summer 2002 the GPS division took a field trip to brazil for three weeks to visit mines, the amazon, beaches, and cities.
group shot on a plateau in northeastern brazil
the first place we visited was Ouro Preto in Minas Gerais. Ouro Preto is an old mining town and has beautiful churches adorned with gold. The Brazilian school of mines is here.
we visited several large pit mines that produce iron and gold. the shear magnitude of the mine was unbelievable
we got to wear hard hats and climb on *huge* machines. george enjoyed the experience. :)
i did too
almost everyone could fit in the bucket of this backhoe
janessa and i workin' the hard hats
we felt it necessary to pay tribute to the village people
kim and i enjoying the free trip
we went to several gem mines, including topaz and aquamarine. most of them were very small 4 or 6 man operations, with holes large enough to fit about that many people.
this is an aquamarine mine where they were blasting the day we visited
the owner of that mine with a specimen pulled out that morning
throughout the trip, there was a lot of waiting. look how happy we are about it.
ryan proves that he hasn't learned not to put foreign objects in his mouth.
kim does the same on the amazon
we took a big boat on onto the river in manaus. julie and sarah enjoyed chilling on the deck
and went upstream until we reached the meeting of the rio negro and the amazon. its amazing how the different waters don't mix!
later that night, we took smaller boats out and went fishing for piranah
then we fried them and ate 'em for dinner
a few days later we took a hike into the jungle and had to be accompanied by ex-military jungle warfare trained guards.
the guards were cool; they had machine guns and machetes
on our way to the coast, we flew through Brasilia and had a few hours to tour the town. it is, by far, the most surreal place i have ever been. here we're outside the national cathedral
and in the big government plaza. everything is so bare and covered in concrete with strange architecture and sculptures....
when we got to the coast, we went out to look at iron weathering profiles exposed in the sea cliffs
davin and i climbed up on this big rock
and afterwards i tried to push an even bigger one down on him. ;)
we had fun living and working in tropical paradise
janessa shows us a cashew fruit
the geology women's death squad
after being in the middle of nowhere for so long, we got to spend a few days in Rio. Rio was sooooo fun. kim and i look pissed in this picture, but i don't know why/if we actually were
but after ice cream later that night we were happy!
we stayed in a totally amazing hotel on the beach in Ipanema. the view was spectacular
of course there was a trip to christ the redeemer
...where there were spectacular views...
quick! --frame the sugarloaf!
more views...
kim and i with the weird 'granite' statue
george with it too