Sid's musings: Days Fifteen and Sixteen: "The World is Shrinking" and some much-needed R&R

Note: This blog post details activities from our weekend trip to a fishing village/ecoresort town. In a sense, it's not as reflective as some of my previous posts. I do have a challenge for you right at the very end though!

Day Fifteen: Saturday, May 21

We had planned a trip to a local fishing village which has now become a well-developed resort town - Praia do Forte. Praia do Forte is north of Salvador - about a 90 minute drive and is on, what is called, the Coconut Coast - about a 200km stretch north of Salvador is lined with beautiful beaches, enclosed by rivers and dunes. Our trip began with a visit to Castelo do Garcia d´Ávila - this medieval castle was completed in 1624, which makes it one of Brazil´s oldest Portuguese buildings. The ruins of the castle have been carefully restored with steel upper-level walkways affording views over the palm-studded coastline beyond. I took my camera along and was lucky enough to get some really good shots (see below) - in addition to the ruins of the Castle, got some great shots of butterflies and a dragonfly that was hovering for a split-second! From the castle, we headed to a Turtle conservation project - huge turtles! Some weighing as much as 1000 lbs! The turtle conservation project is right along the beach and again I was lucky to get some good shots.

We ran into some US students at the turtle conservation place - they were also staying at the same B&B as us in Salvador - small world that it is, they are from Martin, TN. Here's a recap of a funny conversation that I had with them back at the B&B.

"Me: Hey guys, where are you from?

Them: America

Me: Where in America

Them: US

Me: Where in the US?

Them: Do you know where Tennessee is?

Me: Ya, I think I do ;-)

Them: Well, we're from Tennessee.

Me: Which part?

Them: West Tennessee

Me: Ok, I'm sorry for asking so many questions - but where in West Tennessee.

Them: Near Memphis - do you know where that is?

Me: Yes, I know Memphis - I live there ;-)

Them: Oh Wow!"

From the turtle conservation place, we headed to a gourmet lunch - one of the local folks here, Geilson, invited us to lunch at their wife's restaurant - it turns out that his wife is a well-acclaimed and well-renowned chef - Tereza Paim. The lunch was simply divine! We got a cooking lesson on Moqueca - a Brazilian seafood stew. And we enjoyed lots and lots of seafood. Some pics below - after lunch, we headed to Geilson and Tereza's home where an unbelievable dessert spread awaited us - everything from candied tropical fruits to a dessert with cashews, honey and milk to a caramel cake - I indulged and found myself in heaven! They have a great great place right near the beach in Praia do Forte. Again, I am touched by strangers opening up their hearts and homes to us. Thank you much Geilson and Tereza!

After the heavy lunch, we took it easy in the afternoon - relaxing on the back porch of their home - in the evening, took a quick stroll to the beach and got some lovely shots of the sunset!

I continue to be amazed at the warmth of the Brazilian people and their "Joie de vivre" - makes me think about how one needs to find joy and enjoyment in the simple pleasures of life. One life to live - might as well enjoy it, right?

In the late evening, we headed back to Salvador - the group was split into 2 - 6 folks decided to stay overnight and the other 6 headed back to home base.

Day Sixteen: Sunday, May 22

Most of Sunday was spent recovering from the heavy meal from the previous day! Took it easy for the most part - spent some time completing documentation and managing versions for our final client deliverables. It was nice to have some downtime after the hectic activity during the week.

Did not venture out until the late afternoon - headed to the local supermarket - it's called Bompreco (and it's owned by Wal-Mart) - enjoyed some fresh coconut water enroute and enjoyed a good walk with 3 of my colleagues. The groceries here are definitely more expensive than I expected - for instance, a bag of chips (medium size) is about 5 USD. A regular-sized cake that is about USD 10 back home, is about USD 25 here. A 2L bottle of coke is about USD 3. Dinner on Day Sixteen was back at the Sandwich+Juice shop - enjoyed a glass of fresh mango juice!

I am also beginning to feel a little homesick - it was more pronounced on Sunday and I think the fact that I didn't really do much the whole day contributed to it. Which leads me to the title of this blog post "The World is Shrinking" - in this hyper-connected world, I am so thankful for the technology that makes distance seem less than it really is. I love the fact that I'm able to talk with family back home via video conference on Skype - definitely makes me feel more connected. It's hard for me to imagine how people managed in the good ol' days with only snail mail! Also, thanks to Facebook, I feel that I'm pretty caught up with what's going on with everyone while I'm gone! And this blog helps me share my journey with friends, family and colleagues - technology definitely helps! Of course, there is the flip-side of being over-involved (read: addicted) with technology and not being able to disconnect and unplug! :-) - in a future post, I will include an open letter that I wrote to Steve Jobs about my addiction to all things Apple! :-) -

Finally, speaking of the world becoming smaller and how easy technology makes it to reach out to people and connect, here's the challenge - reach out to an old friend or a family member you haven't connected with in a while - pick up the phone and call or send them an email, do whatever it takes to make contact! It's not that hard and delaying only means you'll likely never get to it. Being what life is, you may not get an opportunity later so, don't delay and do it now! I just completed the challenge myself and I feel good! :-)