A Day At The Beach

Living in Balneário Camboriú, we’ve gotten pretty used to going to the beach. Our house is only two blocks away but everyone wanted to spend Saturday at the beach so we packed up some stuff and headed to the next city down the road, Itapema.

You might as why we would do that if we had a beach so close by. The answer is simple. More than 700,000 Argentineans, Paraguayans, Uruguayans and Brazilians. This is one of the most popular tourist cities in Brazil and the beaches are simply packed. It’s hard to see the sand for all the umbrellas.

Ilhotas Beach in Itapema is another story. As you can see in this photo, it has not yet been discovered by tourists.

The sand runs along about a mile stretch before ending in a giant rock formation.

As the surf comes crashing in, it produces some spectacular spray

You can see more of my photos from Itapema at my Flickr site.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/westnashvillegringo/

Brazilian Home Cooking

One of the best things about living in Brazil is the food and last night, Miriam Soares, my business partner's wife, invited us over for some homemade caldo de feijão or bean stew.

Now I know that doesn't sound nearly as appetizing as white beans and cornbread from Wendall Smith's but let me tell you, this is some good eating. Miriam is from the centro-oeste or midwest region of Brazil where they are known for their cooking. And she is an excellent cook.

Miriam loaded her caldo down with linguiça (sliced sausages) and pork ribs and let it cook for several hours. She served it with chopped green onions, grated cheese, fresh bread and ample amounts of hot sauce.

It´s the morning after now and my digestive system is telling me that I am too old to eat like that at 11:00 PM. It was worth it. And I´ll probably do it again.