My First Big Blog...

and my millionth sun-burn. 

Today was an exciting day! Our team, five women from the upper mid-west and new england, had our first "real" day of vacation. Marcelo and Elza, the USP national staff workers, picked us up, very early in the morning, and drove us to one of the many beaches a few hours south of Sao Paulo. The name of the beach is called Gauruja. It is one of the smaller beaches, but was highly recommended to us because of the natural beauty and the smaller crowds. When we left, we checked the weather and were disappointed to see that the forecast for the day held nothing but rain for us. However, as we drove through the mist and mountains, we gained more and more hope. By the time we arrived, the sun had cracked the clouds wide open and a beautiful beach lay before us; it was the kind that can't help but look good in pictures! Today was my second time in the ocean, but I was no less surprised by the saltiness of the sea. We got some water, some umbrellas and wasted no time getting a little wet. I read some of my current book, ate a pasteis de pizza, a popsicle with chocolate flakes and bought the most expensive water I have ever bought. (Not by choice!) We took a lot of pictures, with care to keep the sand out of my camera, and dove through wave after wave. I got flattened a few times but I unfortunately haven't a single raspberry to show for it! Finally, we were all feeling a little "fried" and decided to call it a day. We still had a good deal of driving to do, so we hopped in the car and got started. We asked directions to the local  McDonalds, were I had a strangely satisfying McFish and small vanilla cone. (Wow, before I left the US, I didn't even like McD's...) Well, after a VERY long drive, comprised of soccer game traffic jams, pollution, and mini-naps, we made it home. I took a great shower, to get the sand off, and realized that I was at least four shades redder than when I left. Apparently, when going to the beach, you need to put sunscreen on your bottom half, as well... Lesson learned! I am taking some ibuprofen and then heading for bed. All in all, it was a really nice day.