Abby, Zoë and Enzo

Today we have an appointment at 1 PM at the US consulate in Recife.  Recife is about 120 km (about 75 miles) from João Pessoa.  The current taxi rate is R$130 to Recife, and apparently R$130 to return.  We had asked many taxi people about the cost to take a trip to Recife and return, but more than likely they didn't not understand the request fully.  Had we known the complete cost R$260 = US$136, we would have rented a car and made other arrangements, it is not as if the taxi driver knew where he needed to go anyhow, having studied the map before hand, I had more practical knowledge about the direction and orientation than he did.  We are always surprised here, taken off guard, even with doing tons of research, there is always the element of surprise, nothing is as it appears or seems.  Which is a huge disappointment to say the least.
The road to Recife is long, hard and dangerous, especially in the rain.  The road condition is very poor, with holes, patches, uneven road surfaces, no shoulders which makes it very dangerous.  When you add taxi drivers and slow trucks, even more dangerous.  They have speed bumps in certain places that are meant to be driven over at a very slow speed, as they are huge bumps.  The driving theme here is speed and brake heavy, repeatedly.  Laura was sitting in back holding Enzo, and was very concerned about our traveling safety, while counting down the kilometers and minutes until we arrived, both going and returning home.  It is truly an experience not for the faint of heart, probably the most dangerous things we have done in all of Brazil, probability wise for sure.
We were traveling through lunch time, and we asked to stop at a self service Marmitas place.  It was an all you can eat type of place, and the total for 4 adults and two kids was R$30, and it included two containers of juice, and the meats.  It was fairly decent, regional food.  We tried most of the items.  The meat was very tough and thoroughly cooked, so much so that it was very difficult to cut, let alone chew.  The chicken was slightly better.
We arrived at the consulate shortly after our 1 PM appointment time.  The consulate wasn't as we expected.  It seems the security is hired out, privately, and not done by US personnel or military.  I don't even think they spoke much English, as their commands and instructions were in Portuguese.  They wrote down our passport numbers, and let us into the security screening room after waiting on the street at the gate for about 5 minutes.  The security screeners checked our stuff via x-ray and sent us through the metal detectors.  Once inside, at the next station, we surrendered our cell phones and cameras for a claim ticket.  Once inside, we made our way to the American Services room.  We were the first there, as American Services start at 1 PM until 3:30.  The consulate was full of other foreigners in line for various things, like visas and such. I handed over the forms we had completed, our passports, the medical records, the marriage certificate, the original Brazilian birth certificate for Enzo, along with some photos.  We then spoke to another official who had a few questions, had us sign the forms, and said it would take between 2 to 3 weeks to process them.  We were then directed to the cashier to pay US$150, and fill out a SEDEX delivery envelope for delivery of our passport, it will take 5 days.  I asked for quicker delivery, and they said it was not possible.  The delivery cost R$13.60 = US$6.50, which is slightly cheaper than another taxi ride to Recife.  We hope the passport and birth record are processed quickly and returned to us without delay, as we require them to return home with Enzo.  Everyone keeps on telling us not to worry, there is enough time, but we don't have a single day to spare.  About the price for these services, the website notes a few options to pay, in US cash or in local currency, or with an international credit card.  What they neglect to mention is that the price varies for each form of payment.  They apparently set the conversion rate to whatever they want, which turned out to be R$1.85 = US$1, which cost us an extra R$30 = US$15 to use the credit card instead of local currency. Had this fact been made known before hand, I would have brought enough local currency to pay for the services and benefit the US$15.  When you can't beat them, join them is the theme here.  The whole process went very quickly, less than 45 minutes all told.  Our taxi guy asked directions a handful more times, drove us by the beach, bought the girls a coconut to enjoy, and we started the process back home.
We arrived close to dinner time, relaxed for a few minutes and walked to Manu's Açai for a quick dinner of Açai, Fruit Salad, 2 Coxihnas and 1 chicken and cheese pastel, R$16.10 = US$8.47.  We have yet to find that one culinary delight that will pull our heartstrings back to Brazil,or that we will particularly miss when we return.  Maybe the churros, but we can get those at home too...