Hello again! I got
back from my trip and now will write about my experiences, one city at a
time.
We started our tour of the north east of Brazil in the capital, Brasília. It was founded in 1960, created to be the new capital. The previous capital was Rio de Janeiro and since 1810 the plan had been to move the capital more inland and away from the danger of the ocean. Brasília is a city clearly planned; it did not grow like a majority of the cities and capitals of the world. From an aerial view you can see that it forms a cross or an airplane, depending on how you choose to look at it. The buildings are new, and blocky, more like New York City than what I would imagine Brazil. We visited the important political as well as tourist points in the city. We went to the Cathedral, the National Congress building, the Park of the Three Powers (were the Planalto Palace is located and where the President governs) and the Alvorada Palace, which is the official residence of the President of the Republic. I liked the church the most. We entered and the workers gave the girls long skirts and the boys pants to wear, to cover any inappropriate skin. In the middle of the church there is a spiral that you can walk, without shoes, in a circle following the path. The way there is black marble and when you get to the middle, the path changes to white and leads you out. The idea is that if you walk this path you get rid of any negative energy that you may be carrying with you. We were told that we were of course welcome to walk it or not, but had to be careful not to walk across the path and disrupt the paths and energies of anyone else. Clearly I walked it. It was a beautiful visual for the purpose. I will say that halfway through my skirt that they lent me almost fell off, not very divine! But now I can say that I left all of my negative energy in Brasília.
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Its not everyday that you find a statue like this… live long and prosper!
