You'll never guess who we bumped into today....hint...Brazil ;-)

**Katie** · 07-18-2011, 01:46 AM

We were having a wonderful afternoon with friends and family at the nearby locks on the Rideau River, a waterway that has recently been recognized by the UNESCO World Heritage group. It is a river locks system very similar in design to the Panama Canal, and is a very popular tourist destination for boaters.

We were just packing up after a great picnic and canoeing when a large boat came up to our dock. At 50', it stood out from most of the others, plus this one looked seaworthy, according to my Navy hubby

He went down to help them tie up, then caught my attention by pointing to the flag on the back of the boat. It was from Brazil! My relative jokingly said, "hey, do you think you may know them from your trip last year?" Riiight

But we went down to say hi anyway.

What little Portuguese I learned while having surgery was obviously long gone, as I think I said thank you to them instead of hi....the wife gave me a weird look, then I joked about it being the only word I remembered

We did manage to chat a bit, and I asked where they were from...Sao Paulo...so I mentioned we were down there for surgery. She asked who, so I said Luiz Pimenta, and she gave a big smile...ah, yes....honey, you know Dr. Pimenta, right? (or words to that effect....)

Turns out her husband is a colleague of Dr. Pimenta...he is a neurosurgeon at the same hospital! They have taken several years off to travel around the world....a very small world it seems.

More to come later...we are in the middle of a very strong lightning storm, and I have to shut down the computer before someone upstairs does it for me...permanently

Hope all is well in your ends of the world.

**Justin** · 07-18-2011, 06:02 AM

Wow, very cool story. What a small world. I was just talking about this the other day with a few people. One person ran into their Aunt in the Paris airport without prior knowledge either was going to be there. There were so many unique stories like this -- it was really interesting to say the least.

**ajj1001** · 07-18-2011, 06:14 AM

thats amazing, it can be such a small world

**KanRunMo** · 07-18-2011, 09:57 AM

Small world - yes. We ran into a childhood friend on top of the Empire State Building. We've run into people from our home town in Spain and Italy. The strangest though was staying in a B&B in New Jersey and the owner asked if we knew such and such from Oklahoma City. That's only about 400 miles from our home town. Amazingly, we did know them fairly well because of Army reserve. This same woman asked us if we got to see the buffalo running in Kansas. (Not unless they are owned privately or in a zoo and then we stay a long ways away.) My grandfather who lived to 100, said his first memory was of the ground shaking indicating a buffalo herd was coming so maybe we aren't so far removed.

**spinches** · 07-18-2011, 11:36 AM

That's amazing Katie! It must have felt almost like reconnecting with Dr. Pimenta. How cool!

**Katie** · 07-18-2011, 09:23 PM

It must have felt almost like reconnecting with Dr. Pimenta

Yes, very much so. It brought back some great memories...odd thing to say about spine surgery, but that's how I remember it. Everyone there was so kind and went out of their way to make us comfortable. We couldn't have asked for more.

This couple has a website about their trip. Uma Viagem Martima ao Redor da Terra If you want to read through the site, try clicking on the American flag in the upper right corner for a rough (and I do mean rough) translation

They were partway through their journey when the wife found out that she was pregnant

(after over a decade of trying it says). We met the most adorable little girl...what a life she has.

It makes my life seem so very tame....although I don't think I'd want to trade places...not a fan of the ocean for long periods. What a great story. Dear heart just showed me pictures he took of them this morning, going through more locks...it takes hours to travel through the five or six near us. In one, the boat had to be lifted twenty-six feet before moving to the next level.

I'll try and post some of the pictures once we get them downloaded...since they have a website, I don't think they are worried about that

I think we'll also try and email some to them as well through their site. While they have some good ones already, there are ones they couldn't possibly get while navigating. The doctor asked my hubby if he worked for a magazine, he took so many pictures

Justin and Kan...I've had the same thing happen in the past...so when a stranger says..."oh, you're from Canada...you wouldn't happen to know....", I never think they are nuts

**Katie** · 07-18-2011, 09:25 PM

Hmmm, after this posted, I saw that the link to their website didn't reflect what was in the address bar. I'll try again...maybe both will work.

projetojade dot com

**Cindylou** · 07-20-2011, 04:47 PM

I just love, love, love human interest stories like these. Truly, 6 degrees of separation sometimes, no? Can't wait to see some of the pics you took! CL

**Nairek** · 07-28-2011, 06:37 PM

It really is a small world!

Years ago when I was visiting my father in Florida, I had gone to his local supermarket to pick up some items from the deli. The deli was really busy and I turned around to my dad and said "If it takes any longer, I'll miss my flight back to New York." A gentleman in front of me turned around and asked where I was from. I told him Fishkill and his mouth dropped to the floor. He had moved from Hopewell Junction which was the next town over and he went on and on about a nearby lake which was the hot spot for swimming.

But this next story, I like the most:

Probably 3 years ago, my next door neighbor was having a get together and invited my husband & I over. They were celebrating his brother in law's return home from Iraq. When speaking with his brother in law, you could tell that he was deeply affected by what he had seen. Some of the stories he told were pretty unnerving.

I mentioned that my Godfather was stationed over in Iraq as well. He asked me what my Godfather's name was and I told him. His mouth also hit the floor. He turned in his chair so fast, he almost fell out of it! It turns out, that he knew my Godfather. As a matter of fact, my Godfather went out on patrols with his unit! As I understand it, my Godfather didn't have to go out on the patrols but he refused to sit back at camp while the others risked their lives. After hearing that story, I had a new found respect for my Godfather!