Spring is just around the corner and we are seeing so many signs of it around here. Every day there are more flowers popping out on the trees and it is absolutely beautiful! It is still hard to wrap our brains around it being Spring here just as it is turning to Fall in the U.S. but I guess we will get used to it like we are getting used to everything else!
This week we celebrated Brazil's Independence day on Thursday, so it became a four day weekend. We rented a car with our new friends, Ray and Marilyn Anderson, from Sandy, Utah, who are here serving a welfare (humanitarian) mission. On Thursday, we drove out to Embu das Artes, which is a wonderful little community with a lot of street shops, restaurants and entertainers. Being the holiday, it was very busy. We totally enjoyed exploring all of the little stalls and shops. We had a great lunch of fried chicken and fries while being serenaded by a wonderful guitarist and percussionist. It gave us the idea of starting up a senior band! We'll see if we can make that go!
After lunch, we headed to the highest mountain in Sao Paulo, Pico do Jaragua. We drove almost to the top and then hiked up a huge stairway to the very top where we got a panoramic view of Sao Paulo. It is a vast city of over 30,000,000 people!
On Friday, we headed to the beach! Anyone who knows us, knows we love the beach. We got a good recommendation of where to go from one of our Brazilian sister missionaries from Boston, who is from the beach city of Guaruja. She recommended we go to Pitangueiras or Asturias Beaches. We chose the first one. It was supposed to take 1 1/2 hours to get there and because of holiday traffic near the beach it took closer to 3. Once we got there and got on the beach, it was all worth it! The water was a little chilly and it wasn't a super hot day, so Marilyn and I just watched and soaked it all in from the shore, but the men took the plunge. It was amazingly crowded and everyone was having a great and relaxing holiday. We discovered the minute you walk onto the beach that you can get a chair and an umbrella if you order drinks and or food from the people you get the chairs from. So, we picked a spot and they got us all set up. We ordered some sodas and just enjoyed all the action all around us.
After the beach, we found a good place to eat called Dati's which was right across the street from the beach. We had one of the best meals we've had since we've been here. Mike and I ordered filet mignon (which isn't what a filet mignon is back home, but still a very good steak) in a white cheese and mushroom sauce with some yellow potatoes on the side. Yummy! We had enough for a complete meal the next day!
I would say that our first beach experience was a success. Next time, we hope to find some place a little less crowded and more secluded but I'm not complaining. Life is an adventure!
This kind of summarizes how I feel when I'm at the beach,
We worked a lot this week as well as played a lot on the holiday! Mike is getting a busy case load and I'm doing my thing. ;)
Have a great week!
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