Maya in Bahia: Jingle Bell Rock

Dec 24th to Dec 27th

My Christmas in Brasil was random, crazy and extremely fun. While in Sao Paulo, Max and Ya Ping (the couple I was staying with) suggested that I spend the holiday with their best friend, Albertini, and his family in Friburgo. Since I had no prior plans, I figured why not and left Rio for Friburgo on the 24th.

Friburgo is a small city of 150 000 people that is located in the beautiful hills of Rio de Janeiro state. Most Carioca (inhabitants of Rio) consider it the coldest city in Brasil - cold really meaning an average of 20 degrees. Considering the intense heat that I was experiencing in Rio, I really enjoyed the weather and all the activities Friburgo had to offer.

The minute I got off the bus, Albertini was there to greet me with an entire itinerary planned. First, we went on a brief walking tour of the city, then we went out for feijao (a traditional Brasilian dish of rice and bean so heavy you just want to sleep after having it), and then he took me on a 3-hour hike through the hills. At first, the hike was amazing. Albertini was once a landscape designer and taught me a lot about the biodiversity in the area. Then the hike became breath taking...literally. After swimming in a river against an incredibly strong current, we continued hiking for what should have been one more hour. Turns out our 3-hour hike was really 6 hours long, and we still had five more mountains to climb! By the time we arrived to the bus stop to catch our bus back in to the city, it was pitch dark. When we got home, I had no appetite for the wonderful dinner his mother had been slaving over all day. I had to force the meal down my throat and pray to god that it was going to stay there.

View of the hills

Unfinished bridge

Later that night, Albertini was determined to take me to this local Christmas event called Rock Noel. Apparently, Friburgo has an annual tradition where everyone goes out after Christmas Eve dinner and dances the night away at Rock Noel. All his friends whom I had met earlier that day were teasing him about the fact that it was an event meant for teenagers. This is probably the best time to explain that Albertini is no ordinary man. He is 38 going on 17, and has more energy than anyone I have ever met. Yet, as a professional yoga instructor, he is in tune with his spiritual side and can meditate 12 hours at a time. He also sees aliens in the forests of Friburgo and enjoys a good samurai cartoon.

As tired as I was, I agreed to go to Rock Noel just to see what it was like. Turns out it was an event for teenagers - even I felt too old to be there. I must admit thought, that it was a cool party with over six dancing rooms including one for house, one for hip-hop and one with a live band. I was just feeling to ill to be there and needed to leave. Albertini, on the other hand, was very much in his element and decided to return after dropping me off at home. The next morning/afternoon his mother had to pull him out of bed. He had stayed at Rock Noel until 6am and then had slept in his car until eight.

Albertini!

On Christmas day, we visited this local artist called Nego, who makes sculptures out of wood, earth and stone in his backyard. He used to live in Bahia, the region I will soon be living in, but was unjustly imprisoned there for 10 years. In jail, he learned how to read, and became a religious man. When he was finally free, he found solace in art and has become one of Rios most famous sculptors. Him and Albertini get along quite well and commiserate about their various alien sightings in the area!

Nego and I

Nego primarily sculpts images of naked women because he is celibate. He says he needs to do it to stay sane.

The rest of my time in Friburgo consisted of eating, playing air hockey, pillow fighting, road tripping, swimming in waterfalls and more hiking. I was also able to spend some time with his parents, who were incredibly kind and compassionate. As a Christmas present, his mother had even made me a personalized towel set! The whole family was very affectionate towards one another and made me feel right at home. Albertini was a riot, and made me laugh the whole weekend. Christmas without my family turned out better than I could have ever hoped for, and I will always look back at my time in Friburgo fondly.