50+ and proud of it.

Brasil is pretty much the only holiday from which, on the flight back, I have tried to work out how I was going to go back there. When we first arrived it seemed like pretty much the same as any "Mediterranean" country. Where was the "I'm in South America" feeling? Where were the Amazonian Native Indians? Where were all the exotic birds and animals? And in particular, where were all the Brazilian Wandering Spiders ? I then realised that Brasil is as large as the United States and at least maybe I shouldn't worry about the spiders. On the second day there we were taking breakfast on the veranda when this turned up: Possibly a Swallow-Tailed Hummingbird Every morning he (or she) would have his breakfast from the hibiscus flowers and move on. I started to feel less, um, well, cheated and started to warm to the place! A few days later we went on a "Beach Buggy Safari". Which consisted of all of us piling into a VW engined buggy and being driven 30k dow

I'm not saying it rained most nights in Brasil, but every morning it seemed we had to sweep the garden off the patio and back into the borders. It was a regular thing - Wake up from the sound of the torrential rain, go back to sleep, wake up at 06:00 because it was already fully light 1 , get up and then sweep the sand back from whence it came. One day the rain seemed to surpass itself. We were driving to Natal (the nearest large town) and came across this: Apparently it happens a lot - the cars just drive gently through with no problem. However, take a look at the white Mitsubishi with the lights on. He is actually hanging back. He waited until the flood was clear of traffic on his side and then gunned it for his worth creating a massive breaking wave about six feet high. I think the taxi behind us had his window open... This is another reason why there are no smarts in Brasil. 1 Obviously, near the equator you get a more-or-less even 12 hours day/night. The days consisted of waki