March 2, 2025
PARATY, BRAZIL - The kickoff of Carnival!
Party is a small town backed by the mountains on Brazil's Costa Verde, between Rio and Sao Paula. Its colonial center is cobbled streets and 17th & 18th century buildings dating back to the Brazilian Gold Rush. The whitewashed church was built in 1722. The port was full of party boats that cater to the many tourist and dot the coastline. There are 65 islands and hundreds of beaches. The town was decorated for the first weekend of Carnival and many of our residents stayed in town overnight to part take in the festivities. Which kicked off today.
We took an uber out to Cachoeira do Toboga Falls and watched the more youthful slide down the slick rocks in a variety of styles!
Wishing everyone a Happy 4th of July! Here on the Odyssey we celebrated in the SE Asia Sea on our way to Tioman Island, Malaysia . We have such a talented and dedicated group of residents here, they put together a fun hour of things to celebrate and embrace a lot of what we collectively love about the USA. Even our residents from other countries - Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Germany , etc. joined in the fun! ( I lent my flag below for decorations)
Vihara Avalokiteshvara Graha or Guan Yin Temple is near 500 Lohan, so we also toured the grounds of this large Temple complex. It's dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy and is one the tallest brass statues of her in SE Asia. She is just over 55' tall, coated in 22 carat gold and is surrounded by scenic dragon fruit plantations. The tile work is intricate and textured with great details. The whole place is very tranquil and calming for meditation and prayer.
500 Lohan Temple or Vihara Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was the most interesting place we visited on Bintan Island . It features 500 hand sculpted, life sized, distinctively expressive statues of Buddhist disciplines (Lohans) surrounding a tranquil courtyard. They are arranged symetrical, in an arc and it's interesting how some pop out, as you look down the rows. The statues were crafted by artist in China from 2010 to 2017 when the temple was inaugurated; no two are alike.