Two Amazing Days

I need to be brief on this post, as I just popped into a internet cafe before we head off to dinner, but we have had an amazing two days...

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to tour favelas and tenaments (there is a portuguese word for these... I´ll get back to you on that one) in Santos with the fabulous people of Elos Institute. The visits were definitely an eye-opener, with many of the homes of the favela located in stilted homes above the river, and the urban buildings holding up to one-hundred people and thirty children in a small apartment building. The people were welcoming and happy to show us around, and we were amazed by the community initiatives to brighten the common areas of their neighborhoods.

After the amazing interactions we had in Santos, we were sad to leave our new friends from Elos behind, but we headed back on the bus (you remember Club Menudo?) through the rainforest towards Paraty. By what must have been the alignment of the stars, we ended up at this little oceanfront resort town on the final weekend of a ten-day festival. The streets were filled with people, market stalls, food and music - including an 80´s cover band singing bon jovi, the eurythmics, and lots of other favorites in the town square. Apparently tonight a different band will be playing brazilian dance tunes... can´t wait!

This afternoon, we caught a chartered boat out into the bay, where we soaked up sun, played in the surf, stopped on an island restaurant for some amazing seafood, and a few of us even jumped off a cliff into the sea. (Don´t worry, mom, I´m fine!). Unfortunately, I don´t have my camera with me tonight to upload pictures, but I assure you there are a lot of great ones. I´ll post some from Rio - tomorrow!!