We left Rio de Janeiro late in the morning on Sunday to start the 3+ hour drive that takes us about 100 miles east to get home. The GPS really proved its worth by getting us out of Rio and over the Niteroi bridge in record time. It’s easy to miss turns, exits and roads since there is no main highway and I don’t think any single road goes in a straight line. Traffic runs fast, with just inches (literally!) between cars, buses, bikes, motorcycles and pedestrians. Fairly large roads dump you on to tiny crooked roads that seem to double back to where you came from, and you really can’t just look at the part of town where you need to be and head towards it.
The only thing better than our British accented GPS telling us where to turn would have been a New York City accented GPS ripping into us every time we took a wrong turn or missed an exit.
Once on the bridge it was smooth sailing all the way out. At least the Brazilian equivalent of smooth, which means we didn’t crash into any other cars, people, animals or road construction workers. The road itself? Not smooth. Not even close.
The scenery quickly changes from the favelas of Niteroi to the fields of the coast road where the vacas and goats graze as you drive by. Mom had her camera going like mad but mostly ended up with shots of the inside of the car and some blurry buildings whizzing by. She was fascinated with the image of the square, unfinished cinderblock houses with their grubby water tanks on the roof, right next to the satellite TV dish.
Our stay in Rio das Ostras (River of Oysters) was going to be much more domestic and relaxed than our one-and-two-halfs days in Rio de Janeiro (River of January). We had 3 days to stroll the town, swim the beach, try the food, shop the shops and speak the language. Since B was at work those first three days, we were on our own with all of it. I was a little nervous about the language thing, since I am getting much better at reading and writing Portuguese, but not very good at understanding it when I hear it. That is my own fault since I haven’t made a big effort to get out to the Brazilian meet-ups in Houston to practice.
So, we suited up and headed out each day. One day it was the beach where we had the most beautiful pre-storm clouds and a really nice swim. Another day it was walking the main street to take a peek at at every day life, and maybe find some souvenirs for my Mom’s friends back home.
Another day hanging out at home watching movies with subtitles and strolling the neighborhood to take pictures. Mostly just soaking up the feel of another country, and enjoying ourselves.
Even things so simple as a meal became an adventure when we really had no idea what kind of food we were ordering sometimes.
We all agree, the food was great!
Not to say we didn’t have a hard time with some of it. Rio das Ostras is much, much safer than Rio de Janeiro, but still too dangerous to let the kids roam around by themselves, even if there hadn’t been the added obstacle of the language for them. Have you ever spent 9 days in close quarters with teenagers who can’t leave your side? Um… It was hard sometimes, on all of us. By the end of the trip The Boy and I were having some serious issues, but we got quite a lot of them sorted out and settled in the airport waiting for our flight home.
I’d still do it again, in a heartbeat. Even with the stress of consentrated family time, I’m still so glad they came. They saw so much, opened their eyes to so much more than they knew, had some amazing experiences that are just not possible here, and now have the memories for a lifetime.
