Boat Ride in Paraty by Jack Snyder

We rented a boated manned by two brothers who took us to a private beach further out from the town. There are numerous islands in the area including one that is known as the finger of god that has a rock outcropping that looks like a finger. We explored the area around the beach which was bordered by the jungle. We found an old rusty waterwheel that the brothers told us was used to made electricity. We swam in the water which was quite warm. 

Upon returning to town we walked back to where we had parked the car. I noticed a river of water running up the street towards where we were parked and thought we should immediately run for it. I thought it was a broken water main. The quantity of water was huge and while the depth wasn't going to flood the car it was up to the wheels of some cars parked on the street. I walked upstream from the flow of water and observed that it was coming from the bay. I had noticed and pointed out to Eric that the tide had risen while we were on our excursion as the boat landed us much higher on the beach than where we had started. I read up on this phenomenon. Apparently it happened when there is a full moon and a high tide. The streets in some areas simply are designed to flood. After that we drove back to Itamambuca.

28 Weeks Pregnant with the Twins

28 week pregnant with the Twin. I am already the size I was when I had both Gretta and Eliza and the babies are growing more and more everyday. 

Lego Fun

I didn't know the girls liked lego's until we moved from Brazil. Now they are a favorite at our house. Eliza especially likes to play with Lego's and so does Carli. However, we don't let Carli play with the little ones!

New Year's Day at Park Ibirapuera as told by Jack Snyder

New Year’s Day we drove into the city and went to a large park where we rented bicycles. Got to see the locals in action. Having thrived on sports as a kid I was curious to the quality of the pickup soccer and basketball games I observed. The soccer was deadly. They played on a small asphalt surface court. I noticed some played bare foot. Most wore sneakers or running shoes. There were the typical overage, overweight players still dreaming about playing world cup. Some had the ability to really kick the ball. I felt sorry for the guys who got hit by the kicked ball. It was a small court so the action was furious. Most attempts on goal simply relied on the theory of kick the ball as hard as possible and maybe it will find its way through the crowd to the goal. When the ball missed everything it often travels a 100 yards out of bounds across the lawn or paved paths. The pickup basketball looked like grown men played with grade school skills. Let’s face it most young Brazilians probably aspire to play soccer professionally.

Eric and I attended a professional Basketball game. More on that later. I can see why soccer is the sport of the rest of the world.

We took Alanna and Teresa along too. All the girls got their faces painted for free. 

Afterwards we went home and celebrated Alanna's 8th birthday.

The Sao Paulo Zoo with Pops

One of the few places open New Years Day was the Sao Paulo Zoo. We had a great time. It was a beautiful day in Sao Paulo. We went on the tram ride again and spent a lot of time looking at the monkey's.