Another day. Given that NDH roving reporter Angel Gibson was elected along with Celia Allen-Graham to stay in Santiago, Chile to continue providing MSIA Services to those still looking for them there, Morton-after-Midnight has stepped forward to in some way fill this vast void in response to the very first MSIA staff trip to Belo Horizonte, Brazil. If you, like me, are wondering where in the world that could possibly be all you need do is consider the meaning in Portuguese which is “beautiful horizon.” You want to know more? Read on dear reader.
Vincent Dupont, Lesley Freeman, Ani Pacheco and yours truly began our journey today shortly after noon leaving for the Santiago airport after a leisurely morning in our hotel. We arrived at the airport to find that our connecting flight to Sao Paulo was delayed a bit to a 4PM departure. After takeoff, we made a lovely ascent above the snow-capped Andes across to Argentina and headed north arriving about 7:30PM in Sao Paulo. After clearing customs in short order we found 3 of the local MSIA folks, forgive me as I have already forgotten their names, were there to greet us and escort us to the domestic airline. Ani once again demonstrated her prodigious connections, regardless of where in Latin America we may be, for working our group into special treatment afforded to the airline customers who are frequent travelers. While we are frequent travelers around the world we are not qualified as such on this airline. Nonetheless, we are allowed to forego the long check-in line for a very short wait in the frequent traveler line.
While waiting, Lesley inquires about Belo Horizonte. She is told that it is in the desert, very hot, and characterized by lots of rocks.
Once we are checked in we have a mere 45 minutes until our scheduled (scheduled being the operative word) departure for Belo Horizonte at 10:30PM. After proceeding through security check we find out that after a recent local crash involving two planes colliding due to issues involving air traffic control that current flights out of Sao Paulo are routinely delayed due to intensified intensified safety procedures. We are told by the gate agent with a smile that our departure could be delayed from 1-4 hours. Allright, since we passed on the meal on the prior flight we seek comfort food in the tiny cafe near the gate. I find the Haagen Daz ice cream bar accompanied by an espresso to be the order du jour while my fellow travelers go for the bottled water and a stash of ginger cookies brought from home.
Just before midnight we liftoff for about an hour flight to Belo Horizonte arriving in the rain just before 1AM. After we pick up our luggage we are greeted by MSIA locals Roberta, Luis Fernando, Monica, and Tatiana who are there to pick us up and escort us to our Belo Horizonte hotel. Once outside we find the weather is cool and still raining some.
Roberta, my driver, tells me we have about an hour for our drive to our hotel which we found out was not the one which we had reserved because that one did not have non-smoking rooms. We are reserved instead in Belo Horizonte’s newest hotel, the Platinum, which indeed has non-smoking rooms, a relief for sure.
On the way, Roberta, which is pronounce in Portuguese as Hoberta, chats with me. I find out that her friends call her Ho. I tell her in the U.S. there is a slang version of that name that translates to whore but often is used as a term of endearment for a man to say about his woman. She does not understand so I use the Spanish version of the word, puta. Thankfully, she laughs, and I decide this is a good opportunity for a segue and change the subject to minerals. Turns out that the region has lots of minerals and carries the Portuguese term. I ask if there are lots of mines. There are not. I decide that’s a good opportunity to change the subject again rather than delve into my lack of knowledge about how the minerals are found and processed.
I find out that Belo Horizonte has a population of about 2.5 million and our journey through the night reveals rolling hills and gentle surrounding mountains. When I tell Roberta that we were told it was in a desert and very hot she responds that whoever said that must have been joking. I can see palm trees as we drive along the road and I am told the area is known for its natural lushness and beauty. She says it’s unusually cool at the moment and she is wearing a leather jacket and scarf but has the air conditioning on and I am cooler than I like. I figure this is just part of the exotic character of the Brazilian culture and go along with what the Belo Horizontes do.
As we are approaching central Belo Horizonte I inquire about Roberta’s work. She responds that she travels a lot in her position working for the United Nations with local projects around Brazil. She then mentions she is driving home, I have a brief moment considering how she is a lovely woman, and then she tells me she does this journey automatically because her travel takes her frequently from the airport to home. I also find out that Insight Seminars are active locally with a recent Insight I completion.
It’s about this time that I realized that I would be writing this article and that I would need to submit it before laying my head down for some rest. I inquire as to when our MSIA services are scheduled for later today and am told 2PM which by usual MSIA standards is quite late. I think Belo Horizonte and I immediately understand how natural this is for what is present here. I should have been clued in earlier when Roberta asked if I would like to have dinner before arriving at the hotel. I forgave myself for my obvious awkwardness in bringing my imported sense of dinner time to a land where dinner is in a desert where it rains and is cool, where the minerals are not mined but are readily available, and where Services begin in the afternoon after a good morning’s rest. And where Morton-after-Noon is alive and well-tanned preparing for a presentation of the PTS Letting God and Letting Go Belo Horizonte style.
Click here to read Days 1 through 4 with Angel Gibson.
Click here to read Days 5 through 8 with Angel Gibson.
Click here to read Days 9 through 12 with Angel Gibson.
