We landed in Curitiba after a small stop over in São Paulo. From Curitiba to Pontal do Sul are around 80 km by car, driving down the Serra do Mar a very steep descend to the sea level.
My brother Pedro and wife Ana were waiting for me and we drove down to their house were my parents were waiting ansiously my arrival
After a few days catching up with the news on the family front I visited my cousins that live in Matinhos and organised a reunion of the Leal Family.
In Pontal we spent most of the time chatting with my parents, going on morning walks with my father and swim on the beautiful beaches of Pontal.
Around Pontal there are beautiful places and we always spend a few day trips, enjoying the scenary and the local history. We visited Cabaraquata, Morretos, Antonina and Matinhos.
In the next few pages we will try to share with you some images of the places we visited in Pontal and surrounded areas. Hope you like it.
Morretos is a small city in the fringes of the Serra do Mar (Sea Mountains). The Serra do Mar resembles the Great Dividing Range in Australia and runs paralell to the coast along the east coast of Brasil, from Rio to the Uruguai border. The name Morretos was given by the first settlers coming from Swiss and the european Alps, when they look around Serra do Mar and compared it with the Alps. Although with heights between 1,300 to 2,500 metres the mountains of Serra do Mar looked small compared with the Alps and the settlers called it Morretos which means small hills.
The city was founded in 1773. Morretos is famous for its gastronomy and in particular for the "Barreado", a type of beef stew made in a sealed clay pot cooked for a long time on a slow fire.
Antonina started during the gold rush of the XVII century. Situated in the Paranagua Bay, Antonina then became an important port used to export the local produce in particular soja. Today the port of Paranagua became the main port in the area and Antonina lost a large part of the export business.
We went on a day trip to explore the area and the photos try to show how beautiful it is.
I am not very fond of dogs in general but I can't help liking Brutus. This gentle giant with his crying eyes and sad face captivates people. With his shoulders standing 90 cm high and weighting 85 kg, Brutus is a very impressive dog. His cavernous sound barking makes you think twice before entering the yard but, at least with me, it was only showing off. Rather than biting, which would be serious business with such big mouth and teeth, Brutus just pushes you with is massive head.
Brutus, a little over one year old, is still a puppy . He love playing with a ball with a string attached to it and empty bottles of coke. Loves to place them under cars and tries to get them back. He carries around two large thigh bones. At night when he retires to his bedroom he carries the bones with him; in the morning when he wakes up carries the bones back to the office where he stays as long as Ana stays there.
Brutus loves people and hates being alone. When my brother and Ana leave the house Brutus lays down at my Parents place and stays there until my brother returns. He is not allowed in the house while we have our meals and stays at the door looking at us with a sad face.
He behaves exceptionally well when we is taken for a walk. Brutus spent a couple of months in a training school and got some good habits, one of them being walking on the left side of the person that walks with him. Just imagine if he we was one of this dogs that drags the owner around.
The montages below gives you and idea of the fun it is playing with Brutus. Two of the photos in the middle show the sad faces he puts on when he doesn't get his own way. The other photo shows him and one of his bones.
