thanks to technology, overhead is very low and slave traders can make huge profits.
Are you nuts?
Another stunning development was the existence of an old cashew tree right in the middle of the courtyard of Ricardo’s house. An eight-foot wall surrounded his house and an actual cashew tree stood in front of the entrance. I am nuts about tropical plants and this was over the top for me. The tree had some fruit on its boughs. I asked Ricardo if I could partake. I could. The fruit was a tad stringy so I sort of sucked on it. The flavor wasn’t anything to write home about or write in here about either. I later discovered that I had made a mistake by gnawing on the cashew apple. I guess I am nuts.
Christmas Every Single Day in Fortaleza
Roberto’s mom loves Christmas. She loves it so much that she keeps Christmas decorations and a Christmas tree up all year round. To each his own. I am happy that she can be happy with Christmas ornaments. I wish that was all it took to keep me happy. She fed us pork, rice, and mango. I also drank milk straight from the cow for the very first time! His mother boiled it and skimmed off the cream. It was delicious. No, wait. That’s not true. I drank fresh milk like that in Pomaz, Hungary. This is a town not far from Budapest and close to Szentendre. It was so long ago, I had forgotten. So, let’s see…an ex-slave, fresh milk, and a cashew nut tree all in one day. Be still my beating heart.
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