Adventures with Adriano
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 (Eddie) first met Adriano in 2019, when my kids & I were living in the countryside of São Paulo. Adriano 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 his clinic, 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 foolishly 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
In his element. Day 3
Café. Day 3
Such a PretTy View. Day 2
II.
Keeping touch & Making Plans
Adriano & 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 & 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. Day 2
Crooked Kitchen. Day 5
Cave Saint. Day 4
Looking Pretty. Day 6
View from Dois Irmãos. Day 3
III.
Expectations & Flexibility
Adriano was able to carve out 12 days for a trip—10 days on the ground with Elisa & 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—but mid-October is a tricky time to plan for (more on that in a bit). I asked if he’d be open to us adjusting our itinerary on the fly in case the weather turned for the worse. He said it wasn’t an issue.
Plans A, B, and C came together quickly. It was definitely going to be a total adventure.
Birds of a Feather. Day 6
IV.
Field Trip & Friendship
Adriano is a dear friend & mentor to me, but he was with us in the Espinhaço as 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 & I did—which is great, because we both really enjoy that part of our work.
Rainy Morning, Lazy Morning. Day 7
Acaba Mundo. Day 6
Boquet. Day 9
Let it heal. Day 10
This view, for hours. Day 2
V.
Cardio, Optimism & TRust
In a lot of ways, Adriano is the ideal traveler for our trips. He’s adventurous, curious, unpretentious, and ambitious; experienced & composed in the backcountry; measured in his steps and humble about his abilities on the trail; and incredibly optimistic & determined—all characteristics that I consider far more important than any non-critical physical disability.
He’s also in good—if not great—physical condition: thin, strong, with a healthy appetite and good cardiovascular health. He doesn’t trek as frequently as he once did, however, nor had he ever completed 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 (which, by itself, was an accomplishment), his right knee began to swell considerably. We addressed it that evening, continued to monitor it for the next few days, and adjusted our itinerary accordingly, even getting to know a new (historic) trail along the way.
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 kilometers add up. There is 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 his trip thereafter, because he was humble about his limits, he wasn’t embarrassed to communicate his concerns, and he 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. Day 3
Cerrado in bloom. Day 2
VI.
Wet, Wild October
We don’t usually begin client trips in mid-October. The long (7-month-ish) 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 may not be the ideal time to plan a multi-week trek in the region, but given the right itinerary & mindset, it’s an incredible time to be here.
Down-home Cooking in Bom Sucesso. Day 6
VII.
MEal of The Trip
We ate & drank exceedingly well during Adriano’s trip, to the point that I came back heavier, for a change. The main culprits were (as usual) the incredible home-cooked meals we enjoyed during our homestays most evenings, as well as the 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 & Elisa’s favorite meal of the trip was the wood-fired feast we devoured in the tiny, two-family outpost of Bom Sucesso, an incredibly bucolic former diamond-mining community where the roads are made of grass and the restaurant owner, Claudinho, has the keys to the local (impeccably maintained) chapel.
Endless porçoes of crispy, piping hot torresmo (pork cracklings) & 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.
Gaúcha + 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
Claudinho’s House. Day 5
Maria’s House. Day 10
Dona Maria’s Kitchen. Day 2
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
cave made cozy! Day 8
I Can’t Believe we’re about to do this. 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
