Ode to Fortaleza

 The time came to leave our beautiful little house in Fortaleza da Barra and it was hard to say goodbye. We were there for five and a half months and the house became a home. A home where we hosted our friends, and learned Portuguese; a home where we could be ourselves, exploring other realities and each other. It's hard to leave the cool kids balcony, the comfy beds and the good TV,  the banana trees and the bamboos making music in the breeze. It was such a convenient place to live, a short drive to school and Carol's yoga class and the beach. We will miss the quirk, the mid-evil roads, the street art and the canal with all that it takes and brings. We will miss the busloads of people walking home; and Jerri, who sang with Carol on that infamous drunken night at Rancho de Canoa; and the sunsets and the hammock views.  We are empty from missing it but full from having had it and I think that is part of the point and why we are here.