If it's Saturday, this must be Maragogi

What does it say about me that I always sleep much better when I’m in another country? I had a great rest and awoke around 7:30 Brazil time...6:30 “body” time, which, for me is sleeping in. I moved slowly and quietly to get out of my bed, and Marta said “Bom dia”. Guess she was already up and just waiting for me. We made our way to the restaurant, where we had the most glorious array of fruit. Besides seeing my friends here, 2 of my very favorite things about coming to Brazil are...no great time changes...during DST they’re just one hour ahead of us, and all the exotic fruits. I’ve seen some of them at the farmer’s markets around Atlanta, but some are still found only here. There was the usual watermelon, papaya, and kiwi. We can sometimes get goiaba (guava) but it’s not nearly as good because here it’s just hours from being picked ripe. As a rule, I avoid pineapple because it’s rarely very sweet. But the pale slices lured me in and their sweetness only made me want more...juicy, too. These are wild pineapple (ananas) in contrast to the cultivated ones (abacaxi). Cashew fruit (yes, fruit, with the nut attached to it) is an acquired taste, and I enjoy another called pinha (“peen’ ya”) that doesn’t have a translation. There was graviola juice...also no translation.
Drew and Sueli joined us about an hour later and after we had all eaten as much as we could (10 days of this kind of eating???) we all decided to walk on the beach. The tide was out so we just meandered toward the coral reef, which creates a natural boundary. There are many places called piscinas naturais – natural swimming pools, which occur when the tide goes out just a little and there are hollows in the sand that retain the water. It’s warm and clear, though the sand is dark and dotted with seaweed and driftwood. Guys drive around in dune buggies, hawking rides all the way out to the water...I’ve done that and it’s a lot more fun in the sand dunes of my favorite beach, Genipabu, in Natal.
When we finally turned around to come back - ooops - we noticed the tide had come in a bit – fortunately not terribly high, since none of us had swimsuits on. Before we made it all the way to the beach, it began to rain and by the time we got to some semblance of shelter, it was pelting us pretty hard. There were quite a few people by the bar so we all crowded as best we could, ordered some fishcakes and beverages. We stood for quite a while, drinking, but never receiving our fishcakes. When questioned, the bartender said, “oh, we didn’t make them.” No other explanation. Gotta love the communication here.
Since it was lunchtime, we all just decided to eat some real food – Drew and Sueli needed to get on the road, so we didn’t linger long. With hugs and kisses (we’re going to see them Sunday afternoon) they drove off, and Marta and I came to the reception area for the only available internet connection, sat here for longer than I imagined and had a coffee and some “sweeties” before she got tired and went back to the room. When I finally left, it was late in the afternoon, but still time to read on our veranda before dinnertime. Marta is an excellent tour guide and checks on her “children” (a group of 17-year-olds on holiday from school) very often, hanging out with them, going to the pool, gym, being a good mother hen.
Dinner was good, and the array of desserts just too enticing to ignore. I try to take just one bite’s worth of each flan and torte because they’re all delicious. After dinner we sat in our air-conditioned room and she “introduced” me to the projects she’s working on...she’s been working with female prisoners, teaching them English and the Bible, but that work will pause for a while, as she’s stretched much too thin. Her main work is called Cenca, where hopefully my team will come and help renovate in October. There she takes girls and women off the street and teaches them a trade like making jewelry, cutting hair, manicures, sewing, and, in the future, cooking. They learn English as well. Marta’s heart is probably bigger than all of Brazil and another love of hers is working in the slums. There are orphans and also kids who have parents, but no place to go during the day, so we’ll be able to go and meet them too. She is just one person and I sincerely hope that reading this might help ignite a fire that will bring us together as a team to come alongside her.
When I’d seen every picture on her computer we decided to watch some of the show in the outdoor theater of the resort. Evidently the young people working here are also given the double duty of being the “singers” and dancers in the show, and quite obviously the costume budget was a little less than that of Disney World (ok, a LOT less). But they were definitely enjoying themselves and loved being able to entertain us. The big thing is the fog machine...in between every number was the exact same music, same length of time, and lots of fog! Milli Vanilli has nothing on the one gal who lip-sync-ed to an American song but kept forgetting to keep the fake mike close to her mouth. Afterward, they invited everyone to come up and take pictures with them. You'll be very surprised that I declined.
Sleep came easily to me...Marta went out to spend some time with her kids again.