Taking a cheap water ride in Rio...

Experienced travelers can always find inexpensive ways to catch magnificent views of a place from the water. In New York City, for instance, riding with the daily commuters on The Staten Island Ferry is one of the best deals around--absolutely free! And the Statue of Liberty is on full view.

In my home town of Vancouver, the Sea Bus crossing over the Burrard Inlet from downtown to the North Shore, while not entirely free, is also worth the few bucks it costs for the spectacular view of the Coast Mountains.

In Rio del Janeiro, we discovered the joys and convenience of riding the ferry which runs every 20 minutes between Rio and the suburb of Nitoeri (where there happens to be a thriving Maple Bear school, which was our ultimate destination.)

For much less than the cost of crossing over by car or by bus on the world´s second largest bridge--the Rio-Niteroi Bridge--the ferry ride begins with these lovely gents before boarding the sleek looking ferry for a ride that lasts about 15 minutes:

 

 

The view as you step off the ferry! Not bad, eh?

And then step into the sleek terminal designed by the famous Brazilian architecht Oscar Niemeyer, most noted for his design of the Brazilian capital of Brasilia.

As a short excursion, for visitors this mode of transport can't be beat!

Keeping your feet on the ground...

During our first diplomatic assignment to Bangkok, over thirty years ago now (gasp!) and pregnant with our daughter Lilly, we vacationed with Rodney's parents in the Thai beach paradise of Phuket.

Undeveloped then, with only one resort (where now there are hundreds and hundreds) we simply couldn't stop pinching ourselves over the good fortune that had brought us there.

Riding in an exotic long tail boat, through scenery worthy of a James Bond film (it had actually been the backdrop for an 007 adventure) and picnicking on the sweetest pineapple I had ever tasted, I remember taking a moment to admonish our younger selves to never become blasé about the extraordinary places we found ourselves visiting. If we could hang onto our perspective, I said at the time, maybe we would turn out all right.

With that, cue another crazy beautiful setting, the view from the window of our hotel room in Rio de Janeiro this morning:

Extraordinary, especially in our year of excessive, desperate travel which has taken us to so many scenic and fascinating destinations.

Yes, I rationalize, we´re technically working. We came to Brazil for a convention of owners of schools in the Maple Bear family this past weekend in Sao Paulo. And yes, we´re on a frantic tour of as many Maple Bear schools as we can schedule within the three weeks of our visit. And finally, yes, yours truly also is wearing my hat as corporate communications specialist for the company.

But honestly, how to stay grounded? With a lot of soul-searching and yes, often conducted over the local cocktail, in this case the delicious Brazilian cocktail, the caipirinha...

Traveling to countries where the gap between rich and poor only grows wider (and this disparity is very clear in Brazil), it´s hard not to wonder why fate has dealt us this privileged hand.

I´m hoping that by being mindful and grateful, and stopping to literally say to ourselves, at full blast if that´s what it takes it (YES WE ARE EXTRAORDINARILY LUCKY!) we will never lose sight of our numerous blessings.

How does anyone else born to entitlement (and I don´t just mean about travel) manage to appreciate winning the life lottery?