The last day of the year started with a huge meal consisting of an omlette; turkey legs; salad with eggplant; rice; beans; beef stew; potatoes; weird cucumber; and a mix of carrot, beetroot and some green stuff that was both tasteless and tasty at the same time.
It was a lazy day that I spent watching the UFC and a few docos before lying down for a nanna nap before the party.
We headed to Villa Conte at 10pm and found our table. Villa Conte is the same place we went for Festa do Barao so I was expecting a similar setup but was pleasantly suprised. The theme for New Year in Brazil is white so everyone and everything was in white. The main hall was decked out like a wedding with white floral decorations, fancy sculptures, buffet tables, fruit displays and all the dining tables elegantly set.
Our table was situated on the corner of the dancefloor giving us optimal viewing of the band and the classy folk walking or dancing by. I wasnt very interested in what the band was playing, mainly old love songs and ABBA hits, bleh. Thankfully the outside area had a dj =-)
A fireworks display kicked off the new year, the dj played the first song of the year and I headed straight to the vodka bar where I bumped into some old friends and made some new ones too. Its much easier to make friends here because once they hear you talk english their eyes light up and they instantly want to know more.
Back in the main hall the band had rotated and some funk performers graced the stage. Funk is some nasty Brazillian music that encourages everyone to dance in the strangest way. Its nasty music because of what they sing about, think of nasty rap lyrics, translate to portuguese, add some funky bass heavy music, and thats funk. I wasnt ready to try some funk moves so instead took a seat and watched the show.
Later a group of carnival dancers came out including a few drag queens, it was my queue to head back to the dj. The rest of the night was similar to Festa do Baro, I drank, danced, talked to people and drank some more. At one point a girl took me up to the dj booth and the dj let me play a tune. In my drunken state it all happened so fast but it was a seamless mix and a whole lot of fun =-)
New years day was painful to say the least. I was woken up at what seemed like a ridiculously early time, but was actually late afternoon, to attend the late afternoon meal at Gabi's uncles house. This was this same place we went for boxing day and like then I was completley hungover and spent the day plugged into my iPod by the pool. One of the cousins said I party too much and that we should have a bbq and some beers the next time im sober...
Returning home in a bit of a rush we packed our bags and met Natu downstairs because he was driving us to the farm. I had been invited to party with some friends at a farm and I had agreed without asking for any details. I packed light expecting to be gone a day or two, little did I know...
The drive to the farm was an hour long but was quite quick thanks to the scenery. I was trying to figure out what distinguishes the countryside of Brazil to that of Western Australia. They are both similar as I suspect all countrysides are, vast open expanses of nothing but grass, scatterings of trees, hills and rocks. But something was different, I decided it was the colour. There are endless shades of green and everything looks so lush and vibrant, the only visible sand is on the edge of the road, all else is covered. Taking a side road off the highway the scenery changed to endless rows of sugarcane. The farm or Estancia produced sugarcane and had a huge factory about 500m out the back in the thick of it all.
It was late afternoon about 8pm and a few friends were already there sitting by the pool. We unloaded our gear and joined in. I was greeted by Larissa with a strong but damn tasty Caprihinia which I gladly accepted and later topped with sprite as it was a very potent mix.
Walking inside the house was somewhat disorienting at first. It was another huuge house! The main hallway had 4 large rooms with the three rooms on the left filled with about 5 beds each. The master bedroom on the right had an ensuite with the entrance concealed by the wardrobe. I first thought it was just one large wardrobe but opening one of the doors revealed the entrance to an amazing bathroom complete with a sauna and spa.
The main hallway reached all the way to the end of the house where the laundry and guest bathroom were. On the right side of the hallway was a lounge room followed by another lounge room followed by a kitchen which lead into another kitchen. On the left of the hallway past the bedrooms was an alfresco area with steps that gave way to a patio and undercover bbq and bar. I could tell this was going to be a good party house :)
Each night started and ended with beer. We would wake around 3pm and have breakfast, usually a ham and cheese roll. Conhardo would spark the churrasco (pronounced choohahskoo) which is the brazillian bbq, and start cooking some meats. The rest of us would take a spot by the pool and start the drinking. Throughout the afternoon cuts of meat would be brought around while we swam, drank and sun bathed. At night Gabi and one or two other girls would cook up a tasty meal and we prepared for the night ahead.
On the second day a few more people turned up and I was talking with 2 friends in english, which was a relief, when we suddenly got the munchies and raided the fridge, ham has never tasted so good! We passed out at 6.
On the third night we played mimic which is like cherades except you only choose movie titles. It was such a laugh trying to figure out what movie my team was talking about especially when most of the movies had Portuguese titles. Everytime your team failed to guess the movie you each had to skull a shot of Cachaça (cashasa), which is the most popular distilled alcoholic beverage in Brazil, made from sugarcane juice. Needless to say it was another late night followed by a hungover morning.
During the day I explored the Estancia and got to see some cows being milked by machines, it was interesting. Walking toward a paddock with the factory in the distant background, I saw a line of cows all feeding at a trough and so went to get a closer look. Walking by the line of cows I could hear the swarms of flies but thankfully they werent interested in me. The cows all gave me a look that seemed to say, 'Is this human going to eat me?'
Like fancy houses back home that have their own tennis court, this place had its own soccer pitch. With nothing to do but drink and swim we often practiced our juggling skills and once or twice just layed down and watched the clouds roll by.
We returned to Rio Preto late on the 4th day and tired though I was, I didnt get to sleep till 4am and didnt wake until 2pm. A bad routine has been formed.
