On the lake

We've had visitors this weekend because it's a holiday (Mardi Gras). Iuri (Peter's Brazilian cousin), his wife Sandra, and their two kids Liga and Leonardo. Peter 2.0 was also in town from Switzerland. He used to live here. We had a big barbecue (churrasco) last night and played poker for several hours. I did not win.

Surprisingly (at least for me) , the only tortilla chips you can find in Brazil are Nacho Cheese Doritos. Peter made guacamole and we had it with Doritos, damn it!

We cooked carne (steak), chicken, linguica (sausage), salad, rice and fried mandioca. Yum!

Today was a beautiful day and we decided to go swimming. Technically the giant lake by Peter's house is a reservoir. There's a dam at the end that supplies power for Sao Paulo and Rio. It was a hot day, so we loaded everyone onto a rented boat and headed up the lake in search of a good spot to swim. You see a lot of chalana boats on the lake. With flat bottoms and single-stroke diesel engines, they are built for utilitarian purposes.

A very basic chalana - most have roofs, but many also have sides and two long benches.

The water was amazing and we had a great time.

Our chalana had sides on the back.

Ligia (pronounced Leezha), Sandra, and Peter

Cows on the way

Peter dives. Dave sits. Ligia floats.

Peter describes the flow of water. Either that, or he's practicing disco.

Coming back into Natividade da Serra. Peter's house is up on the hill in the middle of the photo,
but it's hard to see in this photo.