Last Night in Brazil

Our last day at the beach Cal and I took a double bicycle ride. We rented the bike for an hour so rode along the beach both ways. That was fun. We saw people flying kites and had seen where to purchase them just that day but didn´t have time to fly them. Then as we traveled the next day the landscape was again the huge fields.

We arrived at Iquazu Falls Wednesday evening and found a hotel. We discovered it was not the best or quietest place we had stayed but several others had been full. Thursday we got up early and headed for the falls. This is an area where Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay all meet. I had seen on the internet that there where lots of butterflies at the falls. Buckman´s had been there twice and had never seen any. There are lots of cappybaros (racoon like animals) there however. Well it was a beautiful sunny warmer day. There are many falls and you walk along a path until you get to a lookout over the major part. That is where the pictures of Cal and I by ourselves are standing. Where we are together is not more in the middle of the trip. Well if you stood still in the sun butterflies would land on you. It is not easy getting their picture with their wings open but they were fun to see. Fay could get them to land on her finger often. Once she had a little boy transfer one from her finger to his and he was so excited. His mom got a cute picture I´m sure of his wide-eyed expression. Buckman´s were so surprised to see the butterflies. They sort of hadn´t believed me. They kept saying we would see lots of cappybarros. Well you believe we did not see one. We decided it was the different season that we were there from when they had been before. It was a long morning of walking but very beautiful.

We decided to drive over to Paraguay for lunch. They go often to Paraguay to shop but in a different town closer to where they live. We almost got to the border and Fay remembered she had not put her passport in her backback. So we found a neat restaurant in the town in Brazil for lunch. Then we got her passport and headed to Paraguay. Well it was awful. It was rather scarry when we first crossed because there were people everywhere trying to sell stuff. We did not even want to get out of the car. We drove farther into town and found another market area that looked not so scarry. Cal, Fay and I walked around a little circle area and bought some apples and pears. Larry stayed with the truck. We decided that was enough of that area for us. We found a mall in Brazil to shop in that was very nice. Later that evening we found an ice cream store to round out the day.

Friday we got up and went to Argentina. It was so much nicer. We shopped in a number of stores there and Cal and I each found souveniers for ourselves we liked. We ate in a restaurant recommended to us by the man at the border crossing. It was an old restaurant, old by having lots of history. After lunch we headed out of town on our way home. We decided to break the trip up so we would not have such a long days drive. It was again a beautiful day.

WE got to a little town on a river that was having a fishing tournament this weekend and a loud rock concert in the town. We did find a hotel that was a little away from that noise. WE walked and found a place to eat a bit of supper and then went back for a good nights rest.

Today we left at 8 and headed for Campo Grande. We got here about 3 and checked in at a favorite hotel. Larry went to get the rest of our luggage that had been stored at a pastor´s house. We needed to repack things.

Now a prayer request! Larry wanted to copy my pictures I had taken from my camera of this last trip. Since he had lost all his on his computer. I had also been downloading all my pictures onto Fay´s computer. But before we had left Taunay on this last trip I had downloaded all my pictures from my camera onto my flash drive. When we had the computers and my phone stolen and a disk from Cal´s camera I had not been too worried because I was sure I had not brought my flash drive with me to the beach. I was sure I had left it in my suitcase at the pastor´s house. When Larry wanted to go copy my pictures from the camera I wanted him to copy the ones on the flash drive for Fay. I couldn´t find the flash drive! So either I forgot and had taken it with me which means it was stollen also or it is in something we have not checked in the suitcases. Cal and I have taken all the suitcases apart but one and have not found it. The one we did not take apart has been packed since Peru. I did check the sides to see if it was in there. So please pray that we have just overlooked it or otherwise I have lost all my pictures for the first two months.

Of course Buckman´s have lost so much more I just can´t imagine. It is easy to cry about it all but it is only things. I trust you have enjoyed what has been on the blogs.

It is getting late and I need to turn in. We have to be at the airport tomorrow at 9 am. Neither of us are looking forward to this trip home. There are long flights and four airports with customs, etc. Just pray we do it all right and get home safely. It will be hard to say goodbye but I am sure Buckman´s will be glad to have some time to themselves. They leave again on the 9th for an indian conference so they won´t have much time at home.

Thank you again for following our trip. I will let you know that we have made it home safely. There are several who have said they are coming to meet us at the airport. I am anxious to see them all.