touchdown!

Miami airport

What trip is complete without Starbucks? Well, I'm sure a great many are, but in Miami it felt right to have a cold drink from Starbucks with all these business people and holiday-ers getting off the plane with me. And after an early morning with a 3.5 hour flight, I was ready to stretch my legs.

Miami is beautiful. Those clear blue skies, the waving palm trees…  Definitely worth a return. And a nice airport too! That may or may not have had anything to do with the enticing outdoors that were a security check away.

Miami airport

A 2.5 hour layover brought me to the next flight: a 3 hour trip to Panama. With that came the a gorgeous sunset over the fields and waves of clouds.

sunset somewhere over the Caribbean Sea

The airport in Panama is HUGE, slightly stuffy, and just a little confusing. Instead of adventuring as I did in Miami, I stayed near my gate and waited for the flight that was scheduled to leave 2 hours later.  A restless overnight flight of just short of 7 hours (time change included) dropped me off in Recife, leaving me at the mercy of the passport officers. Thankfully, they gave me no more trouble than to simply ask for my passport, stamped it, and handed it back.

dawn over South America 

A friendly couple was there to greet me - Ryan and Rachel - and brought me to this beautiful compound. First impressions of this country include: Recife is not Toronto (to state the obvious). No lines on the road mean that it is every motorist for himself, whether it is bus, car, or motorcycle (oh those handy machines that dart in and out of the traffic!). The compound is a very bumpy dirt road off of a nicely paved one. 

I have met all the children here and think I have their names down-pat, and I'm getting to know the pets as well. A word to the wise: bringing dropjes to a Dutch family brings you many friends. However, a long nap and a quick shower were much needed in order to be able to feel halfway human again. 

view from the front porch.

No sweaters are needed here! My desktop picture is still a photo of the apple orchard covered in snow -- it feels a little out of place at the moment. Good thing the landscape is so photogenic: I'll have plenty of pictures to choose from!

sunset