Dunes in Brasil!!

Today we had the opportunity to explore the beaches of Natal and to see why they are so famous! The beach we went to was beautiful, and the best part is that you could walk out really far from the shore and the water didn't get deep very quickly. The waves were perfect for surfing, but seeing as we didn't have any surf boards everyone decided to body surf instead. When I say "try and body surf" I really mean that we tried to jump in the waves and they smashed us time and again. It was great :) Johnny, a member of our group, took a dive into the water a liiiiiiiiiiiittle early and face planted pretty bad. He laughs about it but it still makes me cringe a little haha, judge for yourself!

We spent a while on the beach because we were having a lot of fun, then Vanessa set up a group dune buggy trip. It is a weird thought but there are TONS of dunes here and they have these sweet buggies for taking people out in. We all piled in and went for the ride. I expected us to take a leisurely ride down the beach or something, but little did I expect we were soon flying through dunes and going all over the place. I decided to sit up on top and a few times I'm surprised I didn't get launched out! They stopped part way through in a small area where rain gathers and it just has this nice lake where we got to cool off. We then continued on and saw a really beautiful lake and then finished at the top of a dune where there were people selling stuff. Cindy and I had some coconut water right out of the coconut and turned to see CAMELS.

Yeah, is this not the most random place to see a camel? This group of people were selling 10 minute rides on camels and Cindy and I really wanted to go, but the price was way high for such a short ride so we decided not to. The place had zero business so you'd think they'd get the pic and bring the price down a bit, but nope. Anyways, it was so fun seeing camels after a crazy fun dune ride.

Now, the day was awesome (other than me frying again) and Vanessa just decided to top it off with rodizio de pizza. I cannot tell you how AWESOME pizza is in Brasil! They had 25 flavors of pizza and a lot of different pastas, and if you've ever been to Tucanos then imagine them bringing pizza around to your table instead of meat. All you can eat! Heaven. Period. Oh, and chocolate pizza.... mmm.....

Camel!!

 This was our buggy. We had the crazy guy, it was awesome!

 Cindy is kissing a whale, can you see it? ;)

That's heaven right there

Joao Pessoa and on to Natal!

So we finished up in Joao Pessoa today by going to a random ward for church at 9am, then checking out some really cool old convents. They are hundreds of years old and then have a lot of beautiful artwork and carpentry. In one I was even able to go all the way to the front where they usually have mass and see things up close. Of all of the places we've been, this was the first time that I have been able to go that close and see it like that. It was pretty cool.

We then went to a convent of Sao Anthony, or something like that. I kinda lose track, but what I enjoyed most about this was that we actually had a tour guide that took us around and taught us about the convent and about the artwork. It was awesome seeing the old paintings and imagining the people breaking their backs to do it all. That is dedication and faith.

We then hopped back on the bus and stopped at the city center where the bus driver told me about the meaning of the flag of Joao Pessoa. He told me it is red and black signifying blood and fighting, respectively, because Joao Pessoa was an ex president that was assassinated and the city was named after him. On the flag it says "Nego" which means "negar", or to deny or resist. This is about the stance that Joao Pessoa took and how he resisted against that in which he didn't believe.

Last thing in the city we did was go to the point furthest on the east that you can get. Yep, we were right on the point! We're cool like that!

After another 2 hour bus ride we finally got to Natal (Natal means Christmas because that is the day it was founded). We went to our hotel and we were told they didn't have the reservation. This is actually what happened in Joao Pessoa, so you can imagine our thoughts. But we were on the bus when Vanessa came in and she looked just a LITTLE unhappy. She said that the hotel was out of space and the city was flooded with people and there was nowhere to stay. It was completely silent in the bus, everyone was afraid to comment. She gave us two options, 'go back to recife' meaning four hours to get home, or 'sleep on the bus' which just seemed to suck. No one said anything, and then suddenly Vanessa busted out a huge "APRIL FOOLS!" Yeah, she got everyone on the bus, including myself! I was seriously afraid when Vanessa came on, I had never seen her mad! It was a good one.

Anyways, we have a beachfront hotel that is really nice and we're going to have some adventures tomorrow. Sounds like fun!

 The far left flag is the one I described above

 This was the east point

 our group

 The first church that I got to go all the way to the front in

really old, painted ceilings of one of the convents

No Shame!

I have learned once and for all that Brasilians have no shame! You may think this is meant in a negative way but I assure you it is meant in such a way as to explain for the Brasilian tendency to wear VERY little clothing on the beach, no matter the body style, and to bump and grind with the best of 'em in front of children and families. Is this out of the norm here in Brasil? Not at all, it's actually expected. It just catches me off guard when you see an 80 year old man wearing a speedo and a 75 year old lady wearing a bikini thong. Like I said, no shame (or just lot's of confidence?).

Anyways, now that I got that over with I can talk about the day on the beach we had! We took another group trip to Joao Pessoa today which is in another state that was only about 2 hours away. We got here pretty early and went straight to the beach! It was a pretty nice beach with decent weather. I immediately went for the water and Cindy went to lay out. I started fighting with Danillo in the water and we had a pretty sick war goin' on for a while. After a gallon of salt water going down my throat, we headed to the beach to bury Mitch in the sand. I enjoyed that though I felt bad because I started burying his head and totally loaded his ears with sand. We got a good pic and if I can get one I will definitely post it. We played a little football and then headed back to shower before dinner.

Dinner was fun and they had this awesome saxophone player that has performed over 5000 times, so when he started playing you could tell how good he was. I, being a Jazz fan, loved it! It was also fun to see him playing in a little boat out on the water in front of tons of people. They honestly treated this guy as a god! Everyone needed a picture and they had the dry ice going for him. It was great music but the way the people treated him seemed like a little much, but then I think of all the stupid girls that go crazy with Beiber and I guess it makes sense. Crazy.

Anyways, the food was great and we got to shop a little in some shops by the beach. They have great deals so it's fun to take a look through. All in all, it was great day :)

Cindy and I on our way to Joao Pessoa! This was a huge bus so I loved being able to stretch out for once!

This is the beach we were chillin' at

Yeah, that's Danillo bein' crazy like always!

results of our "bury mitch" project!

This is where our group had dinner. Yeah, I had the prettiest date there! ;)

This was the sax player jammin' away for everyone. He was really good but it seemed strange how everyone worshiped him.

Days to Chill

Today has been just a day to chill and relax. I'm grateful for it because I'm just getting over a nasty cold and Cindy is just starting to get it! Anyways, with a day to chill I have also had time to just think about life and what it has in store. I keep looking at Brasil while I'm here and thinking, "I could live in Brasil one day". I don't know if it would be a forever thing but I would love for my future kids to have the opportunity to know the Brasilian people and to gain a better understanding of the world. I know having been exposed to Brasilian life and the people has helped me to grow significantly and has made me more appreciative for the live that I have had and all that I currently do have. Too many kids are growing up spoiled and expecting everything to be given to them and I never want my kids to be like that. My awesome parents raised me to appreciate what I have and to live happily with what I've got, and I hope to raise my kids to be like that. With exposure to a humble culture, it helps youth to see how blessed they are and to know that they are not better than others because of stuff. Cindy is my perfect example of this. The went to Brasil several times during her lifetime and as I got to know her I realized how mature her view of the world was. She understood life and happiness better than most people and she loved more than any. She knows and loves the Brasilian people because she sees how happy they are with the little they have. She makes me want to live in Brasil, to know the Brasilian people at a more intimate level, to show my children how good life is because of family and tradition, and not just because of money.


I've just had a lot of time to think today, so I guess this is what has been on my mind. Maybe one day Cindy and I will get to spend a little time in Brasil, we'll see! Maybe Florianopolis, Porto Alegre, or Curitiba..

 Curitiba

 Florianopolis

Porto Alegre

These are just a few possible future ideas! 

Life in the Desert: Part III

This day was AWESOME! We left this morning to go see some caves that african americans use. Yeah, that's about all i understood before we actually got to our destination. Turns out we were going to see ancient caves that had pictures from 12,000 years ago! Yeah, my excitement level went up to 10 when I heard where we were really going! 


We had to drive through a lot of mountainous area in our bus (many times during our trip I wondered what we would do if it broke down...) until we finally got to this little cove. The first man that we met actually started shaking when we met him. He had never seen so many people in his life unless he went to a party. He  was a super nice guy that took us up a pretty interesting path until we were walking along the side of a cliff to the caves.


The paintings were amazing! I love to see real history in front of me. Imagining people sitting in this cove thousands of years ago, painting what they knew and saw before them. It makes me appreciate my life. It was incredible! Possibly my favorite part of the trip!

This was such an awesome experience!

Life in the Desert: Part II

I had the chance to see a lot of the sertao today. We took two trips to different parts of the sertao where a couple of families live and they are very self sufficient. They have farms where they grow all different types of food. I honestly was blown away because in Utah we talk about different types of foods that can't be grown there, but here it is much the same if not worse at times and they grow things I would never expect to see in the desert. They grow corn, onions, carrots, lettuce, pineapple, coconuts, goiaba, oranges, and more. Seriously, it is crazy the things they grow here! I italicized the things that blew me away when I saw them growing and tasted how good they are!


It was awesome seeing the first farm and getting to see how they took everything in after it was ripe and made pulp that they sold for money to live more comfortably. They did this after they had enough food for themselves. They even had a natural gas producer that allowed them to save a lot of money by producing cooking gas for themselves. They used cow manure to produce the gas which goes through a system that removes the smell and sends it right to their house. It was an amazing thing to see.

 This was the natural gas producer that Diaconia helped them build.

 This is how they produced their pulp.

 Storage of the pulp

 This is one of the homes that they have on their property. They have three, one for the parents and one for each child.

 She's a cutie :)

 bananas! 

The second home that we went to had a ton of food growing as well but we also got to see how they worked with sugar cane and produced their own rapadura to sell and eat themselves. It was really cool to see considering we just saw a movie that showed the same equipment. Seeing it in real life was awesome, and the family were way nice and made the trip fun.

 Eric was the coolest kid i met and got to hang out with at the second farm.

 This is the way they process cane sugar

This is a cistern that Diaconia is building for people all over the desert.