Day 13

I received a marriage proposal today. Seriously. The only reason I have begun the post with this bit of scintillating information is that Keith threatened to edit my post if I didn’t. Blackmail is a powerful mediator.

We began the day in Parnaiba, Piaui with a boat tour of the delta outlets to the ocean. The city is only one of four located in the state on the coast. We were guided by the host family of Keith and myself. Apparently more Rotary members were scheduled to join us but the whiskey from the night prior got the best of them. Additionally, we learned that it is more than acceptable to start the whiskey again at 9am. The inner medical professional within me would have to disagree.

The ride along the delta channels was fantastic! We were flanked by very luscious vegetation and the odd monkey and crab. Finally the channels opened to where the river and sea meet. We hopped off at a beach to take a swim and play in the sand.

On the way back to the port city of Parnaiba, we stopped for lunch at a local restaurant. We had local fish done three different ways and an assortment of sides including the ever-popular.... white rice. Our hosts didn’t speak any English so translation was needed. However, even with the delay in conversation, we learned about the projects Rotary is doing in the end of the country.

The afternoon concluded with my marriage proposal (yes, he did get down on one knee) and a lesson on why whiskey is better for the body than water from out hosts. Clinical data is still unavailable on this debate so we shall call it a draw for now.

After doning our matching shirts and loading into our rented van, we hit the road for Piripiri, Piaui. The comment was made that in our van, with our matching shirts, we resemble a traveling band. I would like to think we are more like The Partridge Family than the Von Trapp children. But maybe a yodeling lesson would change our tune.

We were met in Piripiri by the tiniest Rotary club. Just seven members! After sorting out some mild confusion about where we were to give our presentation, a very informal meeting occurred at the local restaurant using our laptops. It was a nice change of pace. Best of all... we had pizza! No rice insight!

Jennifer