Iara mermaid and mother of the waters

Wednesday, May 3
Looked a little overcast but not bad. 6:30 a.m. is a regular wake up time for me, but for the work-out on the beach population it's probably already late. Nevertheless, I got my bikini on, some flip-flops, a dress and a hat and headed over for a walk on the beach.
The secret is to walk about a yard or two right above where the waves hit the sand. That is the spot in which the sand is the firmest, like a shinny parquet floor. At low tide you can see a shinny flat surface for miles. It's easy if you keep track of lunar positions and tide times to calculate the best hour for walking on the beach. I was pretty good at that when I lived in Rio in the 80's.
This time I just went at random. So, I missed the perfect surface.. Living across the street from the beach is priceless. I walked from the "posto" (areas of beaches demarcated by corresponding street blocks) where the Hotel is to the "Leme" - the far end of Copacabana Beach which ends in a dead end marked by a giant stone mountain, kind of like a peninsula - and back. Approximately 3 miles altogether. A dozen cute young surfers were alternating waves in that little bay-like area. I encountered many older men and women exercising along the way, also. Even a massage kiosk at the end of the beach on the sandy part. A cute little spotted black and white mutt dog followed me part of the way.
After my walk and breakfast, we decided to take a trip over to the Botanical Gardens of Rio de Janeiro with our grand-daughter and our daughter-in-law, Gilmara and Iara. Its a splendid place that has a history as old as Rio's.
Later we would have dinner at my son's house and there he would tattoo us.
Alex had made an awesome cartoon of our little grand-daughter as a brazilian-mermaid-blond-tupi-indian. All of us are supposed to get the tattoo, eventually. I was very impressed with his skills. I've been tattooed by many famous and important artists in Europe and America, my son is the best! The tattoo came out wonderfully. Alex and I are very happy and really impressed with Andre's skills
Photos and slide-show.