Benvindo a Brasil

After a Tuesday travel day from IAH through MIA, my overnight flight to GIG touched down Wednesday at 9 AM. This old gringa retrieved a cart for three bags and a box, stacked on a carry-on and purse, then breezed through customs without a hitch. (I almost said that I did it all by myself, but the truth is, God did it for me.) Note, I did not say it happened quickly. Since I checked in 2 hours ahead of my flight, mine were the first bags on and then, of course, the last bags off this 767. Then I rolled a burgeoning cart to the waiting cheers of my two and 1/2 loved ones. Embracing Will and Cecilia, with Daniel very much onboard, was a bit of heaven.

One of Cecilia's cousins was so kind and generous to drive his air-conditioned car to pick me up. As he whipped in and out of traffic, backseat companion Will pointed out the finer points of pedestrian safety, street vendors on the choked highway, and landmarks shrouded in a lazy haze. We passed concrete cinderblock favelas, stacked like so many gray Lego boxes. Some were punctuated with bright clothes on a line or the occasional red sattelite dish on a wall painted tropical bright. Cecilia showed me the hospital where she worked and the double-turreted mansion that was built by a local doctor long ago on a mountain just across a bay. Multiple cables on a new bridge under construction swooped gracefully skyward to be gathered at the top. Two starched white cruise ships anchored at piers across the bay, while huge fishing trawlers and ferries dotted the water. Soft curved mountain-hills swelled on the horizon, sleepy under a soft smoggy overcast sky.

Our bridge ended in a toll booth and delivered us to the urban/suburban streets of Niteroi. Will and Cecilia always breath a relaxed sigh when coming into Niteroi from Rio, they say. They pointed out various places while Cecilia's cousin deftly maneuvered his tiny gray car around and down and left and through. Here's the restaurant that serves meals by the kilo, always fresh and good; there's the dentist; I had my last bloodwork done there; the best bread in Niteroi is in this bakery; are you hungry--we'll unload your bags and walk here to get a breakfast.

The car turned left onto Praia de Icarai, and I began to recogize the street with the pale sand beach that the kids had captured in photos for us Texans. A short distance across the water, Christ the Redeemer towers on the tip of one shaggy tropical mount. His arms open to greet Sugar Loaf Mountain and His back is turned to another low mountain called The Sleeping Giant. Looks like you could hear the big guy snoring just like three of my cabin mates on the flight down. Supine, his head is back, nose pointed skyward, lower jaw slack. The bay is surrounded by lots of rock hills. Some are hard brown and bare, some coated with close moss green, and still others lush with dark foliage. With a little time on your hands, you could find shapes in the formations just like the cloud animals you imagined as a child while gazing skyward.

I'm so glad you're here, I hear over and over.

I'm so glad to be here, I say over and again.

I can't beleve it's finally real! In Niteroi Icarai Rio de Janeiro Brazil.