Feliz Ano Novo!



Yes, it's the first day of 2009 and my first blog entry......
We're about 2 weeks into our trip to Brasil, and it's been amazing. Hard to know where to start. Firstly, my apologies for the length of this blog entry (Ian's told me that I'm not meant to write a short novel), it's just that so much has happened without us communicating and I wanted to squeeze it all in. I promise, future entries will be short and sweet.

Ian and I had a relatively seamless (though incredibly long - 30ish hour) trip from the virtual blizzard in Vancouver to the 28 degree warmth of Rio. Once in Rio we decided to take the local bus from the airport to Ipanema Beach which traverses along miles of favelas (squatter communities that surround the city, a.k.a. City of God /City of Men for any of you that have seen the movies)....and 2 1/2 hours later we made it there only to realize that had we taken a shuttle, it would have taken 45 mintues and cost 3 bucks more. Learn as you go. The hostel we'd chosen for the night was great. A block from the beach and in an area with tons of restaurants, cafes and beautifully tree-lined streets. Cocos on the white sand beach, cervejas (beers) with sushi (Japanese food is very popular here) and espressos con pao o chocolate filled our bellies and settled us into our first dream time in South America.



Back to the airport the next morning to meet my family - Mom, Dad, Marnie, Bert, Mateo and Gabriel (Taylor decided to stay in Canada for the holidays) for a weeks' holiday together on a neighboring beach to Rio. Not so. Though the beach house looked amazing from the outside, and opened on to a pristine and quiet beach, upon our entrance we were struck with an overpowering smell of mold. As we looked around, other deficits arose - a kitchen ill equipped to feed our family, rooms that had not been well cleaned for our arrival, etc. We debated whether to hunker down, clean and spend the week as planned or to stay one night and find other accommodations.




In the end, we ditched the beach house, hopped in our Volkswagen 'Kombi' van and headed back to Rio to a hotel in an area just South of Ipanema and Copacabana, called Barra da Tijuca. Although we could have made it work, I think we were all happy and excited to be where there were lots of people celebrating the holidays and lots of things to see and do together. The week was amazing, and not without it's challenges.

Our first day at Ipanema beach, Bert's shorts with his wallet, his ID, the van keys, insurance and registration papers were stolen from his beach chair. Some of us had been sitting right beside it and didn't even notice when someone moved the chair out of the circle and grabbed Bert's gear. Everyone knows that theft is a possibility, if not a likelihood of being in and around Rio, but it was a sour pill to swallow on day one. Though we were all conscious that it could have been much worse, it unfortunately cost Bert a couple more days of his holiday time at the car rental place and police station getting it all figured out. Fortunately for us and unfortunately for him (at times) because Bert's fluent in Portuguese, he became our guide, chauffeur and translator.



In the days following, we spent time at the beach in front of our hotel; the boys playing soccer, flying kites, and swimming with local Brazillian kids (who were also working the food stands on the beach); the adults doing much of the same and enjoying the odd caipirinha (national drink of Brasil made with cachaca, sugar, lime juice and ice) and fresh cocos. Ian and I ran several of the mornings along the beach to our favorite breakfast place that offered amazing fresh food, juices and espress com leite for about $3.50 a meal.


We spent our evenings out at restaurants either in our area or back to Ipanema/Copacobana. Though we always managed to eat, Brasil is not a close friend of the vegetarian. I've eaten more white bread & cheese sandwiches than I care to comment on. One night, we had a hotel sitter (baba) look after the boys while we went out in search of Samba in Rio Centro. We went to a restaurant/club in the oldest area of Rio that was 3 stories high with an opening on each level that looked down to the dance floor where people moved every which way to live music. Though none of us hit the dance floor, it was a great look into some of the night life offered there. Ian and I will be seeking out some more when we return, no doubt.




On one of the days around Xmas, Bert, Ian and I all went HANG-GLIDING! Yup, we drove up one of those huge and magestic mountains famous in pictures of Rio and jumped off to soar in the skies about the city, the forest, lake, ocean and beaches. It was breathtaking, in more ways than one. Although this had been a long standing desire of Berts', I'd never even considered it until a few hours before I actually took off. Of course, my guide ended up being a yogi (he offers his flights to various deities and practices pranayama) and had an 80 year old father that was an acupuncturist...go figure. There are some pics below as well as video clips from Ian and my take-offs.



On Christmas morning, we grabbed white buns and cheese from a local store (no joke), hopped in the Kombi and headed off to stand at the feet of Christ the Redeemer..... If you're unfamiliar with this, scroll up and you'll see that it is the backdrop to our blog. Although many other Brasilians and tourists alike shared our sentiment that there would be no better day than Dec 25th to hang with Jesus, we still managed to get our fair share of photos, vistas of the city and feel awe-struck at the sheer magnitude of this homage to Christ.



Meaning no offence to anyone, I thought it might be funny to play a wee joke on Ian. My mom, sister and I conspired to tell Ian that, as a tradition with the boys, we always sang happy birthday to Jesus on Christmas. I told him that though it might seem a bit weird, what better place to do it than here at the largest statue of Christ? Being the sweet and trusting man he is, he was willing to humour my family in our weird tradition. So, with mild protests from the boys that they had no memory of having sung to Jesus last Christmas (or any Christmas), a misunderstanding on my Dad's part in thinking that the birthday salutations were intended for Ian (who's born on Dec. 27th), and Bert being in on the joke, we all held hands and gave one up for the big J. It was the guys who led the way as Marnie, my mom and I convulsed with laughter the whole way through. When the cat was let out, we had a hilarious laugh at ourselves. (I'm still awaiting Ian's revenge).

We extended our stay in Rio for a couple days longer than planned because my family had left rain in Brasilia to come to sun and beach down south. Of course, the next day it rained in Rio. But we suffered through a couple of warm drizzley days until the sun broke through again for our last day which was spent on the beach. On Dec 27th, we celebrated Ian's 35th birthday by going for Mexican food and margaritas as he sported his new 'Flamengo' football club jersey. This extension also gave us an opportunity to say goodbye to our brasilian friends from the beach (who met us women with kisses on our cheeks and cool handshakes for the men).



Brasilia. A bizarre and interesting place. It's famous for its architecture and modern/futuristic approach to urban planning, and is absolutely like no place I've seen before. Today we went to a cathedral that is underground with it's whole ceiling and half the walls made of stained glass....incredible. Because of its uniqueness, Brasilia has been named one of Unesco's heritage sites even though it's only some 40 odd years old. See the pics below for a sense of what it's like.
Marnie and Bert's place is great with as much living space outdoors as indoors. The boys have tons of space outside to play and a pool that has them swimming like fish. Regina, their Emprigada (housekeeper/nanny) is lovely, super friendly and great in all ways, especially with the boys. The language barrier does not seem to be a problem for them, and my broken Spanish conveys enough of what I'm trying to communicate most times.





Finally, VEGETABLES!!!!! I took the opportunity to go for groceries with Marnie on our first day (to the same shopping market I will see in China!) and relished in choosing things that were green, red, yellow and crisp to the touch (even though much of it was wrapped in cellophane and styrofoam). I know this may end up being a gentle warm up for what's to come in China...gulp.



We spent New Year's Eve at a party hosted by the Canadian Embassy. Marnie, my mom and I were sequestered to help decorate the grounds early in the evening (which meant blowing up countless balloons, setting up tables, etc.). We were relieved by Bert and my Dad who took on the task (one of many) of making banners nearly until the 160 guests started to arrive, all the while Ian was at home cooking dinner.... Despite the elbow grease, it was a great party and none of us left until nearly 3am. A Dj played all the classic favorites you might hear at a typical Canadian wedding, the was a sky full of fireworks, champagne flowed at midnight and there was lots of dancing. It was great to meet some of Marnie and Bert's community and celebrate bringing in the New Year with Ian and my family.



Well, I've loved putting this entry together and it's really late here in Brasilia....the sky opened to thunder, lightening and a torrential downpour (that only the likes of the tropics know) which has kept me company. I promised Ian that I'd get the blog out tonight, so goodnight it is. May this year, this day, this moment offer itself up to you in clarity, compassion and love.
Many blessings,
Lesley
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