What if Dante Alighieri had chosen to write Cantos of Heaven instead of Hell?

“You will not need any money for the next two days.” — Tia Dora’s first words to me after we disembarked from the ferry to dine an the ‘getaway isle’ of Itaparica, Day 2 of trip.

“La vida dura.” — summary of life with the Lillios Brasilian clan which consists the above, along with a run on the beach, a dip in the bathwater ocean located about 1/4 a mile away from the house, naps in the hammock, churrascado grilled meat off the skewer, mouth-watering fresh mangoes gathered from the yard, and other freshly-made cuisine at our disposal on an ongoing basis.

“We have 5 computers for 4 people.” — Paulo, walking us through his swank urban Rio 4-bedroom pad left at the disposal of Tony and myself after he treated us to inordinate amounts of Brasilian beef and laughter before whisking out of town to be with his family.

These increasingly intense Cantos of Heaven scratch the surface of Brazil, December 2008.

Brasil, Dec 2008: Pelo to Itaparica

Could the Taj really be the rave that everyone says it is? It is exquisite beyond measure – in its scale and PRESENCE. It’s hard to describe or capture in words or photo. Ya have to go if you are fortunate enough to have the chance. We arose at 5:30am in order to see the rising sun make the marble gleam that just-so-yellowish tinge, and I’m glad we did! (yeah, ME!)

At work we have a framework for communication that involves getting a diversity of opinions / points of view — the analogy being that “every stripe on the beachball” should be represented.

This trip has provided an incredible array of beachball stripes. It started with corporate IT India in Hyderabad & Bangalore….engaging with the westernized, progressive, educated India we so often engage with in the States. It migrated to the rural and working class India in our exploits in rural Rajasthan….the hotel attendants, the people who take care of the camels, the bathroom attendants, Asif our driver and his family, and the myriad of people we see on the streets. We also saw a rising wealth in the home of the tour agency owner, Anil. Then in Delhi we’ve seen the Gupta home, B9 and the exquisite shops and life in Haus Khas village – and learned what that entails from a social perspective as well through Anna’s stories about Amit’s upbringing at Dune School and such.

I’m sure I’m forgetting many more stripes too….