One of my favorite aspects of travelling is trying new foods. Eduardo and Fran were kind enough to find me an assortment of fruits (acerola, starfruit, guava, plum and orange variants, sugar-apple, and cashew), introduce me to Brazilian pizza (including a dessert one, with bananas and peaches!), and cook the national dish, feijoada.

They also took me to Ilha do Cardoso, where Fran does field work. We had fun despite the wet weather, and our stuff all survived transportation by bulldozer.

Fun finds in the forest there included a fluffy lichen, a carnivorous plant (sundew?), excellent camoflage, and Fran's harvestmen.
Eduardo is the only person I've seen do field work under an umbrella!

I also visited the Picinguaba field station, where I got to meet several Brazilian ecology students. One set me up with a peaceful "cruise" on a windsurfing board to take in the mangroves and bird life.

Interesting insects in the forest nearby: a butterfly with a false head (the "antennae" even move!) and a 2-inch beetle.

And of course, I was particularly pleased by my herp finds there, including these frogs (top three are ~1 inch long, left one is ~4 inches) and a small, elegant snake.