Carnaval 2006: all good things must come to an end

Carnaval in Caxambú is already starting to seem like a distant memory: I don't think five days and five nights have ever passed so quickly!
We (my host Dad, host sister Regiane and host cousin Adriana) embarked Friday night for Minas Gerais to begin the celebration. The following day the rest of the family (host mother and host nanny) embarked on a religious retreat for the Carnaval days. My sister's last words to her Mom:: "pray for us!"
Caxambú is a quiet village with rocky streets and rolling hills. Durring Carnaval the population greatly increases with the arrival of young people and families.
Durring the day and night everyone heads to the center of town towards the four-corner intersection with a stage in the middle. Music is played almost all day and the live band (three lead singers, four back-up dancers) starts around 11 pm and ends around 5 am. The house we were staying at (my host dad's father) is about a 2-min walk from the center, so most of the day and night is filled with descending and ascending home-base to dancing-base. There's quite a lot of drinking involved, but it's also not weird at all to find young people who aren't drinking at all. Carnaval in Minas proves to be a good spot to find young people from all over Southern Brazil, including Cariocas (Rio), Paulistas (state of SP) and of course Mineiros themselves (anyone from Minas Gerais). It's fun to hear all the different accents, but I must admit nothing compares to a random-American speaking Portuguese in the midst of the non-touristy Brazilian Carnaval. I had such a great time, I can't believe that it's over!