Carnival in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Carnival has arrived!!!!

The carnival in Rio de Janeiro is very nice; however it is very expensive and full of tourist because when we think carnival in Brazil, we automatically think of Rio, so that is where everybody goes. However all Brazil celebrates carnival and the festivities in Sao Paulo are full of Brazilians, so in my opinion, it is a lot nicer to celebrate with the locals than with a bunch or tourist.

 

With that said, two Saturday ago started the carnival festivities, so of course I was there, and what fun it was.

They had a block party at the Luz Park, Sao Paulo, which consisted of many carnival groups parading while dancing to the samba music they played.

                The festivities started at 10 am and ended at 9 pm, and all through that time it was samba music and dance. I went with a group from the hostel at 3pm and of course we stayed till the end.

If you know me you know that I was there dancing the whole time, and if you don’t know me, I love to dance!

These block parties do not consist of Escolas do Samba, these are big neighborhood groups, but nonetheless they were great.  Their customs are nice however they are not as elaborated as the Escolas do samba.

Sunday was a Carnival party at another neighborhood, this one started at 6 pm and lasted way into the night. It was another great dancing night and a lot of fun.

Monday it rained, so we stayed at the hostel drinking Caipirinha which is Brazil's national cocktail, made with cachaça (hard liquor made from the sugar cane), sugar and fruit, most commonly lime or strawberries. We used lime and they were so good!!!

Tomorrow will see, carnival or Caipirinhas??? What a dilemma…

And the parties continue every night, Yeah!!!!

Yesterday I eat dog food

 

While my mother is hospitalized I have been living in her house while I fix it so I can sell it and I have been taking care of her dog.

The dog’s name is Oso = Bear, and it is very fitting as he looks just like a small black bear. The dog is great, only barks when somebody comes into the property and he is very cuddly and sweet.

Now, my mother used to cook for him every day, of course, when I got here I started giving him dry food and he eat it all, however after a few hours he vomited every time. I changed brands and still he vomited, so I started cooking for him.

Usually I cook rice with some kind of meat, zucchini, squash, carrots and peas and I add some dry food and he has no problems.

Yesterday I cooked him some polenta because I figure he must be tired of rice.

As I prepared the corn mush I added some tomato sauce with chicken that I had leftovers from the previous day.

I took a look at his food, and it looked so good and smelled so nice that we shared his dinner and it was delicious.

Larnaca, Cyprus.

Larnaca is claimed to be the oldest city in Cyprus, with evidence of habitation up to 6000 years ago.

Church of Saint Lazarus

According to the New Testament, Jesus raised Lazarus (Mary’s brother) from the death and after this occurrence he moved from Judea to Cyprus where he was appointed by Paul as the first bishop of Larnaca. 

The beautiful Church of Saint Lazarus is built over the tomb of Lazarus, well, his second and last tomb. The church dates back to the 9^th century and it is beautiful, with great stone walls adorned with gold framed pictures and big beautiful chandeliers. Just gorgeous.

Lazarus tomb

 

Salt Lake

Also in Larnaca, right across from the airport, you find a salt lake. During summer it is mostly salt, but during the winter, from November to March, when the waters return, you can see thousands of migrating pink flamingos on it

Because of the proximity of the lake to the airport, the consumption of salt is no longer possible, now a day it is only good for industrial use.

 

 Larnaca is located on the coast, so there are some nice beaches with clear water; however, the sand is brown.

 We eat a very lousy lunch at Gorgona Restaurant, one of the many restaurants on the beach, my granddaughter had a donner kebab that according to her “she had better”, and I had crab crockets that did not have much crab on them.  The restaurant was full, so I figure it would be good, next time we go someplace else.

Cyprus

Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean.

It is the birthplace of the Greek Goddess Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and procreation, and therefore it is a beautiful island.

An island with over 300 days of sunshine, surrounded by crystal clear waters and sandy beaches, encompassed by pine covered mountains with ancient temples and archeological sites.

The Greeks came to the island over 3000 years ago, at the end of the Trojan war, and over the centuries, Cyprus has been dominated by various rulers including the Egyptians, Assyrians, Persian, Romans, Crusaders, Venetians, Ottomans and the British.

On July 20, 1974, Turkey invaded Cyprus and since then Cyprus is the only divided country in Europe. 

 

There is a neutral zone between the two countries which are guarded by the UN and that nobody can enter. In 2003, travel restrictions were eased for the first time, allowing Cypriots on both sides to cross the UN Buffer Zone, commonly known as the "Green Line". These crossing points have immigration check points and are guarded by the British army.

The place I am staying is right by the sealed border facing the beach resort town of Varosha - in Famagusta. You can see the empty building of what at one time used to be a booming beach resort for the rich and famous. Because neither side wants to agree to anything, the town still empty, deteriorating, just a mere reminder of what it used to be.