Road to Beauty Day 14: Into the Wild

Wildlife Carnival

Today, the L'équipée girls had planned on going for a long morning walk through the grounds.

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Upon leaving the house, Louise D immediately fell in love with some blue parrots clumped together on a tent-post, and attempted to tame them while the rest of the gang impatiently waited on. A little while later, they finally started together on a narrow, 2km long wooden path that leads them deep into the Miranda river swamp and offers the perfect vantage point from which to observe the local swamp life. "The pink hyacinths are in bloom, the egrets sing, the falcons keep watch, a nimble jacana seems to be walking on the water, as if on a tightrope; blue, red and purple ladybugs flutter around..." enthuses Louise D. The rarest and wildest animals seem to have gathered around to welcome the five Parisians' visit. With one big omission: The jaguar remains invisible. And yet, according to Roberta, one of the daughters of the family they are staying with, there are paw prints in the read dirt. It seem a pair had walked right under their feet.

Beauty is in Harmony

Roberta is an expert. She sees everything, spots every animal, even those that are the best equipped to hide. "It's like the animals trust her, it's palpable," says Louise D with obvious admiration. In the two days they have spent at the Fazenda San Francisco, the L'équipée girls have observed the amazing empathy displayed by the women in the Coehlo family. They are attentive to everything around them, they feel even the slightest variation in their environment. This awareness is a beautiful thing to see, it is the core that makes them beautiful, women of the sun. For their mother, Beth, owner of the Fazenda, "If you have beautiful eyes, and something good inside, that means you're beautiful, you just are: it's what's inside that matters the most." Which doesn't mean that she would ever leave the house without a touch lipstick on. "That's just a question of respect."

Piranhas and Caimans

Before leaving the ranch, the girls just had to try out the local specialty: Piranha fishing. On the boat, with their bamboo fishing rods, the foolhardy girls begin to question their decision. It really doesn't help that caimans have seen them coming and are now circling around. The fishing itself turns out to be quite tricky. "Piranhas are very clever. They eat the baits very quickly and smoothly. You don't even feel it! Their teeth are sharp like razorblades," says Pauline, surprised. The caimans watch placidly on, and bide their time... Piranhas are like candy to them. "There is a lot for me to learn from these big prehistoric lizards. They're slow, they seem dead. But in fact they are saving their energy and keeping their cool," observes Louise D. The sun is setting on the river. Already nostalgic, the L'équipée girls enjoy that last rays lying down in front of the ship. And to think that tomorrow, they will have to leave all this.

Keep following the L'équipée girls' quest to discover what beauty means around the world at the Road to Beauty.