Second update from sunny, hot Florianopolis, Brazil. If you haven’t read the first one, then you should probably go back and read that. Instead of writing about everything we’ve done so far, I figured I would keep this down to one topic only … food!

Eating here in Brazil is totally different than America. The largest meal of the day is at 14:00 with the “lanche” at 23:00. Very strange. The chief staple here is beans and rice and is served with almost every meal. The beans are like lentils (but may be pinto) and are exceptionally good. You would thnk this was enough carbs and starch to suit anyone, but they also serve french fries and noodles with the same meal – very strange. The menu almost only speaks about “carne” which to me could be anything … cow, dog, cat … who knows. You can also get fish or chicken if you want. We’ve been frequenting the local restaurants and had a neat time at a local BBQ place that was chosen by the locals. My strangest foods were cow intestines (I didn’t know until after I ate it – thought it was octopus), chicken hearts, and some other “stuff”. I really couldn’t even begin to guess and I stopped asking. If I didn’t ask, it generally tasted good.

We’ve spent almost every evening at a local cafe here near our apartment where you can get sandwiches that really do taste good. I always get the Torrado Americana (American sandwich) that is like nothing you will ever get in America. Most of the sandwiches have egg in them as well as ham and one other meat and are served with olives. It might sound less than appetizing, but we’re back every night.

The most amazing thing about the food is the drinks. They have a local pop/soda called Guarana that is amazing and tastes like nothing else I’ve drank before. It’s colored liked ginger ale, but doesn’t taste anything like it. So that’s not the amazing thing … sorry about the diversion. It’s the fruit drinks. For about $0.50, you can get fresh squeezed … you name it. Orange. Pinapple. Papaya. Mango. Lime. Apple. Passion Fruit. And mixes of all of the above … If you like juices like I do, you could go nuts here with the “Sucos” (fruit drinks). You can also get the same drinks mixed in what they call “Vitaminas”. It’s difficult to explain this one except that it’s kind of like yogurt with the same fresh fruits. And cheap … cheap … cheap … The average meal here costs about $3. Speaking of which, after you get to Brazil, most everything is cheap in our dollars.

OK, so that’s the food brief for now. I’ll fill you in on more in the next couple of days. Yesterday, today and tomorrow are the conference so I’ll keep you all posted. Meanwhile, a smile is in order from Brazil … Tchau!