The View Is Worth the Climb

On Sunday afternoon, Cecilia and I took a bus from Niteroi to her mother Dora's home in Sao Francisco.  This little town/community is very suburban, with lush mountains, singing birds, and peaceful streets lined with stucco homes.  When we exited the bus and walked a block or two off the main street, Cecilia pointed out Dora's home on the side of a mountain in the distance.

Homes in the foreground frame Dora's mountainside casa.
You can see the terra cotta tile roofline
(in the center background of the photo) tucked in the foliage.
See, it's above the bright cream-colored modern home.

Walking from the bus through the quiet neighborhood of Sao Francisco:
A Playful Wall

A Cheerful Home

One of C's Favorites

Amarela

Cactus Fingers

It was a blistering hot afternoon,
and I welcomed pauses for pictures in the shade.

Bromeliads grow on tree trunks everywhere.

Bouganvilla spills over a patterned tile wall.

C and I walked through the neighborhood to find the Maternity Hospital where Daniel will be born.  After a quiet tour of the facility, and a respite from the equatorial sun complete with wet paper towels and cups of water, we called a taxi for the ascent to Dora's house.  Like a roller coaster car, our air-conditioned taxi drove in first gear all the way up the winding street.  I was grateful we weren't walking, which is what most of the family does on a daily basis.  Cecilia and I have been nicknamed "Vovo e Gravida" (A Grandmother and a Pregnant Woman).  Tell me there aren't benefits to hangin' with one who, at 39+ weeks, is finally slowing down just a little!

Once the taxi dropped us at the sidewalk in front of Dora's house, there were two flights of stairs to ascend. One just through the sidewalk gate took us to the lower front yard where we were greeted by C's brother Helio and three dogs--one behind a fence with a snapping, attention-getting bark, and two with good manners and happy yips who wiggled and sniffed until Dora called them off.  I followed the leader up another set of steps to the house.

Helio says the view is worth the climb.  And he's right.

A Palm and the Mountain View
from Dora's Front Patio

Sao Francisco Below

Dora's Neighbor

The first thing Dora did was take me through the kitchen, outside to see the beautiful varieties of ferns that grow in the shade of the hillside around her house.

A patio carved out of the mountain is a cool place to catch the breeze.

Big Ferns

Tiny Ferns

Variegated Ferns

A Shady Path

A Feathery Climbing Fern

Shade patterns the troweled stucco.

After a great Lasagna lunch and lively conversation with the family, Will arrived.  Project finished, he was glad for a work break.  More conversation, then Will paused with head cocked, "Do you hear the Micos?!"  In the late afternoon, small monkeys make their way back up the mountain, chattering in their foraging party.  We grabbed the only banana in the house and went behind the house to find them.

The First Brave Little Guy

There's a banana right below me, but it's attached to a human hand.

Will coaxes.  Monkey can't resist.

You have to hold the banana tightly, or he'll take it away.

More of the foragers decide to join the feast.

The Gringa gets in on the fun.

What tiny teeth you have!

Remember to hold the banana tight, Mom.

Off he goes with a chunk of deliciousness,
and there I am with an empty peel.

Then it was time to exit the area before the little critters got mad at us for such a meager offering.

The patio carved out of the mountain is a refreshing spot.

A cozy living room opens to the breeze.

Soft Colors

Welcome

Kitchen Windows

Leather and Lace

A Beauty

Kitchen Porch

Verdes, Azuis, e Amarelas

Old Atreyu

Dora and I want Jewel and Q to see this picture of the handsome old man!

A Window from the Stairs

I'm laughing, b cause at ths point my fr en Jewel s lay g on the ke bo rd of t is lap  top, tail flickin nd paws pres d ginst my chest.  Maybe she saw the pictures of Atreyu, or ma be she's jelous o the time I'm spndin on this post.       We've come to a compromise.  She's decided that she can lay beside the keyboard and only use her tail to protest.  Now if could just get to the mouse, I'd add more pictures . . .

Will in the Living Room

Conversation

Helio with (Maria) Cecilia
Dora, Will, Cecilia (and Daniel!)

. . . and what's a day in Brasil without a brilliant sunset?

Christ the Redeemer
The Patio View, Sao Francisco

The view is indeed worth the climb!

With love, from the Gringa . . .