Day 6 -- Transition Day

On the prior evening (Saturday), the students, who had been  burned by evil taxi drivers on Friday night trying to find a good club, decided to take matters into their own hands.  The hotel's normal rear pavilion bar area was occuied by some type of wedding or other event.   So, even though the hotel cable car was NOT running down to the waterside lounge area, the students climbed down the steep steps to the waterside and started their own "Club PSE."  Dr. Byrd, concerned at hearing familiar guffawing from the venue far down by the water, made his own way down the treacherous steps to investigate.  He found the students in  a lively mood, with a lot of music and laughter.  The hotel did not seem to mind.  This was a nice, private bonding experience for the group!

Sunday was a day of transition, as we positioned ourselves for the final mill tour in Aracruz.  This required that we fly to the city of Vitoria.  Since there were no direct flights available from Salvador, we had to connect through Rio.  Once in the Rio airport, the students saw how beautiful and mountainous the surroudings were and suggested we just stay there for the rest of the trip, a concept quickly crushed by Dr. Byrd. 

The flights went without problems, and we met our final bus driver, Jailson, at the Vitoria airport.  Our bus drove up to the hotel i-- right on the beach!  The problem is that it was close to 5 pm, and the sun was setting fast.  Several students dashed out for a dip.  We decided that the hotel restaurant had the most cost-effective meal offering within walking distance, with a nice little Brazilian barbeque menu that many of us were getting way too accustomed to!

We ate together in the outdoor seating area, and it turned out to be one of the nicest meals of the trip -- and another great bonding experience.

Tomorrow comes with some apprenension...it is a visit to the Aracruz mill, followed by an 8-HOUR BUS RIDE to Vicosa.  Yikes!

Heavenly....Free Day In Salvador

Today was our only true free day for the trip.  Students were allowed to do whatever they wanted for the day.

We woke up to sun...and WOW.  Our hotel, while a little old and worn, was perfectly situated on a cliff over the bay.  A nice buffet breakfast was being served in the rear pavilion, next to the sweet little pool.  But the most amazing thing was the scary little cable car which ran down to a dock/recreation area on the water.  It could hold six persons at one time.  At the bottom, there was a wonderful little assortment of stuff...a bar, a wading pool, a swimming area in the ocean, snd a water slide. 

Some students slept in, while others were up fairly early.  Groups walked to local beaches, while others got some sun by the pool.  While there were intermittent showers, overall there was sun most of the day. 

Several of the guys in the group emerged from the hotel in newly-purchased Speedo-type bathing suits...much to the amusement (or horror) of the others.  For reasons of decency, none of these photos are included below.

In the late afternoon, many of the group plunged into the bay water for a refreshing dip.

A few brave folks took a taxi to the old part of town, at the heart of the city.  There were beautiful, multi-colored buildings, shops...and very, very aggressive panhandling and hustling.  It was a bit uncomfortable. 

Tomorrow, the movement starts again -- we have to get up to take a plane to the town of Vitoria, with a connection in Rio.  Our last mill tour is on Monday.

Day 4 -- Movement...Dissolving Pulp....Traffic....and WOW

This was a busy day.  The group had to get up early to depart from Sao Paulo on TAM Airlines, headed to Salvador -- a city on the southern coast of Brazil.  So it was a bus to the airport, a plane ride, and another bus to pick us up and drive us to the Bahia Specialty Pulp mill about one hour outside of Salvador.  We were anticipating traffic, lost reservations, and other disasters...but everything went smoothly. 

The tour company provided a guide, Roberto, for us at the Salvador airport.  On the ride to the mill, he told us some of the history of Salvador, as well as the enormous industrial complex that the mill is a part of -- the largest in South America.

Hospitality at the mill, as with the other mills we have visited, was outstanding.   Students were greeted with amazing goodies, including a variety of exotic juices and, of course, meat-filled pastries.  After an orientation to the mill and a review of dissolving pulp requirements and uses, the students had a nice tour of the facility.

The ride back to Salvador was awful.  We somehow timed our depature from the mill to coincide with normal commuting traffic, Friday afternoon traffic, and some weekend festival celebrating a local woman whose work with the poor had earned her the first stage of beatification.  A drive that should have taken one hour took 3.5...in bumper to bump stop and go traffic (including horses and mules).   The students were getting restless and hungy.  As we approached our hotel, the traffic came to a complete stop, due to some concert being held in the city center.  So it was almost 8 o'clock when we finally checked into the hotel.

It was hard to tell much about the hotel in the dark.  We could tell it was on the ocean (on the bay, actually), and we could tell it was perched up high on a cliff over the water.  It had a nice pavilion area out back, and a nice little pool.  The rooms...well....they were clean enough, but they looked like they had been decorated in the early 1970's -- orange curtains, orange striped trim, and orange bed covers. 

Our guide had suggested a traditional Brazilian barbeque place a bit outside of downtown, and he arranged for the restaurant to send a shuttle to pick us up at the hotel.  Traffic turned out to again be horrendous, so it was pretty late when we arrived at the restaurant.  But it was worth it....this place as enormous and loud, with a gigantic salad bar and endless skewers of grilled meats of all kinds.  Everybody ate until they could not move.

Another jam-packed day.  Another great day!

Day 3 -- Another Mill, Another Great Day

We had to get up early this morning to check out of the hotel in Campinas and drive 2 hours to Jacarei...home of a large market pulp mill run by Fibria.  This mill makes about 1.2 millions tons per year of eucalyptus market pulp, using 100 % plantation-grown trees cloned and planted by Fibria.

The students were a bit frowzy from their samba outing the night before, but they had a chance to catch up on sleep on the bus.   We started the mill visit by taking the bus up a rugged dirt road to a mountain top, to visit their tree nursery.  Again, the students were struck by technology and steps involved in producing uniform eucalyptus seedlings.  They were very amused by having to put on snake-protective leg garments (see below).

We then took the bus to the mill, which is enormous and modern.  Our hosts introduced us to the mill, stressing the environmental focus of the company.  This is one of the few mills using ozone for bleaching.

We took a driving tour of most of the mill, but we stopped to take a tour of the pulp drying machines.  The scale of the process was impressive.

After lunch, we boarded the bus again and drove 1.5 hours to Sao Paulo.  This is a huge and exciting city!  After dinner, the group split up in an attempt to take in the many things this city has to offer.  Some people went to the Mueseum of Sao Paolo, which had an impressive offering of old and modern masters,  Others went to chow down in Little Italy.

We have another early morning tomorrow....we get on a local airplane to travel to the city of Salvador.  Off the plane, we take a bus to visit another mill.  After that, however...it's 1.5 days of free time in the beach city of Salvador!

Day 2 -- Visit to IP Mill in Mogi Guacu

We woke up on Wednesday to a beautiful day in Campinas....sunny, crystal clear blue sky, and 70 F.  The Brazilian locals were wearing sweaters and leather jackets, commenting on what a cold day it was!

We took a bus to Mogi Guacu, about 45 minutes away, to visit an International Paper mill there.  This mill makes uncoated free sheet, using 100 % eucalyptus hardwood.  It was good for the students to see a mil that, although originally built in the 1960's, is stil considered one of the best from an operating efficiency standpoint.

We started out in the tree nursery, where we something that most of us had never had a chance to see...the process with which clonal hardwood seedlings are produced.  This is a fascinating process which, combined with the almost perfect weather, gives the Brazilian paper industry an incredible edge with regard to fiber costs.

After a nice lunch in the mill cafeteria, we took a walking tour of the mill.    Good stuff!

That night, we ate out at a local pizza place.  Clearly, we grossly underestimated how expensive this country is...food, drink, transportation, taxis...you name it, it is very costly here.  We have already blown our budget.

We then went out to a local popular bar with a live samba band.  The joint was hopping!  The students really got into the joyous spirit of the place.

Safe and Sound....and Well Fed!

The group departed from RDU at 7:35 pm on May 16.  After an uneventful flight to Miami, followed by a two-hour layover, we were herded "cattle class" into a completely full 777 (five seats in the middle, two on each side). Although the ride was not exactly luxurious,  it was OK, and most people in the group were able to sleep on the overnight journey.

We arrived in Sao Paulo at about 9:30 am on May 17.  After  a surprisingly short trip through immigration, we met our bus driver and headed to Campinas (about a 1.5-hour drive).  While it was cloudy and cool in Sao Paulo, the sun broke through halfway through to Campinas.  Our hotel in Campinas is simple and clean.

Student Danny Martin just graduated from PSE, and he is from Brazil..in fact,  from Campinas.  His parents, still in a celebratory mood after the graduation activities last week, were brave enough to offer their home for a "welcome to Brazil" cookout for the students, complete with a traditional wood-fired Brazilian barbeque.  Chicken, chicken hearts, sausage, steak, cheese and pineapple were all roasted on a hot wood fire.  Accompanied by salad, local fruits (some grown in the back yard), and a passion fruit mousse, this meal stuffed the group to the gills.  It was a  beautiful sunny afternoon spent in the lush back yard of the Martins.  What a way to start the trip!  Many thanks to the Martins for their outstanding hospitality.

We visit the IP mill in Mogi Guiacu tomorrow.

Welcome to the Paper International Experience 2011!

Every two years, juniors and seniors in the Paper Science & Engineering Program at North Carolina State University embark on the "Paper International Experience,"  (PIE) a 10-day culture and professional immersion experience abroad.  The goal of this experience is to make students more aware of the global nature of the pulp and paper industry -- and to expose them to a different culture.

Past PIE trips have taken students to China and Chile.  This year, 15 students are traveling to Brazil.  They will visit four pulp and paper manufacturing facilities, as well as the pulp and paper program at the University of Vicosa.

Stay tuned for photos and daily updates about the students!