São Carlos

This whole week I've been in São Carlos, staying with a college friend and her husband. Another good friend from São Paulo came to stay for a few days. It's been pretty mellow - lots of catching up, going out to eat and drink. I've also gone on what I'd call, "the nostalgia tour", that is: walking around the university campus where I spent my undergraduate years, visiting the town zoo (the first place I worked as an intern), eating at some of the same coffee shops and restaurants. Not a lot has changed...I even saw some familiar faces, like the driver on the bus to campus. Sometimes it feels like what's changed the most is me. It's still good to remember, and experience one of the most brazilian sentiments -- "saudades" (which roughly means "to miss something").

Campus entrance

Biology Department

Lake on campus

Fine dining with Claudia and Priscilla

Last ones are pics from the zoo (the São Carlos Ecological Park, would be the direct translation). Though small, they have a surprising collection of animals, most of them endemic to Brazil, and many of the Cerrado region (a biome that exists only here, and similar to a savannah). Needless to say, many are also in risk of extinction.

Jaguar (Panthera onca)

Giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla)

Rhea (Rhea americana)

Black spider monkey (Ateles paniscus)

Tapir (Tapirus terrestris)