Passion Flower [Flores de Maracuja] This is the flower of the Passion Fruit of whence it gets its name. There are many varieties of the Passion Fruit. Each having a different display flower. This is one of the more colorful varieties. The fruit is very tart and is used to make juice. The fruit itself is a dry shell filled with pulp covered seeds. It's juice is said to have a sedative, calming effect. You will see this extract in many natural remedies declaring to be a soothing remedy.

Banana Tree [Banana] This is the flower of the Banana tree. I was amazed the first time I saw this (never being in a tropical place in my life). The flower starts large and as it's leaves curl back and die, the bananas imerge from beneath the leaves. This tree grows rapidly; bearing flower then fruit. The tree then needs to be cut down when harvesting to encourage a new harvest. A new plant then imerges from the stump.

Coffee Plant This coffee plant is young and the beans not ready to harvest. Minas coffee is a dark fine roast. If you ask for a cup of coffee in Brazil, be prepared to receive an expresso sized amount of dark rich coffee. And, unless you stay in a tourist area, it will be pre-sweetened.

Okra [Quiabo] This flower may be quite familiar to some. The okra is a vegetable and the flower produced is amazingly beautiful and fragrant.

Urucum I actually don't know the name of this spice in English. Although classified as a spice, it actually has very little flavor. It's coloring was used by the indians decoratively and is used today to liven up the color of cooked meat and dishes. Unlike Paprika, it's flavor does not overpower the dish. I have a lot of fun using this spice to liven up my meals.

Erosion This stairway strikes me every time I pass it. With every passing year, it is more and more exposed. During the rainy season, floods effect any low lying towns and villages. Floods leave behind silty red mud which is very hard to remove and clean. Land slides sometimes bury a road making it impassable and on some unfortunate occasions, take a travelling car with it. Nearby towns and villages spring into action when one occurs and typically have the road cleared very quickly.