Greetings and welcome back to the Adventures of Captain Red Beard. Since the last time we spoke, quite a bit has changed. My time in Buenos Aires came to a pleasant but abrupt end. I had planned to spend a little more time there but after I came down with the travel flu I realized that I had to take advantage of this incredible opportunity I had been given and see a little more of South America. I contacted Paloma Faizibiaoff, who many of you know as a former exchange student at Millbrook High School a few years back. She told me that I should come for Carnaval and that is something I could not turn down. So after about a month and a half in Buenos Aires, my lasting impression will be that it is a grand city that will not escape my memory any time soon. A truely international metropolis with plenty of things to see and do along with some excellent barbecue.

A smooth sidestep around the hurdle of waiting for two weeks to get my Brasilian visa in B.A. took me to Puerto Iguazu, home to the breathtaking Iguazu Falls, which many say surpasses Niagara. I for one do not know because I never went. At that point I was set on arriving on time for Carnaval and had just been to Niagara Falls, so I did not find the visit necessary. However it is a great place to get a visa overnght. Once in Sao Paulo, where Paloma lives, we set of for the Island, Ilhabela, which literally means beautiful Island, which is a few hours from Sao Paolo. Carnaval was just as great as everyone says. Just one big party with lots of music, parades and dancing. While there, we hung out with a bunch of Paloma's friends. most of them spoke English but there was a few guys who really didn't speak any English and of course I didn't speak any Portuguess. The incredible thing was that during carnaval, we seemed to communicate perfectly. We were laughing, telling jokes, sharing chilhood memories while making new ones of our own. The whole weekend was incredibly fun with parades, new food and friends and of course a few cocktails here and there. After carnaval we went back to Sao Paulo for less beers and more sightseeing. The next weekend rolled around and we went to the birthday celebration of one of my new best friends from Carnaval. When we got to the party, I tried to talk to these gentlemen and ask how they've been since carnaval or tell them what I've done, and I realized that we couldn't communicate at all. There was no common language and without the social lubrication of alcohol, there was absolutely nothing for us to talk about. After some grunting and pointing, we got back on the booze and smoothed the whole thing over. A few beers deep and the language barrier was broken, our bond was reformed, and we began laughing and singing again in our common toungue.

But don't worry Mom, I did plenty besides drink while in Brasil. I even went to two college classes. That's right, I went with Paloma to her college a few nights and decided to attend some of the lessons. I didn't want to go to too many, just enough to see how it compared to the U.S. and it was surprisingly similar. They were marketing classes, one in English and one in Portugues. The whole settup of the campus was almost the same. The only real difference is that students don't live on campus in Brasil like they do in the U.S.

The city of Sao Paulo is a nice and gigantic city. It is one of the largest in the world and bigger than New York city. Of course with a city that size it has plenty of things to do and there is always something interesting going on. Paloma has some great friends and everyone was extremely friendly and very happy to welcome the Gringo to their city. Paloma and her family live in a very nice neighborhood on the outside of the city. Her house is in a quiet community and it was very secure. The community where she lived was pretty cool with a few ponds and even a small section of Jungle.

So after some time with Paloma in Sao Paulo, I decided it was time to move on to my next stop in Rio de Janiero, the River of January. Here I am stayed with Ammi Brandao. He has also graced the halls of Millbrook High School as an exchange student in Millbrook and actually spent some time living in the humble abode of the Meyers family. Ammi is lucky enough to live at the base of Corcovado Mountain, the home of the world famous Christ the Redeemer Statue. I even got to ride up the mountain on a bike with Ammi's dad. Although it was great excersice and a nice ride, I wasn't even able to go to the bottom of the statue. The reason being that midway up the mountain is a parking lot and from there, visitors take a bus the rest of the way up. Well when we got to the top, they said that in order to enter the area where the statue is, that you need to buy the tickets at the parking lot and take the bus up, I know it makes a lot of sense.

For anyone who has not been to Rio de Janeiro, I would more than recommend it. It is one of the nicest cities I have every visited. It is an almost perfect combination of a big city and nature. Everyone knows about the wonderful beaches but there is so much more. Just the other day I went with some friends for a hike in the mountains in the middle of the city. With just a few minutes in the car, we got to a huge mountain that was host to a hangliding launch site. The view there was incredible and we were able to see the city, the beach, and plenty of jungle with the huge JC statue hanging majestically above it all. Along with the hangliding, hiking, and all the beautiful women, it doesn't seem like there was much more that a person could want from a city.

Unfortunately my time here in Brazil must come to an end. It has been a marvelous experience getting to know this amazing country and the wonderful people who live here. However, I recently had the realization that I need to do something more than just travel and enjoy myself. As great as it has been reconnecting with old friends and making new ones, it is time that I did something more important. I managed to find a volunteer program in Pisco, Peru that I am going to give four weeks of my time to. The program is called Pisco Sin Fronteras, which means Pisco without borders. This program is helping to rebuild the city of Pisco which was almost completely leveled by an earthquake a few years ago. So the Brasilian leg of my journey is now at an end and I am excited to move on to the next chapter. I will never forget the wild world of Brazil. Now on to my new adventure on the west coast. Wish me luck!!