Travel with Indigo

It’s Friday and another beautiful day in Brazil. We all woke up a bit earlier than the boys wanted to so we could visit the boat-building factory that is on the premises. Turns out that the marina, the marina hotel and boat-building operation are all owned by the same family. Phil had met Flavia, the daughter of the man who started it all, and she invited us to take a tour. We were all impressed by the operation, especially by how they get the boats in the water after they are built. It is a huge operation.

Then Phil, Grant and Will took off in a taxi for the “nice” beach. They walked around some and were surprised by the number of vendors in the area. They sold everything you can think of that you never really wanted. Will negotiated a real deal and bought some sunglasses but they resisted everything else: baskets of shrimp and lobster, necklaces, lace tablecloths, etc. There were young boys who played some kind of juggling game with two sticks in their hands and one or two sticks that they juggled with the original ones. The boys resisted giving them money until a very young boy got on someone’s back and started juggling there. They had lunch by pointing to the food someone else was eating—they couldn’t read the menu. They had a good time and learned something about the economics of Brazil. There are many many poor people who live in areas called Favelas which are worse than any slum or ghetto we have in the United States. Poor people in our country are rich compared to some of the living conditions here.

That night, we went to a restaurant in an outdoor plaza in a really nice part of town. We then walked a few steps to an outside bar in the same plaza and watched some ESPN show about a Japanese obstacle course. Looks like television is the same everywhere since any country can get satellite television. I went back to the boat to go to bed and Grant and Will went to a club right next to the marinas, which we determined was safe. They are having a wonderful time!