The Travels of Päivi and Santeri

So long, Brazil! Our very last day in Brazil: 9.2.2004. 02:00 Two beggars asked for a cigarette in Copacabana, Rio. Santeri said no as usual. The beggars started to behave aggressively and grabbed Santeri's hand. We escaped unharmed.

The last day of Samba Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The value for money was too satisfactory and the spectacle is was over marketed.

Salvador de Bahia is Brazil's most African city. As the Carnival time is drawing closer, you can see it in the photos.

We just spent three relaxing days in a lovely beach village Gaibo which is situated some 30 kilometres south of Recife. The trip to the place was not enjoyable, though. We used four vehicles: bus, metro, diesel tram, and another bus. It took us half a day to get there from Recife.

Santeri´s forewords: oh well, after reading this text made by Päivi I remembered again the Finnish way of being happy with someone else's problems and drawbacks. Hope this text makes our Finnish friends happy. Frankly I have to add here that we have had hell of a nice time here in Fortaleza and enjoyed every moment wholeheartedly.

We have a new home, at least for next 2 months. We rented a condominium from Fortaleza, a 2.1 million people city in the North cost of Atlantic ocean. Before that wandered around the north coast visiting cities and fisher villages, some better and some worse.

Visiting our friends Pedro & Rosana in Brasilia, the capital city of Brazil. Our first day in Brazil. Pedro and Roseanne took us to a sightseeing through monumental city. The best part of the tour was - of course - a stop at a lovely restaurant by the lake Paranoa. We started to learn Portuguese by ordering "dois picanhas sangreados". The first round was well cooked but the next one succeeded.

We arrived last night in Brazil, Brazil. Being tired to terminal and airport life we have decided not to fly again soon. Brazil was the first and the only planned destination of our journey.

We left our finger prints and photographs to the US while transiting to Sao Paolo. They also wanted to test the smell of our socks by making us to remove shoes, funny people, quite paranoid.

Thanks for all our friends who participated in our bachelor parties, farewell party, wedding, funeral of Boris, and birthday party of Kalle, Laura and Päivi on 23.10.2004.