Alexandre Borges' Diary
2008
| Tuesday, March 4, 2008 |
Monday, March 31, 2008 |
| Thursday, May 8, 2008 |
Friday, July 25, 2008 |
| Saturday, July 26, 2008 |
Sunday, July 27, 2008 |
| Monday, July 28, 2008 |
|
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
I’m very proud to have been selected to participate in the Earthwatch fellowship program, especially as it is a program fully supported by Alcoa.
My name is Alexandre de Almeida Borges (just Alexandre please!). I’m 27 years old and work for Alcoa’s Alumar Consortium in São Luís, Brazil, as a mechanical engineer for the industrial vehicles department.
I joined Alcoa in 2006 in that very department. I work with 180 other department employees on maintenance, operations, and projects involving approximately 250 industrial vehicles. In my position, I’m responsible for keeping up both equipment availability and crew morale for connecting the metal production and all related services in Alumar.
I’m married to Rosana and have a four-year-old son named João. Both are also part of this adventure I’m about to begin on Costa Rica’s sustainable coffee.
Last year, I was really on alert for the announcement that Earthwatch applications were being accepted, because I was so frustrated to have missed the 2006 deadline. When the chance arose, I filled in all the forms and described my job and part of my routine dedicated to environment, health, and safety at Alumar. At that time, I thought I could have been more incisive, although I was relaxed because I have never been good at earning prizes of any type.
Time passed, and soon it was Brazilian carnival. I had not checked my email for a couple of days during that holiday when I decided to take a look at my mailbox just before leaving for a carnival party. I was curious about an email entitled 2008 Alcoa Earthwatch Fellowship Program and then amazed when I first read “Congratulations!” Carnival was transformed into a celebration with my wife at home and later on together at a São Luís nightspot.
I have to say that I was really happy and incredulous that I was one of the 15 selected from the other 240 people who also applied to Alcoa’s Earthwatch program.
I hope you enjoy my diary!
Monday, March 31, 2008
I’m the kind of person who pays attention to the little details when it comes to traveling. Since day one after the Earthwatch announcement, I started to read about Costa Rica and the sustainable coffee project.
I also proceeded with the required health checkup by committing to Alumar’s yearly physical exam. With that in hand, I could have Alumar’s physician fill out the Earthwatch health form.
I next had to renew my passport. I scanned that plus the Earthwatch profile form and liability release and digitally submitted them to Earthwatch. I believe I’ll have the travel details form soon once I send an international travel authorization request to my leadership in accord with our international travel policy. I hope I’ll have the paperwork finished soon.
Changing the subject, I’ll have to exercise to get in good shape, because back home we had a nice Easter with plenty of chocolate.
By the way, most of this year’s Earthwatch fellows participated in conference call with Alcoa’s environmental affairs staff and the Earthwatch staff to learn more about the program and how important it is for Alcoa. Some Alcoa employees who participated in prior years gave us interesting advice on behavior and rules so the experience goes smoothly. They said not to miss the physical condition points stated in our briefings and also to bring plenty of snacks while on the expedition because of the simple living conditions some of us will experience.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Now I feel confident I’m participating in the Sustainable Coffee Earthwatch experience, because yesterday I bought my airline ticket.
As recommended, I’ll arrive in Costa Rica one day earlier. Unfortunately, the Alumar travel agency couldn’t reach the recommended Hotel 1915 , so I’m staying at the Orquideas Inn. I’ll probably have an additional expense to get to Hotel 1915’s lobby before the meeting time.
As suggested, I’m following all the advice that can be found in our Earthwatch briefing document, which was sent to each participant. I bought Tasco 30X20 binoculars that are really small and comfortable to carry around. I also bought a headlight for walking around the ecolodge at night. We’re starting our days at 5:30 a.m. and coming back by 7 p.m. I believe I’ll feel adventurous, just like I did in South Africa and the countryside of Switzerland and France.
One more bit of advice that I’m addressing is the physical preparation. I enrolled in a gym last Tuesday because I couldn’t deal with all the rain we have been getting here in São Luís. All of a sudden, São Luís started to get rain just like in the early 1990s. That means half of the year it’s raining, and almost torrential every time.
As I have 30 days of vacation, I’ll arrange a week in Cuba and a week in Peru after my Earthwatch expedition.
I’d like to end by presenting a little bit more about São Luís, the place where I live in Brazil:
- São Luís is the only Brazilian state capital founded by France, and it is one of the three Brazilian state capitals located on islands.
- The city has seaports through which a substantial part of Brazil's iron ore, originating from the pre-Amazon region, is exported.
- The city’s main industries are metallurgical, with Alumar and Vale do Rio Doce being two of the large companies in this industry.
- São Luís is known for its tiles, in which most buildings in the historical center are covered. Because of it, the city is also known as “The Tiles City.”
- Nowadays, São Luís has the largest and best preserved heritage of colonial Portuguese architecture in all of Latin America.
- The island is known as the “Island of Love” and “Brazilian Athens” due to its many poets and writers.
- In 1997, the city's historical center was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Since 1989, there has been an extensive program to restore and renovate the colonial era buildings of the city’s historical center.
I was not born here, but it’s the place that I love and in which I earn my living. Please, feel invited to drop by.
Friday, July 25, 2008
I left São Luís for São Paulo so I could arrive early on the morning of July 26 to catch the plane to Costa Rica.
I had hoped to exchange reals (Brazil currency) for dollars or euros in São Paulo but could not due to the plane’s delay (I arrived after banking hours). That really got me wondering if I should have planned sooner on that matter.
I’m sure there are 24-hour automated teller machines (ATMs) in Guarulhos International Airport, but I’m crossing my fingers everything goes smoothly.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
The hotel was awesome. I even got an upgrade on my room.
I woke up at 3:30 a.m. to catch my flight and exchange currency. After getting to the airport, I went to get some euros because I will also be visiting Cuba and Peru later. It’s a funny time that we live in, because hotels would rather receive euros due to that currency’s stability.
It took me an hour to exchange money, because in Brazil, there is limit to the amount you can withdraw from an ATM. I made several attempts before getting the amount I wanted.
Because of that delay, I arrived at the airline’s check-in counter by 5:07 a.m. To my surprise, they had just closed the counter. A guy told me they close the counter one hour before a flight, so I would have to talk to the person in charge for her approval for my late check-in. I did, and the manager told me I would not get on the plane because they were closed for good.
Usually I’m not the kind that begs, but it was either that or arrive late in Costa Rica. I’m pretty sure that airline’s manager was not happy with what she was doing. As for me, I’m on vacation and have pardoned her.
The flight was delayed 40 minutes, which was enough time to get an expensive breakfast. Airport prices are skyrocketing!
Costa Rica, here I am.
My first impression was good. It was a nice, duty-free, wonderful airport lobby with attractive people. However, I had some difficulties withdrawing local money from the ATMs because they were offline.
I went straight to Hotel 1915—the hotel that my travel agency couldn’t reach to book a room for me. I’ve since discovered that you need to add a “2” before all Costa Rican phone numbers.
Hotel 1915 is the most beautiful building in Alajuela. The city is clean and organized, and there is something that reminds me of my grandmother’s city back in Brazil (south of Piaui).
To end the day, I went to a Mexican restaurant and had an enchilada con muito chili. When in Alajuela, I recommend going to Jalapenos Restaurant.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Last night, I met Vivienne Talbot, my fellow Alcoan from Switzerland, and we scheduled something for today.
After a nice breakfast, we decided there wasn’t much to do in Alajuela or San Jose, meaning the best thing to do would be to go up to Poas volcano. For that, we hired a taxi driver, Julio, who was a nice person and also very talkative.
Julio took us the next 26 kilometers (16 miles) uphill on one of the most scenic roads next to Costa Rica’s towns. The weather was great, but we could see the clouds would soon roll in and spoil the trip.
Heading up, we made several stops where we had our first contact with coffee fruit and its seeds. We also had a chance to take pictures of flowers and the locals. Julio knew more about Brazilian soccer than I did and kept talking about Costa Rica’s rivals: Saprissa and Alajuela.
By the time we arrived at the parking lot, the weather was cold and cloudy. Soon we had the idea we would fail to have a good view, as predicted by Julio. It was a matter of chance, because the volcano was not on the Pacific side where we were. We had to climb along a steep pathway to the observation point, which let us have a view of the Caribbean side of the mountain where the crater was. Once we got there, the clouds were being blown by the wind, messing up the view.
Although we waited for 30 minutes, we decided to go back Alajuela. By the time we got to the parking lot, Julio had the idea of calling the guard who was up at the vantage point since he had perceived the weather had improved. To our surprise, we were invited to go up again so we could see Poas.
There it was—sulfur steam boiling up from the surface of the crater lake with the smell of rotten eggs. Quite a view!
Satisfied, we could go back to the hotel to wait for the others to arrive. Our free time is over, and tomorrow we’re traveling to the coffee fields.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Finally, we are together as an Earthwatch team. There are eight of us, with six being teachers.
Our official time on this expedition started by being transported for hours in a van from Alajuela to the Ecolodge San Luis & Biological Station. The scenery was great and changed constantly as the road zigzagged through the mountains.
The ecolodge infrastructure is amazing, with its labs, bungalows, and attentive staff. This evening, we sat together right in front of our bungalow so we could hear more about each other and the Costa Rica’s Sustainable Coffee expedition.
|
 |
Earthwatch Institute
Learn more about this international nonprofit, which supports scientific field research worldwide.
 go
Costa Rica's Sustainable Coffee
Learn more about the expedition and its scientists.
go
|
