Thursday, January 3, 2008
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Vacation in Brazil
Jason and I spent a little less than a week in Brazil attending Kurt Lovell's wedding (a friend of mine from ND) and vacationing in Rio before Christmas. The trip was filled with adventures and mishaps out of our control, but we had a blast throughout our visit to this beautiful country.
The flights down to Brazil were long...via DC for Jason and a 12.5 hr flight over the Atlantic for me. Jason's bags were lost on the way down there, even after a 3 hour delay, they still could not get his bag on the plane. So, our first hour in the country was spent looking for clothes for Jason in the Rio airport. I was voting for the skimpy Brazilian speedos and tight t-shirts, but he found a Lacoste store and was saved. We arrived late in Curitiba due to additional travel delays and mishaps, and then met the wedding party out for dinner at a local Mexican restaurant.
Friday morning we traveled with the wedding party on a 3 hour scenic train ride through the rain forest to the small village of Morretes where the wedding was held. The train traveled over old bridges and ran along the cliffs with deep ravines and gullies below. After lunch in the town, we traveled by bus and truck back into the mountains to begin a white water rafting trip.
We piled into two rafts and shot down category 4 rapids for over an hour. The views were incredible and the water was cold but refreshing. We got out of the rafts at one point and took turns cliff diving into the river and also shooting down rapids without the raft (think body surfing!). We had a great time all afternoon and it will definitely never be forgotten. The only problem we had was that unbeknownst to me, i was getting eaten alive by Brazil mosquitoes and when we arrived back at the resort (Tiki lodge) my legs were covered in large red welts. No one else on the trip was bitten nearly as bad as i was, but for some reason these bugs loved my legs. At last count, there were 50 bites on eat leg.
Friday night there was a nice rehearsal dinner at the Tiki Lodge out by the pools (more mosquitoes for Carolyn) and we stayed up late drinking and socializing with the Brazilians! Saturday morning Jason and I went running through the small town of Morretes, found a great nativity set (carved out of a log) in a local store, and ate a great traditional Brazilian lunch in town before the wedding. The wedding itself was in a bright and cheerful church along the coast, where the ceremony was conducted in both English and Portuguese.
Back at the Tiki lodge we joined in the reception which consisted of a Brazilian buffet dinner and unfortunately more mosquitos on my legs. Needless to say, i changed into pants and a t-shirt and out of my dress just to keep my legs covered. The reception was very casual and fun, sparkling with lights and fireflies in the trees. The temperature was pretty high and the DJ's computer would not work so Jason and I saved the day with our Ipods. We danced the night away to Madonna and Justin Timberlake (Carolyn's running mix) ...not quite what we expected at a Brazilian wedding, but everyone seemed to love the American music!
Sunday we traveled back from Morrettes to Rio with another set of travel adventures (we left the nativity log at the resort so another family had to bring it back to the US for us, and yes, they did get stopped at customs!! Thanks Jeannie!!) Jason and I arrived in Rio late on Sunday night and headed out to the Ipanema area to check out the Rio nightlife. We tried our hand at some salsa dancing and stayed out late enjoying the evening.
The next two days we toured Rio, our hotel was up in the mountains with beautiful views of the coastline and the ocean. The beaches of Ipanema and Copacobana were lovely. Very long and very wide beaches of clean sand, filled with beautiful Brazilian people. Tan skinned athletes trolled up and down the main strip running, biking, rollerblading, etc, just like in CA or FL. I did not care for the people on the beach who constantly were trying to sell you sodas, fruits, jewelry, towels, etc, but the water was refreshing and the views of the surrounding mountains were spectacular.
We ended our Brazilian adventure with a trip up to the top of the highest mountain near the beach to see the Christo Redeemer statue. This amazing icon of Rio stands over 100 feet tall and looks out over the entire city. You really don't grasp the size of this city until you see it from the top. The pictures we have from there are really incredible
Exhausted and suntanned, we headed back to the US and to London after quite an adventure. I wish Fabi and Kurt the best and we thank the Lovell family for being great hosts during our trip. The Brazilians we met were all very welcoming and we really enjoyed getting to know some of Fabi's relatives who served as translators for us during the wedding.
Enjoy the pictures!!
The flights down to Brazil were long...via DC for Jason and a 12.5 hr flight over the Atlantic for me. Jason's bags were lost on the way down there, even after a 3 hour delay, they still could not get his bag on the plane. So, our first hour in the country was spent looking for clothes for Jason in the Rio airport. I was voting for the skimpy Brazilian speedos and tight t-shirts, but he found a Lacoste store and was saved. We arrived late in Curitiba due to additional travel delays and mishaps, and then met the wedding party out for dinner at a local Mexican restaurant.
Friday morning we traveled with the wedding party on a 3 hour scenic train ride through the rain forest to the small village of Morretes where the wedding was held. The train traveled over old bridges and ran along the cliffs with deep ravines and gullies below. After lunch in the town, we traveled by bus and truck back into the mountains to begin a white water rafting trip.
We piled into two rafts and shot down category 4 rapids for over an hour. The views were incredible and the water was cold but refreshing. We got out of the rafts at one point and took turns cliff diving into the river and also shooting down rapids without the raft (think body surfing!). We had a great time all afternoon and it will definitely never be forgotten. The only problem we had was that unbeknownst to me, i was getting eaten alive by Brazil mosquitoes and when we arrived back at the resort (Tiki lodge) my legs were covered in large red welts. No one else on the trip was bitten nearly as bad as i was, but for some reason these bugs loved my legs. At last count, there were 50 bites on eat leg.
Friday night there was a nice rehearsal dinner at the Tiki Lodge out by the pools (more mosquitoes for Carolyn) and we stayed up late drinking and socializing with the Brazilians! Saturday morning Jason and I went running through the small town of Morretes, found a great nativity set (carved out of a log) in a local store, and ate a great traditional Brazilian lunch in town before the wedding. The wedding itself was in a bright and cheerful church along the coast, where the ceremony was conducted in both English and Portuguese.
Back at the Tiki lodge we joined in the reception which consisted of a Brazilian buffet dinner and unfortunately more mosquitos on my legs. Needless to say, i changed into pants and a t-shirt and out of my dress just to keep my legs covered. The reception was very casual and fun, sparkling with lights and fireflies in the trees. The temperature was pretty high and the DJ's computer would not work so Jason and I saved the day with our Ipods. We danced the night away to Madonna and Justin Timberlake (Carolyn's running mix) ...not quite what we expected at a Brazilian wedding, but everyone seemed to love the American music!
Sunday we traveled back from Morrettes to Rio with another set of travel adventures (we left the nativity log at the resort so another family had to bring it back to the US for us, and yes, they did get stopped at customs!! Thanks Jeannie!!) Jason and I arrived in Rio late on Sunday night and headed out to the Ipanema area to check out the Rio nightlife. We tried our hand at some salsa dancing and stayed out late enjoying the evening.
The next two days we toured Rio, our hotel was up in the mountains with beautiful views of the coastline and the ocean. The beaches of Ipanema and Copacobana were lovely. Very long and very wide beaches of clean sand, filled with beautiful Brazilian people. Tan skinned athletes trolled up and down the main strip running, biking, rollerblading, etc, just like in CA or FL. I did not care for the people on the beach who constantly were trying to sell you sodas, fruits, jewelry, towels, etc, but the water was refreshing and the views of the surrounding mountains were spectacular.
We ended our Brazilian adventure with a trip up to the top of the highest mountain near the beach to see the Christo Redeemer statue. This amazing icon of Rio stands over 100 feet tall and looks out over the entire city. You really don't grasp the size of this city until you see it from the top. The pictures we have from there are really incredible
Exhausted and suntanned, we headed back to the US and to London after quite an adventure. I wish Fabi and Kurt the best and we thank the Lovell family for being great hosts during our trip. The Brazilians we met were all very welcoming and we really enjoyed getting to know some of Fabi's relatives who served as translators for us during the wedding.
Enjoy the pictures!!
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