Brazil: Day 7

On our way back from Rio we stopped at Parque Nacional de Itatiaia.  We could have easily spent a whole day there but we only had a couple hours.  The forest was beautiful and alive with the sounds of all the animals, although during the heat of the day we didn't see most of them.  We did a couple short hikes to some beautiful waterfalls.

There were hundreds of colorful butterflies at the National Park!

After leaving the National Park we stopped in Lorena.  This was the first area where Jason served on his mission.  Before coming he kept saying that he really wanted to find Ivone, his first baptism.  Searches on the internet weren't able to find anything but he said we couldn't pass Lorena without trying.  We stopped in Lorena on our way to Rio on Wednesday and went to the house she lived in 17 years ago.  She had moved but the owner of the house knew was able to tell us how to get to where she was now living.  Ivone wasn't there when we got there but some of her family was.  They were able to leave a message for her so we could stop by and see her on our way back on Friday.  Jason was thrilled to find out she is still active in the church and to meet her grandson who is a deacon.

Brazil: Day 5&6

Wednesday Moises and Eliane drove us to Rio de Janiero.  It is really difficult to pick a favorite part of the trip but this might be it.  We loved spending more time with Moises and Eliane.  Moises was constantly entertaining us!  Rio is a beautiful city!  We arrived Wednesday evening just in time to take a walk on Copacabana before it was dark.  We watched a beautiful moon rise over the ocean!

Friday we enjoyed a run on Copacabana and then were off to the tourist sights.  We decided it was safer to navigate the city with taxis.  Moises was hilarious with the taxi drivers.  It was the one time I really felt like I was missing out on something by not understanding the language.  They were talking way too fast for Jason to translate but Moises had everyone laughing and having a great time.  We got to Corcovado mountain and found out there was an hour and a half wait until we could catch a train to the top.  Before long Moises was talking to some of the people who worked there and got us moved up to the next train that was coming!

The ride on the train was entertaining with a very fun group of Brazilians singing the whole way up!  On the top of the mountain sits the statue of Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer.)  The view of Rio was breathtaking!

After a quick lunch we headed over to Pao de Acucar (Sugar Loaf.)  There is a tram we rode to the top of this mountain.  Here's a view from the parking lot at the bottom and the tram we rode on.

I wasn't sure it was going to be worth going to the top of Sugar Loaf after we had already been to the top Corcovado but I think the view was even better on top of Sugar Loaf!  There were also some beautiful trails we could walk on through the forest at the top of Sugar Loaf.

Finally we made it back to enjoy the hot afternoon at Copacabana.

Brazil: Day 4

Tuesday we needed a more relaxing day.  We decided to drive out to the beach.  Again, what we thought was going to be an hour and a half drive turned into two and a half hours but the drive was gorgeous and well worth it!  The mountains we drove over were beautiful and when we got to the top their was the most amazing view of the ocean on the other side!

The bamboo growing by the sides of the road was really cool.  Some places it made tunnels over the road.

The beach at Ubatuba

That evening we met up with a couple Jason lived with while he was on his mission.  Anselmo and Lucia fed us a delicious dinner and then showed us the new house they are building.  It was interesting to see the construction of their houses.

Brazil: Day 3

Monday Debbie Hartman and her friend Dil drove us into Sao Paulo.  This was Debbie's first time driving into the city and we were all a little nervous but glad to have Dil to show us around.  Sao Paulo is a HUGE city that stretches as far as you can see.  After everyone had told me about all the crime we were very careful but managed to spend the day without any problems.  We found a place to park on the outside of the city and rode the metro into the center.  We went to the Basilia de Sao Bento, a catholic cathedral.

Then we wandered through the streets towards the BANESPA building.  On the way we ran into these booths where you could get your shoes shined.

The BANESPA building is the tallest building in South America.  I was surprised to find it is only 35 stories high.

We went up to the top to view the city.  The city stretched as far as we could see in every direction!

While we were waiting in line to go up to the top we started talking to the couple behind us.  Well, I should say everyone else started talking since the whole conversation was in Portuguese!  The couple was from Rio de Janiero.  They were really interested that Jason was American but could speak Portuguese so well and wanted to know how he had learned.  They asked him a lot of questions about his mission.  As we were coming down from the elevator Debbie commented to me that she wished she had a pass along card (an card with information about our church) to give to them.  As the elevator doors opened there were two missionaries from our church standing in front of us.  Debbie didn't think much about it at first but I told her to ask the missionaries for a card.  They were able to give us a Book of Mormon to share with our new friends. They were excited to receive it and asked us all to sign our names and contact info inside the book.  Then they wanted to walk down to the Central Market with us and get some lunch.

The Central Market is a huge building full of vendors selling fresh fruits, chocolates, candies and food.  Here's a look from the upper level.

Have you ever wondered where cashews come from?  Here they are.  They grow on the end of this fruit.  They make a really yummy juice out of the fruit.  It turns out the nuts are poisonous until they have been cooked!

Here's the mission office where Jason spent the last few months of his mission.  He loved walking in there and reliving all the memories!

Little Japan in Sao Paulo!  Sao Paulo is very diverse with the biggest Japanese population outside of Japan.

I'm not a big fan of coconut but Debbie insisted I try coconut milk.  It probably wasn't my favorite but not bad either and it is very good for you.

We spent all day running from one thing to the next and still didn't make it to see everything we wanted to.  We were all exhausted when we got back to the car.  We tried taking a different way back to avoid traffic and ended up getting lost.  That turned an hour drive into two and a half hours!  Sao Paulo is an amazing city but I think I can live without dealing with the traffic!

Brazil: Day 2

Sunday, November 6th we drove to Guaratingueta.  We got lost on the way which made us late but that seemed to be the story everywhere we went during the trip!  When we finally made our way to the church Jason was amazed to see the beautiful new church building there!

When we got inside the church building we discovered that Relief Society and Priesthood meetings were first.  This meant that Jason dropped me off in a room with all the women.  As soon as he left I realized that it was all in Portuguese and there wasn't a single person in the room that spoke English!  The Sisters seemed shocked that I didn't speak Portuguese and tried very hard to communicate with me.  Some of them seemed to think if they kept repeating themselves that I would eventually understand what they were saying!  They kept getting louder and closer but no matter how many times they said it, it didn't mean a thing to me!  I was relieved when it was time for Sunday School and Sacrament Meeting so Jason could at least be there to translate for me!

Words really can't describe how happy Jason was to see the people he had worked with on his mission.  He truly loved these people and was so excited to see them again.  The highlight of the day was getting to see Juscelei and his family.  Jason baptized Juscelei when he was about 14 and he is now the bishop of the ward.  After church we spent a while visiting in the church building with the members.

Juscilei's family invited us over to their house after church for dinner. They fixed us an amazing Brazilian meal and treated us as if we were guests of honor.  They are such an amazing family and we felt privileged to spend the day with them in their home!  It was a fantastic experience for me to experience the culture in Brazil by being invited into the people's homes.  It really gave me a feel for what the Brazilians live like.  What a loving, fun and humble people the Brazilians are!  When it was time to go it was so hard to say goodbye!  They didn't want to let us go and we spent over an hour saying goodbye.



Brazil: Day 1

Jason and I left for Brazil on Friday November 4th.  After almost 24 hours of traveling we arrived in Sao Paulo Saturday morning.  This was Jason's first trip back to his mission that he served from 1994-1996.  We were greeted at the airport by Moises and his family.  Jason  baptized Moises on his mission.  They are a wonderful family and we were so warmly welcomed!

Natalia, Eliane, Pamela, Moises, and Jason

We were feeling pretty jet lagged but they took us to a feira (street market) near their home.  I got to try pastels (pastries filled with meat and cheese and fried) and a drink made from grinding up sugar cane.  We walked around the market and sampled all the wonderful fresh fruit.

Jason and Natalia picking out Mangoes-delicious!

Papaya

I loved all the different types of bananas.

Brazilians are such fun people.  These people saw me taking pictures of the meat market and wanted to pose for me.

Moises and Eliane drove us out to Sao Jose dos Campos where we were staying.  Tom and Debbie Hartman, some neighbors of ours in Ogden are living in Brazil for work and invited us to stay in their apartment.  They were wonderful hosts and made our stay so comfortable!

Tom and Debbie Hartman at their apartment in Sao Jose dos Campos.

 Trying to stay awake until bedtime, we decided to go to dinner at a Rodizio style pizzeria.  We met up with the Bruno family who Jason knew on his mission and now lives in the Hartman's ward.  The food was wonderful!  Brazilians really know how to make pizza!  And once we were done with our meal they brought around delicious dessert pizza!

The salad bar.

Waiters brought the different pizzas around to the tables.  We tried lots of wonderful kinds of pizza!

The ovens where they cooked the pizza.

In front of Golden with the Bruno family and the Hartmans.