Catching up on my notes …

We just returned from dinner & shopping in Guanapari, and we have another early start tomorrow. The construction team got rained out early this afternoon, so it’s great that we were nearly a day ahead of schedule.

This morning, I learned how to sling wall mud (the Portuguese term sounds like “sha-pee-skoo,” but I’m not sure how to spell it). It is slightly different from the brick “masa” mud, though more so in texture than ingredients.

I also swept a concrete floor with a ho, because that’s what you do when there’s no broom. (One of the locals found a broom later, which helped a lot.)

We crowned lumber (checked for a bow in the wood) & drilled holes for the roofing screws. I’m not sure if the roof goes on tomorrow or the next, but it’ll be soon. Hopefully, the exterior mud can be finished tomorrow, if the rain passes through tonight as predicted, and we can begin painting & assembling ceiling fans.

The VBS group was under a roof, so they continued their schedule. They had a great crowd from the community. The pastor said that he has already met a family who plans to attend the new church! We’ve had numerous passers-by asking about the building. They are amazed at how quickly it is going up.

When the rain really started pouring after lunch, most of the construction folks walked down the street to the bar to wait it out. We had already been invited to use the restroom there while we were working; I just thought it was funny that the church folks were hanging out at the bar. I enjoyed being in the rain for a few minutes while it was just sprinkling; it was nice & cool. Although, after the morning’s work, I sure could’ve gone for a cerveda (unsure of the spelling, but it is pronounced ser-ve-ja). 😉

I have to tell you about the Free Dog Pizzaria restaurant, and then I must hit the hay. We had an assortment from which to share on the tables, and it is all quite dissimilar from pizza in the U.S. My favorite was the ham & cheese & egg. None of the pizza had tomato sauce. They offer mustard, mayo & ketchup as condiments for the pizza (um, no thanks). Brazilians do not eat much processed food, so things like sausage & cheese are fresh. (In fact, juice is so fresh that you need to add a spoonful of sugar, or else it’ll pucker your cheeks at breakfast!) The veggie pizza had tomato, peas, corn & some sort of root vegetable chopped up on it. I thought it was tasty, but I was in the minority.