September 14,

Up and about, we readied, yada, yada, yada. For breakfast we had oatmeal and the fixings with our Javas. It was a cloudy day, but not slated to rain. So we decided to change our previous plans. Jeff researched some to find a Mexican Restaurant, and we made a list of needed food stuffs. I also needed some meds. Around 1300 we set out.

First we saw a pharmacy and tried my meds. We found one, but not the other – both are supplements. So we paid and moved on. Next, we tried the Mexican place but it was a dismal failure. It was open, but the menu was everything but Mexican food! So Jeff joined me after he found parking for the car. We found another place, and along the way was a post office. Yeah! I went into the post office as Jeff again found parking. I got a number and waited. Very shortly I was the only one waiting and Jeff came in. We still had to wait a bit as the two at the counter took forever. Finally I was called. I wanted to mail a postcard to my mother and needed a stamp. I had it all in Google translate. The mail service worker understood and was typing into his computer. Then retyping, retyping…hmm. I was talking into google – “Is it possible?” The worker heard and answered in English, “Yes, but the computer…” yada, yada, yada. After like ten minutes, he said, “Sorry, not possible today.” Wow, okay, but really? We left and I just tore up the postcard – it was not worth all the trouble.

Next we went to the second Mexican place. We pulled into where Google showed it, getting out to search for it. Not finding it, we were heading back to the car, and made plans to change to some Sushi near our place, but we found it in an open food court area. It was back behind where we were, which makes sense as it has access to the beach! This surprised me. I did not know we were that close as they were trees blocking the view of the ocean. Anyway, the place was Mexcla. The worker pulled up English menus for us. We had a Trio of tacos: Beef Taco- shredded rib meat with guacamole and coleslaw on a hard corn shell; Chili Taco- chili with guacamole and green jalapenos; and Mushroom Taco- “Paris” mushrooms with red and yellow bell peppers and guacamole (the last two we chose soft flour shells). We also had a Beef Burrito- which had the same ingredients as the taco, but came with seasoned corn chips and guacamole. The food was good. I liked the mushroom taco the most. The chili one was a mess! The beef was seasoned well. We shared water and a mango drink. The bill was 138 BRL or $26.82. We left and went to the grocery store. Then returned back to our place.

It seemed like mostly a failure kind of day, but we did get some Mexican food. Supper was popcorn. I’m having mixed emotions about Brazil- postal service issues… Well, yada, yada, yada…that explains it all!