We made it. And if we can't ever leave, so be it. What a city. What views. Everywhere you look.
And Joe and Leonor made it to Rio too, with Thomas and John, and then we headed south along the coast to a town called Paraty, pronounced parachee or para-dise.
More later, because the big news this letter is not out of Brazil but comes from the Bay Area. Annie and Sankar are engaged. Yippee. So happy for both of them. Annie called after they spent a weekend in the Mendocino area where the formalities took place. Annie will fill us all in on arrangements but here's one bet: make sure your passports are valid. Happy day.
Annie's news had made it down to Brazil, at least to Joe and Leonor. We've only been here a few days but feel like it's been longer since we've packed so much in. And we have until the end of the month before we head home. That means a new a Thanksgiving tradition in Brazil.
Today, we hired a boat to take us around the large inlet and stop at a few beaches and a restaurant. We've also walked round the old colonial town and spent a day at the beach, a block away from the house we've rented.
Tomorrow Joe and everyone head back to Brasilia and work while Mary and I return to Rio for a few more days at Ipanema. Yes, there really is a beach called Ipanema and there really is a hotel at the Cocacabana.
Other news includes Margaret and Andrew hosting Andrew's parents this weekend. The other Andrew and Lur made it back to East Dundee in record time, it seems.
I'm less and less a fan of Facebook, except for the news we get from family. If not for Facebook would we have known that Melodie and Jeff were with her parents, we think. We also see Oliver having what looks to be a successful cross country season.
We include here a few leftover Halloween photos that came in after I finished the last letter.
Good news from Boston with Kara getting a big promotion.
Finally, a blast from the past. I got an email from our lifelong learning institute forwarding a message from my childhood friend, Steve Bidwell who had tracked me down through the OLLI website. We arranged a zoom call and then spent 90 minutes trying to catch up on 50-plus years of absence. We covered a lot of ground, including confirmation of a suspicion I had that his ancestors lived in Berkshire County (there's a Bidwell house museum in Monterrey). I pass along his observations of our family as the family he wanted to be part of, that it was so much fun coming to our house, in Cincinnati or in NJ, wandering around the woods and he even remembered playing touch football - David and him against Peter and me. He has been living in Austria since he was 25 so not sure if I'll ever see him but it was more than fun to reconnect. Thanks internet.
And with that, love from down here.
