It’s been lovely. The sun has shone every day. There’s a nice breeze. It’s not too humid. I killed a humungous mosquito on the first night, but we haven’t been bitten (touch wood). The food is great. The people are so friendly and welcoming - from staff to guests. It’s even got a lot quieter as the week has gone on - I think we arrived at peak intensity…
We’ve had a wonderful chance to rest, recover, and transition to the return - it feels like coming home is around the corner now, and after being Away, physically and mentally, for the last few weeks, that’s really helpful.
I only have one small whinge. And it’s not really fair on Brazil - a massive strike against it, for me, is the language.
I learned German and Italian at school, so have a grounding in them (and Latin A Level, although that’s less useful for travelling…). My French is decent, after living in Brussels for 2 years. And after many trips to Mallorca, I’ve taught myself functional restaurant/ taxi Spanish.
It’s exhausting starting completely from scratch again! I spend a lot of time starting to talk in Spanish then changing it to my (extremely limited) Portuguese. Google Translate is helpful, and you can still make connections, and get by, with sign language and smiles - but I wish I was properly multilingual!
I think Jemima’s is the same - not being able to communicate holds her back from making friends. Whereas Kevin’s whinge is the lack of a decent coffee - weirdly it doesn’t seem to be a Brazilian thing, given coffee is literally from here.
But these are all small things in the grand scheme. This has been just what we needed, when we needed it. Muito obrigada Brasil!
Beach walk (including posing):
Night swim:
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