The clock is ticking...

As our adventure slowly but surely comes to an end (that is, if our life ever stops being an adventure!), we have been going through many different emotions. We have been fortunate enough to see, do, and experience so much during our adventure, but we really are looking forward to coming home, hanging out, and getting on with our lives (whatever that means!). We have learned so many things about ourselves and the world around us. We have been able to sit back and contemplate how we want to live our lives going forward. We have been able to meet some amazing people and have gotten to know some organizations that we've been able to help out with around the entire continent. We have challenged ourselves in many ways and have had the opportunity to rise to the occasion to meet these challenges.

One of the biggest realizations that we've had is that despite how amazing all of this traveling has been and how great the scenery or beaches or food or people are, we are extremely fortunate to have the life that we have in California. Other than the obvious - our family and friends are there - we are so lucky to be able to do whatever we want, when we want. To eat whatever type of food we feel like, at our whim. To take a hot shower at any time of the day or night. To not have to worry about the cleanliness of the sheets that we will be sleeping in. And mostly, to be able to articulate our thoughts - and communicate with others - in a language that we have complete fluency. I have got to say that Brazil has been most difficult in this way...Portuguese is not Spanish, and one of the best parts of our trip has been getting to know locals by speaking their language. Now I understand some of the problems that our state is facing...

I think that the most difficult thing for us when we return will be to make sure that we take the realizations, goals, and priorities that we have come to down here and apply them to the normal fast-paced world that we all live in in the States. Of course, we will be able to do this while eating In-N-Out, downloading a movie on our iPhone in ten minutes flat, and reading the Wall Street Journal on our iPad. All at the same time. Good and bad.

Food for thought...

Our first (and last) visitor

I know, each of you have been wondering "When can I get down to visit Scott and Lisa", or "Should I see them in Brazil or Argentina", or perhaps, "They will be down there forever, so there is no hurry!".

Well, we officially have our first visitor arriving next Wednesday at 8:50 am into Rio de Janeiro. Yep. Mrs. Janet Zengel, recently retired, will be joining us on our great adventure down here! We'll be showing her a good time in Rio, Iguazu Falls, Uruguay, and finally Buenos Aires. I guess someone needs to make sure that we stay out of trouble!

We are really excited to show Mama Zengel around! See you soon Mom!

Hiking for Diamonds

So you must all think that Brazil is just about the beach, palm trees, and great rainforests, but it turns out that there is much more once you go inland!

We headed inland from Salvador in the state of Bahia to one of their national parks called "Chapada Diamantina", which is equivalent to their Yellowstone national park. Evidently this place is renowned throughout Brazil as one of the most beautiful places in the country.

We arrived in Lencois (pronounced LEN-SOYS, and it means "sheets" in Portuguese) excited to hike, explore nature, and be a little more active than we have been (aka serious beach bums!).  The area became famous in the late 1800's when they discovered diamonds (yes, a certain someone here was stoked!). We arrived to a cute town full of tourist agencies and posadas.  Fortunately we quickly met some other backpackers who had some great recommendations for local hikes and other things to do.  We spent a few days walking along the limestone rocks on the riverbeds, all while exploring natural waterslides, beautiful natural pools, and many many waterfalls.

Evidently, the town had been experiencing a serious draught, but luckily enough for them we brought the rain!  And lucky for us, it general only poured at night :)  We met some locals who recently opened a wine and cheese shop *yes, please*  and after three bottles in 24 hours we have finally given up on Brazilian wine.. it is just terrible, awful, gross, and sick.  Seriously.  Boxed wine is better!  I give us credit for trying though.
....
Oh and before we forget, we also had the most random encounter EVER.  Picture this... its pouring rain, we are camping and thus have no computer, but need to book some last minute flights that night.... every internet cafe is closed ... We are walking by a shop with a man on a computer.. do we dare?  yes, i think its ok to ask to use it for 3 minutes....

So the man graciously allows us to use his computer to book these last minute flights and while Scott chats him up it turns out he is a Baptist priest.  He shows Scott his bible collection while Lisa books the flights and as we thank him and head out the door he stops us, puts his hand on our shoulders, says a prayer and blesses us and the journey we are on.  Needless to say, we left with a smile, feeling touched, and knowing that true kindness does still exist in this world.

Hiking along the riverbed...noice the water is a strange red color from the minerals...

Just a Hop, Skip, and Jump...

Laundry Day!

We even discovered a bear cave....rrrraaaarrrrrrrrrrrr

Fatty Mc Fatty Tree

Cave Walk. Yes, those are stalagtites if you are wondering :)

World's strongest man contest in the cave.  Yup.

It's all about the rock formations

and more rocks

The devil's pool. This one is going to be in a commercial that'll be seen around the world on TV to promote the Olympics!

View from the top of the world! This famous valley, Morro de Pai, is similar to Monument Valley...but tropical and deserty at the same time...strange!

That's it for now...next stop...back to the beach before winter sets in down here...

Where is Waldo?

Here is a clip from the festival we went to in Salvador... and one of my favorite artists, Pede Cerva.  Tchu Tchu Tchu!!!

Can you find us in the crowd?!?!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzpFLdSunEE&feature=related

Things to bring back to the US

At nice restaurants in brazil it is not uncommon to find automatic floss dispensers in the bathroom. Fabulous idea! We def need these at home!

Surf camping, touching dolphins, and Farro music!!

Yes, yes, we continue our travels, but they are definitely slowly (quickly!) winding down...
What do we miss most from home (other than our great friends and family of course!)...In-n-Out Burger, delicious craft beers, kitesurfing/mountain biking whenever we want, pillow-top mattresses, clean places, a good salad , and dill pickles. Yep, there, you have it.

We also forgot a few highlights from Praia de Pipa. It has got to be one of the top surfing spots in the world, because the guys surfing there are AMAZING. Look up some videos on Youtube. Intense. Scott is trying his luck at making it pro before we head home, but the chances are pretty slim. An added bonus of this beach is that you can literally walk out and swim with dolphins. Yep, a dolphin licked my toe as it went by. I was ecstatic!

The dolphin that licked my toe!

Look closely...the guy at the surf campground is flattening out the spot for our tent. This would never happen at home!

After Pipa we met up with a few new friends in an off-the-beaten path town called Joao Pessoa. We had some awesome times - great food, good company. See ya in Switzerland Victor and Stephanie!

Lisa splurged and got a haircut. She looks great!

Some new friends and good times!

After enjoying the beaches for a solid three weeks we decided it was time to stop being such bums and check out the city of Salvador de Bahia.  Like most places we go to these days we google the place to see if it looks cool and we try to decifer Lonely Planet's exaggerated storytelling to see if it's really cool.  We arrived in Salvador after a long overnight bus to find that the city was mostly shut down, totally booked, and was preparing for a HUGE festival.  The festival, Sao Joao, is the second largest festival in the state of Bahia (first is Carnaval, obvi!) and we had no clue what to expect.  After looking at five different places to stay, we found a small apartment overlooking the bay to rent right near (but not in) all the action.  We always love renting apartments so we can cook something a little more normal (aka not rice and beans). 

The historic UNESCO neighborhood center of Pelourinho. Beautiful.

An automatic sugar cane juicing machine. Normal.

We're still alive! Enjoying fresh coconuts. Delicous. Again. 

More Salvador

View of the famous landmark, the elevator. And the view from our apartment!

Some kids hanging out on the street. Good clean fun. Except they were lighting firecrackers until who knows when...

Salvador is super artsy...

Even the public telephones are artsy - this one is the shape of a half coconut!

Love this place!

The festival is a HUGE celebration. These pics are basically the during the day before the festival started and only one at night (not a good idea to bring cameras out).  The festival is all farro music (pronounced Faa-ho, of course, and is super popular in the northeast of Brazil). It is all locals with amazingly cheap beer and food.  There were a total of seven different stages running four nights in a row from 8pm to 2am. It was a big deal, with everyone dressed in their best going out clothes! Surprisingly, we knew many of the bands and had such a blast singing along to our favorite Brazilian songs :)  I didn't even realize that we knew local music down here but turns out when you are in a country for over a month you learn a lot.

Traditional garb...and city streets!

The main square during the day

The same square at night

Yeah

The first night in Salvador also happened to be our eight month anniversary (yes, we celebrate every month) so we set out to go to one of our all-time favorite meat restaurants, Fogo de Chao.  They are also a chain in the US, but rightly so, the food is amazing. After we explained that we liked our meat medium rare, not well done like every local here, we enjoyed some amazing cuts with some great wine.  I can't wait to see what's in store for our nine month celebration!

I can look like a normal person and eat delicious meat!

Mmmmm....

Until next time...