August 19,

I awoke at 0745, but I couldn’t get to sleep until 2330 last night – couldn’t get comfortable, not pain, just… Ugh! Anyway, we got around, had our javas, and breakfast of oatmeal with PB, Nutella, and/or raspberry jam.

Around 1000, we set out – in the car – to explore. We went back to the main square and the church we saw last night. It was open but there were stairs to get in. Pooh! So we opted to move on. Jeff drove us onto a cute, little, very steep cobblestone road, passing by a couple more old churches. At 1030, we went to the Andorinhas Municipal Natural Park. It was created in 1968 and covers 557 hectares. We took a nice drive to a visitors center. Jeff went to check out what was here to see. Returning, he said there were some waterfalls but required hiking trails to get to. Bummer! 🙁 So we went back into town, just driving, enjoying the scenery and weather…gorgeous day!!! We were following a route and the road became a lot steeper. We were questioning going on when a man stopped us and warned (on Google Translate) not to go further as it was dangerously steep. That was enough of that! We thanked him and turned around. Our little Chevy Onix had to work to get back up the part we had come down. So glad we turned around!!

Jeff had read about Palacio d’Ouro (Palace of Gold), so we went there to check it out. The entry building had a 1929 Convertible Ford on display. It was in great shape! Jeff paid 100 BRL ($19.26) entry fee for both of us. The tour guide explained she didn’t speak English very well. We told her we would use Google translate. The guy explained there were seven stairs (he meant flights, which I did not hear). I said I thought it would be fine (and it was, I just took my time). Our tour started at 1130 and another older Brazilian couple joined us. They moved slowly too, so it worked out. The Google translation worked great! We were led through the main house and our guide, Tais, went in depth about the house and the time period furnishings, which were outstanding – including the hidden daggers in everyday objects, i.e. umbrellas, walking sticks, etc. She said it was a dangerous time, due to the gold. Tais was a fantastic guide. Some items on display that I liked best included an intact set of wash basin and toileting necessities in a small cabinet; measuring systems used for the gold; and a large music box. There was so much more…, but I’ll end with the basement which was a storage area, but they had set up info about the slaves/miners. It was fascinating. Lastly we went into a room displaying more artifacts, including an exorbitant prize list from the time (everything was brought into the area and was pricey), and the making of Cachaca – of which they had four samples: Fig, Guava, a Brazilian fruit “Jabuticaba”(did not translate), and Clove/Cinnamon. We were all given a sample of each to try! The place has a private label and makes its own!

When we exited the house, the tour continued on the grounds, and here were the other flights of stairs. We saw a Gold Purification Station; the Gardens – with its glorious views of the town with its surroundings; a Wall of Pigments – with different layered colors of the soft land that hides different minerals; and even went into the Paschoal Mine – donning hardhats and seeing stuff I can’t talk about…shhh! Lastly we went into a Slave House that was just an empty room, but had arrow slit openings for defense. That ended Tais’ tour (lasted just under two hours) at the now just closed cafe. But Tais opened it so we could buy some Cachaca, which we did – one Fig and one Clove/Cinnamon, which cost 84 BRL, or $16.11.

Then we went to a grocery store and back to our place. We did a Google Meet with the Ortho Dr. He made sure I was doing okay and then gave the great news: NO Surgery Needed!! There was not a tear. My bone seems to be bruised. So he said rest and to ice my knee. Yeah, so relieved! God is good!!! He then said he will send us the MRI results. We had a lunch of a salami/pepperoni, and cheese sandwich after and settled in to rest for the rest of the day. I let our families know the fantastic news. Supper was a lettuce salad and bread. It was a good day, and I don’t feel like I overdid, as we went very slow on the tour. Thanks again to everyone for your prayers!