Category Archives: travels

Park das Aves – Bird Sanctuary

14 Thursday May 2026

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“Some birds are not meant to be caged, that’s all. Their feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild. So you let them go, or when you open the cage to feed them they somehow fly out past you. And the part of you that knows it was wrong to imprison them in the first place rejoices, but still, the place where you live is that much more drab and empty for their departure.” ― Stephen King, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption

While visiting Puerto Iguazu in Argentina we would cross the border back and forth to Brazil.  In one of those days we visited the Parque das Aves – a bird sanctuary that is so beautiful and interesting.

The story of how the sanctuary started is here:

https://www.parquedasaves.com.br/sobre-o-parque-das-aves/historia/

It was so much fun and interesting seeing and learning about all the different species of birds.  I also loved the butterflies.  I am always in awe of how rich nature is.

My favorite bird is the toucan.  We have them in my town in Brazil, is always a surprising to me when I spot them.

There was one in my mother’s balcony the other day while Michael was sitting there in the morning.  Michael was reading and hadn’t notice the toucan perched on the railing just steps from him.  Unfortunately I was so surprised by its presence that I yelled Michael’s name and that scared it away.

 

 

Mom’s 91st birthday in Iguazu Falls, Argentina

13 Wednesday May 2026

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  • “A waterfall cannot be silent, just as the wisdom! When they speak, the voice of power speaks!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan

Another birthday trip was successfully completed celebrating my mother’s 91st birthday.  We had such a great time last year in Argentina that we have decided to return this year.

Last year we were there for only 3 days, so mom and I mostly stayed at the hotel enjoying the grounds and the casino.  This time we stayed 6 days and had a chance to do some sightseeing.

Some of what we did:

  • Iguazu Falls – Impressive and majestic! It is such an honor to be so close to the beauty and force of the water.  We visited the Brazilian side as it was more accessible to my mother.  You have to take a bus from the main gate, but they gave us permission to go in with our driver, so it was very convenient.  I would visit again and perhaps rent a bike or hike a trail, or take some of the amazing tours and experiences they offer.
  • Parque das Aves – Bird Park – This bird sanctuary is dedicated to the conservation of species from the Atlantic Forest. So many beautiful and interesting birds.  I would visit again.
  • AquaFoz Aquarium – This is a new attraction in the area. It is trying to show the richness contained in the Rivers Paraná and Iguaçu.  I loved it.  I would visit again.
  • Madero Tango Show – I expected a little more, but I have high expectations when it comes to shows. We chose this show because it was adjacent to the hotel, I am sure Tango shows in Buenos Aires will be much better.  It also included dinner, but the food was bad.  I would not return, but my mother enjoyed it so that was the important thing.
  • The Three Borders landmark – we visited it on the Argentinian side – it has a couple of restaurants and some little stores. I visited again for the gorgeous view of  Brazil and Paraguay, and the rivers Paraná and Iguaçu.
  • City Center Iguazu Casino – it has slot machines in 3 different currencies: The Argentinian Peso, the Brazilian Real and American Dollar. Always fun, but didn’t have a chance to spend much time there.
  • Puerto Iguazu town – walked around the stores and restaurants downtown was a lot fun.  The stores sells mostly alfajores (delicious sandwich cookies), olives and wines.  Alfajores were our gifts of choice to family and friends.
  • Spa del Paraiso – this is the spa in the hotel. We had a great relaxing massage. Very talented masseuses. I would go again.
  • China Shopping Center in Paraguay – this one I was forced to go to. I hate shopping, I hate shopping centers. The lady that works for us helping my mother wanted to get an iPhone for her son.  The prices in Paraguay are less than half of the prices for luxury items in Brazil.  The highlight of the trip was taking the ferry from Argentina to Paraguay and back, a quick and beautiful 12 minute trip that avoided the crazy road traffic.

The extra time, and there was not much of it, was spent enjoying meals at the hotel and at couple of restaurants in the other areas.  We had lunch by the pool one day.  I had passion-fruit caipiroskas every chance I had.  Caipiroska is similar to caipirinha, but it uses vodka instead of cachaça, so it is less strong.

My mom uses a wheelchair most of the time, so it is always stressful when we go to different places.  But we had no issues in any of the places we visited.

I feel so blessed to still have my mom and to be able to take her places.  She has the heart and lust for life like a teenager.

Here some pictures and video of the gorgeous fall. I will be posting other pictures in follow up posts.

Happiness and anxiety hand in hand

21 Tuesday Apr 2026

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  • “Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength.” — Charles Spurgeon

I am leaving for Brazil tomorrow to go celebrate my mom’s 91st birthday.  We are planning to take her to Argentina again.  She is so excited.

While I find myself happier and happier each day, I am a bit anxious as well.  I was really anxious over that ConEdison debacle, so glad that is resolved.   I am anxious about getting home and not seeing my father walking up to meet us, as he normally did.  I know he is in a better place but still there is an emptiness.

I have self diagnosed myself as having happiness anxiety.   I am always happy as I believe that happiness is a choice, but the happier I get, it also feels like I am waiting for the other shoe to drop.   As if so much happiness is not possible and not sustainable, therefore something bad is coming along.

I am writing about it to get my internal dialogues on paper.

I feel better already 🙂

Now I am off to pack and finish work stuff.

So Much Happiness – Naomi Shihab Nye 1952 

It is difficult to know what to do with so much happiness.
With sadness there is something to rub against,
a wound to tend with lotion and cloth.
When the world falls in around you, you have pieces to pick up,
something to hold in your hands, like ticket stubs or change.

But happiness floats.
It doesn’t need you to hold it down.
It doesn’t need anything.
Happiness lands on the roof of the next house, singing,
and disappears when it wants to.
You are happy either way.
Even the fact that you once lived in a peaceful tree house
and now live over a quarry of noise and dust
cannot make you unhappy.
Everything has a life of its own,
it too could wake up filled with possibilities
of coffee cake and ripe peaches,
and love even the floor which needs to be swept,
the soiled linens and scratched records . . .

Since there is no place large enough
to contain so much happiness,
you shrug, you raise your hands, and it flows out of you
into everything you touch. You are not responsible.
You take no credit, as the night sky takes no credit
for the moon, but continues to hold it, and share it,
and in that way, be known.

“Anxiety is a lot like a toddler. It never stops talking, tells you you’re wrong about everything, and wakes you up at 3 a.m.” — Unknown

 

Quick getaway – Western Caribbean cruise

21 Friday Nov 2025

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Michael and I decided on a last minute getaway. We did a Western Caribbean cruise.  We went from Port Canaveral, FL to Cozumel, then Costa Maya, and back to Port Canaveral.

We had a great time.  In Cozumel, Michael went to the Chichen Itza Ruins.  I skipped that, as I had been there before and didn’t want to face the long trip there.  So, I had a lazy, quiet day to myself.

In Costa Maya we both went to Chacchoben ruins, it was smaller and less impressive than Chichen Itza, but still very interesting.

This was a Royal Caribbean cruise, and it was the Explorer of the Seas ship, which is a 25 year old ship.  It showed its age, but that doesn’t really bother me.

One thing I was a bit disappointed was the quality of the food at the buffet.  Even though there was tons of different ones, I don’t think the quality came close to that of the MSC Meraviglia ship.  Specially when it came to desserts, something that I really look forward to.  Some of their desserts gave me an aftertaste, which means that it had too many preservatives and food extracts and coloring. Still, I confess I overate, as I have a tendency to want to try a bit of everything.

I went to the gym a couple of times, and was really impressed with the amount and quality of the equipment.

We also saw a few shows, such as the magic, the comic, and the ice-skating.  We went to bingo and to the casino. We also played ping-pong and arcade games. And we rested.

We can’t wait for the next one.  I really want to do longer ones, to Alaska and Europe.

Have a blessed weekend everyone!!

“Every person needs to take one day away.  A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future.  Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence.  Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for.  Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us.” ― Maya Angelou

 

 

Beach walking and cleaning continues

20 Tuesday May 2025

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Here are some of the findings from yesterday, Monday:

I also found some socks, t-shirts, a towel and a bunch of garbage. I actually washed the towels and t-shirts and will use them as cleaning rags around the house.

Today, I found nothing, just a couple of candy wrappers.  

The reason for that, is that today I walked to the right of my building which is more secluded, so there are much less people.

To the left of my building there some shops and bathrooms, so there are more people.

Also, it is expected that after the weekend there will be a lot more stuff to be found.

I have so much beach toys now.  I was able to give a few away.  It feels good to recycle and reuse.

 

 

 

 

BIRD WATCHING

09 Friday May 2025

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Mom is 90th!!

05 Monday May 2025

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Hello from Brazil.  My mom turned 90 years old on May 1st.  Since the trip to the US has become too much for her, Michael and I traveled to Brazil to take her to Argentina for a few days.

In Brazil, casinos are illegal, and the closet casino is in Argentina, near Iguaçu Falls. She loves slot machines, so I chose a hotel that has a casino on the premises.

This was a very short trip, only 4 days, as I didn’t know if she would be okay.  Her problem is her back and hip.  She needs a hip replacement, but at 90 years old with a heart condition and other issues, it is not safe to operate.  At this point is all about pain management.

We drove 2 hours from our home in the suburbs of Sao Paulo to the airport.  Then it was just one hour and fifteen minutes plane ride.  We traveled to an airport in the Brazilian side of the border, and the hotel came to meet us there. We crossed the border by car.

We stayed at the Iguazu Grand Hotel in Misiones, Argentina. Everything about the hotel was great, specially all the staff. On mom’s they brought her a cake at breakfast and they all sang, along with the other guests.  She was over the moon.  The cake was delicious.

Since it was a short trip my mother decided to mostly stay at the hotel.  We just took a trip to the Triple Frontier – 3 borders comprising of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguai. There is a gorgeous view there and some little stores.

Michael went to see the Iguaçu Falls and he also went to the Bird Zoo.  Since arriving home, mom regrets not going to see the falls and the Zoo.  Next time…

Azul Airlines, very fast flight.

Iguazu Grad Hotel

Iguazu Grad Hotel

Iguazu Grad Hotel

Iguazu Grad Hotel

There are slot machines in 3 currencies: Argentinian Peso, Brazilian Real and US Dollar.

There are slot machines in 3 currencies: Argentinian Peso, Brazilian Real and US Dollar.

Argentina is the best place to eat meat. Thie is chicken fried steak. It was to die for.

Argentina is the best place to eat meat. This is chicken fried steak. It was to die for. We had other beef dishes, but I didn’t remember to take pictures.

Best drink ever: Rum, passion-fruit, lime and mint.

Best drink ever: Rum, passion-fruit, lime and mint.

3 Frontiers: Argentina, Brazil and Paraguai

3 Frontiers: Argentina, Brazil and Paraguai

 

Progress: we finally have a couch

23 Wednesday Apr 2025

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Last weekend we went to a follow up with my dental surgeon.  According to him, all is going well.    I was hoping it would look and feel better, but I know not to have too many expectations when it comes to my teeth.

The surgeon is located a couple of hours away, and it is not too far from some casinos.  Since I like casinos, we always stop by one of them.

This time we went to the Hard Rock in Hollywood.  The guitar shaped building is so cool. We had a great meal at their restaurant.  I had a flat smashed burger with burger and caramelized onions.  It was delicious. Michael had the impossible burger, since he doesn’t eat meat.  He enjoyed his as well.

To drink I had a cosmopolitan.  I had to stop and congratulate the bartender.  It is the best one I have had since my nights in New York City. Michael had a Bahama Mama and it was equally delicious.

We are finally seeing a lot progress in our building renovation.  This renovation started in March last year.  We bought it in June, but didn’t move in until September.  We didn’t expect to last this long and cost this much.  The cost is still increasing as at every turn there is a new costly discovery, and more assessments.

We finally have a couch.  Since we moved in, Michael and I decided we wouldn’t really get any furniture or spend any money until the construction was finished.  But there were things we needed to do.  We got a cheap bedroom set, an Amazon one that we put it together ourselves, and a couple of TVs.

As you can see in the pictures, the TV is sitting on Tupperware. We are still debating if we are going to have it on the wall or on a rack. The rug is an extra one I had in NY.  This couch has made us so happy.  It signal to us that this project is almost done, if feels like a huge step forward.

We also had contractors to do part of the tiles to match the part that it was damaged with the construction.  To do the entire floor, it would be costly and too much disturbance.  We also had the walls and floors painted.  We just left the second bedroom out, it has a wall painted with flowers, so I will leave that as is for now.

Once the building is complete than we will work on decoration and the rest of furniture.  With that being said, we don’t want a lot, we want simple and minimal.  We want it to be practical and comfortable for us.

 

 

Snake and Birds

16 Wednesday Apr 2025

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Today a saw a snake on the beach.

I am terrified of snakes, even if it is just a tad larger than a worm.  This finding makes me afraid of my morning walks and of going in the water.

I am not sure it had been in the dune vegetation and just wondered off too far, or perhaps a bird was carrying it and dropped it.

Since I heard the story of the hawk that dropped a snake on a woman and then both started attacking her, I am always aware of birds above me. 

“Even snakes are afraid of snakes.” — Steven Wright

After a few more minutes walking I encountered all these birds.  I am surprised they didn’t notice the snake.

 

Bike upgrade for Christmas

15 Tuesday Apr 2025

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Last Christmas Michael upgraded my Huffy bike from Walmart to a Specialized from the local bike shop.

He wanted a different color but the only one available was black, and he wanted to make sure I had it for Christmas.

I love it! Classic and understated 🙂

The difference is amazing, it rides so smooth.  I also love the accessories that Michael added: the mirror and the lights. And let’s not forget the bright yellow helmet!

I am a lucky girl!

“When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking.” ― Arthur Conan Doyle

New wheels

New wheels- classic black

 

My black and blue beauty

My  old beauty is for when my sister comes to town.