In 1986 I was working as a reporter in El Salvador and I got dengue fever in the midst of all my other preoccupations trying to survive in a war. There was no vaccine available but I failed completely to protect myself against mosquitoes, so where the bullets missed the insects struck.
Nowadays you can get vaccinated and they have the vaccine available here so we investigated. The clinic said we needed a doctor’s note so Layne got to work and found this public health clinic. They were fascinated by our request written out on Google translate. We struggled to give them some basic information…name, passport number, age, state of health… and once again I wished Brazil had been colonized by the Spanish.
They found an English speaking doctor and in ten minutes we had our prescription. Cost? Absolutely nothing. Off we went to get the shot at the clinic in the mall. Google translate to the rescue again and we presented our Florida drivers licenses (!) and our prescription and the shot itself I didn’t even feel, the needle was so tiny. Cost? US$40 each. We have to get a follow up shot after three months, probably in Chile. Dengue fever is also known as “break bone fever” because it feels just like that. It’s also known as “black water fever” because you piss blood which is quite startling I can assure you from experience.
As I understand it there are four variants and were I to be infected a second time with the same variant there is a high probability of the disease becoming hemorrhagic which turns your organs to mush and kills you.
I think one reason I didn’t get malaria in the Amazon was because I was so scared of getting dengue I covered myself in repellent all the time. Layne wasn’t quite as devoted to the concept, and neither us was contemplating the malarial danger, so an infected mosquito got through to her. The doctors said she was lucky not to get dengue which is much rougher on the system and has a lot longer recovery time. Wasn’t I lucky to be 29 when I got dengue?
We did some food shopping at the Carrefour attached to the Boulevard Mall, the place where we got our shots. But first we paused for a cup of coffee and Layne learned something new. It turns out when you ask for a cappuccino you get a sort of cafe mocha. A cappuccino in Brazil it turns out is a coffee with a bunch of melted chocolate in the bottom of the cup. Weird and unexpected but luckily we like melted chocolate.
Christmas is over so now the sakes begin and we saw lots of cakes, Italian panettone hand off as well as these rather peculiarity boxes celebrating the life of Brasília's founder, the ever present JK, and half off no less! Nine bucks for a Christmas basket, clearly a deal.
In photographing our daily life I try to show some of the oddities we find on the road but also to highlight the familiarity of daily life.
For instance I’m not used to seeing vegetables sold in bags. Mushrooms and diced potatoes and cubed beetroots. Ideal not only for a busy mother but also for single men traveling in boats or vans. And tomato sauce they sell by the ton and this tasty green elephant below, is a local brand. Layne was not tempted. You want tomato products? Knock yourself out:
I went looking for black tea as the quartermaster is reporting we are getting dangerously low of my favorite Yorkshire Gold brand from England. I am suffering with this red box as a test. I wish I’d bought Ceylon Tea in the Guyanas where the concept of drinking decent tea is not alien. I can’t be bothered with loose leaf but a decent teabag is a thing of joy.
The misery of life on the road. And if you don’t feel like going to a modern mall you can given in the street even while having lunch. Layne got a new pair of earbuds for five bucks and made him happy. And so we live in the capital city of Brazil. We have extended our stay through February first in the apartment to give Alessandro time to finish refurbishing our home. Already he has installed our new gray air the kitchen sink, easy to remove and pour out and equipped with an overflow valve to prevent spills in the van. He’s designing a slide out, removable trash can to fill the space on top while leaving the jug easy to access and remove. I’m looking forward to what he comes up with. Anyway Uber is our mobility and I like taking random shots as we drive across the vast spacious expanses of this strange but pleasing city. Here are some views of Brasilia, not monuments, just streets: Rusty out walking of course… I hope you have a good Sunday even if you aren’t enjoying summer in Brasilia. Lake Paranoá on the way to see GANNET2:
Planalto where we live was the original neighborhood built to house the workers building the city.
This is a small slice of the Federal District:
Central Brasilia’s urban design, pedestrian centered apartment complexes located close to shops but separated from traffic by trees:
Shops:
Urban Forest:
Sunrise at home courtesy of Rusty’s unrestrained joy at the arrival of a new day. No one sleeps when he’s ready to go out certainly not me.
