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Fifi Flipflops Big Adventure

November 2015 - April 2024
An open-ended adventure by Fifi flipflop Read more
Currently traveling
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  • Fifi flipflopFifi Flipflops Big Adventure
    Day 1

    Liverpool

    November 29, 2015 in England ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    39 days till Mark and I start our big adventure. The reality of what we are doing has started to hit home with the packing of boxes and emptying the loft of all the " sentimental " belongings we've accumulated over the past few years in this beautiful home.
    We will be travelling the whole of South America and will be reunited with 3 of our first ever Brazilian students. Over the last few years we have accommodated teenagers as a host family whom have become a member of our adoptive family from around the world. The various mixes of culture and customs has only fuelled the passion for us to travel.
    We are setting off on a journey of a lifetime. ........    Read more

  • Fifi flipflopFifi Flipflops Big Adventure
    Day 6

    New travelling partner

    December 4, 2015 in England ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    As we are on our way around the country to say goodbye, we have managed to aquire an additional travelling partner ............….……😎
    Name suggestions please ?

  • Fifi flipflopFifi Flipflops Big Adventure
    Day 15

    Gettin packed

    December 13, 2015 in England ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C

    So 25 days till we head off on our Big Adventure and here is my life for 12 months tried to convince mark that a 35 litre rucksack is too small for a woman but he was having none of it !!!!

  • Fifi flipflopFifi Flipflops Big Adventure
    Day 41

    First Day

    January 8, 2016 in Brazil ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    So we have arrived in Rio de Janeiro and what a beautiful place. The weather is gorgeous and the people are so friendly.
    After getting off the 12 hour flight we were glad we booked into a nice hotel although this will be the last one for a while. Buddy is fine but not very happy about spending the journey in the hold So now we will head to Miracema to catch up with Bia and Aldo our students from 4yrs ago. Slightly concerned about how much Mark is like Karl pilkington but im sure he will aclimatize xxRead more

  • Fifi flipflopFifi Flipflops Big Adventure
    Day 43

    Miracema

    January 10, 2016 in Brazil ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Today we have arrived in Miracema a small farming city, but this is what we have come to see " The real Brazil"
    After our reunion with our friends we were taken back to the family home. I think scousers are friendly, but this put things on a whole new level. Then in the evening we acccompanied Bea to the church where she helps underpriveliged kids find God, although not religious this experience has actully blown me away, upto 100 children come from all over the city and unite but the affection and love that is shared in this room you can really overwhelm you. Most of the children had never met anyone form outside of the city let alone another country so WE WERE LIKE MOVIE STARS !!!!!! These children are amazing and my hope is that none of them fall to the wayside as a lot of them really have amazing characters yet don't have a pot to piss in. After our power prayers we were picke up by Aldo and his friends who took us to Padwa to eat - this is the best BBQ restaurant in the area and we weren't dissapointed. The steak was better than any i have eaten and with a Brahma was a perfect end to a perfect day xRead more

  • Fifi flipflopFifi Flipflops Big Adventure
    Day 43

    Bruno Arrives

    January 10, 2016 in Brazil ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    So after waking up early we woke to a beautiful breakfast with the family and then set out to explore Miracema city. Brazilians are very religious and in the city square they still have all the xmas decorations up. As we wondered through the square it was so beautiful , all the old men sitting around the park chatting chit chat , Bia then took us to the local church where her cousin works as a secretary.
    Inside the church they still had the nativity scene which was all hand made. The church has a lot of history and the word Miracema means " the tree that comes back to life " as it was made from a dead tree that came back to life so that they could use this to build the church.
    Back in the park we bought a cocunut water and visited the statue of the "mother crying" this statue is about her son who never returned from war.
    Back to the house for a shower and siesta before heading out to "prefeitura municipal" a wonderful natural park that overlooks the whole city, her we met again with some of "the children" trekking to the top of here makes me wonder why i got a shower but hey ho.
    In the nationalpark they lay bird seed in a line and as you approach the little birds all in a line eating so cute ... flowers called Bird of Paradise grow everywhere surreal when we pay so much for them in the uk .
    We are anxious now as Bruno is very near and we head back to the house to await the arrival of "the Prodigal Son".
    Brunos been jumping out of a plane in Rio so we had passed each other in transit , on his arrival we gave him his present of 32 cans of cherry coke (unavailable in Brazil) you would have thought we had given him liquid gold he took us out to show us the city through his eyes, the park at night was exceptional and after our tour we head back to the house for a cerveja and an early night    Read more

  • Fifi flipflopFifi Flipflops Big Adventure
    1
    Day 44

    A day on the farm

    January 11, 2016 in Brazil ⋅ 🌧 6 °C

    So this morning we got up to a wonerful breafast before setting out to watch a game of football on the full size pitch that is opposite the family home . Unfortunately the game was just finishing, but i got the opportunity to show them a few english skills (not) , a ten year old looked like Messi comapared to me, but I blame it on the flip flops. After 3 mins i was knackered and Bruno suggested we go to "his" farm.
    Elenia and her family have a group of small farms where they have livestock , and i said to Bruno this is the biggest Goat i have ever seen, It was actually a Calf lol. we walked to the top of the holding and my god i thought I was in heaven, the panoramic views and the peacefullnes were surreal (we will return here tomorrow for sunset). we came back to the granmothers house who served us homemade pastries made with freshly milked cows milk and also a glass of milk. This reminded me off when we were kids and treated to the Gold Top. The smell from the granmothers kitchen was amazing and she then brought out the biggest homemade cheese . Heading back to Elenias house we were given the opportunity to get our own mangos from the tree using a long bamboo stick with a plastic bottle attached to the end we scooped our mango and also collected various other things to taste. One of these was a chilli OMG i thought i was going to die (and id taken the seeds out ) my nose ran my eyes watered and when i wiped my nose i then got chilli on this too , it was like a horror movie i coughed and choked went a greater shade of red and was grateful of "my mango" to wash away the taste.
    In the evening we were invited to Aldos house which was in the flavella but my god the views from here were amazing. We were welcomed by Aldos family who presented us with one of the best churascos (bbqs) I have ever had Sicleni and Carlos were great hosts and we all wanted for nothing after we had finished the BBq Sicleni announced she would shortly present dinner .... REALLY !!!!!! BBq was just a starter. By the time i leave Miracema I will be the size of a house. During the party Aldos cousin Souvani shared her hair with me , we drank cacacha ... the first time since I arrived and then drank banana cacacha ... sambuca is binned I have a new alcohol love.
    Back to Brunos home and Bruno left at 1am to head back to the city where he works and studies , but we will join him again on Friday so I dont feel too sad xxx    Read more

  • Fifi flipflopFifi Flipflops Big Adventure
    Day 45

    My first salsa lesson

    January 12, 2016 in Brazil ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    So after this mornings breakfast , Mark helped Bias mum to take down the xmas decorations from the outside of the house , they have a huge garden and Ma doesnt hold back on covering the whole lot even a nativity scene in the outside pagoda. Bia and I started to disect the Jaka, this is a fruit that is the size of a 4 month old baby but absolutely stinks. The inside has a glue that holds everything together but literally sticks to everything so after Mark had finished helping I jobbed him off to finish the job of the Jaka. We then headed to Bias home, after 2 mins into the journey Ma Pestana was driving and Bia informed us that she didnt have a licence as we pulled up a side street to avoid the police . We arrived and were greeted by Neylor we looked at her wedding photos and Video. I have never seen such a beautiful wedding album, all the photos are embossed in the pages , a truly beautiful keepsake the house has huge potential and the grounds are massive . It is custom in Brasil that you build your house as your family grows so even though the house is quite small they have a lot of room to grow. We ate ice cream sundaes and it was soon time to leave .... there was dancing to be done !!!!
    As we pulled away from Bias home Ma never saw a car coming and Mark shouted "Santa Maria" Iwe all laughed so hard we were sat there for nearly five minutes .
    We arivved at the centre of the church and all the children were there to meet the "Gringo". They choreograph dance moves and I must say there moves were on key. One of the students asked me to dance and as you know me im game for anything . I absolutely loved it and cant thank Dimitry enough for giving me the opportunity.
    Mark has not been well the past few days (man flu ) so we headed back home to take care of him.
    After dinner i received an email from the company that we booked our Machhu Picchu trek with to say that our group had been unsuccesful in obtaining passe from the government so were unable to go ....WTF...we booked and paid for this in September ! A shitty email was sent and i was so dissapointed that the only thing to do was to go to bed and await my email response in the morning .    Read more

  • Fifi flipflopFifi Flipflops Big Adventure
    Day 47

    Miracema Museum

    January 14, 2016 in Brazil ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Today we have woken up and its pouring, and i mean cats and dogs , but the rain here is warmer than the showers that we are taking and gives me a sense of enormous freedom , although after a couple of hours I am begining to wonder whether it will stop. Mark is still unwell so it is my duty to do the cigarette run. As i stoll up the street with my umbrealla (sombrego) and in flip flops there is something ironic about everyone riding motorbikes with an umbrella in one hand. The rain is relentless but this doesn't stop us from heading to the museum. The museum was amazing, they hold all the document here of the births deaths and marriages of Miracema even from before the war - i was amazed , the governor of the museum let us into "the vault" where i was allowed to leaf through the registrys. As i opened the page the name in front of me was Pestana (our brazilian family's surname ) All the document are being dust protected and copied so as you can imagine this is a mammoth task . The museum also contains historical things of the city including all the machinery that they used in the clothing factory (presses looms sewing machines) At the back of the museum is a German house which has much of its original artifacts in . The highlight of the museum was Ma brazils painting, she is a wonderful artist and this is apparent in this painting. We head back to the home as Aldos mum and dad will depart for vacation tomorrow so they want to say goodbye , more presents are given to us , a beautiful ceramic plate (inscibed on the back ) and a new hat for me . As we sit around the table i receive an email from one of the many peruvian tours that i contacted yesterday to say they have availability for Machu Picchu WE ARE GOING TO MACCHU PICCHU !!! Aldo and Suiane and Everton help us and we are also going to carnival and staying on cocacabana beach . I am one very happy girlRead more

  • Fifi flipflopFifi Flipflops Big Adventure
    Day 48

    Sunset on The Farm

    January 15, 2016 in Brazil ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    So today has put my language skills to the test. After breakfast Mark and I headed into town to try and acquire a sim card. As i pointed and flicked through my lonely planet phrase book, i was more than relieved when one of the guys who walked into the shop was someone who could speak English. The issuue was neither of our phones can take a Brazilian Sim card so we are without communications apart from wifi. Mark is still feeling under the weather so as he heads back i head to the church to say a final goodbye to the children. Bia asks if i would like to ride the motorbike home so after a rusty practise around the car park ( i have not ridden a bike for over 15 yrs )When i arrived the priest geeted me with a present of a beautiful hand carved elephant (another thing i need to squeeze in my rucksack ) We have made plans to go back to the farm for sunset so off we trek to the farm. Although we are unuable to see the sunset due to cloud cover the view from the top is so beautiful it could be snowing for all i cared. Eveton has a drone and so we also got an aerial view. after saying our goodbyes i was very grateful to all the family for the hospitality. We have been invited to Aldos aunts tonigt for dinner so after a quick shower we head over to Siclenis house . They live opposte Aldos house so the views of the city at night were once again amazing . We had a beautiful evening and one of souanes friends was an English teacher and asked us to do an interview so she could use it to teach the children,Mark an i will have to start charging for this I think. Another lovely evening spent an home to bed we go xRead more

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