Mmmm ... Lunch #2 ...
Pastel de carne (meat) and an empada, a tart-like pastry stuffed with chicken and catapury, a Brazilian cream cheese. The pasteis here are all baked and not fried, leading me to wonder if people in this area are more health conscious than those in Sao Paulo, where the pasteis are all fried. This is a beach culture here, after all.
Anyway ... the empada was much better than the pastel, whose crust was a bit too tough and chewy. And once again, the juice was a disappointment - flavourless mango.
Oh - and though he's been hiding for most of this trip, L'il Buddha finally made his first appearance. I think I'll need the good luck charm, since it was rather unusual that the check in desk at the airport asked for my next-of-kin contact info. I don't remember being asked for that on any previous flight I've ever had - do they often have problems here????!?!?!?
Following three centuries under the rule of Portugal, Brazil became an independent nation in 1822. By far the largest and most populous country in South America, Brazil overcame more than half a century of military intervention in the governance of t... ... read more 
