Praia Cachadaco

Today we went to Trinadade which is a small beach town 17km south of Paraty on the mainland of Brazil. It has beeen raining for most of the two weeks we have been here and today we had our first bit of sun. We took a muddy hike past Praia Cachadaco through the jungle to a natural swimming hole protected from the waves by giant boulders. It looks exactly like Speedboat (Buck's) beach on Lake Tahoe! The water is warm and clear and you can snorkle, swim, boulder and sun bath all in this amazing spot that reminds us of home!

Mountain Bike/Hike to Dois Rios on Ilhe Gande

Today we embarked on a split expedition. Andrew and Jordy barefoot walked while Xander and I rode mountain bikes. The island didn't have a bike that fit Jordy so this was the adventure we created!

We went on a dirt road from the village Abraao on Ilhe Grande through the jungle and over a mountain to get to Dois Rios which is a remote beach on the other side of the island. In this little village there used to be a prison that held political prisoners. In 1994 the prison was blown up (without prisoners inside) so now the village is a bizarre ghost town with a few inhabitants and a gorgeous beach in a cove. The weather has been mostly overcast since we have been in Brasil and today was no exception. It worked out well to have cooler temperatures for our trek over the mountain.

Brasil: Ilha Grande

10.24.09

We are in Ilha Grande. We just hiked out to a very nice beach. It was the closest beach to us with surf! the hike was amazing! I walked barefoot the whole way through dense jungle. One time I came across a long wide ant-line, and I yelped out, "gaaaaaaah!" as I nearly stepped into it. My dad taught us how to sprint across ant-lines.

When we got to the beach Xander and Dad rented a surfboard and got at it. I never could catch a wave body surfing. Sometimes waves would crash over me, Blech! Saltwater! My Mama was swimming with me, we had a blast!

We took a boat ride back. There were some big waves. Sometimes the boat would tip so much that water would come in the boat by the quarter ounces (a little bit) ominously. It was an exciting, fun, and scary journey.

The End

Lopes Mendes "Brasil's most beautiful beach"

Ipanema Beach

While we were in Rio we stayed on Ipanema beach right in front of a good point break. The first day we were there, there was a pro surf contest going on and they were ripping. The waves were too big for us. The waves gradually got smaller as the week went on, but there were a lot of people surfing and it didn't look super inviting for beginners.

We rented bikes one day and rode around the city and to the botanical garden.

Ipanema walkway

Right before we arrived in Brazil, Rio was awarded the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Food Tour of Rio!

Atila and Lais arrived today to spend a few days with us in Ipanema Beach in Rio! They gave us a proper introduction to many of Brazil's typical foods. We tasted many things we would never have ventured to eat on our own. Thankfully Atila and Lais showed us the way! We would have missed out on some great Brazilian traditions.


Coconut Water


Globos....only found in Rio


Sucos bar.....eggplant juice anyone?


frozen yogurt with fresh tropical fruit


Caipirinhas

Some of our favorites not pictured but worth a mention are: grilled cheese roasted in a portable tin stove on the beach, mate lemonade ice cold from tin containers on the beach, Pao de Quejo, brigadeiros, acerola, acai with granola and fruit (my favorite, or maybe the caipirinha is my favorite), ice cream that rivals Buenos Aires', brazillions of exotic fruits, farofa, black bean soup, feijao.........

Maracana Staduim in Rio Brazil

82,238 capacity
"The largest stadium in the world"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Est%C3%A1dio_do_Maracan%C3%A3
(with a little research it looks like it once held the largest crowd of 199,854)

Future home of the 2014 World Cup Final and the 2016 Olympic Games!

An unexpected theme of our trip so far has been soccer. We were in Rio less than 24 hours and we found our way to estadio Maracana which is reputedly the largest stadium in the world! We also chose our team Fluminense in the short time since setting foot in Brazil. Fluninense is a team from Rio with candy cane green and red team colors.

Carioca (Rio) hincha is just as passionate as Porteno (Buenos Aires) hincha yet much more profane. The day was clear and hot and the stadium a mere third full, but the crowds were loud and large with fists punching the air, flags waving, and chants vibrating the huge oval stadium. Our team tied with International, a team from the south of Brazil.

Fluminense-our team in Brazil.
They are struggling in 4th to last place and are in jeapordy of falling into the second division :(

Last Day of School?

Yesterday was the last day of school at Armonia. It was a sad and tearful day for the boys. The students and teachers gave the boys T-shirts signed by their classmates, giant cards with farewell notes, and treasure boxes filled with memories from Buenos Aires (music, dulce de leche, books, and bracelets). As soon as Jordy saw us he asked if he could go to school tomorrow (Saturday)!

We have mixed feelings about leaving this special place where the boys have quickly felt at home and made friends. Their Spanish gets better every day and they are very eager to learn. The boys' enthusiasm has us thinking about returning to Buenos Aires for a few more weeks of school. Armonia has given them an open invitation to return.

Xander and his friends Tomas Goldenberg, Pedro, and Tomas Sanguinetti

We are on our way to Brazil to visit with our friends Atila and Lais, spend time on the beach, and go on a sea kayaking trip!

Milagro de San Palermo: Argentina 2 Peru 1

Tonight we went to the do or die World Cup qualifying match between Argentina and Peru. This was a critical match for a disgruntled Argentina. Up to this point, Coach Diego Maradona and the Argentine team, composed of some of the world's best players, have failed to qualify. Brazil, Paraguay, and Chile have already clinched a spot for the 2010 World Cup. One more team from South America will go. Argentina needed to win tonight in order to have a chance to qualify. To not qualify would be a national disgrace. Thankfully, they pulled it off in the last minute of the game as a torrential down pour flooded the stadium.



Here is a 4 minute recap of the game. Notice how the picture gets foggier as the rain intensifies throughout the second half.




Close call


Paa-Lerrr-Mo! Paa-Lerrr-Mo! Paa-Lerr-Mo!
Martin Palermo scores the winning goal in
the last minute of the game.


Drenched, happy and exhilerated!

The following table is for futbol hincha (soccer fans).

Tabla de posiciones

Equipo Pts PJ PG PE PP GF GC Dif Brasil 33 16 9 6 1 32 9 23 Paraguay 33 17 10 3 4 24 14 10 Chile 30 17 9 3 5 31 22 9 Argentina 25 17 7 4 6 22 20 2 Uruguay 24 17 6 6 5 28 19 9 Ecuador 23 17 6 5 6 22 25 -3 Venezuela 21 17 6 3 8 23 29 -6 Colombia 20 17 5 5 7 12 18 -6 Bolivia 12 16 3 3 10 20 34 -14 Perú 10 17 2 4 11 10 34 -24

L\V 3:0 1:3 2:0 1:0 1:1 1:1 2:1 2:1 4:0 6:1 0:2 0:0 1:3 4:2 3:0 2:2 0:1 0:0 0:0 4:2 0:0 5:0 2:1 3:0 2:1 1:0 4:0 0:3 4:0 0:3 2:0 0:0 2:2 2:1 2:0 0:0 2:4 2:0 0:1 1:0 0:1 1:0 2:0 3:1 1:1 1:0 0:0 1:1 5:1 1:2 0:1 1:0 1:0 2:0 0:2 5:1 1:0 1:0 2:0 1:1 1:1 1:3 1:1 1:2 0:0 1:0 1:0 5:0 0:4 2:2 3:1 0:0 2:0 6:0 1:1 0:2 5:3 0:4 2:3 2:0 3:1 1:2 3:1 2:2