Brazil Trip Day Nine

Ok. I had one of the best seafood dinners of my life. A Fish and Shrimp Stew. The taste is still in my mouth from last night. Simple fabulous. We had crab claws for a small appetizer and the dipping sauce for those was just wonderful. The hole in the wall restaurant was actually well known and had a lot of accolades on the wall. The New York Times had a small article with great reviews in a small frame.

I learned some very sad news last night. It has been on my mind a lot as I laid in bed. Rio not only has homeless people but also street children. We have seen them begging and also sleeping on the streets each day. Barefoot and dirty clothes. (I know to Americans the problem seems easily fixed... just give them money, take them home, or get the help somehow. It just does not work like that here. It has been tried) The country has no orphanages. The kids wont accept certain help. They have been taken advantage of so much, that they don't understand love, help, compassion. They "live" on the streets. Its a way of life. They steal, beg, and manage somehow. Some are 2 and 3rd generation homeless.

That is sad enough... but here is the very horrifying news I learned. Just 10 years ago, there was a "Save the World" conference in Rio (Very Ironic) and city/country leaders did not want visitors to see the children on the street. So a week before it began, they started going around the city at night and picking up the children. After the event was over, the kids were not seen and questions started to be asked. Turns out over 4 thousand of the street kids were mass murdered by the government. The newspaper broke the story and I believe pictures were taken of the mass graves. It breaks my heart.
We had a great day at Rio on the Beach. I was made to eat Sushi at a small (and I mean small) restaurant even though fish are made to catch, put on walls, and to put in aquariums. They are not made to skin and eat raw. However, I was a trooper and ordered grill salmon and shrimp on the side. It was VERY good.

The plane trip was OK. We did have a baby sitting in front of us who was trying to break glass with her high pitched squeal... for the entire 8 hours. We then had to wait almost 20 minutes for AA to open the doors of the plane. Customs and Security was very easy.

I can't wait to get home, see my wife, kids, and my bed.