Friday, September 29, 2017

I was 23 when I came to Brazilian Amazon for the first time. It was like a dream. I went alone deep in the rainforest and spent time with garimpeiros (gold-diggers), madereiros (lumberjacks), jaguars, caimans, piranhas and various microorganisms that thrive there. I almost died.

It was an inspiration for my novel Dream, Drink, Love which will be published in the Spring 2018. That trip was one of the most profound and defining experiences of my young adulthood and I don’t want to spoil your pleasure of reading it firsthand by telling it now. I’m just mentioning it so that you catch the footing of this diary.

I’ve dreamed of Brazil since I was a little kid. I’ve already visited the country four times getting surprised by its beauty and wilderness over and over again. Brazil is beyond doubt a violent country as all of Latin America is and I’ve been more than once in gun fights and witnessed some very obscene tragedies. Nevertheless I love this Land of the Future, as another admirer, a famous Swiss author Stefan Zweig used to call it.: miles of fabulous sandy beaches with swaying palms, unending rainforests with all the beauty, magic and spells, gorgeous and wild women, and picturesque and history driven colonial towns sprinkled all over the coast and interior. Most of all, a young population with vigorous spirit, strong African rhythms unblemished by electronic music. (I can’t stand trendy club music, it drives me nuts.)

I can hardly wait to move there. Think of these terms: a bar on a sandy beach on an island, Willys Jeep, some bungalows in the rear, a capuchin monkey or an ara parrot on my shoulder, a caipirinha in one hand and notebook in the other. When you visit me pal, I’ll take you scuba diving or flying in a Cessna or big game fishing or to a rainforest adventure. There’s no better place on Earth.