Giddy up Gwarsha!

So, for our first official day in Brazil we thought it would be fun to go horseback riding. I haven't had a lot of luck with horses, but it still sounded like a lot of fun! We went up to the ranch, which is about 35-40 minutes up the coast from where we were staying. And it was actually just Corey & I with our guide. We wound our way up into the mountains and the stopped at this mountain stream. There were 3 young boys that were swimming in this little pool. But, then when we got there, they decided to start swinging from vines & doing flips off of the rocks. I'll attach a picture of the ringleader mid-flip. Funny kids!

On our way back down, we ran into a horse who had to be separated from the other horses - so he was just hanging out in this big field. He decided we might be his buddies, so he followed us. Until the guide wouldn't let him come through the gate into the ranch ... he was so sad he couldn't be a part of the in-crowd.

Anyway, I've attached a couple more pictures of our horseback riding trip. It was so pretty! The only bad things were 1) the ENORMOUS spider we saw - honestly, almost as big as my face, and 2) all the dang mosquitoes! Brazil taught me a lot about myself ... like I am allergic to mosquito bites. Lovely.

Pousada Picinguaba

Welcome to the city of Pincinguaba (pronounced piece-een-gwaba)! Corey & I absolutely LOVED this place. This is the fishing village of Picinguaba. There are a few more houses along the row, but this is one of my favorite pictures. (Most places in Brazil aren't this new & pretty). Well, back to our journey ... as we pulled onto the beach in Picinguaba I don't think we quite knew what to expect. Especially since we had to walk across the beach & up the cobble-stone pathway to the Pousada (250m). Thankfully a couple of brawny Brazilian boys came to carry our luggage for us. Talk about embarrassing! I thought I would need a big suitcase - we were going to be there for 2 weeks! But, then when you see some scrawny little brown boy carrying all of your crap on his shoulder uphill - makes you rethink your packing a little!

Sadly, I knew how out of shape I was walking up to the inn --- no, it was the 12+ hours of travel & humidity that got to me! But, when we walked into the reception area the boys brought out fresh-squeezed pineapple juice. How refreshing!

Prisala, the cute girl who runs the Pousada took us to our room & it was not at all like what we are used to. But, so beautiful in it's simplicity!

The Pousada doesn't have TVs, air conditioning, or very many of the comforts of home. But, it had an amazing view, an excellent staff (who treated you like friends & family), had good mineral water chilled in your room at all times. Breakfast & dinner is provided, because there is very few places to find anything to eat. (The nearest town is 40-45 minutes away - and there is only one bar & a small shop in the village itself). Like I said, this is located above the fishing village so dinners were always super fresh - and always had at least one fish entree. Below is a picture of the dining room & one of the dinners. In the covered bowls are the beans & rice, which are traditionally served with every Brazilian dinner - and boy, did Corey get his fill of them!

Costa Verde

Once out of the airport, we hopped into Leonardo's car, lovingly called Sebastian, and headed up the Costa Verde (green coast). Leonardo knows quite a bit of English & is so personable, and just an all-around great guy! He and Corey would switch back & forth between Portuguese & English - and they got to be pretty good buddies.
The car trip to Picinguaba was about 4.5 hours from the airport. And, it wasn't a totally calming road trip. Brazilians don't pay too much attention to the lines on the road. Imagine driving on a winding 2-lane highway and just up ahead is a blind curve, but the person in front of you going slower than you - what do you do? Nope, how about giving them a friendly little honk & proceed to pass them? Just a little scary.
We stopped at a little Pastel (pastry hut) along the coast & got a couple smoothies & pastries. I got a cheese pastry, which is similar to big fried wonton/croissant filled with a white cheese. It was a good introduction to the country. It was quite hot & humid out ... but, the view was spectacular! I wish we had a picture of it. The Costa Verde is half green trees & beautiful tropical vegetation and half ocean - with hundreds of little islands poking up out of the ocean. Just beautiful!
Even though it is beautiful, I am beat! We have been on 12 hours worth of flights, 4 hours of a car trip ... and it is hot & humid. Please give me a shower & a nap! But, we are almost to the small piece of paradise that awaits us in Picinguaba!

Brazil - at last!

After years of planning, dreaming & rescheduling our trip to Corey's old stomping grounds, we finally decided to just do it! Shay was, of course, the nervous, neurotic one of the bunch - shocking, huh?! We had to get some shots & passports - none of which were a very pleasant experience for Shay. Then looking around the tanned faces in Atlanta, before boarding the plane to Brazil, and not understanding a word which was being spoken - Shay's face must have been an awful shade of gray & she was paralyzed with dread ... which made her second, third & fourth guess the decision to go. But, being the good sport that she is (Ha!) - she still agreed to go ... and it was one of the better decisions she has made.
Once we arrived in Brazil, we stepped out from the terminal to 10s of people cat-calling & whistling at us. I am, of course, used to that sort of attention ... but, then I realized they were yelling "TAXI?" and instantly wanted to return home. :)
Our driver, Leonardo, was supposed to be there to pick us up, but we weren't able to find him for a little while. Which again made me nervous - but once Leonardo showed up, my nerves were calmed & pretty much everything was smooth sailing from there.

Flashback!

As some of you may know, this weekend is our 2 year anniversary. So, I thought I would add a picture from our wedding.
Corey & I got married in the San Diego temple. And we had such a great trip! We were able to golf at Torrey Pines (worst game of my life!), have a luau on the beach & spend lots of time with friends and family. There isn't much I would change about the week ... except it would have been nice to spend a little more time with Corey! :)
Funny tidbit about this picture is this was actually taken after most of our other photos, even though it looks like we just came out of the temple. When we came out there was about 100 people standing around waiting for their friends/family to come out after their wedding. They were actually quite rude and wouldn't even move so we could get to our families. So, our friends couldn't get in and take pictures of us walking out. We had to go back later to get some clear shots. I love this picture, so I'm glad we went back!

Hello!

Hello! We are up and running (Thanks Amanda!) ... here is one of my favorite pictures of our big boy, Paxton. He is such a mean looking dog, but this really shows his happy goofy side. Of course he is drooling a little cause I had to bribe him with a treat to get him to sit still. He's afraid of the camera, too - no surprise there, though!
Much, much more to come. I'm hoping to get started on our trip to Brazil ... journal & pix.
But, until then ... I guess I should get some work done!