It’s been a busy week!

It’s Friday, finally and it’s been quite a hectic week. Despite or perhaps because of all of that, we decided to enjoy our day off together. So after some very typical wishy-washy debate of trying to decide what to do, we drove over to the south side of town for a late lunch.  João decided to take me to a seafood place right on the beach of Ipanema. In all the hustle and bustle of this insane city, it’s hard to believe there is a place like this. The entry to the street is very restricted and when you drive down the little alley, there you are right at the beach, just blocks from Copacabana. But here you see and hear the waves and suddenly you feel the stress just blowing out to the sea, going away to Africa! Today the sky was that rare blue we have once in a while here. It wasn’t hot, and in fact we chose to sit outside in the sun. Once again, it was that rare deliciously warming sun here in the tropics, with a light breeze to keep us cool. It made me glad to live in Rio. It was just that kind of perfect day. We ordered our favorite moqueca (it’s the fish stew you see on the left, prepared in an earthen ware pot). It was really good. Even the rice and manioc flour that accompanied it was tasty. I savored the afternoon. Since it seemed to so calm and quiet, we decided to take a walk down to the rocks you see in the photo on the right. It was just lovely. Doesn’t it really look like the tropical paradise that you imagine Rio is?  It’s a shame so much of Rio has deteriorated into dirt and slums and traffic jams and violence that we forget how wonderful it can be. Today was a respite and it made us want to live right on the beach. I feel ten years younger after our day off. I trust you too are investing in your recreation and mental health as well. My house may be dirty and my articles yet to be written, but I feel so good I just don’t care!