The Living' Is Easy

Here in Brazil we "party hardy". Carnaval (perhaps better known as Mardi Gras to you) is actually only one day (Tuesday), followed by Ash Wednesday. But we manage to stretch it out to 5 or 6 days! João and I took off on Thursday, to head to Espírito Santo (state) where his parent's live. Along the way, we stopped in Campos to pick up Sissy and her boyfriend Junior. Even though it was a full day before most people would be travelling, the traffic was not good. That was compounded by a detour due to a fallen bridge. An 8 hour trip lasted 10 or 11 hours. So our first night at his parent's house we slept like logs - even without air conditioning!
The next day we headed out to the beach. Of course getting Sissy going is never an easy proposition, so it was almost noon when we hit a scaldingly hot beach. The sand was literally boiling hot - it blistered your feet! Since we hadn't been to the beach in years (I mean 7 years!), we had no equipment. We rented a beach umbrella and chair. I did have sunscreen. So I spent lots of time slathering on sunscreen and under the umbrella. Still, I did venture down to the water to cool off. Cool off I did, as the water was really cold. The waves were really rough, so as you can see by our photos, we often ran from the waves!
One of the beautiful sites were all the hang gliders (kite sailing) around us. A couple of them landed right beside us. Also we thoroughly enjoyed our lunch of "muqueca cabixaba"- which is fish stew made in Espírito Santo. Oh my that was good. By around 4:30 or so we were roasted enough (but not burned!) to head home for a shower. The sand and salt do tend to wear on you.
The next day we followed basically the same format. Only on this day Junior brought along a very large tent-like shelter and we rented two chairs. In addition we chose a spot with no waves. I spent most of the day in the water. Sissy and Junior rented a kayak and had a great time. It was REALLY hot and we all got just a little pink after 5 hours, but not really burned. I think it was from the reflection of the sun off the sand. It was so relaxing hearing the waves roar. I especially enjoy all the vendors that come around with various offerings. We bought coconut water, grilled cheese (they have little portable charcoal burners where they grill cheese on a stick), freshly roasted cashews (divine) and sunglasses ( I thought I was going to go blind with the glare). What a wonderful, wonderful day.
Sunday came and went, with two worship services and lunch at João's brother's house. We enjoyed the family time.
Monday we scheduled a family barbeque (churrasco) in his brother's garage. We had a total of 28 people present. I never was able to gather everyone for a good photo. On the trip up to Espírito Santo, I kept saying I wished we could all get together and so João made it happen. He bought all the meat, a cousin grilled it and everyone else chipped in with side dishes and drinks. We ate until we popped. On the right is the photo of the sausage grilling and to the left is João's mom serving his dad and his uncle (who is 96 years old!). One of the relatives (his brother's brother-in-law) turned 38 so we celebrated his birthday too. He is profoundly deaf, but João had two cousins who are also hearing impaired (one only slightly), so they translated for us and we all "sang" Happy Birthday in sign language. I hate myself for not photographing that! Afterwards the kids played UNO, some of the "old folks" napped, but João and his brothers (minus one brother who was on vacation) sat around and sang. As I was swinging in the hammock I listened and chimed in when I could (my repertoire of folk songs in Portuguese is limited), I was moved. The three of them sing so beautifully! I felt so satisfied to see the family having such a good time. I love to see people "in union" as we say in Portuguese! It was a very happy day for me.
All good things do come to an end, so on Tuesday morning we got up early and headed for home (minus Sissy and Junior who were going to stay until Friday) to avoid the Wednesday traffic jams. We had the road to ourselves enabling us to make a leisurely trip, stopping as we wished. We bought a stalk of bananas along the road and ate tiny little bananas for almost 8 hours. I am sure the car reeks of banana oil! We stopped and bought a special earthenware pot for cooking fish, as well as buying a footstool at another place. One of the landmarks on the way home is a mountain that is called the "Monk and the Nun". It has a legend accompanying it about an illicit affair and being turned into stone, etc. If you look carefully, you can see the monk (left) and with some imagination you can see the nun bowed to him. I have never gotten a shot of the rock formation and I was finally able to snap it, even at 60 miles an hour!
We arrived home by 4:30 or so, two tired puppies by the time we unloaded and unpacked. It was great to get away and it is good to be back. I know this was a long entry, but I thought you might enjoy our living easy adventures of Carnaval 2007. Did it make you want to come visit us????