Ramble On

Tuesday morning was our last bit of time with Benji and Nate before they split off to head to Peru.  It was so fun traveling with them.  Things are decidedly... quieter now. I had a chill morning sorting a few things out for our departure to Foz do Iguaçu tomorrow.  I had been pretty freaked out because of the flood "of biblical proportions" according to the news that happened there in mid-June.  I was thinking we might either have to cut our trip short or we should change destinations to Rio or Manaus and head into the Amazon instead.  Thankfully, it looks like things have calmed down enough and trails have mostly re-opened so we should be okay. The boys went out to explore a fort and came back.  Karina came back from her morning discovery dive, and then we headed out to Baia Sueste and said goodbye to our countrymen who will have just enough time to get to Recife, find a bar, and watch the US game.   Not wanting to spend more money renting a bugg...

I think on Sunday when I woke up I actually had a hangover from so much fun.  I only had one caipirinha at the bar during the game and had felt a cold coming on for the entirety of Saturday but just pushed on through because of all the amazing things that were happening. Saturday night it all caught up with me once I finally shut down and tried to give my body some rest.  I barely slept a wink and I dreamt in Cubism (can't really explain this further but I vividly remember that everything I dreamed looked like a Picasso painting) and felt a constant sense of struggle on Saturday night and Sunday morning I awoke bleary and feeling pretty terrible.  I took some medicine and powered up because I went through a lot of trouble to be able to go diving in Fernando de Noronha and I was NOT going to miss it.   Benji is also a certified diver and so we went together.  As we piled onto our boat we met another American and other people from around the world.  O...

Our first full day in Fernando de Noronha was, quite simply, perfect from start to finish.  So much happened and all of it was so amazing I have started calling it the best day of my life.  We had hoped to take a boat tour in the morning to see the dolphins and do some snorkling and to get a better idea of the terrain of the island.  The tours were full so instead of taking a boat to to the bay, we rented a dune buggy, and hiked our way in.  There is a 2 mile trail from one of the entrances to the national park here and we hiked down it, through the tropical forest, and to the overlook down to the Baia do Golfinhos (Bay of Dolphins).   Baia do Golfinhos  Each morning a pod of spinner dolphins visits this bay.  The biologists who are stationed at the overlook to observe the dolphins on a daily basis said that it had been a light morning, and only 450 had come.  But the pod has about 1000 members.  The overlook was peaceful and beauti...

Even though I'm only on the third day of this trip, it feels like I've been here forever.  That's how it always feels when so much life and energy and fun are happening in one place. The Brazilian World Cup 2014 adventure is underway and I'm currently in our second locale of the trip, having just completed the Recife leg.  The buzzing atmosphere and the fascination of being in the host country for the World Cup while it is going on is no less consuming than it was four years ago.  I can think of no other situation where such harmony and unity of purpose exist across so many nations and its truly humbling to be a part of. Old Town Recife near Fan Fest There is a particular kind of joy being able to support one's own team in a foreign place where people will come up to you and greet you warmly and introduce themselves simply because you're from the same country.  People come up and shake your hand, hug you, ask you where you're from and bond with you ...