Casa em Petrópolis

Petrópolis, also known as The Imperial City, lies about 65 km east of Rio de Janiero in the Serra dos Órgãos, a steep mountainous area covered in lush forests. A deep river canal cuts the streets and traffic flow in two. Grass walls flow down to the mostly clear water. Some snags catch rubble, plastic bags, and plant debris.

Winding our way through the Imperial City we pass used book stores, old buildings, a large old casino hotel, a cathedral...a haunted house and the former summer palace of the second Brazilian Emperor (now a museum, pictured to the right). With its cool mountain climate, the Emperor found Petrópolis a good escape from the heat of Rio de Janiero.

Although horses commonly tow tourists about the city, Ben and I opted for a bicycle rickshaw. Our guide, an ex-professional cyclist, safely drew us through the cities cobblestone paths and wild traffic.

Enthusiastically, we were delivered to the Catedral Metropolitana (City Cathedral) to see beautiful stain glass widows, the Palálico de Cristal (The Glass Palace) to see a spectacular orchid display and to Casa Santos Dumont, the home of Brazil's tragic inventor and "Father of Aviation." Santos designed his home in Petrópolis, affectionately calling it A Encantada (The Enchanted). We toured its small and efficient spaces filled with mechanisms of his own design.

Built on a hill, Ben's family house is tucked behind a bright blue gate and a series of cobblestone walls. For many years this house has been in Ben's family, having belonged to both his great-grandfather and grandfather. Now, his father and uncle manage the old home and throughout our stay they had plenty of business to deal with.

The house, though much of what is there remains the same, has undergone many additions. Mostly taken on by Ben's grandfather who added a second floor with a slew of rooms which lay unfinished. Yet his grandfather's and great-grandfather's desks are kept intact, although throughly rummaged through by generations of little-uns and us.

Ben's Uncle Rob and Aunt Carla were visiting from Brasilia along with their two little girls Alicia and Hylea who were the most amazing and fun kids. Rainy days and any curious minute gave us the opportunity to explore. Racks of ancient books, chests of family past remnants (knife, rock, and butterfly collections, whips, yearbooks from American-Brazil Schools), drawers filled with the imagination's best. And if reality wasn't enough, reading the dusty books captured our minds.


Out the kitchen, through the back door and behind the house lay the hill of gardens. A path winds up the slope to a large rock wall that looks over the valley and the house. I will lead you up the hill in these pictures, unfortunately only caught on a cloudy day.

Nicely manicured pathways and gardens surround the house. To the right is the garden and second house of the caretakers, Jaír and Lourdes. They live here year round and their daughter runs the swim school named Mil Ondas. A good source of revenue on the land. Their herb, vegetable and fruit garden was a beautiful sight and very tasty delight during our stay.

Large cobblestone walls and paths terrace the hill into flat landscapes planted with a variety of fruit trees. Included in these pictures are bananas and açai palms. We planted about a hundred or more açai palms on the hill during our stay. This is a photo of Ben checking out our açai seedlings.

Full grown açai and banana trees provide beautiful green shade.

The bananas were ready to harvest. I cut a banana bunch down with a machete. Ben stood on a wall to catch the bunch as it slowly fell down. Banana juice terribly stains white clothes. The bunches stay green on the pseudo-stems because the ethylene they produce wafts away with the breeze. But once cut down we covered the bunch with a sheet to keep the ethylene close to bananas to ripen.

The under story of the banana trees is vibrant with a diversity of plant species.

Looking out into the distance. A great cloud covers the hill and cliffs. Other houses are strewn throughout the valley.

Mil Ondas translates to 1,000 Waves and is a play on Ben's family name Miller. The heated pool is filled from spring water from the hill. During the day the school has classes for water aerobics, swim lessons, free swim and others. An exercise room is used for pilates, weight lifting, and aerobics. Maybe even kick boxing. There is even a massage room! Deluxe! During the nights and weekends we would have free reign. Laughing, screaming, exercising and relaxing.

Rick and Rob have dreams of transforming the house with its multitude of rooms into a pousada or an inn. With the swim school and the hill leading up to a great climbing rock and the agroforestry hill, they imagine it could be a sort of eco retreat pousada. How about a Domes and Co-op retreat?