Early Rise

Friday, May 5, 2006
Of course there was a rooster crowing at the crack of dawn! But breakfast would only be served in the "Rancho" room at 9:00 a.m. Until then I kept myself occupied by taking a hike around and watching the early morning milking time. The regulars would walk up to pick up their liters of raw milk. Momma cow that had given birth to the calf the day before had been separated from her lil' one and was pretty protective of it.
It is mandatory now to keep the milk in refrigerated containers so that the milk co-op truck comes by every three days to fill up their tanks and pays the farmers R$1.00 per liter. It's measly, but considering one of those cows produce somewhat like 35 liters - it's something - enough to pay for the employee that keeps the cows and the corral in shape.
I had noticed the horses were not shoed and one of them, Zeus, the black Mangalarga Mineiro mix Stallion, was not very cooperative. Also they had a little weed called "carrapicho" (urena lobata - malva roxa) all tangled in their manes. They are pretty much free range horses. They eat the grass and other shrubs available around the farm.
The names given to the horses and the dogs were pretty entertaining! The Grayish/dapple horse was called "Mortadela" (boloney), the Brown Mangalarga mix "Canivete" (jackknife), the Black Mangalarga mix "Zeus" (the only serious name), the Black dane x mastiff mix "Petey" (pronounced "peachy"), "Anita" the well mannered cocker spaniel and lastly, the runt-mutt "Azeitona" (olive), who had appeared on the property as a pup, injured and malnourished. The female cocker had been spayed, but not male dogs, those had been kept intact. "Olive" had the top of one ear bit off. But what an amazing little dog! The owner's wife Eliane, told me that ever since he got there, no loose roaming dog ever dared enter the farm.
Breakfast was all homemade - literally. Cheese breads called "pão de queijo", jellies - raspberry and guava - honey, yogurt, cakes, breads and cheeses - the famous "minas cheese" and a kind of muenster cheese made from their own cows milk. Delicious and hearty.
After Breakfast we were going to take a ride into town through the bridal path in the middle of the woods. First, I would clean up the horses before going out with them looking shabby..
Eliane's little son Kaio, around 6 or 7 wanted to go with us riding his pony, his "little mare" as he called it. When he discovered I might be riding on Zeus, he had a fit : "Oh no - he has his balls! He will want to cover my little mare". And proceeded to beg and try to convince the care-taker Mr. Antônio to get the other horse, Boloney. He finally got his way, an off we were. Our faithful canine companions, "peachy" and "olive" heading the way.
The bridle path started around the bend from a carpentry shop on the dirt road out of the farm. The village or town of Maringá was probably 4 or 5-km from the Fazenda. The bridle path would cut that distance considerably. We rode through the river and up and down steep hills on a very narrow bridal path surrounded by the atlantic rain-forest. Little Kayo on his pony, was determined to be the first in line, so the trip was very slow! In about 45 minutes were were in the village.
We parked our horses in the village in front of the swiss-brazilian chalet style coffee shop, had an expresso, Kayo had a chocolate sweet which he asked me and the café owner not to mention to his mother about. Then we were ready to take a little ride in town and head back. We got yelled at for tying our horses in somebody's parking entrance!
Once we were on the trail back, the little pony mare did not want to go in front, she wanted to take her time behind the bigger horses, but Kayo was not having that. Several times she lagged behind and we waited up for him, until we got to the river crossing - she then refused to move completely. The once sweet little boy started to call her ugly and dumb and to curse the very moment he asked his mother to buy that "stupid pony" for him! Alex was totally annoyed by the boy's behavior and called him a little brat, of course I was trying to get all parties involved including the horses, to settle down. I told him to stop hitting his mare because she would not ever obey him again and that I would go in front and that she would follow. She was a lot smaller and was tired already, she had done a great job leading but this time it was her turn to follow. He didn't like it but conceded. He was behind us the whole time after that and hating it.
When we arrived at the entrance of the farm, Zeus was there grazing, as soon as he saw the little pony mare he was ready to go after her and mount her! She was very receptive, the only thing in the way was Kayo. He got off the horse as fast as he could, crying in frustration. After all, he had predicted this fate, however he was upset his pony was not only enjoying the attention but actually seeking it. I rode my horse over and blocked the way of the stallion from getting to the tiny mare. Then I had to block her from him too! I opened and closed the corral gate while on horse back and got us into the corral - a feat I am very proud of.. We took off all the bridles, mouth- pieces, released the saddles and left the horses to drink water.
Just in time for our Finnish Savu style sauna! One can find a plethora of those all over the region, in any inn or hotel. They are little wooden cabins located by the river and connected to it is a giant cold river water shower the so you can rinse your sweat off with the powerful water from the Rio Preto. I just love the whole experience. The water from the river comes down from the moutains with such speed that it has to free-flow right back into the river, fawcets will not contain the pressure!
We would have dinner in the across the river in the MG side of the village. Both sides of the river are replete with gourmet style restaurants. Their season is winter. It was not as crowded as it might be because the season was just starting and three major long week-ends in a row had just passed right before we arrived. The restaurants of the area get reviewed in culinary magazines and some chefs have made the village of Maringá their home. Our menu for the night was: Medallion Steak au poivre with potatoes au gratin and grilled Trout with gorgonzola sauce and grilled mango. For desert a chocolate petit gâteaux! A dinner I otherwise could only have eaten in New York City or Paris. We took our expressos at the Internet Cafe, where Alex had a chance to check up on his political discussion board.
I remembered when we were riding the bridle path towards the town, Kayo would turn to us and say "Life is good". He was so right. Photos and slide-show