As I walked the beach today, I kept reminding myself how important it is to not take all of this for granted. I had already surfed in the morning with clear blue skies, warm water, and picture perfect scenery and I was going for a casual walk on the beach during the afternoon when it dawned on me that you have to be very self aware to appreciate what's around you. I would argue that without self awareness, it is very easy to just go on with life and not enjoy the current situation, whatever that may be. As the saying goes, it's not the destination that counts but rather the journey along the way. Therefore, I am trying to be very cognizant of where I am and the things that I am currently able to do so that I can appreciate all of this as much as possible. This will certainly not be my life forever so all I can do now is smile and enjoy every day. I don't mean to sound so philosophical but indeed these are the things you think about when you have a lot of time on your hands. ;)
All else continues to be well here. The weather has been great so I've been outside all day every day. I know this sounds funny but I always thought that the sign of a great vacation was when you're feet got tan. That meant that you were able to be outside in the sun doing whatever for a long time and, most importantly, without shoes. Well, my feet are definitely tan so I have no complaints.
I've started to look around and think about business ideas. As I've stated in previous posts, this is a country that pretty much has everything you need. I heard for the first time recently that Brazil is a third world country with first world cities, and I couldn't agree more. However, there are so many different areas for improvement and I think this is where the potential is. Everything here takes 2-3 times as long (at least!) as it would back in the US and everyone here just accepts that as the way it is. For instance, it took the Ford dealership 6 hours to put the surf rack on my car on Tuesday (like I said, a sense of humor is a must here). Anyway, some of that is good because the people here don't have that "rush, rush" mentality that is so prevalent back home but certainly there is a happy medium somewhere. I would draw the parallel to Brazil and Mexico in this sense. However, it would be my generalization that the population in Mexico is completely content with that pace of life, whereas here in Brazil the population yearns for improvements but just has no way of making the necessary changes. The government has had too much control for too long but that is changing rapidly. It will be interesting to see how this develops over the years. As for business ideas, I will keep you posted if something begins to materialize.
I'm planning a short day trip to Campeche Island (see above picture) on Sunday. It's a short drive and short boat ride away, and everyone who has been there said that it is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I will bring my camera and take lots of pictures.
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