Saturday, November 15, 2008

Reflections on the Hidden Pousada Trip to Bahia, Brazil


I came to Brazil with expectations of a beach holiday, and to help my twin sister, Alison McGowan, evaluate hidden pousadas for the American and European market.  It became so much more that that.  After 40 years of being apart, since Alison lives in Brazil and I live in the US, it was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect, while appreciating Alison's extraordinary knowledge of her adopted country.  On this trip, we have been places and seen things that virtually no foreign tourists have ever experienced.  We have met fellow travellers, with interesting lives and recommendations based on their own travels.  And, we've been privileged to see a totally unspoiled part of the world, where life is vibrant, yet slower.  Daniel, at Pousada Mata N'Ativa in Trancoso said it best when asked why his prices were so low.  He explained that it was more important for his guests to appreciate his pousada and its amazing gardens and details, rather than to make money.  At a time when the global economy is in crisis, that attitude seems remarkably sane.  Today is November 4, 2008, and tonight we will know who the next President of the United States will be. I haven't watched television or seen a newspaper or answered my cell phone in two weeks.  I am totally relaxed.

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