Sacrificing Testicles for Lunch on the Farm

With a 6am cackling of Roosters, making a 7am sharp departure was quite simple. Necessary items to me were IPOD and Bug Spray. I asked Lorenzo if pants and boots were necessary. He said shorts and sneakers. Oddly, he was wearing pants, but I continued on.

This was literally the worst car ride of my life. A brazillian driver was sent from an Italian man by the name of GianCarlo who owns a farm in the middle of the Amazon on a lake. The car was a volkswagen but not what you think, more like the old days when they were small and uncomfortable. Im in the back as he goes full speed of 150 k per hour which is about 120 miles per hour on a one lane road with massive potholes that he swerves to miss. Lets not forget the Mcdonalds the night before and the Malaria medication that has stomach side effects.

The car does not come with shocks and I weigh more than 80 percent of the brazillians that are tall. All I keep thinking is, we have to do this on the way back - in the dark! Lorenzo told me it was a 3 hour drive. That was an estimation at 120 mph. So with the constant pothole swerving, bump avoiding, and passing slow cars, it took more like 4.

As we pass over the bridge into ITACOATIARA, I start noticing the outside beauty. We travel down a dirt road directly to a spectacular massive farm. We arrive to a man in shorts - nothing else - cooking fish he caught in his lake on a grill. He is a retired professor who speaks numerous languages, but prefers Italian. I never knew how much I remember from my school days. I understand a lot of what he says and because of that, he loves me. He was a bit concerned by my first name - having no understanding, but once he got that my last name was GALLO we were best friends.

He never told me the story of why he left Italy at 28 and moved to Brazil where he has spent the rest of his life. But his knowledge is incredible and he chooses to live and eat on this farm. His wife and three kids plus grandkids live here as well. He has one son in Manaus who became a doctor.
He takes me on a tour of the whole farm of which I took many pictures and videos that will make you smile and laugh at times. I became enamoured with how serious he was about eating off the farm. We chopped open Brazil nuts and fruits I never heard of. We ate fish from the lake. I got to see grass fed cows and drink natural water from a cocoa tree. It became clear I was foreign with my constant application of bug spray, my picture taking, my clothing choices (absolutely needed pants and boots) and my constant concern for eating anything.

But I did get a moment to myself on top of a boat overlooking the lake that is attached to the Amazon River. Made me feel a little like my summers in NH but without all the noise, without all the boats and waves, and completely untouched by humankind. It was beyond breathtaking. To see something as natural as described in books or dreams. There is a connection, but I dont know what.

After eating together with the family, it was time to go and visit the city of ITACOATIARA. We thanked Giancarlo and his family --

Oh and by the way, it is as old school as it gets. The women do all the work of the house and the man is clearly in charge of all things.

ITACOATIARA is a mini town on the amazon river. It is where the road ends from Manaus. Its sort of a sad town as there are tremendous amount of Favellas (people living on public land in wooden made tents) - terribly impoverished but somewhat happy. They dont know another way of life. The driver takes me on a tour of the neighborhoods and I observe with the camera. I am taking in the place I will call home for a week upcoming. There are a lot of people here who need help but unfortunately the bigger picture is without a doubt political and business related. That is Lorenzos mission. To find a way to mend business, politics and the people so that towns like ITA can move out of suffering and use their land to provide them a quality of life.

It gets dark at 5 oclock over here as we are in the middle of winter so Lorenzo is itching to go - which I find comical because only a half our of our drive will be in daylight. The drive back was as much a nightmare as imagined and I started to get a strong sensation of pain in my testicles. I was becoming hungry and cranky (so hard to suck it up as an American). I make a few comments and we stop at a buffet. UGGGG! beef, chicken, rice and beans again. But this time it looks rather old - laying out for a while with flys taking their share.

As the pothole swerving continued I felt frustrated but decided to bite my tongue. A super-market stop for some bottled water, eggs, cheese and activia (dont ask). I have to go to the bathroom to see if the pain would subside. It didnt. I suffered another 30 minutes until we finally reached home.

10 minutes in my bed and the pain subsided. I hope someday I can still have kids. I fall asleep with the remnants of bumping vibrating through my body...