TAWOMG - Born again in Australia

Dear Friends:

Last Friday Fernando, Patrícia and Marta flew back to South America. I am travelling alone again. I am still in Sydney, but on Monday I will fly to Hong Kong. Now that my cousins have arrived safely at home and our family has seen that they are OK, I can report the awful car accident that we had in South Australia ten days ago.

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We were driving from Princetown to Adelaide on the coast road. Fernando and Patrícia planned to stay in Adelaide, visiting friends. Marta and I were due to Barossa Valley. 300 Kms before Adelaide we stopped in Kingston to tank. Another car also tanked at the same gas station and took the same road as us. I was driving and overtook them a few kms after the tank station. Then for roughly one hour and about 100 Kms that car followed us, keeping all the time 200 to 300 meters distance. All was well: the road was good, it was still day light, there was almost no traffic and Patrícia and Marta were sleeping on the back seats. Then, all of a sudden, a wild, big, adult Kangaroo jumped in front of the car, coming out of the blue. It was completely unexpected!

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When I saw the kangaroo, he was already in front of the car. My instinctive reaction was to avoid hitting him. In doing so, our car went off the road. I tried to come back to our lane, but then the car crossed both lanes and went again off the road, on the right side. There was a moment that the car lost contact with ground and therefore I completely lost control of it. We landed again in just two wheels, in diagonal to the road, and it was a miracle that the car didn't roll over. I strongly believe that our guard angels were well awaken and took care of us. When the four wheels were back to ground I could somehow control the car and succeeded to stop it. When I left the car, there was a cloud of dust behind us. I first thought there had been a fire, but soon realized it was the dust provoked by our zigzagging.

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From the cloud of dust emerged a couple of Swedes, those that were driving behind us. The first thing that the man told me was "You were born again. You know it, don't you?" His wife said: "When we saw the kangaroo jumping in front of the car and all that followed, we were convinced you would all die. It was awful to see it all happen and we could do nothing about it."

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Afterwards we were told that we were lucky not to hit the kangaroo. Bueno, it was also great news for him. Nevertheless, the driver side of the car was pretty damaged and we had one flat tire. It seemed we could continue our journey to Adelaide after changing the tire. The Swedes stayed there with us until we fixed everything, put all bags back and left. They also agreed to continue driving behind us, just in case we needed help. Their presence and solidarity was the biggest help that they could give us and from here I would like to thank them again for all that they have done! In Adelaide Paula and Sergio welcomed all of us at their home and we are also extremely thankful to all that they did for us!

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"You were born again. You know it, don't you?" These words and the kangaroo jumping in front of the car came often back to my mind in the days following the accident. If the Swede is right, then my first life finished 200 Kms south of Adelaide and the second one started a few seconds and 400 meters later. The next day, Marta and I moved to a hotel in Glenelg, a beach in Adelaide. With Fernando and Patrícia, we spent the afternoon there, relaxing from the terrible experience of the previous day. On the photos you can see the survivors eating lunch in Glenelg: pilot with a glass of Barossa Valley in his hand, co-pilot on his side and passengers. You also see the sunset in Glenelg, the end of the first day of my second life!


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We live in a world where most of us try very hard to do the safest possible things most of the time. We are no longer used to the idea that unfortunately accidents do happen, some are unpredictable and cannot be avoided and tragedy can just be around the corner and may occur within seconds - or even less. One wild Kangaroo just reminded us that things can go wrong with no previous warning and the worst may happen when we least expect it.

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At the same time, I also wish to share with you what we have learned from this experience: first of all, do always wear the safety belt when in a car. If we were not wearing them, the outcome of the accident could have been a tragedy; do pay heed to the road signs, even if it looks very unlikely that an animal like a kangaroo may cross the road - there is a good reason for the signs to be there; do respect the speed limits - if we were driving faster, it would have been either more difficult or even impossible to stop the car without rolling over; keep a safe distance from the car in front of you; and do help others - sometimes just your physical presence near those in need can be of great help.

Wish you a happy Easter and a good week! It is so good to be alive!

Maurício

PS - The accident involved great tension and intense stress. As a result, I got some grey hair. So, next time we meet, if you think that I grew older, you already know - blame the car accident and the kangaroo!

TAWOMG - One morning to be remembered

Dear Friends,

On Sunday 9th we arrived to Melbourne, where we stayed until Tuesday. Melbourne does not have the same international appeal that Sydney has, and maybe there are not as many sightseeing as in the emerald city. However it is a great place to go on vacation. People there are very friendly and with summer weather there are lots of open air activities on offer. We enjoyed a lot being there. What a shame that we couldn't stay longer.

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One thing I regret is that I could not do a day trip to Yarra Valley, one hour drive from Melbourne. Yarra is one of the big wine regions in Australia and it would have been worth a visit. Having to choose just one place to visit, I have preferred to tour Barossa Valley, near Adelaide, a bigger and more important wine region. Yarra will have to wait for the next trip. So many things will… Australia is too big a country, you just can't do it all in one trip.

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When we left Melbourne we headed to Pt. Lonsdale, a bit more than one hour drive to the south. We had booked a "swim with the dolphins" tour. Queenscliff was the place where the boat should leave from. The first time that I heard about swimming with dolphins was a long time ago, when a friend of mine, Ivan, went to New Zealand and did it there. I never forgot Ivan's passionate description of his experience. Marta and I wanted to do it in NZ, but it was difficult to accommodate with our route in that country. We then postponed till we were in Australia. Fernando and Patrícia first were not very keen with the idea, but then agreed to join us. Great for them, because it was worth it!

* * * * *

Our tour was organised by "Sea all Dolphin Swims" in Pt Lonsdale, Victoria. I mention the company's name because we were very well impressed with them. On board were Robert, the captain, and Monique, our instructor. They were nice and friendly and we had a very good time with them. We first went to a nearby place to practise some snorkelling. Then we headed to another place where we could swim with seals. That gave us a bit of a taste of what would come next.

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One of the great things about swimming with dolphins is that first you have to find out where they are. That is not obvious at all. The tour organisers do not guarantee we will actually see them. There is an 85% chance we find dolphins, but sometimes it just doesn't happen. In our case it took more than one hour until we finally could see where they were. There was a lot of tension on board, because we were running out of time and had to go back to port. When we saw the first dolphins we were all very glad. Robert sailed the boat in their direction and when we got close enough the dolphins started swimming beside us, following the boat. It was great to see so many of them so close, but the best was still to come. We all went to water, wearing masks and snorkel, and held a cable that was attached to the boat. We made noise to attract the dolphins and as the boat departed again the dolphins swam beside us, following the boat. Thanks to the masks we could see them underwater, sometimes very close to us. We were not aloud to touch them, but we could have done it, so close they were. This was an experience of great childish happiness, the kind of feeling you don't experience quite often when you are an adult. For all of us, it was one of the high points of our holiday.

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After leaving Queenscliff we took the "Great Ocean Road" to Adelaide. In Melbourne we were told that it would be an eight hour drive, and therefore we thought we could comfortably do it in two days. But in reality it was a lot longer. The nice thing about the Great Ocean Road is that you drive by a gorgeous coast line. We stopped in many different places, both for photos as well as for the beaches. One of the most beautiful places is the "Twelve Apostles", that you can see on the photo on the left.

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It took us a lot longer to get into Adelaide than we first thought. Therefore, and with regret, Marta and I had to give up our planned visit to Barossa Valley. We just ran out of time! After Adelaide we went to Queensland, the sunshine State and final part of our trip. We are now in Palm Cove, north of Cairns. Tomorrow we will take a boat to the Great Barrier Reef. Next week you can read about it. The delay in posting this note was due to the difficulty to have access to internet. Where we are it is easier to find a gorgeous beach than internet. I am sorry about that!

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Wish you have a nice week!

Maurício

TAWOMG - Faaaantastic, mate!

Dear Friends,

Today we arrived to Melbourne, where we will stay for two days, before heading north to Adelaide. We were in Sydney from Monday to Thursday. On Friday we left to the Blue Mountains, than drove to Canberra and the coast of New South Wales.

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As people often say here, Sydney was "faaaantastic, mate". There were lots of things to do and see. Our interests were broad enough: we went to Manly beach, had dinner twice in Darling Harbour (where I had my first DM), visited the Olympic area (extremely frustrating and totally disappointing), had DM and dinner in Victoria Room, went shopping and a lot more. We left Sydney knowing that had we stayed longer, there would
be a lot more to do.
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On Thursday we went to the Opera to see Carmen. As far as we could see, it was sold out, despite the high prices for the tickets. It is quite an achievement an Opera house that offers one session every night and nevertheless is almost always full. I imagine they can run their business without need of public money (and if they can't, they probably have a cost problem). An important share of the public was tourists. This is the positive side of the tourism industry: it helps to cover the cost of important cultural features in a city. The opera itself was OK, but I have seen best performances before. Micaëla (Tiffany Speight) and Don José (Rosario La Spina) were good, but Carmen was actually rather mediocre. This, however, was not enough to diminish the pleasure deriving from an Opera night. When the orchestra played the introduction to the third act I was deeply touched, remembering other occasions when the same melody was also present. I know it is a "plaisir bourgeois", however an Opera night is still one of the best things civilisation has ever invented.

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On the way to the Blue Mountains we stopped at the Featherdale Wildlife Park. This is a kind of zoo where the public may have direct contact with most of the animals, the exception being the obvious ones: the crocodile, the venomous snakes and so on. Even for four adults it was a great fun to be able to touch the koalas, the kangaroos or feed some of the birds. On the photo beside you can see me interacting with one of the kangaroos. I must admit that the touch of his tongue on my hand while feeding him was rather disgusting, although he was a nice mate. We left the park with this wonderful feeling that tourists many times get, that they just have done something extraordinary.

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I changed a bit my mind this morning. We had stopped overnight in Eden, NSW, and by coincidence just across the road there was a golf course. I decided to play and today at 07:30 there I was, on tee number one. For my big surprise, just after my first shot and walking into the fairway I could see a group of kangaroos eating the grass. First I was a bit worried, not knowing whether kangaroos can be aggressive while in total freedom. Soon I realized that there were tens of these animals in the different holes, quietly eating their Sunday breakfast. What a shame that I didn't have my camera with me! But it also made me think that in this country a direct contact with wildlife is a lot more common than one could think first hand.

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But not quite that much… In Eden, Patrícia, Marta and Fernando went for a walk on Saturday afternoon around a lake. There was an elevated walkway, protected with a low fence. They asked themselves what could that fence be for. Fearing that the lake might be infested with crocodiles, they decided to ask some locals: a young family with two small children. When Patrícia asked the question, the man had an outburst of laugh. Crocodiles! What a question! Of course not! They felt a bit ashamed by the absurd idea, but not totally convinced that no crocodile made his home of that beautiful lake.

* * * * *

Just before posting this note I see on internet that the Socialist Party almost certainly won the general elections in Spain. That is good news! I am not a socialist; I don't believe in socialism and probably in economy I am closer to the ideas of Partido Popular than to the socialists. However, for me it is impossible to vote for the PP. The political right in Spain still has an inheritance from the Franco regime that is difficult to understand and even more difficult to accept. On the other hand, the PSOE is not only a lot more advanced in social matters, but also proved to be very responsible in economic issues. This is a combination that I wished were adopted by the right leaning parties worldwide: market economy, full economic freedom and competition, less State and socially advanced ideas. In Brazil this could be a fantastic program for the PSDB. In present world, and probably for many years to come, advanced capitalism with social liberalism could well be a winning road map. It is a shame that few people think like that.

Wish you have a nice week and wish Spain another good four year term of socialist government!

Maurício

TAWOMG - When hope comes from the South

Dear Friends,

Last week I was in New Zealand, travelling with my cousins Marta, Fernando and Patrícia. When we were planning the trip I insisted to allocate more than a week in the country. I argued that it is so isolated from anywhere else, that the likelihood that I have another opportunity to visit was rather low. Therefore we should try to see as much as possible.

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New Zealand is indeed unique. Being close to the International Date Line, it can claim to be the first country in the planet where the sun rises. It is as big as Japan in territory, but has only 4 million inhabitants, compared to 127 in Japan. It is developed, diverse, people are friendly and it is very easy to travel there. The weather can change very fast, from bright, warm sunny days like in the photo beside, when I was tasting my first NZ wine in the isle of Waiheke, north of Auckland, to snow in the middle of summer, like we were told that it happened in Queenstown three weeks ago. Nature is powerful and varies from the North to the South Islands, from West to East Coast.

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We first visited Auckland and than flew to the South Island, where we rented a car and travelled around. We drove the scenic route to Lake Tekapo, on the foothills of the Alpes. It was gorgeous! Then we went to Queenstown, considered the international capital of radical sports and adventures. In this region the film "The Lord of the Rings" was shot. In Otago there is a wine region, developed since the 1980's, where they are growing not only grapes for white wines, but also Pinot Noir. It is said to be the southernmost wine region in the world. I made a one-day wine-tasting tour and had the opportunity to taste 25 wines. Their quality is in general average to high and some Pinot Noirs were indeed good, like the 1999 Jackson Barry Pinot Noir produced by Olssens. The photo attached is where we tasted the wines at Olssens. The same day at night we had two bottles of Cloudy Bay for dinner, the Chardonnay 2005 and the Sauvignon Blanc 2007. I recommend both as well.

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But surprisingly enough, despite all the fun and great things that we did and saw in NZ, the most touching experience was of a complete different nature and happened in Christchurch, the last city that we visited. The Cathedral in Christchurch organises an evening service on Sundays that they call "NOSUN", that means "No ordinary Sunday Cathedral worship for people who don't go to church much, hardly ever, never, any more." Being my case, I felt curious about it and decided to attend. I suspect that the Cathedral Dean or whoever is responsible for this event went at some point in time to a business or marketing school. "NOSUN" is a very powerful, tailor-made product for people that probably would go to church if it were different from what it is. It was creative, non-intrusive, warm and respectful with the public.

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Before the worship those attending are given a piece of paper, a pencil, one candle and one flower. As the service goes, you first are invited to write down "a note of any action you regret or any event in your past you wish to leave behind". Then those that wish so may bring their pieces of paper to a central brazier and burn it, symbolising that you are leaving behind what you wrote on the paper. This is done in deep silence.

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The service continues and a bit later attendants are invited to think of people that they care about, or events or issues in their lives that need to be named and commended to God. They are then invited to light their candles, as a way of remembrance and making a prayer.

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The final part of the worship is about future facing. It is time "to make a resolution to oneself about the days ahead". Those in the church are invited to take their flower and float it in a pond of water, as an expression of hope. Emotion is all around and some people come to tears as they float their flowers; others do it very, very carefully, denoting that there were deep feelings behind that symbolic act. These three parts of the service are linked together by a welcome by Dean Peter Beck, readings, choral songs, moments of silence, pray and thinking and a very careful mise-en-scène.

* * * * *

This experience in Christchurch was the most meaningful and most touching religious service that I have ever attended in my life. I left the Cathedral with elevated thoughts and a very positive energy. I thought that nothing could be more different and more distant to the catholic mass in Spain than that. If you go to church in Spain you will most likely hear about what is wrong and shouldn't be done - all in the negative perspective. There is also a big chance that the priest will meddle into politics and criticise the present government (the Church in Spain is openly right wing leaning and opposed to the socialist government). No surprise that people care less and less about the Church: their bosses live far apart from society.

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Thanks God that there are initiatives like this one in Christchurch. In our modern world, where we are taught to compete, accumulate wealth and become increasingly materialists, it is important to have some time and space to dedicate to spiritual things. Maybe one day the Spanish Catholic Church will not only run successful business schools, but also learn something from them and become more "consumer oriented" and reconnect with society. That would be great news, though it looks very unlikely to happen.

Meanwhile, I wish you all a nice week and my apologies for the delay in posting this note. One of my purposes for what is ahead is to do better, including in writing this blog!

Maurício