HANDYMAN HildoEspirito Santo, his last two names literally mean ‘Holy Spirit’, is very much a free spirit.
A qualified PE teacher, homeopath and cabinet maker, the Brazilian has called Letterkenny home for the past eight months. He lives in Sylvan Park with his wife Jacqueline and their two sons Vicente (10) and Gerinimo (7).
This week he was kept busy building a stone wall in a neighbour’s garden while he also finished making a wooden fence for another. On Wednesday he celebrated his fifty-first birthday and he’s looking forward to a time when he can get as far as Rathmullan and breathe in the sea air.
A qualified swimming instructor, nine years have passed since Hildo and a German friend sailed a 35 foot yacht across the Atlantic from his home city Florianópolis in the South region of Brazil to Falmouth in England.
The 8,000 kilometre journey took fifty six days and saw the pair safely navigate the ‘Maus’ around the Cape Verde islands up past the Azores and through the Bay of Biscay.
“I had done a bit of coastal sailing in Brazil and into Uruguay and Argentina but I had always wanted to sail across the Atlantic. Together with a German friend we got that opportunity in September 2011, taking a thirty five foot boat from Brazil to Falmouth. While we didn’t sink there were a few scary moments – like the time when two pressure systems came together to create a huge storm – and we got no sleep for three days.
“The owner of the boat lived in Milan and we were taking it across to Europe for him. I was always curious about crossing the Equator and going through the ‘Killing Horse’ – an area that doesn’t get trade winds and, as a result, is completely flat and calm,” he recalled.
While Hildo had lived in England for a number of years as a younger man, this is his first time setting up home in Ireland.
“I had been to Ireland a few times on holiday and I’ve always loved the Irish people. I’ve met a lot of them in Brazil as there’s 72,000 people of Irish descent there,” he explained.
The family had initially decided to locate to Galway and the two boys had been enrolled in a local school but on their arrival they couldn’t find a house to rent.
“An Irish friend who lives in Killybegs suggested that we try Letterkenny. He said it was a lovely town with lots of nice nature and people and, so far, it’s worked out well. Our neighbours are all friendly and we’re happy.
“I’m quite a handy person and I’ve a few qualifications while I’m also a practical person so I decided to set up working on my own. I had been due to work as a swimming coach in the Aura Leisure Centre before Covid changed those plans.
“I studied for four years in Brazil to become a PE teacher while I’ve also worked as a cabinet maker and I studied Homeopathy is Devon. I like to work with wood but I’m not fussy what I do at the moment as long as I have enough to pay the bills and provide for my wife and two boys,” he said.
“I’ve just built a stone wall for a neighbour while I’ve also done a bit of gardening and cleaning out the gutters – whatever comes along. I also do a bit of fencing and woodwork,” he added.
“Since the children arrived I’ve put my adventures to one side. My wife worked with the court service back in Brazil. She was a stenographer. She was heartbroken to leave her family back at home but we’re lucky to have met some very nice neighbours here. Maybe I’ll get a bit more work when the restrictions lift a little,” he said.
Covid-19 is very much in the news back in Brazil. Its death toll from the novel coronavirus climbed to 23,473 earlier this week, following 807 fatalities in a single day.
“It’s difficult being so far away from home at this strange time but we’ve got good neighbours,” he said.
While he has no immediate ambition to sail a boat back across the Atlantic, Hildo is available for work in and around the Letterkenny area. He can be contacted on 0857715665.
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