Brazil Finale

Nate said that he sent a lot of pictures via email while he was in Brazil.  I had a hard time believing that until yesterday.  I got a bunch of emails each with one picture. In fact, I received 8 yesterday and another 6 today.  Who knows what tomorrow will bring….?!

Enjoy – Nate’s pics and captions :)

The Desert Vehicle

Crossing the river by raft (travel from resort to desert was ~1 hour)

This desert is unique in that there are many freshwater lakes from the rainy seasons (Jan through March).  This year was especially dry.  The lake shown would normally be 7 meters deep.

Everyone walked barefoot through the desert.  It is not uncommon to sink up to your knees in the sand.

The scale of the desert is incredible. We appear as nothing compared to its vastness.

Nate (and his sandy safari hat)… escaping architecture, freeing his mind

Yes – this photo is real….

Where the desert meets the forest

The ride home from the desert adventure

It’s great having Nathan back, and we are glad that he had a great trip.

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Posted in: Brazil,Nathan

Brazil updates

As I gazed out my window at work today, I would have given anything to spend a few hours in the fantastic 60 degree weather and sunshine!  Then I thought about Nate, possibly still in a old hotel without AC, crawling across a South American desert near the equator with temps deep into the 90’s and limited sunscreen.  Poor guy, right?!

I checked my gmail to see a message from Nate with the subject “this trip is awful.” I was dying to see what he had to say…. They had a 4 hour bus ride to their next destination. They will stay here for the next 3-4 days……

Pictures!

Nate’s new hotel/RESORT!  His villa is the first one on the right.

A better view.

The Dining Area

The recreation room

And the view

Now I understand that the subject line was oozing sarcasm!!  This looks like an amazing vacation.  He said that its a great resort and its not busy at all since its currently mid summer for the Southern hemisphere.

Here’s an excerpt from his email:

“Today we woke up around 9 am.  We had a  breakfast of fresh fruit and
pastries.  Around 10-11 several of us went kayaking on the river that
runs past our resort while other swam in the pool.  At noon we
departed for the desert.  It took us about an hour by car (military
grade safari hum-v) to trek through the bush to the desert.  Once we
arrive we had a picnic--fresh salad with chicken and water.  Then the
adventure began.  We had to scale a 40 meter dune to enter into the
desert from the lush green jungle of palms and cashew trees.  The
contrast between the white sand and the green jungle was incredible.
Then we basically walked as far into the desert as we could before it
began getting dark (about 5 hours.)”

Miles and I were able to talk to Nate tonight via video chat. Miles was super excited to see AND hear his dad.  The fact that Nate has been gone really sunk in this morning when he couldn’t find and wake up his dad after breakfast.

4 mornings left until dad returns……

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Ola, Boa Noite

Or… “Hello, Good Evening” to those of you who do not understand Portuguese. I don’t have a lot of information, but I can give you all an update on Nathan and his big trip.

As NY weather is climbing and holding steady in the 50’s this week – Nate’s decided to ‘one-up’ us… Columbia paid his ticket into the exotic deserts of South America!

Saturday morning, Miles and I dropped Nate off at JFK airport at 6am.  His flight left for Sao Paulo, Brazil at 8:25am. He landed around 8:30pm local time (6:30pm NY time).  His next flight took off for Sao Luiz, Brazil at 11pm local time and landed at 2:30am (12:30am NY time). Once gathering the group, luggage and ground transportation, he was supposed to arrive at the hotel for the night around 3:30am.  Even though most of the day was spent sitting down, I think I’d be super exhausted.

 

I apologize for the stretched, low resolution map, but graphics are more Nate’s thing….  “A” marks Nate’s final destination, Sao Luiz.  Yes, that dotted line is the equator – looks like a glorious, hot, tropical trip! I’m a little jealous!

Nate said that the local weather is in the 90’s and super humid. His current hotel (and possible all of the hotels he’ll stay at) have no AC.  He mentioned that his hotel also lost power sometime overnight and he actually showered this morning by the light of his phone.  Hopefully power is restored soon… since their day in the desert will most likely warrant another shower upon their return.

Now… for a few of the pictures Nate sent this morning!

The view from outside his hotel

Inside the hotel

The street view from the hotel

And finally, the hotel dining area

Everything just looks sweaty – but looks like a fantastic adventure!

Nate is supposed to arrive back in NYC at 5pm next Friday. Miles and I miss him a lot already and cannot wait for his return!  I’ll do my best to keep you posted :o)

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Posted in: Brazil,Nathan