Survival

So you thought we froze to death, did you? We didn’t, but we did get “frosty” as you can see by this photo. We made national headlines in Brazil with the cold weather. When it hits below freezing (we could scrape the ice off the clay tiles on the roof here) in a tropical country like Brazil, it is big news. Fortunately, as you can see, the sun has been bright and warm so the house warms up a bit during the day. Hasn’t kept us inside much, that’s for sure. Let’s also hear it for ceramic space heaters!

Yesterday João said he finally understood women in a shoe store. We are in the land of chimarrão (his green tea) and when we went to a specialty stop of chimarrão, I thought we would never get out of there. He couldn’t decide what “cuia” (gourd), “bomba” (straw) or “erva” (tea) to chose. He had chimarrão to his heart’s content. He was one happy camper.

Today was my turn as we visited the botanical gardens. I can hardly decide what pictures to post, as everything was just exquisite. The crystal greenhouse was my very special delight. We had perfect weather, as it was sunny and about 68 degrees. Our tummies were very full as well. We are also in the land of “churrascarias”, those famous Brazilian restaurants where they serve meat on a spit, as much as you can stand to eat. We saw one offering lunch for only R$8.90, which is about $4.50. To top it off there was also a great buffet with every kind of vegetable and salad imaginable. We definitely needed to do lots of walking at the gardens! I tell you the chances of me losing weight grow fatter and fatter. The afternoon at the botanical gardens was grand and our hearts were full of the beauty and peace we felt in the place. At the end we just sat on a bench and listened to the birds, looked at nature, and watched the young couples in love.

Although it was nearly 4:00, when we left there we decided to take a risk and trust the GPS (we have reason to say it is a risk, because more than once “she” has told us to turn off the highway, in the middle of a mountain where there were no roads) to guide us to the “Wire Opera House”. Fortunately there were good road signs and we found it. It is a theater out of glass and wire and we enjoyed another leisurely walk and a great cup of coffee. 

It is an interesting place and I would certainly enjoy seeing a show there. Tomorrow we are looking forward to dinner with João’s cousin who he has never met! That promises to be as enjoyable as today. Right now João is building up a good fire on the stove and I will be putting on some pine nuts to cook for our supper. Oh, how I will miss those when when we leave here!