Welcome to Itaipu!
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| Cecilia and Tio Carlos at Itaipu |
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| Welcome |
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Tio Carlos and Tia Olga's home in Itaipu
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On the Friday before Daniel was born, Will and Cecilia arranged to take me with them to spend the night in Itaipu, the 'country house' of Cecilia's aunt and uncle. C's doctor told her the day before that she should go to the beach and swim. Itaipu is a very special place to both Will and Cecilia, and it has a pool; so we packed overnight backpacks and arrived at the front gate after an hour's bus ride.
We were greeted by Tio Carlos, who was doing yard work. It was apparent that he loves Cecilia and thinks Will is pretty special too. The feeling is mutual all around. Will disappeared to change into his swim suit. C and I toured the yard and gardens with its keeper.
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| A Low-Growing Beauty |
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| The birds love guava too. |
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| Star Fruit Tree is heavy with fruit. |
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| The more golden the color, the sweeter they are. |
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| Orange Tree |
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| Banana Tree with Fruit |
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| The Heart of the Banana grows at the end of the bunch. |
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| Not yet! They're not ripe. |
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| Acerola Cherry |
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| Sugar Cane |
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| Coconut Palm with Fruit |
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| This beautiful Mango Tree stands guard in the back yard at Itaipu. |
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The Mango is home to the nest of a bird called Joao de Barro,
who builds his nest out of clay. |
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| Pretty neat architecture, right? |
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| A Fascinating Home |
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| Under the Mango Tree is a great patio. |
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| On the patio, C rests with her Daniel belly. |
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| Patio Floor is made of granite tiles. |
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| An Outbuilding in the Back Yard at Itaipu |
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| Stucco walls surround the yard. |
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| Pretty plants soften the stucco. |
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| What's beyond the garden wall? |
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| Walk through the gate to a pool and the homes of two of Cecilia's cousins. |
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| Tropical Afternoon |
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| Garden Drive |
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Beyond the Palm is a fenced soccer/volleyball field
surrounded by fruit trees. |
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| More Tropical Sights |
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A Look at the House at Itaipu
The plant with the red blooms is called Monkey Tails. |
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| Afternoon storm blows in. |
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| Banana Leaf |
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| A Casa na Itaipu |
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| Smooth and Knotty |
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| Ixora and Ferns |
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| Red and Yellow Ixora |
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| Garden Gate |
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| Stag Horn Fern makes its home on the Mango's trunk. |
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| The neighbors' Mango peaks through the wall. |
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| Delicate |
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| Azul |
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| Stucco |
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| A Janela do Banheiro |
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| A Janela da Sala |
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| A Janela do Quarto |
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| Hot Fan |
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| Red Raindrops |
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| Gentle Afternoon Rain |
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| Monkey Tails |
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| Fascinated with Monkey Tails |
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| More? |
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| Last one, I promise! |
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| Moss-Topped Wall |
Rain on Friday night played havoc on taxi service in Itaipu. Cecilia and Will wanted to take me to a restaurant--7 Grill--for dinner, and began trying to find a cab. After hearing that it would be at least an hour or more, we agreed to catch a bus. Out into the humid post-rainy night we went, crossing the street to wait for a 38 bus. Even though the taxis weren't running so well, the mosquitoes were having a heyday. In fact, maybe the mosquitoes carried the taxis off . . . . the thought
did cross my mind.
The other thought that crossed my mind was:
if Daniel decided to arrive, how would we get back to the Maternity Hospital in time if we had to wait over an hour for a taxi to arrive for an hour-long transport. I calmed myself with the truth that God was already in the middle of tomorrow. And the slapping, dancing noises of we three on the defense against the assault of airborne misery sort of took my mind off the possibility too. We, the dancing trio, did a jig back across the street, all but waving white flags of surrender to creatures that we couldn't even see. Back behind the gate and walls of the house, C called another service, found a cab that was close by, and we were able to get to 7 Grill quickly.
Back to Tio Carlos and Tia Olga's mini retreat, we chose bedrooms, made our beds, and tried to turn in for the night. The operative word here was 'tried.' Mosquitoes had called in reinforcements that laughed at Johnson's Baby Mosquito Repellent. In the morning, bleary-eyed Will looked like he'd come down with the measles. The only blessing to the bite of Brasilian mosquitoes is that they do not itch. Believe me--I have first-hand knowledge. The down-side is, the marks are still apparent 6 days later.
We three sat at the kitchen table, enjoying a breakfast of fresh French bread, butter, yogurt, and coffee. Tio Carlos arrived from their apartment in Icarai; soon he was at the kitchen door with a warm smile and the gift of a plastic tub of freshly cut sugar cane from his yard.
Cana must be cut, peeled, and trimmed before eating. Or rather, before
chewing and sucking the sweet juice from the fibers and spitting the fibers out. I got a plastic cup and started collecting my spent cana.
Reminded me of the good ol' boys back home who spit into a plastic Dairy Queen cup when they're enjoying a chaw of tobacco. Cana may be just as addictive, but it's cleaner.
With backpacks in hand, we caught the 38 bus back to Icarai before lunchtime on Saturday, February 11th.
We had no idea that Daniel would be born in less than 12 hours . . .
