In my posting below you will find more pictures than you probably care to see and here is a summary (probably longer than you care to read) of the stories behind the pictures. It was a great, and adventurous, vacation.
Our trip went flawlessly except for the flights. On the way there our flight to Miami was delayed by an hour and a half so we had to run from the gate across the airport to the flight from Miami to Rio. We barely made the flight but, as we suspected, our bags didn't make it on to the plane. We arrived in Rio on Saturday afternoon (the day before Easter) so we were pretty sure that we wouldn't see our bags until Monday after the holiday. I spent most of Saturday sweating to death in my jeans and tennis shoes until I finally broke down and bought a bathing suit and sandals so that I could go to the beach without risking heat stroke. My whiteness was shocking, but felt better than jeans. :) We were shocked when our bags arrived on Easter and very happy. We spent some time walking around Rio and talking with Joseph, and Miriam, who arrived the week before us. They helped us find a good place to eat and gave us a little tour. Our first meal in Brazil was pizza, which they cut into tiny squares instead of slices. For most of the rest of our trip I ate rice and beans and fruit platters. The pineapple and bananas in Brazil are my favorites. Yum! We spent a few days in Rio playing at the beaches in Copacabana and Ipanema. The weather was nice and warm and I got a burn on my shoulders the first day that we were there since my sunscreen was lost with my bags. I was pretty vigilant with the sunblock after that and that was my only real burn. We went to the Botanical Gardens in Rio and got to see a small waterfall, lots of beautiful, Amazon vegetation, a group of tiny monkeys playing in the trees and an orchid greenhouse. The Botanical Garden also had a great view of the Redeemer statue up on Corcovado mountain overlooking the city. We went there next. The only problem with this plan was that while we were in the gardens the weather was sunny and clear and hot. All that changed as we made our way up Corcovado. We drove over to take the train up the hill and the clouds rolled in. The train ride was fun and we got to see great views of the city as it disappeared behind the clouds. We also rode through some slightly scary favelas on our way to the top. Once we reached the top the entire mountain was deep in a cloud. We were standing only about 15 feet from the Redeemer statue (which is enormous!) and would could barely make out the outline. We stayed up there as long as we could until it was getting dark and we were freezing. The clouds gave way a few times so that we could see the statue and a bit of the amazing views of Rio and the ocean below.
After a few days we took a two hour bus ride down to Angra and then took an hour and a half boat ride to Ilha Grande. The boat ride was a comedy of errors. It started raining hard when we arrived at the boat. The boat was like a sailboat that had been fitted with a big motor so there was no roof (only a tarp) and no side walls so water started splashing everywhere. We couldn't sit on the sides of the boat (because of all the water pouring in) so we had to all crowd in the middle. Keith stood for the full trip (almost 2 hours) and I sat on a stack of beer six packs trying to hold our bags up so they wouldn't get wet. Not the most glamorous moment of our trip. :) Once we arrived on the island we found our hotels and then got some food. Our hotel was really cute (yes, by that I mean small!) and we had our own balcony with a hammock overlooking the harbor. I feel asleep in the hammock listening to the sounds of the ocean waves. Heaven. At 3:30 am we were woken up by two screaming kids in the room next door. I don't mean screaming as in crying. I mean loudly yelling at their mom for something and not taking no for an answer. The next night we switched hotels. :) On our first full day on Ilha Grande we took a boat out to the famous beach Lopes Mendes. The boat ride was about 40 minutes and on the way we saw a huge pod of dolphins (probably 40 or 50) swimming along side our boat. It was amazing. The boat crew said they had never seen that many dolphins at once before. The weather wasn't great that day so the dolphins were really the highlight. Once we arrived on the other side of the island we hiked for about 10-15 minutes along the beach and through the trees to get to the famous beach. Along the trail we saw some monkeys playing in the trees. On our way back on that trail Keith and I saw a black snake - about 4 feel long. I did my best to stifle my screams so that Miriam wouldn't freak out and make Joseph carry her the rest of the way. :) The beach was very nice and secluded but because it was cloudy we didn't get to see the amazing colors in the ocean water for which it's famous. But I've seen pictures of the color of the water, so I got the idea. haha. Keith and Joseph spent a lot of time body surfing. The tide was pretty strong so I only lasted a little while in the water. The second day on the island was my favorite day of the trip. We took another boat tour which took us to 3 spots around the island. The weather was sunny, clear and hot. Perfect for snorkeling. We first went to a lagoon where the water was clear and we got to see lots of colorful fish. The second spot had less fish so I spent most of the time on the beach soaking in some sun with Miriam and my book. At the third spot we had lunch on the beach of beans and rice which we enjoyed until we noticed that there way more than one half-dead ant in our food.
We took a ferry back to the mainland instead of riding a ghetto sailboat again - definitely a good call! Joseph and Miriam stayed back in Angra (her home town) with her mom and Keith and I took a shuttle back to Rio. That was a crazy ride. The driver reminded me of Kramer from Seinfeld. He talked really loud on his cell while driving, swerved all over the freeway (not too unusual for Brazil), stopped unannounced for a hamburger and gas only 10 minutes down the road, and at one point stopped to dunk his head in water (I can only assume it was the windshield cleaning water - gross!) because he was feeling tired at dozing off. We were just glad to get back to Rio alive. He dropped us off on the side of the road about 3 blocks from our hotel - but I just wanted to get out of there so I didn't argue.
Keith and I really enjoyed our time back in Rio relaxing at the beach and staying in a nice hotel for the last two days (our other hotels were pretty basic). We had a great time and took lots of pictures. It was wonderful! On our last day in Rio (Saturday) I woke up to Keith telling me he had been sick all night with a serious sinus infection and that he wasn't sure he'd be able to fly home in that condition. Luckily the hotel was able to connect us with a local doctor who was able to see Keith that morning - even though it was a Saturday - at his clinic. We had a great experience with Brazilian health care. We only waited about 5 minutes to see the doctor and then walked across the street to the pharmacy and got the prescribed medications with no waiting. In all it cost us about $150-$200 for the visit and the 3 medications. Not bad! Try getting that in America without insurance. :) The medications were really effective and we enjoyed our last day of relaxing by the pool before heading to the airport.
Our flight from Rio to Miama went well and I even got some sleep. The real problem was in Texas where we sat on the plane at the gate for over an hour before they announced that there was a mechanical problem and that our flight was canceled and we'd all have to be put on stand by for flights leaving the next day. Ugh. I think we spent about 10 hours in the Dallas airport total. It's nice, but not that nice. When we finally got home - some 30+ hours after we left Rio - one of Keith's bags were missing. We didn't have the energy to care too much about that. We took an uneventful American cab ride home (using turn signals, and driving between the lines and everything) and fell onto the bed. Keith's last bag arrived at 3:30 am today. We're officially back. :)
Now you have all the details. What an adventure! We're really glad we took this trip. It opened my eyes to the beauty of Brazil, it's culture and it's people. It also made me appreciate my home all that much more.
