You know you are behind on blogging when you are about to start a new post with: So one month and one week ago but... one month and one week ago my sister Meredith and her husband Ted arrived for a week-short visit. It went by so quickly, I am surprised we have so many pictures to show for it!
We traveled from our island of Santiago to the nearest island, Maio (named for the month of May, when it was discovered) and the flight by propeller plane lasted only 7 minutes and 54 seconds. Yes, you are reading that correctly, the flight was LESS than eight minutes long, which was probably a good thing since my sister was not too pumped about the ride. I think it actually took us three to four times as long to get our luggage as it did to fly to this island.
Anyway, we were picked up at the airport by a slightly creepy German guy who showed us to our "villa." I am putting villa in quotation marks because I can sense all of your thoughts of amazing, luxurious conditions; and while our home for two nights was adequate, it was not what you dream. However, the view from all areas of the house and the two hammocks that hung on our large terrace were highlights of the trip for sure. We chose Maio because Meri and Ted wanted beaches, and Maio, with its tiny population of 4,000 people (we think we may have seen everyone), is known for unspoiled, private beaches. In fact, the rumor in Praia is that Maio is where you go to walk along the beach naked. Don't worry, we didn't try that.
During the day we defrosted our Manhattan visitors on various beaches around the island, and during the evenings we ate and drank to our heart's content at the island's two main restaurants enjoying the local delicacy buzio (conch), African lagosta (lobster) in a variety of ways, and fresh caught tuna carpaccio. Some confusion did arrive on the first night when we asked for dessert. In Portuguese/Kriolu, we thought we were asking for a crepe with banana AND chocolate. The waitress asked for clarification and we said we wanted "both." Then a crepe arrived with just chocolate, we were a bit sad for no banana, but we ate it and enjoyed it and waited for the check. THEN a second crepe arrived with just bananas. After having a good laugh at the expense of Mike's and my language skills, we had no trouble digging in for a second helping of dessert.
It was hard to leave the quiet and breathtaking views of Maio, but it was New Year's Eve and time to get back to Praia for the parties. We had made (what we thought was) dinner reservations at the 4-star hotel in town which turned out to be a full party with open bar, live music, and A LOT of food. This was a welcome surprise except we were also expected at the Diplomatic Wine and Cheese party. There was no doubt that we made this work out by attending BOTH parties!
Meri and Ted's visit was rounded out on New Years Day by lunch at our "empregada," Conseição's house. She really has become part of our family and it was so nice that she invited us to have lunch with her family. She made (and sent us home with) an incredible amount of delicious local food including Feijoada which was a Segal family favorite. Meri told me if I don't learn how to make it while I am here, it is just a travesty.
The photos don't lie, this was a great visit, now if only we could get our parents to come...
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