Saturday Belo Horizonte Good morning Contagem. I was up and ready for my workout but with the steel door, and forgetting instructions to get out, I set up my trx on their staircase. I used the stairs and the garden to do short runs and plyometrics. On finishing, my lovely friends had my breakfast ready and my pot of coffee. Fabi took me to the local markets and it was Christmas chaos. Within a short time of being there, it rained like crazy so we ran back to the car. I then spent the day with Fernanda to the markets. We were looking for cachaca and there was a cute shop with many kinds. Cachaça is a liquor made from fermented sugarcane juice. It is the most popular distilled alcoholic beverage in Brazil. According to 2007 figures, 1.5 billion litres (390 million gallons) are consumed annually, compared with 15 million litres (4.0 million gallons) outside the country. It is typically between 38% and 48% alcohol by volume. The major difference between cachaça and rum is that rum is usually made from molasses, a by-product from refineries that boil the cane juice to extract as much sugar crystal as possible, while cachaça is made from fresh sugarcane juice that is fermented and distilled. As some rums are also made by this process, cachaça is also known Brazillian rum. The market was very interesting and it was happy that it wasn't as busy as the one I was at in the morning. It was a bit of a maze and had many different types of products from local cuisine to animals such as chicken and dogs. Fernanda then took me to downtown BH where we ate a Bahia resturant which was so good. Fernanda plays football with the cashier and was able to explain the history of the resturant and family which made eating there even more incredible. We had pastels filled with cheese and shrimp as a starter. In Brazil, pastel is a typical fast-food Brazilian dish, consisting of thin pastry envelopes wrapped around assorted fillings, then deep fried in vegetable oil. The result is a crispy, brownish pastry. The most common fillings are ground meat, mozzarella, heart of palm, catupiry cream cheese, chicken and small shrimp. These were yummy and we couldn't even finish them. Our main meal was steak and chips and it was really delicious. The meat is just incredible in this country and my vegetarian days have definitely came to a halt haha. It was great to catch up with Fernanda and hear about her new job etc. Even after 4 years, she hasn't changed who she is. Fernanda then drove me back to Contagem to get showered and ready for a BBQ. It was Ni's step father's birthday so we went to her mums house for a Brazillian BBQ and my goodness was the meat good. It was an endless supply of meat; meat that was full of flavour. It was also my first time of trying Farofa. Farofa is a toasted manioc flour mixture, though variants are made with maize flour and flavors can vary. It is eaten in South America and West Africa, especially in Brazil and Nigeria, where a variant is known as gari. Also with beer and drinks, they never let cups be empty. Dessert was a delicious birthday cake and strawberry mouse. Again, it was nice to be in a family environment and regardless if I could understand what people were saying, I was just enjoying absorbing the feeling. Ni is definitely the rock of family and even though on many occasions was told to relax, she couldn't help herself to doing things for others. I would say she's a typical Cancerian. I played a hand game with Fabi's nephew and learned the words :) Pica a choo Pica em cima Pica em-bauxo Pica de um lado Pica do outro This was what we played whenever we could!! :) What a lovely Saturday!
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AuthorTracy Donachie, MSc in Performance Psychology. Archives
May 2019
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