Solange’s mother came to visit us and we decided to take a quick weekend vacation. Solange searched the map and found Mangaratiba. It is about 70 miles from Rio de Janeiro, but given the condition of the roads and the traffic, it takes between 2-3 hours to drive there. All that said, it was worth it. I have been all over the world, and I would put Mangaratiba up there with Yosemite National Park as one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited in my life.

I decided to exercise like a mad man. On the first day, first I swam for an hour in the pool. Next, there is a beautiful natural swimming pool whose depth is about 20 feet deep. There you can swim or snorkel with the fishes. Although I did not have snorkel gear, I enjoyed immensely diving to the bottom and and exploring the ocean floor. After that, I went in the ocean and swam for about a half an hour. Later, just to be more insane, I ran about 3 miles on the treadmill on the hotel.

On top of that, the kids had a great time, and Solange took most of the photos on my camera. It’s a great camera and Solange is becoming a great photographer.