Sleep some of the flight to Sao Luis and then catch glimpses of landscape below – looks like nothing else – becomes more tropical as hundreds of rivers reach for the sea (take some snaps on my phone from the plane)…

Met in Sao Luis airport by Claudia the seminar organizer.  Great to be met and we hit it off immediately; it is so hot and humid – really. Drive in friend Sabaque’s air conditioned car through the mad traffic and driving (makes Portugal look sane) to the hotel out on Calhau beach. Starting to feel collapsible and so I don’t do any more at this stage – but collapse for a short while. Claudia informs me that there will be 200 people there tomorrow. So, no pressure!  I don’t feel quite prepared even though I am- hope I will not be as boring as I think I might be.

Walk along Calhau beach in the late afternoon on my own.  Show my pale legs off to the world and paddle in a ridiculously warm Atlantic. The beach is a powdery one, the sea warm, the beach bars inviting, the palms lovely but there is also the flotsam and detergent at the near Eastern end which make this not quite a blue flag! Gets much better the further on I walk.

Turn back and get back to the hotel in time to work and worry about tomorrow.

In evening out with Claudia and Sabaque and technical support guy Jorges to lovely restaurant.   A multilingual dinner. We have a fish stew with the local catch plus shellfish in coconut sauce with two kind of rice (including a kind of Arroz Negra). Get told about Sao Luis and its traditions and how I need to get to know them intimately. Sabaque wants me to drink a lot with him but this has to happen tomorrow if at all when I have done my talk.