Month: February 2014

WHAT MORE IS THERE TO SAY … OUR LAST DAY

I cannot believe that this is our last day in Brasil. We have done this now over a dozen time – pack up and prepare for a move or flight. Each time feel just like the first. Do we have everything? Do we have everything? Do we have everything? I hope so! Usually we do. I went on a final run on the BeiraMar before throwing my running shoes in the trash. Running on the BeiraMar is nice because of the closeness of the water, but I prefer the trails of the jungle. The BeiraMar is so close to the sea that today I had to hurdle a fish on the running/bike path. Clouds and sun today. I can tell that Summer is winding down, because the sun does not go straight overhead anymore. When I returned to the house, we walked to the Cookie Garden Center and Decathlon and ate our last supper at Centro Administivo. We purchased 32 cookies to eat in the airports along the way, one for each world cup team. One cookie to rule them all! Everyone is so excited for our flight tomorrow. “Why couldn’t we fly today, Daddy?” –Viena. “Can I help pack anything?” – Viena. Dwana is all packed. I still need to do some fine tuning. Dwana is … how can I say this? Well … We will just see how things go. We have done this before. The show must go on. Ezra played one last time in the mud by the water hose. The sun is setting now. “Only one more dark?” – Ezra. And then the sun will rise and we will fly and fly and fly.

Thursday, 20 February 2014 DAY 670 327 MOON 23 WANING 62%
Today is our last beach day. When I woke up to push everyone through the early morning portal that transports us to a beautiful beach for sunrise, I smelled rain. I looked out the window and I could not see any and soon after a quick downpour of rain fell. So I did what most people would do, I went back to bed and we watched the sunrise from the comforts of our jungle retreat ( a euphemism of sorts). The sunrise would have been astonishing from the sandy beach because the rains quickly left as quick as they had arrived and the sky somewhat cleared leaving a few clouds behind for the dawn to paint. We ended up going to the beach at 8:30am instead of 4:30pm, and the difference is that we all came back with pretty good sunburns. Managing morning sun is easy to do, but afternoon mid-day sun in the Tropics is difficult to hide from. Oh well. We probably will not be sunburn again for a long time. I think I remember recovering from a sunburn when we first arrived in Floripa fresh from Autumn-Madrid. The waves were not good for body surfing, but Viena and Ezra loved, absolutely loved, playing in the waves, running, thrashing, jumping, floating, diving, crashing. They were in pure joy, as if they knew that this experience was unique and that this would be their last time to experience something like this for a while. Helicopter flew over the neighborhood tonight looking for monkeys in trees with spotlights.

MOON AND MARS TOGETHER AGAIN
Wednesday, 19 February 2014 DAY 669 326 MOON 23 WANING 69%
If I could explain the tiered level of green that goes into making the jungle surrounding Saco Grande, I would. But really, who would appreciate it. So many places like Saco Grande exist on Earth. Viena is showing me her baby’s outfit that she is going to wear on the airplane. Needless to say, we are all pretty excited, but Viena shows her excitement the most. The trails behind Saco Grande are walked by almost no one. I am amazed that I even was able to connect some of the dots in the jungle. Viena just gave me a big hug. She has been giving me more hugs these past few days. We walked the BeiraMar today in the mid-day sun. This is something we could not have done a couple of weeks ago because of the heat, but now the temperature has cooled down to manageable. I am going to miss the green-green jungle, especially as the sunset sun strikes and we sit and eat and watch the day end.

EZRA’S PET ANT
Tuesday, 18 February 2014 DAY 668 325 MOON 23 WANING 76%
“I have a pet ant. I am going to take him all around the world so he can have an adventure!” – Ezra. Ezra played with his pet ant for about an hour. The ant crawled on Ezra’s arms, hand, shoulder, back, neck, and even his face. We all were a little scared when the pet ant thought about using Ezra’s nose as a tunnel. Ezra made his pet ant a terrarium. Ezra drove his pet ant around in his truck. Ezra found a couple more ants so his pet ant would have friends. Ezra fed his pet ant and talked with his pet ant. Ezra even made his pet anta swimming pool. His pet ant did not really enjoy the swimming pool. This is what it has come down to, Ezra seeking out pet ants. In Taman Negara, we saw a guy let big 2-inch black ants crawl all over him, so maybe Ezra remembers. All I remember from my childhood ant experiences in Texas were that my ants were red, and they bit. My memories are not as pleasant as Ezra’s experience.

SWITCH-O-CHANGE-O
Monday, 17 February 2014 DAY 667 324 MOON 23 WANING 83%
Life is all about chances and what we do with them when we have them. Let me ask you a question. If you had the chance, would you steal back your old-stained-smelly T-shirt from a guy who did not have any legs who stole it from you only moments ago? If you had the chance … Well, I did! I still needed that t-shirt. They so not allow you on the bus without a T-shirt. I guess I should have never just neatly laid it down folded in the grass in the first place. Our new place, new room, is working out fine. The rains fell all day today, or at least all morning. Now, we welcome the rain. Bring on the rain!

Sunday, 16 February 2014 DAY 666 323 MOON 23 WANING 89%
We switched rooms with André today. What a difference a room with ventilation makes. Viena has enjoyed looking at the evening colors and the night sky. Tonight Jupiter was in the sky bright after sunset. We were waiting for the moon but the rain clouds moved in first. Today we went on a hike to the big rock with André. Finally! We have been talking about showing André this hike since our first week in Saco Grande. Now this is our last week. Amazing what deadlines will do. Ezra did super on the walk.

Saturday, 15 February 2014 DAY 665 322 MOON 23 FULL 100%
We leave in one week. We survived the three week heat waves. The days have been cooler. I re-built the Brasilian Bed and disassembled the bunk beds in preparation for our move. Hopefully we will find someone to rent our place for the rest of the lease. We had to lease until May, but that was still less expensive than paying outrageous summer vacation rental prices. The wind blew off a neighbor’s front gate. Dwana and I sat at the top of the stairs and ate lunch and looked out onto the neighborhood that will soon be only a memory.

Friday, 14 February 2014 DAY 664 321 MOON 23 FULL 100%
We are here at Cacupé – SESC. We walked and had breakfast at the bakery on the way. SESC has the best playground we have found on the island. Viena and Ezra are playing with some other small children. Happy Valentine’s Day! We needed more kid interaction on the playground, like Madrid. We stayed at SESC most of the morning and afternoon. I took photographs of all the wooden “Games of the World”. The slanted wooden cube was solved! I could not believe this. I have been trying to solve this puzzle since we arrive here at SESC. Now, with the help of an Unknown, I know how to solve the puzzle. I use the 3-pillar and Z-key technique, which is different from the Arc do Triumph Z-key technique of the regular cube. Understand! The simple things of life that make me happy! The kids were in imagination land as they played with puppets, dolls, swings and kitchens. They must have prepared food for 200 people. “It is hard work being a chef!” – Ezra. What a blessing to have a place like SESC nearby and a nice bakery on the way. The rain storm we have been waiting for finally arrived. We were sheltered in the small bus stop of Cacupé as the waves and wind and rain all were crazy around us. However, the conditions were still a warm wind and warm rain, warm tropical rain. We sat huddled together in the bus stop talking about “real” storms of Alaska where the bus shelter would be truly a survival shed and the storm would include freezing rain, hail and sleet. No, this was not a storm like that.

Thursday, 13 February 2014 DAY 663 320 MOON 23 WAXING 90%
One of the funniest things to hear is a little barefoot boy step in dog-poop and say, “ayé! Carámba!” We are at the playground up the hill in Saco Grande. A couple of boys are trying to build a fort inside the rocket-ship. Quite a sight! They are de-nailing strips of wood at the age of 6. They learn early here to build with what you have. The two boys were not successful and eventually gave up, throwing the planks of wood over the fence in disgust. Their non-peaceful interaction with each other was the funniest thing I have seen in a while. I know I have said this before, but … the day was hot. The sun rose over the mountains with nothing else to stop the heat from scorching this part of the Earth. We took a day off from adventure-sun-rising. Waking up at 4:30am is difficult to do 3 days in a row. We talked about going to SESC later. Ezra was in a dreamy state. I think he missed riding the bus and the opportunity for napping that was included in a bus ride. I know I have said this before … Ezra had difficulty listening and eating prepared food. The beach is by far a better place to spend the morning. In the afternoon I went on a very hot run to Shopping BeiraMar. I did not really see any interesting on my run. We are all dreaming of future places. Part of our minds are already there waiting for us. The moon was up this morning, bright and almost full. In the evening dark clouds visited and cooled the day off. Finally! We have had a week straight of hot weather. Besides the exclamations of the small Bob the Brasilian Builder Boys, the neighborhood is quiet, only a few dogs talking. From the playground you can see the big rock, Shopping Floripa and Morro da Cruz. This is a lovely place for a playground, but not such a lovely playground. The rains might be heading our way. Lightning and thunder return at night. The heat wave has officially broken.

Wednesday, 12 February 2014 DAY 662 319 MOON 23 WAXING 83%
For the second day in row we caught the 4:50am bus to Canasvieiras and then onto Praia Brava. We finally were able to arrive at the beach and enjoy the dawn, that time after darkness but before the sun rises. The dawn was beautiful and peaceful. We had the beach to ourselves to enjoy the growing morning light. A few clouds on the horizon added to the colors. The temperatures are so warm even in the morning. When day broke, we all went splashing around in the water. Ezra was becoming personal with a few of the waves, Ezra versus the waves. Wave after wave after wave after wave came, and Ezra battled each and every one. The sun brightened the white slosh of the waves that were perfect wave crashers for the children. Pure joy! Something finally clicked in Ezra’s head, “I can ninja-turtle these waves!” He was unstoppable, until that one wave stopped him and we headed into shore. Viena has really enjoyed body surfing. She is tall enough to jump out in front of the crashing wave. They both are becoming water surf lovers, hopefully, it will never leave. The plan was to catch the 11:00am yellow bus back to the mall, but the yellow bus left early at 10:45. Good thing we arrived early. We spent the rest of the day inside the air conditioned mall. Needless to say, I enjoyed the morning better than the afternoon.

Tuesday, 11 February 2014 DAY 661 318 MOON 23 WAXING 77%
Today, we did it! Yes! Another Galheta in the bag! I feel so successful, so empowered when I can awaken my entire household then catch a bus in the dark at 5am. We arrived at Praia Mole and walked the trail to Praia Galheta while the day was beginning. Greeting the day early on a day that is going to be hot is the way to go. Very few clouds were floating in the sky. Ezra and Viena both ran the trail and were the first ones on the beach. We arrived at low tide, so we did not need to walk the high trail. A few surfers were catching some sunrise surf break, nice big waves crashing. The waters of Galheta are shallow and not as turbulent as Molé. The sand is hard packed. I could not believe how clear the water was. Even when the water was up to my chest, I could look down and see the bottom and see schools of small fish swimming. A group of about 30 lifeguards were swim training. The body surfing was excellent, nice powerful clear refreshing waves in shallow water that I could just jump in front and fly like superman along the water toward the shore. The water of Galheta is so refreshing, especially in the heat of the day becoming more noticeable. Galheta is my favorite beach, such natural beauty, and not many people. We packed all of our food and drinks, which lasted until about high noon. Then, it was time to hike the Trilha Arqueologica back into Barra da Lagoa. Super-Dwana had to carry Ezra through sand so hot it burned through flip-flops. The trail was steep, but better than walking back along the beach through hot beach sand. The temperature was around 37C, maybe 40C. So, up and over the hill we walked, and 4 popsicles and 3 buses later we arrived on our front step with Ezra asleep of course. Ezra was exhausted from all the sunshine, wave playing, and chasing a sand crab. No rest for me though. I immediately went back into the heat to ship off our climatizador. Yes! Sold! Now, I am on the bus to Centro to buy some nuts and the sun is still blazing.

Monday, 10 February 2014 DAY 660 317 MOON 23 WAXING 70%
We are giving our two weeks notice! Viena is whimpering from her owwwies (machucados) that were sustained yesterday. Ezra is trying to re-organize his fort underneath the sink. Ezra woke up and grabbed my arm. I was thinking, “oh no, here we go again!” He said, “Dad, what if we played a game like this?” And he opened his mouth and said a word , but no sound came out and you had to guess the word. Wow! A quiet game in the morning is my type of game and a much better than yesterday’s wake up mantra of “Mom!” Viena and I went on a morning adventure. We tried to go to Centro, but the traffic jam diverted us to UFSC and Trinidade. School must be back in session because more students were walking around. On the way back, we picked up some chocolate chip cookies at the Garden Cookie Center. I then went for a hike/run at high noon. The sun was so hot, around 37C. I did not have an agenda for the hike. First, I went shopping for groceries at Bistek and arranged a delivery. Then I went running on the trail past the horse stables. I thought of trying once again to find the trail that goes to Lagoa I followed a trail into the woods. No. This was just another cow trail that went to a waterhole. Then, I found the cows and one bull without horns. I remember him. And the vultures, butterflies, spiders, big feathered birds and a leaf bug. I had resigned myself to yet another disappointment of not finding the trail to Lagoa, but then I was running along and saw one more splint off to the East, and this was it. But, I was not out of the jungle yet. The other side had its own difficulties in that the trail faded in places and the last thing I wanted to do was to bushwhack through this jungle. I am too old for that. But, I would save bushwhacking for another day, fortunately I was able to locate a strong vein of the trail that led me to the waterfall. I took a quick swim in the watering hole and then continued on 7 mre kilometers to the bus terminal. What an awesome jungle hike. My legs are all sliced up from the overgrown trail. The electricity went off in the entire neighborhood at night so Viena and I put the thermarests on the veranda and looked at the constellations in the unencumbered night sky. We were able to find the Southern Cross. A great way to end a great day.

Sunday, 9 February 2014 DAY 659 316 MOON 23 WAXING 63%
Viena asked the difference between God and Jesus. We watched a webcast of one of Mylon’s basketball games. Ezra woke up with a morning mantra of “Mom!” He would not stop. We were up around 7am trying to prepare to walk the Ratones trail to Lagoa. I tried to wake André and he said he would meet us at the 8:50sm bus. However, we ended up taking an earlier bus since the connection was perfect and the day was not going to get any cooler. I thought he would be able to catch up with us on the trail. The trail was full of butterflies. Oh, before the trail, before the bus, about 100 meters from our house we saw 2 saqui monkeys. Who needs to walk through the jungle when you live in a jungle? We crossed over to the other side of the island. We found a nice shaded beach near the last boat stop. We picnicked in peace except for the pokey caterpillars that kept parachuting from the leaves of the trees onto our backpack. The boat ride back was bouncy. Viena slipped on the trail doing stunts.

Saturday, 8 February 2014 DAY 658 315 MOON 23 WAXING 56%
I awoke with dreams with the Cleggs and the conspiracy theory of waiting until the right time. “When shooting stars hit the moon, why do they make circles?” – Ezra, as we are waking up to another blistering morning of heat. The day was hot from inception. André asked if we wanted to go to the beach, but we had lost our open window. I was thinking of walking to Cacupé for sunset, but a thunderstorm moved through the area. The rain felt good. Yes, finally! Big sharp drops of rain, falling from the sky. I kept looking for a rainbow. I went on a run in the shadows of the storm, still humid. Today was stay away from Ezra day. I ran 1:12:12, a new world and Olympic record.

Friday, 7 February 2014 DAY 657 314 MOON 23 WAXING 50%
I awoke with a dream on Great-Grandmothers house on future rich pathways and remodeled into a showcase historical home with great landscaping also. Another dream was with Greg and Sherri and the ghost of Alberto Einstein. Everyone is tired after a long day. The heat of the day, even when you are not outside in direct sun wears on you. We spent the day at Shopping Beira Mar in the comforts of, yes, air-con. We must be a sight to witness at the bus terminals. I am leading the pack, walking to various bus asking “Vai pra Shopping BeiraMar?” Dwana, Viena and Ezra are following like little ducklings. I woke up this morning to go on a run in the jungle development (10 laps at 7:30 pace). I saw a black panther. I mean I saw a little cute stray black kitten. Horribly I thought, well I guess the snake population of the jungle must be low. Running when the sun is not out is always better. At the Mall, Viena an Ezra went to a free exhibit call Sid the Scientist. They were able to play with magnets, Velcro fruit and pick carrots, and even make silly putty. They both enjoyed the activities and Ezra even gave a heartfelt, “Thanks Dad for letting us go in there!” Of course, Ezra has been on my bad list, he ruined our açai picnic experience by crying and whining. Viena was wonderful. I guess age does make a difference between a 7 year old girl and a 4 year old boy. Their dispositions are so different. One can mature a lot in 3 years. And to think Viena will be 8 years-old soon. They played on the playground with another little boy, mostly tag, but Ezra always tries to squeeze in a game of duck-duck-goose. Our room was blaring hot when we returned home.

Thursday, 6 February 2014 DAY 656 313 MOON 23 WAXING 43%
I am looking a little red today. We were out in the sun at Praia Brava since the sunrise. We woke up and caught the 6am bus. I always end up carrying Ezra on the Boonda Pack or he would not make it and everyone and every dog in the neighborhood would hear us. So instead, I saddled him up and he sleeps quietly and I walk. The system works out better than any other baby carrier we have purchased, and he is close to 18kilos by now (40 pounds). Now, Viena on the other hand is a great morning walker. Even though she stayed up until 11pm, she was ready to walk at 5:30am. The morning was warm and quiet outside. We hear crickets chirping and buses passing while we wait at the bus stop. The sunrise was nice since a few clouds joined the orchestra on the horizon. I wish the clouds would have stayed a little longer. The waves of Praia Brava were a little more “Brava” today, which meant the waves were not good for body surfing. A huge current flowing from the North to the South kept the life guards busy. Ezra found some boys playing with racquets in the water. The heat and needing to be in the water to watch Ezra did not allow me to just sit and take cover from the sun. But, I can hide from the sun back at our place. A strong warm breeze swept through. We took the Yellow Executivo bus back home. Still clear blue skies and warm. The store is out of bottled water so I bought 8 popsicles. We stayed inside the rest of the day.

Wednesday, 5 February 2014 DAY 655 312 MOON 23 WAXING 36%
The time is 10:30pm. I just traded pens with Viena. Yes, she is still awake. She was the first one up this morning as well. She is packing for the beach in the morning. I hope we are able to catch the 5am bus, but it is already 10:30 at night. Today was extremely hot. OK, maybe the temperature was not that much hotter than the other days, but we have just had day after day after day of hot days. We missed our opportunity to go out this morning. We just lazed around and made breakfast and before you know it, the sun had crested the mountain ridge and the heat was on, 7:30am. We practically played inside all day. Viena was playing with her dolls and Ezra was playing with his trucks and cars. The day was too hot for the imagination to think, and everyone just tried to stay away from each other, and that worked pretty well until evening when I went for a run to the BeiraMar. Ezra then fell apart eating beans and rice for dinner. We I returned home, I could hear him crying from down the street. I had that “Is that my child making that noise?” thought. Yes, I was correct. Thankfully he calmed down and was asleep within the hour. Viena on the other hand is still up and humming a song on the top bunk.

Tuesday, 4 February 2014 DAY 654 311 MOON 23 WAXING 29%
We took a trip to the air-conditioned Mall. Sometimes when we load up all the backpacks to go and catch a bus for a day trip, Ezra thinks we are moving to a new place. Ezra calls this, “going to a new island!” Ezra took a 3 hour nap today yesterday and was up last night until midnight. I think his long nap is his way of letting us know that he is ready to move on. I think all of us are ready to move on. Our small room is too hot and we are limited with the activities we can do around here in the heat. We have become Mall Rats. We have stopped going to SESC. The jungle is too hot and initial trail is too steep. Functional parks and playgrounds are non-existent. In order to go to the beach without turning into a red lobster or umbrella cowerer, we must wake up uber-early and ride a bus for an hour. Our small room of a place heats up like a sauna box at times. The heat is getting to us all. So, today we loaded up the backpacks with some water and went to the air-conditioned mall of Shopping Beiramar. Yes, air-conditioning. I did not thinking it would come down to one of the most sought after items as we traveled around the world, but here we are, heading to the Mall once again. We walked around and visited book stores mostly. They have two book stores in the Shopping BeiraMar. Unfortunately, books are one of the many items that are disproportionately priced here in Brasil. All books start at over $15 USD and they have zero promotions. Out of date Agenda books are prices from $20-$50. Ridiculous prices! They definitely make you pay to read. Books are only for the privileged few. Also, small little quaint coffee and bakery shops appear to be a popular thing to do, much like in the States. I know these types of places were in Europe as well, but we mostly saw and were familiar with quaint little stand-up coffee shops in Madrid and Rome, where you would drink your coffee and be gone in 5 minutes, all for a promotion of a 1€ for café and pastry. Here the same items would cost you at least 3 times that. Some pricing just does not make sense. We basically stick to the grocery store where we buy fresh bread, cheese, ham, lettuce and sprouts and then have a picnic in the mall or at the playground. Ironically, the electricity went out at the Mall for about an hour. A thunderstorm threatened all of Florianópolis. Yes! Finally some rain. I ran a 47:12 10K in the heat on the flat BeiraMar path. We arrived back at home just before the rains.

Sunday, 2 February 2014 DAY 652 309 MOON 23 WAXING 16%
We watched the Super Bowl thanks to hide the IP software. Viena and Ezra played in the sand-pile. I saw a speckled spotted bird. Dwana saw a toucan or a hornbill. I was body surfing the waves of Santinho as Joe was starting his marathon in New Orleans. Joe’s wedding is kind of what kicked off our trip some 650 days ago. When we came back from the beach we were able to watch live updates of his marathon and see that he qualified for the Boston Marathon by 9 seconds. Way to go Joe! I wonder what it will take for me to do something like that, and then I think of the things that I have already done, just this year. Especially the last two years. Joe and Miriam’s wedding was in April 2012. We have traveled a long way since then. We have been traveling the duration of their marriage. Today in Floripa is not a good day to run a marathon. Today is a good day to go to the beach. We started with another early morning escape. The waves were excellent for body surfing, The sunrise was beautiful and calming and the beach is surrounded by picturesque dunes and jungle. Ezra and Viena played so well in the waves. Everyone is looking red. We are going to need to take lots of showers today. “The heat gets to me before it gets to you. I don’t know what else I can do!”

Saturday, 1 February 2014 DAY 651 308 MOON 23 WAXING 9%
I ran today quickly to Shopping Floripa and back. I was looking for a microphone. No luck. The run was hot. I kept thinking how mentally tough it would be for me to continue running up into the jungle on a day like today when the temperature is at least 100F. At home, everyone just sat inside and tried to stay away from each other. Our bodies all generate heat, and we do not have something to generate cold, except a luke-warm shower. Late at night when the temperature finally cooled down, Viena , Ezra and I went outside and rubber-banded the LED light from Madrid up in the air. The rubber-band LED rocket is the best 1€ toy. I am glad I bought two. A new category would be favorite items that cost 1€.