Michelle's Visit to Brazil

I’m back blogland after a fun and relaxing week with my friend Michelle. She arrived last Friday, and we all headed to Buzios for the weekend. We stayed at the Atlantico Buzios Resort, and unfortunately the weather was dreary all weekend, so no beach time. :( We stopped and had a lovely dinner with our friends Charlie and Carla. There is a dish here in Brazil called moqueqa, and this restaurant has the best I’ve tasted so far. Moqueqa is a seafood dish cooked inside a big pot and you can use any kind of seafood. Most places use fish, which we had, but they also made a lobster version at this restaurant. One word—AMAZING! Moqueqa is fish fillets steamed in a pot with olive oil, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, garlic, and spices. You serve it over rice with this sauce they make that looks like gravy, only thicker. In Charlie’s words, “It looks like wallpaper paste.” Haha! After dinner we took a walk out on the dock and saw this little kid catch a HUGE fish. No idea what kind of fish it was, but it was beautiful! Across the street from the restaurant is a seafood market. The ladies running the shop loved Jake, and one of them gave him a fish to take home in a baggie. I think it was a large sardine, but Jake LOVED it. He named it Charlie after our friend, which everyone thought was hilarious except for Charlie! lol Jake wanted to take his fish home with us, but without any ice to keep the fish fresh, after 20 minutes the fish was slimy and stinky, so when we went out on the dock, Jake and Gabe fed the fish to a sea turtle. Jake of course started to cry and immediately wanted his fish back. Needless to say, we had a heartbroken little boy in the backseat on the way home.

Sunset in Macae

Once we got back to Macae, the weather was still crumby, so Shelly and I played cards all day on Monday. We took some runs along the beach between rainstorms, and I expanded Shelly’s knowledge of great movies (She had never seen Caddyshack, Arthur, or the Princess Bride…I know, folks, I couldn't believe it either). Thankfully, the sun finally came out on Wednesday morning, so Michelle and I spent the entire morning at the beach. The people-watching was incredible, as usual, and she was amazed that people go jogging here in nothing but a speedo. We also saw a water rescue while we were laying out. Apparently, a man got dragged out to sea by a strong rip current, and we watched the lifeguards swim out to save him. It was an exciting day at the beach! Before Michelle had to leave, we had a great goodbye lunch at our favorite little restaurant in Cavalieros called Ilhote Sul. We had shrimp in a cheese sauce with bananas and peas (sounds gross, but it was awesome!) Unfortunately, then it was time to say farewell to my friend. It was a short, but great visit with Michelle, and we miss her already. That’s the only rotten thing about people coming to visit; they always have to go back home. We’re ready for more visitors! Who’s next? :)

Here are a few pictures of Jake when he came home from school dressed as a tree! Have a great weekend everyone!