First things first…Happy Mother’s Day to all our moms! We didn’t forget you, the wifi is just a little unreliable here. 

Day 4.

We woke up this morning all a little sore and tired from our game. We went down to the hotel breakfast early so that we would have time to go horseback riding before the rest of the day’s activities. After breakfast, while we were waiting for the horses, we all participated in a bit of Brazilian style sledding on the front lawn of the resort. A few of the children showed us how it was done…Find a piece of cardboard, sit on it, have someone give you a push! It was fun!...and a lot faster than you might think. Even Patrick gave it a go. Soon the horses were ready for us and we walked to a nearby farm to meet them. The Brazilian cowboy and his family opened their home to us as groups of us took turns riding horses on the mountain trails. The views were truly amazing…even better on horseback. While we were waiting our turns to ride we played with the family’s seven dogs and got to taste some of their delicious homegrown fruits. After we all finished riding we got on our bus and traveled to another farm farther away in the mountains. Fernando helped explain the history of sugar cane and coffee in Brazil. We then used the farm’s sugar cane “juicer”. One of us fed a sugar cane into the machine while several others pushed on the two outside arms, turning the machine and extracting the sugary juice for us all to try…very sweet. We also got to taste fresh coffee beans and see the old –fashioned process of drying, peeling, roasting, and grinding the beans. Finally, we bought several things from the farm’s small store and returned back to the resort for some brief downtime. Next on our day’s busy schedule was a samba demonstration/lesson. Two local bands came to the resort and led us in Brazil’s famous dance. The bands even sang some of our new favorite songs including… chuuuu chaaaa chu cha cha, teaching us some new dance moves. We wanted to spend more time with the bands but it was time to go to our game in town… at the same field where we held the clinic on Day 2. We could tell immediately that this team was going to be a bigger challenge than the previous day, but we were ready for it. Kaitlyn scored the first goal in the first half of the game but the other team was able to tie it us by halftime. In the second half, we became more and more frustrated with the difference in the styles of play between Brazilian and American futbol. The referees called fouls for minimal contact. However, we kept fighting and Julia scored off a free kick to put us in the lead. We held them for the rest of the game, even defending a PK to mark an undefeated season in Brazil! After the game, we exchanged T-shirts for colorful ribbons, which Fernando explained were to tie around your wrist three times making three wishes. Once the ribbon breaks, your wishes come true! We got several pictures with the team and many of us gave our cleats, shin guards, and even sweaty socks to eager played and kids. We then made our way back to the resort for pizza and a relaxing night.