Day 5 (Monday)
On Monday morning, Jacqueline woke us up and said, “We’re going to the beach in Santos!” I was excited about this for two reasons: 1) It’s the beach, 2) My grandmother grew up in Santos and this was my chance to see where she lived! We drove about an hour and a half out of the city and the drive there was absolutely beautiful. Instead of the crowded and polluted city, we saw huge green mountains and tropical forest with clouds sweeping over the mountains. We got to Santos and parked near the beach and decided to take a walk on the sand. What I thought was going to be a nice stroll on the beach turned into an olympic-style walkathon! Let me tell you something: Jacqueline and Bryan may be in their sixties but they sure can walk fast. Coming from me, a naturally fast walker (thanks, Mom), that says a lot. Lauren decided to try to keep up with them while I opted to stroll and stay dry instead of sprint and perspire. Despite the gloomy weather, the beach was really nice and the city of Santos is actually quite charming. Although there aren’t any cute little beach cottages and little boutiques lined up, the tall buildings overlooking the water fit perfectly with the atmosphere of the city. After my stroll and their “walk”, we went to the local shopping center and ate Subway! In Brazil, it is pretty common for people to go to the food courts in malls for lunch but we didn’t complain; it was the first time we’d had true American food in months! Being able to go to Santos and see the area where my grandmother lived was a huge blessing for me and I know that if she were alive today, she would be so happy to know that I was there.
leaving the city
heading into the rainforest!
Santos!
The have leaning buildings.
Day 6 (Tuesday):
Tuesday morning we woke up, had breakfast, then went to the local street market. For those of you who have been to any type of farmers market, picture that plus dozens of Brazilians shouting things in portuguese. It was absolute madness! All of the vendors were shouting to each other and to customers and it was so frustrating not knowing what they were saying. Since Brazil is a tropical country, their fruit selection was incredible and they had some of the biggest melons I had ever seen. And instead of bananas coming in groups of 4 or 5, the bananas they had came in bunches of 10-12! Bryan brought 25 bananas for less than 50 cents! While we were walking around, I spotted a place where you could buy a giant coconut and they would cut the top off and stick a straw in it. Of course, I had to buy it and although the coconut milk didn’t taste at all how I had expected, I was holding a giant coconut and that was all I needed. With all the wonderful food we bought, we cooked up a wonderful lunch that even carried over into dinner. After dinner, Bryan continued with another lesson about churches and the mission strategy. This was a very interesting and important lesson/conversation but I can’t seem to type it all down in detail that would make sense to you all. If you would like to know more about what we talked about (*cough* Mom and Dad *cough), I would love to tell you about it in person... when I get back to the states :)
my coconut!
Besos xoxo
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