These last couple of weeks have been a little exciting. Last weekend we took a trip to Petropolis for a one day look around on Saturday and then the kids and I went to the beach in Ipanema on Sunday while Vic went to the Hippie Fair. Petropolis is about an hour and a half from here in the mountains. While it was 100 degrees here with >90% humidity in Rio, there it was a pleasant 75 with a light breeze.
Some Good Looking People
The highlight of the day involved a trip to the Imperial Museum. This was the summer palace for the royal family in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. They now have it set up as a pleasant little park in front and the house is a museum. You aren't allowed to wear your shoes in the house or bring in cameras or Sawyers. This last meant that Sawyer and I had to sit it out in the train house next door while Vic and Ansley toured the house. It also means that the only pictures we have of this time are of Sawyer and I. Sawyer is really into trains right now, and the barriers set up in the train room weren't very effective against his considerable powers. I spent most of the time in the building trying to get Sawyer off the engine while the guard laughed at me and refused to let me go inside the barrier to get him. It was a blast.
Grace, Charlotte, Ben, Charlie, Ansley and Sawyer
After a challenging walk through the Palace
He just really wanted to jump
Sawyer and I in front of the Palace
For the trip back, we decided to take the longer route through Teresopolis. I had thought this way was only about 30-45 minutes longer, but after 3 hours we were still an hour away from home. This was bad for us, James and Louise had a car full of three kids (including there one month old) and Louise's mom. Needless to say, no matter how bad our drive was, there's was worse. There was a bend coming out of Teresopolis where you had a clear view of all of Rio from the mountain top. It was absolutely amazing.
Vic and I in front of the mountain
All of Rio is in this shot
The next day at the beach was a blast for the kids and myself. Ansley and Sawyer have no fear around the waves, and they actually laugh when they get knocked down and rolled through the surf. Fearlessness is great, and we really don't want them to lose this adventurous streak; however, keeping them alive through this phase is something of a challenge. All I could do at the beach was watch Ansley challenge the waves head on, while I tried to keep Sawyer from getting sucked out to sea. To make it worse, I had a series of grandma's in thongs come by to explain to me that the children needed more sun screen. One of them actually used her sun burned beer gut to explain to me that Sawyer's shoulder's and face were going to get just as bad. I was about to go get sunscreen when she turner around and bent over. I don't care if its Giselle Bunchen (sp?), no one should bend over at the waist in dental floss. A proctologist probably would struggle to get a view that I was given at the beach. Needless to say I forgot the sunscreen and managed to get both kids burned while Vic was at the Hippie Fair. I felt like a heel.
This weekend was a little different experience. Yesterday we took the kids to a beach near here called Prainha. This is a gorgeous beach tucked in between two mountains with a little stream cutting across it. Absolutely fantastic. We had managed to get both kids and all the associated paraphenelia down to the beach when we heard the first gunshot from the parking lot. We were there with a couple of other expat families and their kids. Most of the group didn't seem to register the sound. Adam and I looked at each other and started watching the parking lot closely. I think we were both just hoping everything would settle down; unfortunately, with the second shot, the fight started to spill down on the beach about 100 feet from us. It was an insane scramble to grab kids and car keys, but on a beach tucked in between two mountains there just isn't any where to go. We ran to the water and then ran along it for a ways in the opposite direction of the people with guns. After a little while, we stopped to see what was going on. At this point, I watched a man run onto the beach with a gun in the air. I heard three more shots (I assume aimed at this man) and then we were once again on the run. We ran a ways further and then just sat down in the surf. We had crying kids, no way off the beach, no idea what was going on, and the surf was breaking right over us. Not a good day at the beach.
Once it was over, we loaded everyone into the car, called the folks that were on the way to meet us and brought the whole party to our house so the kids could have a pool party and hopefully not realize just what happened. I am very grateful right now that we were not five minutes later and in the parking lot when it happened. I am grateful that no one asked questions or second guessed actions. I am grateful Sawyer didn't try to play or run away. I am grateful more of the gun fight didn't spill onto the beach. I am grateful that this time the guns stopped firing when the police arrived. I am grateful Maggie had cookies to take the kids minds off what was going on. I am grateful that we could joke about the kids playing Prainha with squirt guns later that morning at the pool and genuinely laugh about it. Needless to say, it was a very scary reminder why Rio is considered a hazard assignment for Shell.
I hope everyone is doing well.
