Moving in with the Burns'

Last week I moved out of Alison's condo, and into a house with the Burns family. They are also from Michigan, recently transferred here by Ford, and they'll be here for 3 years. They've been nice enough to be my surrogate family for the next couple of weeks.
These two pictures are from our first dinner together, on Easter.

Terry and I:
Terry, Me, Lindsey, Mike:


Lindsey and I changing a tire on the side of the road in the rain. Probably the first females in Brasil to do so:


My bathroom:


My bedroom:
The patio:

A piscina:

part of the backyard:

the dryer!:


A house in the neighborhood:



The view out my window:



The house across the street:



Julian visiting for the day, my face looks weird, but it kind of matches Ju's:


Ju and I making weird faces again, his always look much cuter, imagine that:


Out to dinner in Arembepe (north of Salvador) on the beach:


The view from the table:

Chapada Diamantina

This is how our trip started off- rain, more rain, harder rain, downpour...



Wandering around Lencois in the rain:



A cute bug. Caitlin and I were hanging out in the bus station in Lencois, waiting for a bus to Palmeiras. I was talking to two interesting characters there, one of them picked this bug up and kissed it on the mouth, to prove to Caitlin it wasn't dangerous:


A collection of random things found in the drawer at our creepy pousada in Palmeiras:


Weirdest night ever. Our overly pink room:


We finally found ourselves a ride to our final destination, Capao. An hour on what was by FAR the worst dirt road I have ever seen in my entire life, in what was also probably the worst car I have ever ridden in. It wasn't pretty, but at least it got us there:


In Capao, taking a walk:

Other sights from the walk, like this milipede/centipede-y thing. I have a great video of it walking, if I can figure out some way to put it online I'll let you all know. (And yes, I have more interesting videos to post as well):


A snake!

Me walking:


The next day Caitlin and I decided to hike to the Fumaca waterfall, against everyone's advice, without a guide. The trail was pretty easy to follow, in retrospect, a guide would have been a waste of money. Here is part of a cool mini waterfall along the way, the water has cut the stone into these squares:

Me and incoming rain, which thankfully didn't ever make it near us:

We were up high:


Part of the trail, the rock (sandstone?) has been worn down by the water:


Another part of the trail, we had to be pretty nimble on our toes here:


Finally to Fumaca (and since I can't type Portuguese accents on my keyboard, that's pronounced Foo-ma-sa). It was way better than we thought it would be:

And way higher up. You really can't visualize how big and deserted this all was from a picture. Imagine being the only people at the Grand Canyon and you get the idea:

Clouds starting to roll in..


The pond we had to traverse:


Caitlin pondering how to cross:


This is the shallow part:


The view on the hike back:

Into the Wilderness

Tonight Caitlin and I are heading to Chapada Diamantina. Hiking, etc. for 3 days.
We are running a little short on money, so hopefully our loaf of bread will hold out till Tuesday.

Vitoria and Caitlin

So, I really didn't take many pictures during my 10 day stay in Vitoria.
Here's one...
One time, someone asked me if I had ever cooked anything inedible. Nothing came to mind, but now, I can answer yes. I call this "Rotten Vegetable and Dog Food Stir Fry":
Caitlin in her cocoon :
Heading out to the "Fashion Club":

Ju's 1st birthday party, this is the cake Caitlin and I made:


Check out that bling:

Me, as Homer, again:
The birthday boy:
Ju's first bite of sugar-laden food. mmmm:
Yes, Gustavo has a large green balloon on his head:

This was a poor decision. Caitlin, why don't you have some rice with your garlic?

Drinking The Best Coke Ever on the beach in Stella Mares: