Adventures with Adriano
October 2024 | Serra do Espinhaço, Minas Gerais
Field notes, photographs & musings from our recent 10-day bespoke adventure in the Serra do Espinhaço with Brazilian adventurer Adriano Rizzardo.
Gratitude. Day 4
I.
Birds, Bandies & Adventure
I first met Adriano in 2019, while living in the countryside of São Paulo. He was the rare veterinarian who treated birds in the small town where we lived. I was the rare walk-in wanting to rescue a wounded pigeon (it was my kids’ idea).
There was a giant, high-resolution photograph of Mount Roraima hanging on the wall of the reception area, and after our consultation ended, I asked him about it. We ended up talking at length about that particular trek, about the Amazon and Brazil in general and, eventually, about Toyota Bandeirantes (Vintage Brazilian Land Cruisers, of which we’re both stubbornly proud owners).
A few months later, one of my roosters accidentally injured one of my hens, mortally wounding her. I called Adriano, who rushed over in a second-generation Toyota Hilux to help. We’ve kept in touch ever since.
Calling Home. Day 6
Why I came. Day 10
Café. Day 3
In his element. Day 3
Such a PretTy View. Day 2
II.
Keeping touch & Making Plans
Adriano and I bonded over birds & Bandies, but we’ve kept up over the years because of our shared love of adventure, generally, and for life in the far corners of rural Brazil, specifically. Gift of Go was still in its infancy in 2019, but he accompanied our progress even in those early days, ever a voice of optimism, always thoughtful and encouraging.
He wanted to become one of our first clients, but time is hard to find for a veterinarian clinic owner with two young kids and a house full of horses, dogs, cats, turtles, fish, frogs, and bunnies. We began planning a trip in 2019, but were forced to reschedule a number of times over the years due to weather, emergencies, COVID, and life happenings. This year, in September, as Elisa & I were preparing to close our 2024 season, he unexpectedly reached out to rekindle those plans.
The Bridge. Pico do Itambé, Day 2
Crooked Kitchen. Fazenda Santa Cruz do Gavião, Day 5
Cave Saint. Rio Preto, Day 4
Cave break. Lapa dos Tropeiros, Day 4
The eastern edge
Pico Dois Irmãos, Day 3
III.
Expectations, Flexibility & Total Adventure
Adriano was able to carve out 12 days for a trip—10 days on the ground with Elisa and I, and a pair of 12-hour days of hard riding roundtrip to/from São Paulo on his Harley.
He knew exactly what he wanted: “total adventure”—isolation, mountain scenery, wild trails, camping, rustic food & culture. A trip that would help to clear his mind and reinvigorate him.
To be honest, “total adventure” is an easy ask in the Espinhaço, especially at the beginning of the rainy season. That said, mid-October is a tricky time to plan for (more on that in a bit). I asked if he’d be open to adjusting the itinerary on the fly in case the weather or conditions on the ground turned for the worse. He said it wasn’t an issue.
Plans A, B, and C came together quickly. It was going to be a total adventure.
Birds of a Feather.
Fazenda Santa Cruz do Gavião, Day 6
IV.
Field Trip & Friendship
Adriano is a dear friend and mentor to me, but he was with us in the Espinhaço as a traveler and a GOGO client.
Above all, he was our guest. The journey was his, and we approached it as we would for any other traveler.
The conversation on the trail might have come a bit easier than it would ordinarily, given our friendship, but at the end of his day, his health, safety, mindset, and enjoyment were at the forefront of everything Elisa and I did—which is great, because we both really enjoy that part of our work.
Let it heal. Conselheiro Mata, Day 10
Rainy Morning / Lazy Morning.
“Curralinho” (Extração), Day 7
Boquet. Macacos, Day 9
Acaba Mundo. Jequitinhonha River, Day 6
This view, for hours.
Pico do Itambé, Day 2
V.
Cardio, Optimism & TRust
In a lot of ways, Adriano is the ideal traveler for our Journeys. He’s adventurous, curious, and optimistic; experienced and composed in the backcountry; measured in his steps and humble about his abilities on the trail; and incredibly resilient and determined—all characteristics that I consider far more important than any non-critical fitness issue.
He’s in good physical condition: lean, strong, with a (very) healthy appetite and a solid cardio baseline. That said, he doesn’t trek nearly as frequently as he once did, and he confessed that he’d never attempted a day as long or demanding as Days 2 or 3 of our trip.
Following our golden hour descent of Pico Dois Irmãos on Day 3, his right knee began to swell considerably. We addressed it that evening, adjusted our itinerary accordingly (and became acquainted with a “new” historic trail along the way), and continued to monitor it for the next few days,.
Physical fitness—especially cardiovascular health—is important, but we don’t expect travelers to show up in the best shape of their lives. In fact, as a general rule, we find that even our most demanding treks tend to get easier as the miles add up.
There’s no substitute for optimism, though, or for communication or trust. Adriano was able to make it out of a challenging situation on Day 4, and to continue enjoying the expedition thereafter, because he was honest about his limits, wasn’t embarrassed to communicate his concerns, and trusted us to come up with a solution.
We don’t expect travelers to show up in the best shape of their lives, but they may find they leave like that.
Adriano, Seeker. Rio Preto, Day 3
Cerrado in bloom.
Pico do Itambé, Day 2
VI.
Wet, Wild October
It’s not common for us begin client trips in mid-October. The long dry season typically ends by late September, at which point storms become an increasingly daily occurrence. Lightning is less prevalent during this time than in the summer months (December - February), but downpours can be frequent & relentless. They can also be gorgeous.
Adriano’s situation was an outlier in that we’d originally scheduled his trip for mid-September before a last-second change of plans forced him back to October 15.
Despite our timing, we didn’t get a single drop of rain on the trail, and the benefits were amazing: calm, rainy evenings, misty mornings, lush savannah scenery, blooming flowers (and buzzing insects and lively birds), and no other folks on the trail.
Mid-October isn’t the best time to plan a multi-week trek in the region, but given the right itinerary and mindset, it’s an incredible time to be here.
home Cooking in Bom Sucesso. Day 6
VII.
MEal of The Trip
We ate and drank exceedingly well during Adriano’s trip, to the point that I came back heavier for a change. The main culprits were the usual suspects: incredible home-cooked meals during homestays most evenings, and ice-cold Heinekens that we poured, well, everywhere.
I’m partial to the comida caseira at Dona Maria’s home in Bica d ‘Agua, but Adriano and Elisa’s favorite meal of the trip was the wood-fired feast we devoured in the tiny, two-family outpost of Bom Sucesso, a bucolic former diamond-mining community where the roads are made of grass and the restaurant owner, Claudinho, has the keys to the local chapel.
Endless porçoes of crispy, piping hot torresmo (pork cracklings) and homemade potato chips (don’t judge until you have them) helped us get the Heinekens down, followed by an embarrassment of rice, beans, farofa, angú (polenta), frango caipira com quiabo (stewed country chicken with okra), taioba (a personal favorite of mine; a huge leafy green known alternatively as American taro or arrowleaf elephant’s ear), sauteed local vegetables, pasta, salad, and (you guessed it) torresmo & potato chips.
Luckily, our digs in the colonial-era mule-driver outpost of Curralinho were just a quick dirt-road drive away. Unluckily, we didn’t get a chance to walk those calories off.
Fazenda santa Cruz. Day 5
VIII.
The Fazenda
I need to say a word, even if briefly, about Fazenda Santa Cruz do Gavião (also referred to locally as A Fazendona, A Fazenda do Portugues, and various other colorful names) and its kind caretaker, Sr. Valdir.
Elisa & I had been wanting to get to know this place for a long time—at least two years—but, for various reasons, could never find the time to pay it a proper visit. Our trip to the ranch with Adriano on Day 5 was just our second time ever on the property (I’d walked there from Santo’s house back in July of this year, which is when I first met Valdir. He was coming down the trail in the opposite direction on his motorcycle), and our first time to spend the night. It was the highlight of the trip for me personally, and I know Valdir (and his month-old, nameless puppy) enjoyed & appreciated our visit, as well.
There are apparently a pair of trails on the property that lead to Chapada do Couto—one of which is partially paved with large stones, which Valdir says was built by slaves—and another that leads to Pindaíba (and the incredible waterfall of the same name), both of which are overgrown. If that is indeed the case, there’s a chance that we’ll be incorporating the Fazenda into our Serra Circuit, as its location between the Jequitinhonha River and the Chapada makes it convenient for both trekking & riding routes, and the ranch itself is everything we could hope for (historic, spacious, beautiful, peaceful, clean, with comfortable beds, piping hot water, an awesome kitchen, and a welcoming host) in an accommodation.
It was too rainy to explore the trails during the days that we were there with Adriano, as well as during a return visit that Elisa & I made the following weekend (the Fazenda being my new favorite place on earth to spend rainy days).
We’ll be back to explore, and to sit by the fire with a bottle of cachaça while listening to Sr. Valdir’s stories, before our season starts next year.
Senzala. Day 6
Old Cemetery. Day 6
FoGão a Lenha. Day 5
Old Souls. Day 6
Maria. Day 10
IX.
The HEaling Power of Real People, Real Food & Ice-cold Beer
Guiding Brazilian travelers in Brazil is a bit of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, Brazilian travelers are able to immerse much quicker in their surroundings, even when placed into the vastly different cultural & socio-economic circumstances presented on our trips. They’re also able to get a whole lot more out of the daily interactions we have with locals, be they hosts, guides, bartenders, shopkeepers, or even strangers on the street.
On the other hand, it’s a bit more challenging (though by no means impossible) to “wow” Brazilian travelers with local culture, and thus to push their comfort zones culturally speaking.
Adriano has a ton of qualities, but his humility & his humanity may be the two that stand out the most to me. Everywhere he went, he spoke with locals, and they loved it. “Total adventure” was the theme of his trip, but healing was the plot, and it was incredible to witness how healthy those repeated little interactions were for him.
It all adds up. The small talk. The stories. The smiles and hugs. The goodwill, prayers, and promises to come back to visit. I know it healed him. You could see it on him the moment he left.
Zé’s Backyard. Day 3
Dinner Tales. Day 2
Maria’s House. Day 10
Claudinho’s House. Day 5
The Holy Grail. Day 8
X.
Taquaral or bust
Back in Diamantina unexpectedly on the evening of Day 7, we rehashed our our options over pizza. We had a 3-day window of rain-free weather, and the gear required to go anywhere. Adriano wanted to go to Taquaral—arguably the single most daunting place to get to in the region, especially on short notice—because “total adventure”.
We could have steered him elsewhere, but I didn’t see a way to talk him out of wanting to go, and honestly, I wanted to go, too. So we made a trip of it, bookending the trek to Levi’s old house (in Taquaral) with a homestay at Erica’s beautiful new house in the quilombola community of Macacos (pop. <15) and a cozy rock-shelter in Sempre Vivas National Park that’s been used by travelers in the region for centuries.
Erica’s House. Day 7
Our Cave for the evening. Day 8
Gift of Go Face. Day 8
cave made cozy. Day 8
Mood, Post-Climb. Day 2
XI.
Mountain Climbing & Brotherhood
One of the craziest things about doing trips like these is the emotional void left when they end. You spend 16-18 hours a day awake together, every day, for 10 days in a row, side by side, talking, listening, learning, and enjoying each other’s company, even in silence, always within shouting distance of one another. Elisa & I spend the same amount of hours each day observing, interpreting, and worrying about your every word & step. And then the trip ends, and we all just return to our lives.
45 days after our trip with Adriano, we’ve barely spoken with him, and I know we don’t need to. The memories and feeling of the trip we just did will last us a while. Our friendship, already strong, was strengthened. With experiences like these, it becomes brotherhood. Adriano is an incredible man, a great friend, and an incredible companion on the trail. He knows if he needs something, I’m here, just as he has been for me.
We’ve climbed mountains together. What more is there to say.
Up on Top. Day 2
We did it. Day 2
