May 10
Angra

We took a journey outside the city of Rio de Janeiro into Angra--a rural juxtaposition of mountains, islands, and hidden beaches. We traveled by automobile, which is not very efficient when tall mountain ranges and the ocean bend around every curve. However it does provide for a breathtaking journey. There we found endless quantities of the aforementioned. It seemed much of a resort town; yachts and good boats kept company in the bays. Islands that were able, supported small mansions. A church house also kept community among a cluster of island estates.

On the boat we sped across one side of paradise to the other. We visited hidden shores, played volleyball, fresco ball, waded through a rain shower, then went at it again. Nature showed us multifarious combinations of sand, rock and water. I was confounded by the many island beaches connected to stranded mountains, hitched to the ocean floor--wondering if a similar place existed in all the world.