Our Trip to Brazil

Farley and Anne in Rio 2020

I took a little break and had a wonderful two-week adventure to Brazil! Experiencing the Carnaval in Rio has long been on my “to do” list. Well, this year I decided to do it! It was beyond amazing and something that I would recommend to anyone who might want an injection of joy, extravagance, and sheer high spirits. (We can help you plan it!)

All year the Brazilians plan for the following year’s February carnival – the floats and costumes were beyond incredible. Sensory overload was almost immediate – each time when I thought the floats and samba dancers could not get better, somehow they did… The colours, the vibrancy, the amazing imaginations were hard to absorb all in one “sitting” at the Sambadrome! Click here to see my videos on Instagram where you can start to get a sense of the magic.

I may want to go back next year, and if anyone is interested please let me know! I combined the Carnival with a return visit to Salvador and a new destination of Trancosa in Bahia, Brazil, which is my favorite part of Brazil with its concentration of Afro-Brazilian culture. I feel right at home coming from Kenya! I developed a particular interest in Candomblé – an Afro-Brazilian religious tradition dating from the 19th Century and initiated by the original slaves .

Carnaval 2020

Their deities are known as Orixas, and my Orixa is – Iansã, or Goddess of the Wind. Funny thing that, as my father used to call me Hurricane Annie! I experienced a shell reading by a Candomblé oracle, and it was extraordinary how she saw my life, its challenges and its joys without knowing anything about me! These days, I find myself enjoying exploring different cultures and all that goes along with that. I am also trying to keep my brain cranked up by learning Portuguese! I can read it pretty well, but speaking is still challenging!

It was a truly wonderful break and whilst I was gone my wonderful AKTF team kept everything going in the Mara – against difficult odds as we have been experiencing exceptionally heavy rains, making the Mara virtually impassable – bridges were washed away, as were camps and roads. This made it difficult to operate, but operate the AKTF team did!