We arrived at Posada Ekoa where we stayed for the week. It was so beautiful!!
This is the bungalow in which we stayed.
Our gigantic, king sized bed with the mosquito netting. The mosquitos were terrible at night. We had to wear long sleeves and pants and use mosquito repellent. However, there is no malaria where we were so that was not a concern.
Shelves, a twin bed that we didn't use, and a TV which we unplugged (it would have been amusing watching TV in Portuguese, but we wanted a break from all technology). We were, however, grateful for the technology of the air conditioner unit towards the end of the week when it got really hot!
There was a beautiful swimming pool there. Jake loved it! It was chlorine-free, so nice.
The beach was right on the property. Jake wasn't too sure about the ocean at first but it wasn't too long before he was enjoying it! His favorite thing to do was be completely naked, hold onto either mama or daddy's hand, and laugh like crazy every time a wave came up and got him wet.
It was cloudy for the first 2 days of our stay there, but very warm nevertheless.
Looking north out on the Atlantic Ocean.
Lots of playing in the sand.
It was just a short walk from our bungalow to the place where we had all our meals and ceremonies and gathered for lectures and sharing stories.
This was my breakfast plate every morning. So. Very. Yummy. Mango, watermelon, pineapple, papaya.
Jake thought it was all yummy.
Jake helped to sweep the floor.
(Some of these images are from other cameras, as you can tell from the clarity. My camera was on its last legs, and is now no longer working. I am, however, thankful for the pictures I have!)
Ralph, Sara, and Warinei during a lecture. Sara translated for Warinei who spoke Portuguese.
Me listening while drinking yummy agua do coco (coconut water).
Jake found other uses for the coconut. This is one of my favorite pictures.
The pool. We swam daily, and even swam at night the first evening we were there, under the stars and with the lights on in the pool.
You can see the beach from the pool. Gorgeous!
Sun! Here we are having a ceremony in which we each gave an offering of a crystal to the earth. (Later in the week we also had a ceremony and each gave an offering of a crystal to the sea.)
We held the crystals in our left hands over our hearts. Then when it was our turn, placed the crystals in our right hands and put them inside a hole in the earth along with some corn and tobacco.
Back to the beach!
Jake playing with friend Dominic.
So beautiful.
Looking at the fire pit and the massage house. A massage was included in the price for the week and it was, by far, the best massage Mike and I have ever had.
I loved swimming with Jake. His favorite thing to do was to hold onto my hands and jump into the pool. He also liked it when I moved him around in the water.
Jake had so much fun with friends Noah (6) and Zoe (8). Also shown is their mother Julia (in orange) and friend Lucy.
Getting ready for the daytime ceremony with our workshop friends. The ceremonies were very special and spiritual and overseen by shaman Warinei and his assitant, Sara.
It was a beautiful day.
Such a colorful scene!
Reading outside on the porch of the bungalow. So cute.
In the evenings we spent A LOT of time reading inside the tented bed. Here Daddy is making the sign for the "naughty/silly" face.
So much fun to read. We brought about 8 of Jake's books with us. I am hoping not to have to read The Cat in the Hat Comes Back again for awhile... He also loved the book Bear on a Bike.
Reading in the hammock was fun, too.
Happy vacationers!
The roads on the island are dirt and very wavy. As you are riding in the taxi you are going up and down and up and down and up and down like some sort of miniature roller-coaster. Very amusing.
It was a beautiful day for the tour.
We walked on the dock to the boat.
Jake and Mike waiting to get on the boat.
Right away, Jake fell asleep, lulled by the hum of the boat's motor and the gentle rocking motion of the boat.
We were comfortable!
My happy husband.
And sweet, sleeping child (wearing his swim diaper).
We went to this island with the hopes of exploring it, but the water was too high to get off the boat. Still looked pretty.
We were able to get off on this island. This boat belonged to the owners of the restaurant on the island. So strange that there was a restaurant on an island! I mean, you have to take a boat to get there!
Jake looking back at our boat.
Jake and Mike wanted to say hi to the dog.
And to the cat, too.
Ahhh... paradise.
Jake and I went swimming in the ocean. We both LOVED it. The waves back at the resort were too strong for us to swim in, but here it was perfect. That white thing on my shoulder is the mesh water sling I put Jake in for swimming. That way I still had 2 hands free to help balance in the water and kept Jake close to me.
A happy Jake after swimming.
Then we got to get back onto the boat and went over to a village and walked through it. Some of the houses were really cool. I liked this yellow one with the fish decorating the sides.
There were chickens running all over.
This house was covered in seashells. Amazing!
The 3 of us crossing a bridge.
Just pretty.
Theo's cousin was there.
We thought this was a beautiful flower.
What a lovely house! My bedroom walls are painted this color.
This is what the phone booths in Brazil are like. Right after I took this picture, this phone rang. A woman came out of her house close by and answered. Then she put down the phone and walked to her neighbor's house to let her know she had a phone call. After a time the neighbor came out and picked up the phone, however, nobody was on the other end. She kept waiting, and finally hung up, but then stood there waiting. After a few minutes the person called back again and they went on to have a conversation. Such a far cry from our cell-phone culture.
All of us got to have a snack of sweetened coconut in the village.
Jake found this tree stump and was having fun climbing up and then jumping off.
We got to see crabs in a cage. Not sure why these crabs were being kept in a cage as they seem pretty small for eating, but I suspect they are used as bait for fishing.
Jake thought it was pretty cool. He wanted to climb into the cage with the crabs until I explained that their claws could hurt him.
Someone made a heart-shaped garden using soda bottles filled with water and buried upside down.
A native fruit. It had a very sharp, tangy flavor which I did not like. But my adventurous eater of a son liked it!!
Back on the boat, and already dark!
Love the sky in this picture.
Jake got to play captain for a moment :)
