Chad Writes Stuff

So Rio has been nothing like I expected. We arrived here on Sunday afternoon to perfect skies without a cloud in the sky. We checked in to our hotel and decided to don some shorts and minimize our necessities. The Hotel Agrense is only about 2 blocks from the famous Copacobana beach. It was very hot on this glorious day. The temperature reading on the board said 30c and UV 11. The walk was amazing seeing all of the Brazilians out and about as we walked down the beach. The Brazilians are very comfortable with their bodies. It doesn´t matter what shape or size, the women all wore thongs, and a majority of the men wear speedos. They play fut-volley here instead of volleyball. They basically use the same rules and volleyball but you have to use your feet, head, knees, chest or even shoulders. I became enraptured in a game and watched for 20 minutes as the two teams never scored and kept going back and forth. Two of the guys on opposing sides got into a verbal squabble about the score and f...

Today we woke up at 8 after staying out late.  I had a great time admiring the sights, smells, sounds and tastes of Paraty.  We loaded our gear in taxis and walked to the bus station.  I kept mine on my back as the walk to the station was very close.  We loaded as many of our packs under the bus and the rest we placed on the back seat behind the bus station attendant. It was a beautiful 2 hour and 15 minute ride from Paraty to the boat docks.  We ended up going through rain storms and beautiful mountainous countryside.  I admired the scenery and took it all in.  On several occasions, i stuck my head out of the bus to smell the air and feel the rain on my skin. We stopped the whole way down to mandara picking people up and dropping them off since we were in a public bus.  At one stop in particular, we picked up one of  Brazil's future models.  She was approximately 16 with the most mesmerizing smile, dark brown flowing hair, satin soft sk...

Today, a group of eight of us, went to a beach called Trinidade.  It was a beautiful beach at the bottom of this very steep hill.  The hill was so step that until it was paved, you really couldn't take a car on it.  The drive down was impressive and reminded me a bit of the blue mountains in Jamaica. Noah surfed for a bit on the beach, but the waves closed out too quickly.  After swimming and body surfing for an hour, Carlos, our guide walked us to a Piscina Natural or Natural Pool.  it was really pretty, but a little murky.  We snorkeled for a bit and paid 7 reis each to get back to the main beach.  Carlos walked back and met up with us. We played soccer for a bit and then the group decided to eat lunch.  A very quick squall passed through and the location we were having lunch had to batten down the hatches per se.  I took some photos of the waves crashing against the rock, but in the end, It was Carlos, when using my camera, snapped the bes...

pronounced Para-chi. We arrived in Sao Paolo this morning at 10 and were stuck in traffic for 2 hours.  We then transferred to a mini coach and took a 6 hour ride to Paraty.  We met with our Paraty tour guide named Carlos.  Not a whole lot to write as I am tired from being on a bus for 26 hours. We ended up going to dinner at Thai Brasil, which was fabulous.  If you are in Paraty, you must eat here.  We also found out they were moving from the location that they were at, but they will reopen somewhere in Paraty I was exhausted and was in bed by 10:30 at the latest. Until Next time

Since we had so much fun at dinner last night, today is a day at leisure.  So i am loading this page with birds, that we saw at the sanctuary.  Enjoy Until next time.