The first thing I want to do here is give contact information to my family and anyone else who needs or wants to contact me.  I´m leaving tomorrow with Livia to go to her grandma´s house and then to her house.  We will have 13 hours on the bus together tomorrow!  I´ll be back in Goiania on February 3 or so. 

My cell phone may or may not work in Minais Gerais.  Try calling me there first.  55-62-9922-2527
Livia´s cell phone 55-31-8822-3520
Livia´s grandma (she doesn´t speak English, but we´ll be there until Monday) 55-38-3224-5411
Liva´s father (he doesn´t speak English either) 55-31-3285-3944

I´ve had all kinds of cultural experiences this week.  I rode with Edmo on his motorcycle tonigjt!  We kist went to the grocery store, but anyone who knows either Edmo or motorcycles in South America can understand what an adventure this could be.  Actually he drove calmly with me on the back and we both wore helmets.  He only rode between cars in a lane of his own making and ignored stop signs when it was safe! 

Livia and I took a city bus to the Rodoviaria (the inter-city bus station) one time to look around and another time to buy our bus tickets for Montes Claros.  Now that I´ve done it with her, I feel comfortable doing it on my own after I return. 

We went with Angela, Edmo, and Breno to Caldas Novas this weekend, where we stayed at the apartment of her sister and brother-in-law.  There were a number of others staying in nearby apartments who joined us for all or part of the weekend.  It was a comfortable group of people, and I felt included in all the conversations.  I´m surprised at how much I understand, and frustrated at how much I don´t.  I long for the day when I don´t think about writing about my language skills, because I´ll know then that I´m fluent.

We spent Saturday at the Pousada of Rio Quente.  The Caldas Novas area is the largest source of hydro-thermal energy in the world.  There are two parts to this resort - Hot Park and the Pousada.  Hot Park is a water park similar to those in Wisconsin Dells.  It has acres of different kinds of pools, slides, and lazy and active rivers.  The water is all hot from the springs, but the park is otherwise similar to other water parks.  It´s very nice, but I was fascinated by the Pousada. 

The entrances into the pousada are gated, and inside there´s a fascinating collection of natural pools and rivers.  All have warm untreated natural hot mineral water.  You have to be staying at one of the resort hotels, be a member or accompanied by a member to get in.  Paulo, Angela´s brother-in-law, is a member. 

One of my favorites was a natural sauna.  It´s a cave that´s sealed with a door.  There´s a hot water spring pool in the center and rock seating around the walls.  You can sit on one of the hiigh seats above the pool or at water level and dangle your feet in the water.  As you´re sitting there, you can feel the moist heat and smell the natural minerals.  It reminded me of the steam baths in Korea and at the Spa in Safety Harbor, except that it´s outdoors and everything is completely natural.  As we departed from the cave, the outside air felt cool, and so di the first outside pool we encountered. 

We spent most of the time at the pool near Governador´s Bar, a swim-up bar located alongside a shallow lake with a combination of sand, ledges, and large rocks lining the bottom.  In various locations, we could stand and feel the hot springs feeding the lake.  We waded across the first pool to a set of massaging waterfalls built into the rocks.  From there, we could walk and swim to check out a couple small round deep pools built into the rocks with enough room for about four people at a time.  They were like natural hot tubs. 

After trying the various water slides, rivers, and swim-up bars, we ended the day at the first pool, where we alternated between the rocky ledges with shallow water and the deeper swimming areas.  The sun was setting and we moved to the rhythm of a guitar player who was performing above the pool.  We finished the day with caipirinhas from the swim-up bar, before retiring to the apartment, where I made chocolate chip cookies to celebrate Livia´s 20th birthday. 

After I return to Goiania from Minas Gerais, I´m going to spend Carnaval with Dante somewhere near Sao Paulo and then travel around Goias with Lenora.  She doesn´t have to start school until March.  After that, I´ll be very interested in other people to travel with.  If anyone is interested, let me know.  I want to go to Pantanal, Bahia, the beaches in the northeast, and any number of other interesting places.  Or if you´re interested in joining me in Sao Paulo or Goias, that would be fun too.  All I can say to my friends and family in Minnesota is that it´s not -39 F here, but you will manage to enjoy it here anyway!