Tudo bem (all's well)

I arrived in Sau Paulo, Brazil, at 11 in the morning on Friday. It was an uneventful flight (as flights should be) highlighted by getting to watch "Argo" and "Brave." International travel seems to be the only place where airlines still provide free food and entertainment.

After gathering my baggage, I headed toward the customs line. First odd thing: There was a "things to declare" line and a separate "nothing to declare" line. ... And they converged into one line after 50 feet. I've got my passport and I'm ready to explain that all of the electronics I'm carrying are really mine and that I have NO intention of leaving them in Brazil for my friend to use and possibly sell, when the second odd thing occurs: There is no customs. I went around the corner, past the official guy who nodded at everyone, through another door, and there I was in the main terminal. Apparently sometimes the whole customs thing is optional.

Peter picked my up and off we went on the 3-hour drive to Natividade da Serra. This is the small town where he lives up in the mountains on a reservoir lake. We had a cocktail on the patio before heading down to Peter's dad's house (300-yards away) where he lives with his partner Nina. First dinner in Brazil? Pizza. REALLY GOOD pizza.

Peter prefers the second photo. Fewer wrinkles.  For those of you who don't know, Peter is a dear friend from when I lived in Spokane 40 bazilion years ago. He moved to Brazil in 2005. Since starting the new job at The Seattle Times, I had a lot of vacation I hadn't used and decided it was the perfect time for another "visit a friend in a cool foreign spot" vacation. Thank God I HAVE friends in cool foreign places, or I could never afford to go anywhere!

Woke up this morning completely on Brazil time (6-hours ahead of PST right now) Papaya and coffee for breakfast and then it's off to buy groceries in Natividade.