Perks

We have sacrificed in many ways to be here in Salvador but the job isn't without its rewards. We try not to talk about this stuff too much because we hate to make it seem like we're down here just hanging out on the beach and enjoying the tropical weather. But every so often, we get a chance to kick back and call it work.

Our team is hosting next year's missionary conference. One of the first things on our agenda is finding a location. We've spent time scouring hotel websites and on the phone with all sorts of people trying to find a place that will meet our needs affordably. But sometimes, you've got to leave the office to really get the job done.

So Thursday afternoon we loaded up the car--four adults and two toddlers (and their huge seats!)--and headed across town to the ferry boat terminal. This was definitely pushing it for our car. We had to get in the car in a special order. Kids first, then Russ in the driver's seat, then I would climb between the front seats to get to the middle seat in the middle row, then Matt in the back door to climb up to the back row, then Mary Virginia would close the back door and get in the front. We were quite a spectacle!

And don't ask me the Portuguese word for ferry boat, as you simply call it a "feh-hi bow-chi" (a Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation of ferry boat). The boat took us across the bay to the island of Itaparica. We drove the length of the island (about 25 minutes) and then across a bridge that took us back to the mainland.

The hotel was what's called a hotel fazenda (farm hotel). It's a working farm, with all kinds of animals, but it's also on the water so there was a beach, too. In other words, if you look one direction, you see this:

and when you turn around, you see this:

It was a working trip so Friday morning we got up and met with the owner of the hotel about the possibility of having the conference there (pray that she decides to lower the price for us!) but we still had time for a swim and a little horseback riding!

After lunch, it was back to the ferry boat. This time we lucked into riding on the newest of the fleet, which offered an air-conditioned cabin. We chose to sit on the top deck to enjoy the view and the breeze.
It was a nice little getaway in the middle of the week and the best part was that we got to call it "work"!

p.s. Jackson seemed to have a great time, even though he was running a bit of a fever. He and Aubry have fun running around together and there were so many new sights!