Abby, Zoë and Enzo

Laura's online pen pal friend called us tonight, and we met up for dinner.  Nonno Ernie treated us to a cab, instead of taking a bus, which we were prepared to do.  The cab ride of about 1 mile cost R$6.50 (about US$ 4).  The bus would have cost us half, so it wasn't too expensive, since the girls are free.  We exited the cab about 2 or 3 blocks south of the Hotel Tambau, which is a landmark here in João Pessoa. It sits right on the ocean, and is this large circular hotel, and very expensive.  We didn't have to wait long for Raissa to show up.  She introduced herself and we hugged and kissed like long lost friends, as is the custom here.  It was nice to meet and converse with someone local.  We walked across from the hotel to this very lively area.  Little kids were out running around and playing.  There were vendors selling little kids toys and cotton candy, and blowing bubbles.  It was a big party atmosphere.  Family friendly and safe, despite being completely dark out, the place was well lit.  Raissa recommended a place to eat Tapioca.  I wish I had taken a photo of it, but will in a future outing.  It was very delicious.  It is manioc flour, cooked into what is like a soft taco, but thicker, and they you choose the filling.  Everything comes with cheese in it of different types.  The girls had a Romeo and Julliet, which is the Gauva and Cheese flavor, tasted almost like a peanut butter and jelly.  I had the chicken and cheese, loved it, and so did Abby.  Zoë and mommy didn't prefer it.  Raissa and her friend Ana had banana and cheese.  Abby and Zoë ate most of Raissa's as well.  Raissa had an orange juice, and we got two grape juices, seemed fresh squeezed grape juice, not the clear juice we get at home.  After eating, Laura got some ice cream to share with the girls and then Ana offered to drive us home in her car, a very nice new VW Polo.  It was great to finally meet Raissa with whom we have been chatting online for several months.

Here we are on Saturday, our first weekend here.  Abby and Zoë woke up kind of early this morning, after not going to sleep until after 9:00 last night.  Both of the girls enjoyed some bananas and strawberries with graviola flavored yogurt for breakfast, with caja juice (mixed with water) to drink. 

We have been encouraged to try the bus system.  They don't have any bus maps, but rather a list of streets certain routes go on, which is less than ideal.  I would love to have a couple bus route maps, and will keep asking for them.  We took bus 511 which we caught 2 blocks or so from our apartment.  It was super easy.  The kids are free, and each ticket is R$1.70, which is slightly over 1 US$ at current exchange rates.  The busses are very fast starting and stopping, as if the drivers are all practicing for the formula 1, and each stop is super fast like a pit stop.  Also, the traffic lights are set up like racing lights, so it all makes sense.

The market was great.  Large and busy with people and activity.  We saw tons of produce, meats, nuts, grains, eggs, clothes, dvds, etc...  Zoë was scared of the bugs, as there were some bees on the super sweet fruit like the cashew and such.  I had to carry her at one point.  Laura was experiencing massive culture shock while using the public bathroom at the market. Her culture shock seemed to pass after we found a kiosk to have lunch.  The girls started off with ice cream, including Laura.  I had a cheese pastry type of thing.  Then me and Laura got the Brazilian version of a cheeseburger.  I didn't taste any cheese, but maybe it was a special soft cheese and not what we are used to.  The meat was seasoned ground meat made into a paddy and grilled.  The bun was grilled which we liked and it had lettuce and tomatoe.  I thought it tasted great, we were super hungry.  The girls had some of ours but were happy to get something to eat and drink after the market.  We took bus 510 back, which brought us through Tambau and near Cabo Branco neighborhoods, then up along the beach coming back into Manaira.

I am enjoying this trip so far.  Getting here is difficult and I can't envision anyone visiting us due to the complexity and adventurousness of the approach to JP.  Laura mentioned this difficulty and said, for better or worse, this baby will be Brazilian, by the sheer fact that she could not handle a return trip so soon.

I feel good about being here and the way of life here.  The climate is very agreeable for me.  At night, it drops to the low 70s, and the breeze makes it feel even colder.  I get goose bumps it is that cold.  It feels nice, and is a great contrast from the day's heat.  Being so close to the Equator, only 7 degrees south, the direct sun radiation is very strong, and the days are fairly constant, 12 - 13 hours of sun a day (~5:30 - ~5:30 +/- 0:30).  In the morning when the sun comes up over the ocean, we get direct light into the condo, and while working on the laptop, the sun is very hot on my back.  But within 2 hours or so, the sun has ascended enough that it only shines onto our veranda and not directly into the apartment anymore, which is great.  There is a super nice strong breeze that really keeps the apartment cool.

The showers and the hot water things are different than we are used to at home.  They only have hot water for the shower.  All sinks and other areas only have cold water, and one on/off knob.  This is very common here as many places do not have a boiler or central hot water heater.  They wash their dishes in cold water with soap.  So learning how to use this big electric device built into the shower head took 3 shows for me.  I showed Laura how to get a hot shower this morning, and she was thrilled.  When she stepped out of the shower, she felt like a new person, problem resolved.

From the second night, I noticed that the bed was very uncomfortable.  There seemed to be a hard line or ridge or bump across the length of the bed at the rib level.  It made sleeping difficult and hurt.  The mattress all around was soft, except for this line.  After investigating it today, I noticed the bed was rotated so the upside down position.  The tiny padded top area was down, so I flipped the mattress and redressed it, problem solved.  I look forward to a softer more comfortable sleep tonight.  I didn't notice the first night, as Laura was talking to me as I laid in bed, and she said I was out in minutes, completely asleep and exhausted from the travel, or Laura's pillow talk is really boring.

The bandwidth and network is an unresolved issue.  It isn't exactly a problem as I am able to make US phone calls for free from my properly configured laptop, and we are able to get our home phone calls directly here as well, so it is like we never left.  But when using the phone, the network is very slow, can't multi-task and do other stuff.  Also, uploading photos back to our home server, or uploading anything anywhere is very slow.  I have tested uploading to major providers and not just to my fiber connection, and the bandwidth is very limited for a sustained upload connection, it varies between 10 KB/s to 15 KB/s on good moments.  So I am only able to upload 1 photo every 2.5 - 3.5 minutes. This is an issue as I am taking more photos than I can store and carry home.  I will have to look at a solution, maybe a lan house, where I can upload 1 or 2 GB of data at a time and quickly.  Then I can make small trips there and save myself hours of uploading, which I try to do as soon as possible, if not during the night.  I think I would be happy with about 10 of these connections teamed together, but it isn't cost effective.  This service costs more than my super fast and great fiber connection to our home.

Here are a couple links that will explain where we are and what there is to do here.  Let us know what you think in the comments, or if you want us to check anything out.  We want to visit the colonial section, the most easterly point in all the America's, there is a light house and brand new, opened a month ago, Science Center, also go snorkeling and feeding the fish, just to give you an idea of what is on our agenda.  I brought my under water case for the camera, so hopefully feeding the fish will be spectacular.

Wikipedia Article on João Pessoa

WikiTravel Article on João Pessoa

My first impressions are really limited, since I spent so much of the first days in the apartment.  I will admit, that with the abrupt change from US to Brazil, getting on the plane in one country and off in another, I hadn't prepared myself for the transition.  All of a sudden I had to try and communicate with my limited Portuguese, and I did get discouraged with that part of it.

However, the people are very nice, and most of them will slow down and be helpful when it's explained that I only speak a little Portuguese.  I haven't been out enough to really see much of the customs and etiquette, but I hope to get out and about more today and the following days.