The Jardim Botânico

11 nov. 2009

The Jardim Botânico is the Botanical Garden. My friend Debbie did an internship there for the whole stay. It has a lot to do with what she studies I forgot if it was like environmental with bio or if it was botanical something. But anyway, she brought me here finally and I got to meet a whole bunch of her super cool colleagues, like Arivaldo in this picture:

They all taught me a little more about botany and plant names and history. These people were really really knowledgable. Oh by the way a culture note: when I got there and started talking to the researchers and botanists etc, and at seperate times like 4 people told me "você fala português bem melhor do que ela...ela fala bem puxado" and I thought it was really funny and unexpected that people would just straight up tell someone "you speak way better than her", right in front of the other person and talk about how she speaks with difficulty.
I guess that's not really rude, I mean I don't think I'd be very offended but I am just not used to it and I think it could be percieved as something rude to say in California by most people. But anyway we thought it was funny especially cause Debbie was like "Yeah it's cause she speaks Spanish too". Anyway....


We went through a section where they're growing little Pau Brasil I think it was
oh right so this garden although it has a part of of in-pot growing plants, there is also a huge section that is meant for no touching nothing by one of the botanist students there, I think he's going to be writing a dissertation on this project of trying to remake a section close to what the forest would have looked like before colonization.



Oh I was having a blast with all the trees and plants. I love all this biodiversity and learning about the origins. For example the picture below is a Jaca tree!
Otherwise known as Jack Fruit in English. The Portuguese brought it from Asia (Malaysia area). And Jack fruit is super popular in a lot of Asian food and drinks. It's really quite delicious.
Baby Jaca
They opened one up with the machete that Arivaldo was carrying around. This is a very unripe one but nonetheless id kind of looks like that except the pulp is more of a bright yellow. However, apparently my mãe likes it a little green. But the researchers like it nice and yellow and sticky.
Growth to me is an interesting phenomena, and concept.

Then we went into this area in which they are growing a lot of the most commonly used herbs and plants in candomble ceremonies. It is interesting to note that most of the plants used in candomble have healing properties.

I totally forgot what the uses were of each one particularly but I know I took a few leaves of the one for stomach ache. You make a tea out of the leaves. Then there are some for headaches and a lot of things, I'm so sad i didn't write this down.
This one however is poisonous if consumed. Its colloquial name is "nobody can with me"

The jesus christ crown




This bright flourescent, fuchsia tree is around Algebra's house too, and I love how it spreads a bright fuchsia blanket all over the lawn and anything under it. These pictures are anything but exaggerating the color, my camera couldn't really capture it well but it's super bright pink!
Then I was about to go home when there was a huge traffic jam, we never found out what happened possibly a crash but people just decided to get off the buses and walk to wherever they were going. So I decided to wait a little longer there. --I stayed till closing.

The image that this garden uses on their logo or whatever is this pendulum tree. It's really really cool it looks like a tropical Christmas tree really. These little spheres just hang off the branches.


they showed me around the various steps they work on to archive the plants they're working with. Those wooden rack things are used to dry out the plants.
Check out the Nescau! researchers gotta have their chocolate milk, you know.
What they are working on now is collecting various parts of a plant, like the seed, the flower, the other things that are indicative of their structure.

They also showed me around the record room. And I apparently thought archiving was bloody hilarious. But what they do is they have a large part of the plant with the roots preferably and in a bag in the corner they have to include the seed, and I never thought about it but the flower is super important too; without the flower the plant can be indistinguishable from another apparently. There is also a description there too. There were soooo many archives and the room was cold so we didn't stay very long.
Arivaldo and his girlfriend were going to a concert near where I live so he offered to take me home but we had to pick up his girlfriend first...to be continued

Feira de São Joaquim!

05 Nov 2009
Today we went to the Feira de São Joaquim, a local farmer's market that is open every day but has the freshest produce on Fridays and Saturdays.
They sell things from fruits to artisan baskets to religious products. I'll go through some of the things we saw and if you want to look the fruits and what not up in Wikipedia you can click on the word and it'll send you there, but I will most likely spend posts talking about the individual foods later :)

This farmer's market is huge and overwhelming, like my mãe says, it takes several visits to actualy see everything. I think this and another big farmer's market (it sounds like there are only two big ones in Salvador) is where my family gets all our produce once a week.

It is easy to get lost in it. Which is what happened to us. But it has its organization. The market is relatively organized in sections.
So here is a part of the basket and cage section:

Then of course the largest section is the produce section.

umbu fruit right above and below.

graviola

amendoim (peanuts)

óleo de dendê

I'm not really sure what these roots above are.

spices and honey

olho de cabra

curry
large cinnamon sticks
Now I know where my mom got gets her caruru dried shrimp.
rapadura are like little blocks of cane sugar. Usually used in cooking for special occasions.

jenipapo

Then we come to the religious section which has a lot of things for candomblé and syncretic folks.

These herbs are a major part of the candomble faith because it is a religion very in touch with and respectful to the natural environment.
some Candomblé beads.

Orixá statues.

these bowls are used for placing the said herbs.

scented oils and waters play a part in the ceremonies as well.


Then there is the artcrafts and woven stuff section. I love this effective little fan.


Then, as usual, we got the munchies and visited this Lanchonete. I actually really wanted a burger... but... I had just eaten. There's nothing like Latin American street burgers! oohh yum!

But I ordered an acai juice with other fruits blended into it.

the famous mandioca
some more open-air area.
Oh my friend who is very prone to sun burn is here with a stick of aloe vera, getting prepared for our trip to praia do flamengo planned for tomorrow.
Little chiles! But don't be fooled they can be very very spicy.
Maxixe (center-ish) and jiló on the bottom
Then there is a whole CANDY section! there are like 20 stands all with mountains and mountains of candy.

Then there is a meat section. Most of us could not enter because of the meat smell. But I'm sure they had quite a variety of meat.

Oh we were exhausted after this but it was very fun, and people are always willing to answer questions about fruits and other things. Go on a Saturday! or Friday!