Far away, right here

Asteroid B612

celinskiadventures — Wed, 27 May 2015 05:49:52 GMT

The Little Prince of Exupèry was there. I could feel it in the air. When grandpa said we would pass by the island of Paquetá, I have not given much importance. There are so many places to visit in the city of Rio de Janeiro, so an island of 4,500 inhabitants where were shot some scenes of a famous Brazilian soap opera would be in the end of my list. But grandpa insisted. It was one of the places that he and grandma visited on their honeymoon. They wanted to go there once again.

The experience of visiting Paquetá is somewhat surreal. This small island is a very different neighborhood of the city of Rio de Janeiro - to get there the only way is by ferry.

So we fled from the hustle of the big city and went to the XV Square to take a ferry to the island. While hurried workers passed by us, running to start another day of work, we were going against the flow.

When we arrived and I put my feet in the island, I suspected that the ferry was a time machine in disguise. The old houses of masonry, the gulls, the stone streets and the carriages... every detail remitted to a Rio de Janeiro lost over the years.

We spent a day on the island. In the morning, we did a tour of carriage seeing the most beautiful views of the region. At the end of the tour, the Baobab found us, as a hidden gem. In the book of Exupèry, this tree is a nightmare for the Little Prince. As he lives on a planet that is a little bigger than himself, the Little Prince daily needs to do the toilet of his planet to find the seeds of Baobab, because these trees are giants also in real life and they can reach up to 25 meters height.

But in Paquetá, the Baobab isn’t a villain and it guards a legend: "Long-term luck to who kisses and respects me. But seven years of delay to every evil done to me". I did not have doubts and I kissed the Baobab immediately. Why risk seven years of delay? I was so happy to find this tree that was part of my childhood, when I dreamed of the Little Prince, his rose and sneaky baobabs that could dominate his planet in a heartbeat!

While returning to Rio de Janeiro, I note that the sun's reflection in the water left the sea all shining. It was like a thousand diamonds were burning around me. Grandpa was right. This trip to Paquetá was extraordinary. Amid all these bright lights, these stars in the ocean, I felt like I had also made a trip to the small planet of the Little Prince, the Asteroid B612. And after this experience, life would never be the same again.

Photos: Ride 4X4: Tijucas do Sul - Paraná - Brazil

celinskiadventures — Sat, 5 Jul 2014 03:56:00 GMT

Photos: Ride 4X4: Prudentópolis - Paraná - Brazil

celinskiadventures — Wed, 4 Jun 2014 03:27:00 GMT

The Polish Prison

celinskiadventures — Thu, 15 May 2014 11:40:06 GMT

Once upon I was seventeen years old, I was crying in Rome. I had just arrived in the city and it was late. After 12 days on Polish roads, I was dying to say some words in Italian to anyone. Even a priest. Well, I ended up finding one when I arrived at the hotel. But he didn't speak Italian at all. No one there spoke it. Maybe the best phrase to describe my situation is this: "You can leave Poland, but Poland will never leave you", because all the people of that supposed "Italian hotel" spoke Polish. The guide of the tour group that I participated fooled everyone. Instead of a hotel in central Rome, as previously promised, we stopped at a Polish Association around the city. It was a 30-minute subway ride to the city center. Basically, I was at the end of the world. We had a curfew at 22 pm. No one could enter the Association (or as we affectionately nicknamed: our Polish Prison) after this time. During the morning, or you left the prison before 8 am or after 9 am. The gates closed during that time because it was time for mass. And when I first had heard all these crucial information, I sat in my bag and looked at the Roman sky. The crying was uncontrollable. I wondered to myself: How did I end up here? I know I was being a bit dramatic. But I was young and full of dreams. I've always imagined knowing Rome like I was in a Fellini's film. In the end of the trip, these days in the Eternal City were nothing like I've imagined, but they were a crazy Fellini's odyssey anyway! That first day, while I cried looking at the starry sky of Rome, my sister found the only person who could help us, the only priest of our Polish Prison who spoke a bit of Italian. Then she discovered how to take the subway to the center of Rome. That was our plan: escape from prison. And also escape from the guide who fooled us. We woke up very early. We walked quietly until we had passed the gates of the Polish Prison. The heart of Rome was waiting for us. We had no choice. We runned away.

Photos: Ride 4X4: Colony Routes in Araucária and Campo Largo - Paraná - Brazil

celinskiadventures — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 00:09:00 GMT

I participated of this 4X4 tour with my father, along with the group "Rastros Expedições". The tour went through the dirt roads near the towns of Araucaria and Campo Largo, in the state of Paraná, southern Brazil. In the photos you can check the colonies Antonio Rebouças, Cristina, Dona Mariana and the Dam of Green River. The day (13.04.2014) was a bit cloudy, but I could capture some beautiful moments, like the typical tree of Paraná - araucaria -, animals in their natural habitat and old buildings of Italian and Polish immigrants, who first established in the region.

Photos: Passport & Plate - Russian kiss

celinskiadventures — Fri, 14 Mar 2014 07:40:00 GMT

For some, Christmas must have Secret Santa. Or a warm turkey that just left the oven. But for me and my family, Christmas is only Christmas if it has "Russian Kiss" to eat with coffee. This traditional Brazilian cake is a necessary ingredient of my family Christmas and this recipe has been made for over 40 years on these occasions. My mother Tatiana brought the recipe for the family. When she was ten years old, she used to spent her weekends cooking with her best friend Simone. They wanted to learn the best recipes that their mothers knew! It was with the mother of her friend, Mrs. Eugenia, that my mother learned the recipe of the famous "Russian Kiss". My mother told me that Mrs. Eugenia was a very nice lady, famous for the sweets that she made for birthday parties. And when my mother brought home some pieces of "Russian Kiss" for the first time, my grandparents and uncles loved them. The pieces of cake ended quickly! Then my grandmother learned how to make the recipe too, as my aunt, and later, me and my sister. And now every Christmas we make this delicious cake with plums, chocolate and the Brazilian "doce de leite" (milk sweet). On these occasions, if you are not quick enough, when you will search for pieces of "Russian Kiss" it's probably that they have already finished! Recipe Ingredients: For the cake: - 2 cups of sugar - 3 cups of wheat flour - 1 and 1/2 cup of chopped prunes - 1 and 1/2 cup of butter or margarine - 6 eggs - 6 spoons (soup) of chocolate powder - 2 level spoons (soup) of baking powder For the filling: - 1 can of "doce de leite" (sweet milk) * This filling ingredient is typically Brazilian, widely used in traditional Brazilian candies. Preparation 1) Take the eggs and separate the yolks from the whites. With an electric mixer, beat egg whites until it gets fluffy. 2) Leave this cream waiting, while in another bowl you put the egg yolks, margarine and sugar. Mix these three ingredients until it gets creamy. 3) Mix the cream of whites with this second cream of yolks, margarine and sugar. Beat until it gets consistent. 4) Add the chocolate powder and flour. Mix again. 5) After mixing well, add the baking powder (yeast) and mix slowly. 6) Add the prunes and mix very well. 7) Take a form and grease. 8) After put the mass at the form, put to bake in a preheated oven (200 degrees) 20-30 minutes, depending on the oven. 9) After cooling the mass, cut into cubes. Cut each cube in half and fill it with "doce de leite" (sweet milk). After this process, sprinkle each cube with sugar.