The team hits the river!

after a day looking around Belem hosted by two delightful young Ladies from Roteract we were exhausted> We visited the markets which sold the usual, fish chickens etc etc!  The place was teaming with life and the smells were amazing, not all pleasant but amazing . The stall holders were happy for us to taste the different fruits which were amazing, the were some rather strange looking foods that we gave a wide birth! Lots of arts and crafts and all very local. One thing i noticed there are not many tourists about and we were the centre of attention ( or was it the six young ladies i was with ?? ). The heat is incredible and after a short time you have to take on water or you start to feel tired very quickly. The churches we visited were spectacular and very ornate. We ended up at a wetlands area were we saw mangroves and lots of species of birds. Also huge butterflies much to the delight of kat. The Day finished of at a cultural centre with a display of some cultural dancing.
The end of the day ?  NO  back to the host  shower change close eyes for about 20 mins and out to a samba bar!!  It was a superb place with a great atmosphere EVERYONE dances here it was great and we all had a ball.
Today we drove through a Favela and saw a different side of the town. Quite a lot of poverty here and apparently quite a dangerous area. Then all of a sudden we come across a hotel, it was very nice and we had breakfast with some Rotarians before boarding a speed boat to go out on the river. Before long we were winding our way through the mangroves and into the river communities. It was an amazing experienced and  one  that does not come along too often.
We are well settled in now and  just as we a4e getting to know our lovely hosts we are about to move on. We are going out to dinner tonight for a celebration  and tomorrow we fly to Manaus deeper into the amazon and see what adventures lie there

ate Lago !

The team are looking good!!

Well we have clean clothes !!  I picked them up from the airport whilst the ladies relaxed and ate ice cream with Amanda ( fecury) !!  something not right there???
We are in much better spirits now we are clean. We are doing so many presentations it is untrue. All clubs want us to go but they only have a few members. Tonight we presented to twelve people, that included the team and the waitress!!! We are trying to arrange for the two presentations to be together  tomorrow as it is getting a bit silly !
The Brazilians are being very kind to us and we are trying to adapt to their way of life ( ie slow down a bit !)  I had an excellent day today at the police dog training school  in Belem. They were really good to me and i  met some of the team and their dogs. They put on a display for me and we then had a good discussion about the differences in practices ( mostly in Portuguese !) It was really interesting and i tried not to look too surprised when i saw some very strange ideas about drugs and exposive training.
The Portuguese is coming along and i now find i can understand quite a bit. By the end of the day i am really tired and struggle with it. They all seem quite impressed with our presentation and i think we have done ok although it will become a bit slicker as we go along. We are definitely getting enough practice.

More tomorrow.......

The journey

Well we have arrived in Belem Brazil. We arrived in the early hours of this morning and so i had hoped to lie in but body clock says no! i have only had about 5 hrs sleep after a 18 hrs journey and the sun is seeping in through the blinds and the city is coming alive. The only problem we have is our luggage is still in Lisbon ! We made our connecting flight with 2 mins to spare but they could not take our bags so we have to wait 24 hrs before they are delivered. So hopefully our hosts will help us out to stop us all from smelling !
It was a bit of a shock when we arrived and met our hosts, Roberto and Maria who i am staying with speak no English at all. It was a very quiet car journey home !! I am all up for having a go today though. We always feel "well they will speak some English"  Not here i can assure you. It is going to be a real test for the team. First presentation for the team tonight only one problem no plug adapters as they are in the luggage !  we will get by.
Anyway looking out of my window from the 10th floor of the apartment block the sun is shining and it is warming up at 0730hrs. People are starting to make their way to work and start their day, and we begin our Brazilian adventure. More later..........

Stupid Airlines !!!!!!

How frustrating !!   The airline have cancelled one of our flights and so we have to leave 24 hrs later. We also have the problem that they have changed one of the tickets and our luggage alowance is lower. Not good when your already packed and ready to go !
Well Brazil we are on our way but were gonna be a bit late !!

The final countdown !!

Well I have finished work and the final countdown has begun. Big panic on now as i cant fit everything in my bag !  I went to Liverpool FC today and got a load of gear to take out, we are going to make some kids day !!  Lucas Leiva and the rest of the team have signed a shirt for us to auction at the conference and so as not to be outdone Kat has got an Everton one. How could we leave Tranmere Rovers out !  Yes we have one of theirs aswell. Bits of a programme have started to filter through from Brazil and it is very exciting. We have lots of presentations to do with the first one being on day 1 !
Well i best get on with that packing !!

Pre-departure presentation - Chester University

With only week to go the team gave their presentation to members of Rotary clubs within the 1180 district. Friends and family attended and it was lovely to have our Portuguese teachers, Marina and Manuela, there to hear the presentation in English!

The afternoon was hosted by the Rotary Foundation chairman, David Barton, and the team were presented with an International Rotary Foundation badge by District Governor John McDowall. The team had their own presentation to make to our two fantastic Portuguse teachers who were asked to come onto the stage and thanked for all their hard work.

A lovely meal followed the presentation allowing the team, Rotarians and family members a great opportunity to get together before the team leave. There is only 6 days to go - next stop Brazil!

Our last Portuguse lesson!

Our last Portuguese lesson was on the 7th March. We have been lucky to have two fantastic teachers, Marina and Manuela, who have been teaching us Portuguese since November - no mean feat considering only Kat could speak any Portuguese before we started! We are very grateful for all the hard work they put into translating our presentation for us - not to mention their patience as we tried to get to grips with the language!