Laranjeiras

I know, I know.  I'm having such a terrible time here in Brazil you're all hoping that something good will finally happen to me.  I thank you all sincerely for your kind sentiments my friends.  It's wonderful that you're travelling with me all way and are able to feel my pain.  Well unfortunately your good wishes have not materialized as my most recent shenanigans have been particularly agonizing.  You'll know what I mean when you observe the picture below.

Introducing the coast around Laranjeiras or "Orange Trees" approximately half way by car between Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.  Here we paid a visit to a certain very close relative of Iris who happens to have a luxury holiday home in these parts.  Well boo-hoo-hoo, poor us!

After breakfast our distinguished host took us for a tour of this exclusive resort's private beaches.  I simply do not have any superlatives left to describe the stunning coastal scenery of Brazil.  The pictures are left to do the talking.

You must understand, my friends, that today was an extremely hot day so after the walk back from the beach we desperately needed some way of cooling down.  Well just our luck that I host just happened to have a pool in his back garden that he had forgotten about and stumbled upon by mistake.

For a rare change, some of us preferred more active pursuits that involved floating over water rather than being immersed in it (see background), but most were happy with usual treatment.

I myself went for a paddle around to check what was good for plundering after night fall.

On my return, caipirihnas in the pool were in order (don't worry Adi's parents, she's drinking coconut water)

not to mention a little erotic fiction beside the pool, from the back

and the front,

before taking lunch on the veranda.

A quick shower later and we were off to Parate, a Portuguese colonial gold-mining town some 300 years old and characterized by typical Portuguese colonial architecture.

We passed the main church,

the town square,

and strolled down some of the town's quaint streets.

The taxis were stuck in a time-warp but were effective on the cobbled streets none-the-less.

Some of the locals were also stuck in the 17th century,

others were a picture of coolness,

or beauty.

After church,

we went to find sin (aval lama cashaca?),

before cooling off our visit with an ice cream - Elena, look this way!

Back at home we finished our dinner with passion fruit tart by torch-light.

What a wonderful day! We sincerely thank our distinguished host whose generosity is unsurpassed.

Feliz Natal

Having arrived back in Sao Paulo early the next morning, we slept till midday before making important preparations to attend a Christmas party hosted by Iris' Christian relatives.  Our thorough regime mainly involved deploying various advanced techniques to re-hydrate our bodies.

Whether my fresh coconut water,

or plain old pool water, from above,

or even below.

Oh, and in emergency situations, double hydration.

At the end of it all, everyone knew who was the king of the pool.

"Dino" the 15 kg Christmas turkey prepared by Iris' mum Ana was also ready for the big event.  It would have been easier if he could have just flown to the party himself.

On arrival at the venue, the 3 floor penthouse apartment of cousin Paula and her husband Bruno somewhere in sprawling Sao Paulo, we had a few snacks

and relaxed on the balcony with a glass of Champagne or two.

There was also time for a photo or two with the cousins,

and maybe another glass of bubbly. Thanks uncle Joao.

Then, suddenly, a knock at the door!  Who could it be? Could it really be him?

It is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was at this point I discovered that Santa has the same outfit the world-over, whether northern or southern hemisphere.  We were anticipating a Santa with white dreadlocks, red speedos and havaianas in the 30 degree Brazilian summer.  Either way the kids received their Christmas presents, and a sweaty kiss, I suspect.

Then we got stuck-in to Dino.

After dinner, we played "Amigo Secreto" or "Secret Friend" for which every guest was previously assigned another guest through the Internet for whom they had to buy a gift of that person's choice and bring it to the party.  Then every guest in turn had to describe their secret friend while the others guessed who it is at which point the revealed guest would receive their gift and in turn describe their own secret friend, and so on and so forth.  Here are the highlights of the action

Then we just partied the night away till 5 in the morning.

I'm not traditionally much of a celebrator of Christmas, but I could get used to this action. Feliz Natal!