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Brazil - April 2002 Corina Brito Paul and I are back in the US. Our trip to Brazil was good despite few unexpected things. Paul and I had toooo many stops on our way to Brazil, so our trip to Sao Paulo took over 24 hrs!!! To make matters worse we both were quite sick with very bad colds. Believe me, it is not fun to travel overseas being ill. We left Washington DC on Thursday morning and arrived in Sao Paulo Friday morning!
On the very following day of our arrival my mother fell and had to be hospitalized, so we spent a lot of time with her in the hospital. Well, I guess that it was a realistic approach for Paul to become familiar with the medical system of Belem. My niece Sarah, who speaks fluent English, did most of the translation for Paul when I was not around, although my mom and Paul communicated very well with each other through signs (!) After my mom returned from the hospital she made sure to
take Paul and I on a day trip to the island of Mosqueiro. We went there
early morning for a traditional breakfast. Paul loooved the food, especially
the "mingau de tapioca". After The night before our departure we all got together with my
family (sister Rosa, brother Nelson, Think Globally - Act Locally - Pray for World Peace |
Our weekend in Sao Paulo was nice due to the wonderful
welcoming of my sister-in-law Renata and my nieces Claudia and Fernanda.
Paul and I also enjoyed very much the short trip to the town of Jundiai
where we could relax around the pool at my brother Jonas's and his wife
Manuela's new home. On Tuesday we left Sao Paulo to [go to] my hometown of
Belem at the mouth of the Amazon river. Sao Paulo was hot enough to prepare
Paul for the wonderful 90+ degrees of the Amazon Region with its 100%
humidity level. 
breakfast we went to my brother
Nelson and sister-in-law Graca beach home where we were served some
wonderful freshly made fruit juices. We spend some time having fun with the karaoke
machine til lunch time when we went to "Paradise Beach" where we
had a great lunch at a local restaurant and afterwards went for a walk on
the beach. It was such a special moment for me, to go for a walk on that
river beach with my mom and Paul by my side. Over the last few days of our
stay in Belem Paul and I still managed to have some fun. We went for a boat
tour on the bay that bathes Belem, and on the boat they had a great
presentation of the traditional dances of the Region. Paul and I even
attempted some the dance steps ourselves. We loved to go for dinner at the
restaurants on the waterfront and watch the sunset, and Paul especially
liked to have the "tapioca" ice-cream for dessert. 
sister-in-law, nieces, nephews,
great-nieces and my newest great-nephew) at my mother's home for a big
"farewell, return soon" party. It was lots of fun with traditional
food and all of us taking turns singing songs with the karaoke machine. The
good-bye the next day was hard for me. I hope we can be back there soon to
spend more time with my mom. After we arrived in the US/Miami on Friday
morning, Paul and I decided to take a little break and went to the Florida
Keys for the weekend. It was nice and we had a good time. Well, now we carry
those fond memories with us forever. Paul and I are back with our daily
routines but looking forward to more trips in the future.