15 days project - São Thomé das Letras - Part 3 - English version

 Chapter 2 – Ladies and gentlemen , i saw it!

   I started my day, as happened in the first , with a hearty breakfast : fruits, bread and biscuits , all purchased at the nearby supermarket (about 50 meters). Despite the plans i made the day before , this morning i wanted to go to the witch's stone an another famous tourist spot (pedra da bruxa). After a shower, i opened the location app to see the most appropriate way to get there , from what i saw , it was on my left and not very far from where i was, i put on a sweater because that early in the morning 16°C with the wind turned the thermal sensation pretty much lower temperature , i started walking through the streets trusting my sense of direction. At the beginning of the route there was no signpost indicating the route to be followed , but basically i knew that i should keep my route to the left of where i was and that at some point i should climb to a higher level. When i saw a very steep staircase that led to a higher level , i decided to go up and when i was at the very begining , i noticed that there were two staircases , separated by a small space with benches and a garden (a kind of mini square). The wooden steps were short and with carvings representing an open eye (also present on the benches in the central space). This artistic representation had a great impact as the open eye is a recurring reference in my painting works.

Steep staircase that I found on my way to the witch's stone

  

 I completed the climb and in this upper plane there was a sign indicating the direction of the witch's stone . I followed the path until i came across a fork where there was also signage of the path to be followed. Arriving at the huge rock, there is, at its base, a board with information associated to the tourist spot.

Detail of the steps with artistic carvings representing an open eye

Information sign, signaling the witch's stone 

The witch’s stone

   It is important to emphasize here that the path to the finish is uphill and that it has a small incline , making it easy to transpass . I noticed that on the rock itself , i don't know if it was due to natural wear or whether it was carved , there are several “steps” that allow climbing even for those with no experience. I was very tired from the climb up the staircases and the uphill access , so for safety reasons , i thought it prudent to spend a few minutes there at the base of the rock , just breathing and restoring myself before venturing into the ascent/climb. The climb , even with the “steps” i mentioned before , had a reasonable incline and offered (in my opinion) a risk of falling , in addition to the obvious physical wear so i climbed slowly and always using my hands . I only went to a higher level when i had one foot and my hands supported , i can't say if it was being extra careful but i had never climbed a rock and i was alone , i reached the top slowly but safely. There , impressively , the wind was not strong , you could see the entire relief with mountains , the city of São Thomé and also nearby cities. I sat on the rock, contemplated the landscape , took photographs and being so high , i thought about the paradox of being at the top of a structure (so far from the coast) that millions of years ago was at the bottom of the ocean (according to studies and fossils found) .

Top of the witch's stone

 

  There’s nothing more transformative than time , was the thought that occurred to me along with the desire to lie there on the stone for a while and enjoy the sunny day with no clouds above. I lay in the sun and the thought also occurred to me that in that place it is said to be full of multidimensional portals (according to metaphysicians , shamans , spiritualists and sensitives) , I didn't particularly feel or visualize anything atypical but there was a feeling of good being and pleasure , perhaps due to the fact that it is almost 1.5 km above sea level with the capability to observe everything in 360° and maybe enhanced by having climbed my first mountain , alone and safe. Lying in the sun , i ended up staying longer than i imagined , so my other destination: the São Thomé’s cave , in the city center , would wait for another day as i already had plans for the afternoon and evening.

   After descending the rock , specifically at its base , i saw stones stacked in the shape of a pyramid and holes permeated by lines of erosion , all so atypical that i decided to photograph them. After lunch, already in the apartment , i was selecting the best photos captured when i noticed that two photos taken at the base of the witch's stone had a kind of halo of light , immediately my mind tried to find a logical explanation for the fact , associating it with a reflection of the sun because as i said , i spent a lot of time there and when i decided to go back it was already around 12 o'clock and the sun was “high” in the sky

Stones stacked in a pyramid shape at the base of the witch's stone

Soon afterwards i realized that in the other photos of the same location and framing nothing atypical appears, explaining the situation for a better understanding: when i decide to capture a photo , i normally take a sequence of 5 or 6 , at the same location and framing , only then discard the“worst” and keep 1 or 2 “best”. As i reported here , i only realized later, when selecting the images .

Erosion lines and a hole at the bottom of the witch’s stone

Until now , I have not been able to logically understand this situation , and maybe because i am in a mystical location , thoughts related to non-physical issues logically occur to me , could it be the visual exposure of one of the place's multidimensional portals? Fortunately or unfortunately , i didn't have time to reflect and look for/study possible logical explanations because domestic issues demanded my attention (lunch, cleaning the room, washing clothes) in addition to the aforementioned selection of photos and writing.

Photo captured at the base of the witch’s stone with a luminous arc-shaped halo from center to left

   

At the end of the afternoon my destination was the cruzeiro , as i walked along the streets towards the cross-shaped structure , i could see groups of people passing in the opposite direction (they probably went to see the sunset at the cruzeiro or pyramid) , perhaps returning to the houses or inns. I went up the stone path towards the cruzeiro , still with enough light to don’t need using my cell phone as a flashlight and when i reached the top i could see the presence of 3 people , an individual in the exact location of the cross-shaped structure and two people with a dog a little further away , to the left , in the place where i intended to stay. After brief observation , i decided to position myself a little further to the left and set back in relation to the group with 2 people and 1 dog , in a flat place (which gave me a relative comfort) located about 15 meters from the cliff. I arrived , sat down and tried to calm my breathing to start a meditation. I started by asking my guides for physical and spiritual protection as it was already very dark and the individual who was in the cross-shaped structure came down with the help of a flashlight , in the dark , alone , with only the presence of a small group of 2 people about 10/15 meters away , i continued my meditation of surrender to divine providence when , after about 10 minutes , with my eyes closed , i heard heavy breathing next to mine left ear and before i could open my eyes i felt something wet touch my (left) ear , i opened my eyes almost in panic and saw a dog looking at me with his tail wagging , still impacted by the adrenaline rush , i realized that he had a medium size and maybe the nose or tongue touched my ear giving the sensation of contact with something wet. I didn’t risk any physical contact , i just said “do you want to scare me to death?” and he came from my left and positioned himself in front of me , lying on the stone. I tried to resume meditation but with all that adrenaline involved , with every noise i heard i opened my eyes and i could see that the dog lying there , in front of me , was also raising its neck looking around in alert , the dear reader can draw whatever conclusions you want from the fact , but for me , the answer to my request for physical protection was in front of me. As if what happened wasn’t enough , a few minutes after reaching this connection between my request and the dog , i saw what seemed to be a pillar of light on my right side , very quickly , as if it were the emission of light from a photographic flash but from top (sky) to bottom (rock) , in a few seconds this “pillar” of light faded away until it disappeared and as the dog situation , i have no way of understanding this in any other way than the “arrival of the spiritual protection i requested.” With everything that had happened , i no longer had the means to meditate and so with the sky full of stars and no clouds , i dedicated myself to looking from one side to the other for something atypical. The time i spent there , i visualized what seemed to be 4 meteors or space debris burning as they fell and 2 situations that have no explanation within a conventional context (plane, helicopter, satellite, drone). The first situation (less impactful) was the sudden appearance in the sky of a light the size of a star, which flashed intermittently (every 2 seconds) , assumed a linear trajectory and suddenly disappeared or stopped emitting light. The second situation occurred with the visualization of an object with continuous light also the apparent size of a star in a linear trajectory and opposite to the previously reported situation (left to right) , following its trajectory , i could see that it was heading towards what seemed to me to be a dimensional portal because I saw a circle formed by 10 lights that resembled small stars and inside (the circle) a rhomboid figure like a flat violet rhombus. The moving point of light entered this “portal” and disappeared, the violet structure inside in the shape of a “flattened diamond” also disappeared, the circle formation of 10 points of light similar to small stars remained until i left , at around 9:30 pm. I decided to return to the apartment as the cold was intensifying and with it hunger also came strongly. Complementing my report , the dog that was with me came down the rock at the moment the group with 2 people and 1 dog decided to leave , which happened more or less half the time i was there (maybe around 7:30 pm/8 pm). The moment after my descent from the rock , i saw the dog that had been with me lying down , apparently sleeping (eyes closed) at the entrance of a pub close to the cruzeiro , it was a German shepherd apparently well looked after , i was wondering if it was a dog or a “dog “? Regarding the pillar-shaped light , i spent some time trying to understand what happened in a logical way and a name came to me telepathically: Nicácio and that energy would be with me during the time i was there (i don’t know if the reference was there on the rock or there in São Thomé) in any case i followed my way back to the apartment grateful for everything i experienced at that very moment , grateful for knowing that even thought there’s no one around , i’m not by myself (i believe i will never be) there’s an entourage of care that today with my physical eyes , ladies and gentlemen , i saw 

☆ Important observation: I woul like to make clear to the reader(s) that during my stay in São Thomé, I didn't took any drinks or alcoholic beverages, I did not use any legal or illegal substance that could alter my perception and I was not using any medication. 

Chapter 2 playlist:

      Nando Reis: ○ Álbum: Voz e violão vol 1

      Caetano Veloso: ○ Álbum: Circuladô vivo vol 1 e 2

       Armandinho: ○ Álbum: Acústico

Convite (Invitation) - Acrylic  - (2023)

Walk around the square

    Select space, imagined and erected to retain and transmit compartmentalized and tone-matched colors 

   Stones arranged in a tray, double effort to overcome the opposite 

   Candles lit without permission , necklaces expose vicissitudes and words are much like flowers in desert heat               

Sacred mountain usurped , step by step obliterated , diverting its divine function 

   A ray and a target lead outcomes , desires heard in libertarian prayers    

   Concessions and transmission conditions revised over rain or sunshine and the electrical movement on the roofs at night fill the necessary gaps 

   Cheeses melt for pagan breads , dreams soaked in guava paste, eyes as a signal for the path 

   Paper planes and their injected trails, limited planning, soluble solutions , temporary as  pies (in dark chocolate) 

   Cellular technology in cleaning rooms and farms, with clandestine connection cuts 

   Intense wind dissolves everything that clouds the water and skin 

   Life is grateful, passes by and eventually sits on the benches of a square that little by little rises 

Gustavo H.F. de Sousa - 15 days project (2023)