In late 2000 or early 2001, Ron Newark (CE 70-72) and I were on the phone and he said something like "We really ought to go back to Brasil." ( Ron and I served two years in CE - 1970-1972 - Crato and Sobral respectively - we somehow managed to stay in touch ever since ). At the time I thought " What a great idea ", but like many a " wouldn't it be nice to..." thoughts.... wasn't really sure it would ever happen.
17 October 2003 - 24 hours after leaving Pennsylvania (lots of talk about direct flights to Fortaleza from Miami, but couldn't find any, other than charters like the one for the Motorcycle 6 day Enduro held in Ceará early November this year - first one south of the equator). I arrive in the new Pinto Martins Airport (FOR) - Ron comes in the next day. Everything's in order, bags are where they're supposed to be, an attendant outside is organizing the travelers and cabs, so there's no confusion whatsoever. I get in with Sergio (every driver has a business card - all are willing to quote a price for side trips of which there are endless possibilities). I tell him my destination and he corrects my pronunciation (hey, after 31 years, there's going to be some rust...), but I do my best to tell him I was here 31 years ago (before he was born) etc., etc. I tell him I'm an americano which seems to surprise him, he thinks I'm "um holandes".
Fortaleza is barely recognizable. Expressways wind through high rise apartments until we get close to the Clube Nautico, which has remained (except for being open, on a limited basis, to the public) the same - Avenida Beira Mar is now one way and lined with high-rise hotels and broad sidewalks with something going on from 6:00 am to midnight. Somehow the south of Brazil has become aware of the beauty of the climate and beaches of the nordeste. Half a million visitors a year, 85% from Rio, São Paulo, Minas, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande du Sul etc., 15% estrangeiros from Italy, Portugal, France and Germany. Very few Americans - those that do arrive come mostly for work (two new natural gas fired power plants in Pecem - the wind powered equipment is of German origin).
Ron and I joked that it could be a problem finding cab drivers or others old enough to remember Fortaleza as we remembered it - but we did - Mauricio Gomes (from Natal) came to Fortaleza in 1972, Seu Gomes was 57, from the sertão (Jaguaribe area) but had lived in Fortaleza much of his life. Back in the early 70's (and I'm sure before) the center of town was the Praça do Ferreira, Hotel Savanah, Mercado Central, etc. - all that's now in the more or less older part of town. There's a new Mercado Central, a large and impressive cultural center - O Dragão do Mar (p) - still in the same basic area of the cathedral which is unchanged. One of Ron's and my favorite landmarks, the restaurant "O Lido" has vanished - there's a high-rise apartment building standing on the spot where it used to be - close to a new center of activity around the Ponte do Ingleses, lots of restaurants, o Pirata - Forro - from 9:00 pm - 4:00 am. The entire city has moved north and eastward towards the Praia do Futuro. Back to Sobral - Seu Gomes and I aee on a price to drive to Sobral and back ( in hindsight, I would have spent much more than two weeks on this return trip ). Mr. Gomes had also worked in Sobral in the '70's operating heavy equipment building acudes - 10 or so days in Sobral, couple of days in Fortaleza, and back to Sobral. One thing that has not gotten better is the road to Sobral ( BR 222 ) - under federal jurisdiction - but we make it in a little over three hours. Sobral is now 2 - 3 times bigger than it was, even Seu Gomes is thrown off by the one way streets and traffic lights. We manage to find my old neighborhood, bairro de sumare, as well as the pensão (now closed ) where he used to stay. The bairro seems narrower and more crowded (even though much larger and improved), the mountains surrounding Sobral much larger.
One constant that, by definition, hasn't changed is the "povo, espiríto, and alma brasileiro" the ability to succinctly sum up a situation with just a word or two, the warmth and ease just to talk, and the creativity to make the best out of what they have. I can't wait to go back...
Karl Schnell CE 70-72 |
