Ilha Primeira

Now that I'm caught up with my SF life, allow me to backtrack about Brazil...('tis a let down to post events after that matter when I'm so used to moblogging at the exact moment, but I still want the record!)

Garopaba, where Dav is living, is absolutely beautiful, but it's more of a seasonal surf town so things had quieted down a bit by the time I got there. So after 4 blissful days of lounging around there, we headed to Rio de Janeiro so we could get a taste of city life.

The first few days we stayed on Ilha Primeira, an island a bit south of the center and the crowded Copacabana beaches. It appears little known since it's not even on the average tourist map. We stayed with Hardy, a guy from Napa, whom Dav found via the internet (if you are interested, contact him at "coastalhw at yahoo dot com"). I'm really glad we stayed there since it is as quaint as can be. Imagine a small tranquil island that you can only get to by a small motorboat, where the houses are cute bungalows with narrow walkways in between, lush vegetation, everyone seems to know everyone, and it's oh-so-quiet. I couldn't believe we were in Rio!

The cute alleys and lush green in the back.

A goofy blue statue I admired, and a wall of hundreds of types of cachaca, used in the Caipirinha that I love so much.

A super yummy restaurant (close to the island but not on it) we went to where we ate outside, and they had a pool and air hockey table outside too. I hate to admit it, but Dav beat me silly. Even at the darts where I started out winning (should have learned my lesson). Last pic is Daniel, Dav's cousin who has been living in Rio for about 16 months. Really cool to hang out with him.