Brazil or Bust

Because many people have had difficulty finding Part IV of Brazil or bust, I have decided to add it to the blog:

Brazil or Bust IV

Catching Up

As the subtitle indicates, it’s been a while since my last words on living in Brazil. This is meant to being you up to date with what’s been happening and some of the interesting people who have passed through Fortaleza and our lives.

Let’s go back to just after Thieny and I were married. That would be October of 2004.

I took you through my experience with a “fixer” named Ze.

He really did assist with the marriage and I thought that his assistance would get us a car really quickly and perhaps at a lower price than we might pay with me doing the talking, mainly because if the Brazilians here see a “Gringo” coming, the price tends to go up!

I handed Ze a lot of money...over R$15,000...because we had looked at several cars of the type I wanted and found none at a lower amount.

After more than a month of false starts and being put off, it became evident to me that Ze was not doing anything about getting me a car.

I asked for my money back so I could find a car myself or another dealer who had what I wanted. Well, Ze didn’t like that too much. After talking to several people who were more familiar with this type of thing, it appears Ze had investred my money in some other vehicle or vehicles and was in the process of moving them between various “clients”. At one point, he tried giving me an old Ford Courier pickup as part of the deal.

I ended up taking my problem to a lawyer and Marcus finally got Thieny and I to meet with Ze and the local area police chief, called a Delegado.

As we went in to meet him, my lawyer asked me if I had R$300! “What’s that for?” I asked. “The Delegado has to be paid or he won’t even look at your case!”

Well, there was nothing else we could do and we did get most of the money.

the upshot of the whole thing was that I bought a car on my own and was left several thousand Reals short by the crook!

I didn’t realize just how big a crook until my lawyer ran his name on the police computer and found 8 criminal charges and an almost equal number of civil cases againt him.

Two lessons can be learned from my experience...don’t pay for any services up front, and make sure you get receipts. These two things may not solve every problem you have, but there is at least a better chance of keeping your money in YOUR pocket instead of someone else’s.

One other thing. Having to pay the police out of my own pocket is another demonstration of how corruption seeps into every part of Brazilian life.

A somewhat normal life filled the next six to eight months, as Thieny and I got used to living together as a married couple.

There were rough times, no question, but we managed to survive the “getting used to” in terms of trying to put together two different cultures, languages, ages and, at least to some extent, classes.

We had to overcome almost every obstacle a married couple can have, but we have done it, at least so far!

Thieny’s older sister, Daisy...she has three of them, two that live in Fortaleza and one in Sao Paulo...looks after the apartment for us, cooking, cleaning and washing, things “The Princess”, as I like to call her, doesn’t do! Unless she has to!

To be honest, Daisy is an angel who also looks after Thieny’s 5 year old son, Israel, when we are not here. She is very used to that, being his “tia” or aunt. She even does his homework with him!

One of the great moments for us came on our first anniversary.

I took Thieny to Guaramiranga, a mountain city about 80 kilometers away from the coast. She had never been into the mountains but always wanted to go there.

I described a little of Guaramiranga in a previous article which is linked at the botom of this one.

We stayed in the Hotel Escole. It’s a government run place where they do official training for various organizations. When there is no training going on, they rent out the rooms just like a regular hotel.

They have a big dining room and on the Saturday night, I ordered a special dinner plus a cake and flowers. Thieny was actually speechless! It was very beautiful.

I still remember the first morning...we came down for cafe early and the fog was rolling in clouds through the valley, just outside the windows.

Thieny jsut stood there with her mouth open! She had never seen anything like that before, and I was amazed as well.

Right next door to the hotel is a restaurant that I described in my first article.

Speaking of artists, Villa Lautrec, a restaurant featuring French cuisine, is located on the outskirts of Guaramiranga. It’s named, of course, for the famous French artist and is one of the most amazing eating-places I have ever seen. Built inside an old flour mill, with the exterior left intact, complete with water wheel and a huge pond covered with water lilies, it would be at home anywhere in the world. The view at night, with the pond surrounded by dim lighting only a few inches off the ground, is truly spectacular and I found it breathtaking. The sound is of hundreds of frogs letting potential mates know their whereabouts. There are huge picture windows so patrons can enjoy the view. The food was truly world class, and inexpensive by North American or European standards.

Attached to the restaurant is a rather unique bar, with construction of dark wood, where I spotted some of the locals who own weekend homes in the area. Apparently there is a very well heeled community surrounding Guaramiranga that “weekend” there as an escape from the beach heat of Fortaleza. The restaurant has a decidedly European flavor, with one lady seated at the bar waving one of those foot long cigarette holders!
The town is also home to a famous jazz festival and has a well maintained arts community.”

This year has been highlighted by our purchase of a small “lanchanete”. It’s in a non-tourist area of Aldeota, away from the beaches, and its clientele are the local Fortalezans.

Thieny has set it up well and runs the day-to-day operation, with the help of her other, older sister, Guaraceanna, who handles the kitchen and supervises when Thieny’s not there. It’s been a real learning experience for me when Thieny and I have gone to other parts of the city, away from the tourist areas, to shop for supplies. The prices are lower and can sometimes be changed with a little haggling!

I also have a new business called Fortaleza Adventure, which assists people coming to Fortaleza for the first time and who may not speak Portuguese. I’ll add the link at the bottom of the article.

Sometimes, even people who have been to Brazil a number of times but perhaps have never visited the northeast can take advantage of my services, such as meeting real estate agents and legal people, if their intent is to buy property.

More on Brasileiras in the next article.

Here’s the link to Fortaleza Adventure:

http://www.fortaleza-brazil-realestate.com

Well, most of the news surrounding the blog has to do with the Web Site for Fortaleza Adventure.
It has grown, with the addition of much more information spread over more pages, and with many more photos!

As I have pointed out several times on the site (but it bears repeating), Fortaleza Adventure does not buy and sell real estate, but because many, many questions come my way from existing and potential client, that I thought I would try and answer some of the questions and post some of my opinions and thoughts on the matter where people can see them without emailing me.
There are photos of a local sitio that is for sale, as well as a beach home and a newly constructed 3-suite home in a gated community just outside the city near the beach.
If you see one of these and want more information, simply email and I will put you in touch with the appropriate folks.
Meanwhile, a number of potential clients (they are not really clients until they have posted a deposit) have contacted me about visiting our city over the winter and into the spring (speaking in terms of South American seasons).
Some are expressing interest in moving here and some are just beginning their Fortaleza experience.
I have had one situation come up which is worth passing along in case it may happen again.
An American ( this would also apply to a Canadian) who had been living outside the US for a number of years, was traveling in another South American country and decided to visit Fortaleza.
This person had not been to Brazil previously and would be entering from Buenos Aires.
This person said they had done a lot of research on the subject before deciding to visit, so I saw no point in a reminder about Americans having to have a visa to enter Brazil!
This particular person arrived at the airport in BA at 3am, and learned the hard truth!
It takes anywhere from 3 to 15 days for the Brazilian Consulate to issue a tourist visa, so it can be an expensive awakening.
Bar da Boa continues to draw more local customers and is holding its own. as you probably know, the restaurant business is one of the toughest...and most time consuming. I don't see Thieny or Israel nearly enough, something we both realize.

More on the blog next week.