We heard that Snowland had a great deal this week - each person that brings 2 kilos of non-perishable food would have free admittance to the theme park. Copas picked us up at 9:30 a.m. (Snowland opens at 10:00 a.m.) We thought we would be the first there, but everyone else must have heard about the same deal - we couldn't believe how many people were already in line. Tour buses were lined up, and parking was down the highway. http://www.snowland.com.br/
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| In the deficient line - with crowds behind us |
We parked, got in line, and started surveying our options. One of the options was to turn around and leave with our bags of rice, beans, and cornmeal. . . maybe go to the Tomasini Mine Park that was closed on a Monday when we tried to go previously. David spied a line designated for the "deficient." Any one 60 and over qualifies to be in that line (a perk for getting old here). We moved to this line and waited until the doors opened. We filled out liability papers, turned in our bags of food, and we were on our way.
After getting our snowsuits, boots, and gloves on, we entered the frozen world. We thought it would be a zoo, but the whole facility must have several areas to disperse the crowds; it is three stories high - and really long. For Brazilians who have never seen or felt snow, this is an amazing place with a tubing hill, snowboard/skiing run, a snow mobile circuit around the top, bumper cars on ice, and an animated snow show ending with snow falling from the sky.
We walked around trying to decide where to start. First choice, go to the tubing hill. We got in line, grabbed the next available tube, and walked up to the top of the hill. There were three runs, two for single tubes and one for pair tubing. We all chose the pair tubing. The attendant liked to give a spin as they pushed us down the hill. The snow show was to begin shortly after tubing, so we got in line to enter the snow caves with music, animation, and a video projected on an ice wall. At the climax of the show, everybody was jumping up and down calling the snow to fall - and it did.
Next, we had a great time bumping each other around the rink in our individual bumper cars. We had just the right number to have the ice to ourselves, and I think we had more fun and did more bumping that any of the groups before us. No electronics were allowed (had to keep our hands on the controls), and even if we could use cameras, they were frozen and covered with fog. When our toes and fingers were frozen, we decided it was time to leave; Pres. Copa had early afternoon meetings. We caught a quick lunch at Subway in Gramada. On the plaza between Subway and the Cathedral was a fountain surrounded with love-locks.
The afternoon was spent on catching up this blog, men napping, and Ann teaching piano lessons. I fixed a quick dinner for Merl and David before we went to the church for Integration. We were getting low on groceries, so I grilled slices of Colonial bread, topped them with fried slices of red tomatoes and onions, and added a poached egg. Must have been okay as they cleaned their plates in time to leave.
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| Elder Gallardo asked me to show the score - his team won. |
David held a discussion on the 'Melquisedeque' Priesthood and ancient prophets. The Elders then played a game of team charades based on scripture stories.
There were no refreshments so Merl (with Christiano's help) found a grocery store with one cake left. Merl bought the cake and ice cream, Christiano bought plates and forks at another store, and we had cake for Ann's birthday. The young men at the meeting licked up the last drop of the ice cream. Then it was time to lock up and go home. As we were leaving, Raphael and Roselini pulled up with a chocolate bundt cake and a box of pastels for Ann's birthday. We nibbled on the pastels on the walk home. Then it was time for bed.
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