Porto de Galinhas

August 29, 2019 by Emily Dickson in Family, Travel, Brazil

Metaphorically, we are standing in the shallows. Giant waves tease and foam, inviting us into the depths from whence they came, but their swells cannot drench us yet. For now, only our feet feel their sway - and the sand slowly giving way beneath. An ocean of change lies before us. It’s not quite time to jump.

As in any season of change, there are so.many.things requiring so much of our physical, mental, and emotional capacities right now and yet, our days in this beautiful country are limited. We are determined to live them well.

And so, for a few days we stepped away from the metaphorical shallows and soaked our feet in the real ones. We took a break from all things urgent and built castles in the sand.

It was lovely.

An especially kind and protective driver accompanied us back to Recife, showed us around Praça do Marco Zero, took excellent family photos, then dropped us at the airport. Hospitality at its finest.

Ubatuba

April 23, 2019 by Emily Dickson in Family, Travel, Brazil

“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
John 10:10

We celebrated Easter this weekend in the midst of bold colors, bright sunshine, and big smiles in Ubatuba. The shore was breathtaking. Time with this family of ours, refreshing.

Day One:
London ate next to nothing for breakfast, only sat in his chair staring longingly at the waves, saying over and over again, “beach… beach... beach...” We finally let him down so he could sit on the steps, as close to the sand as possible, while waiting (kind of) patiently for the rest of us to finish eating.

Then we got him to the beach and Cora to her search for seashells.

She braved the water for the first time and loved it.

After a lengthy intermission for lunch and afternoon naps… more sand. more waves.

Day Two:
More sand. More waves. More sun.

A little too much sun, maybe. Pale skin was teetering toward pink so we skipped the afternoon sand and played games in the shade instead.

Day Three:
A morning stroll before breakfast.

Post-breakfast sand and and seashells.

One more afternoon in the shade.

One final moon rise over dinner.

Favorite Cora quote from the weekend: “I can’t get this big smile to go away! It just won’t go away!”

Campos do Jordão

December 01, 2018 by Emily Dickson in Family, Travel, Brazil

One last getaway for the year! We made our way to the mountains and settled into Campos do Jordão, a charming city with Swiss style.

Travel tip: When beginning a road trip, always leave at nap time.

Those droopy heads didn't stay that way as long as they were supposed to, but we survived the drive thanks to generous amounts of Greg's homemade kettle corn. Do whatcha gotta do.

The view from our hotel was unbelievable, even (especially?) through rain-drenched windows.

Priority for night #1: Use up all the energy

Long car rides build quite the reserve, but the swimming pool did not let us down. Every body was tired by bedtime :)

Day Two:

The rain cleared! And yes, more pictures of this view because LOOK AT THIS VIEW.

First stop: The Enchanted Forest! We toured the tiny homes of Snow White, Peter Rabbit, and Santa Claus (to name a few).

And we ate lunch, with this view, the entire restaurant to ourselves because… we’re still in Brazil, on an American schedule.

We spent the afternoon downtown admiring the architecture, Christmas decorations, and oh so much chocolate.

The cheek-smush was London's preferred hug of the day :)

Waiting for the train to arrive, getting acquainted with new friends.

Now let me introduce you to the train-bus, the terror of the roads. Encountering one of these beasts on the narrow, twisty roads is a memory-maker. I'm just thankful we're alive to tell you about them.