By this time, the churrasco was in full swing, and Joasias and Sr. Itamar had begun to buzz through the crowd with skewers of different meats: the chicken hearts, smoked sausage, pork, beef, and a bunch of other meat that I largely ignored, much to my dismay. The smoked sausage is a sure winner with Ben, and a crowd pleaser for my insides as well, but this time it got a chilly reception from my innards that also surprised and disconcerted me to no end.

I began to circulate and take more pictures, discovering more about the guests. I say that, but it’s actually a recap from Carol. Some I already knew, but some is new to me. I was in a fog, remember? Margarita Andrade is an old pal of Carol’s from way back. She is dry, wry, and has a great laugh. Kind of like a toned down female Lewis Black. She cracked me up.

Janet Fisher is a tall blonde that appears to be built on a hovercraft chassis. It may have been the long colorful sundress, but it appeared that she was gliding wherever she went. Janet is originally from Lynchburg, Virginia, and wears her provenance beautifully. This further impressed on me the similarities between Bahia and the Southern U.S. She seemed as at home in Salvador as she would have on a horse farm in Lynchburg. She’s studying international relations at Nelson’s university.

When I first met Milene Peral, she reminded me of Mary Louise Parker, who is cute as hell. Well, when you do the actual comparison, it may not be as amazing as I thought at the time, but judge for yourself. Look at Milene by herself and you can just imagine that they were indeed separated at birth. Whereas Mary Louise became a famous star, loved by millions, Milene, meanwhile, is loved by Salvadorans for her homeopathic M.D. work, and loved by the Salvadoran girls for being the mother of Pedro. Pedro and Carol’s kids have known each other since Carol met Pedro’s uncle at a McDonald’s, peeled him a jackfruit, and became pals with his sister-in-law. FAR BETTER than being a movie and TV star, though beloved, that has to worry about whether she’s dropped off the flavor of the month list yet. Milene is on the permanent list.

Riviane Nytun is the only other guest you haven’t met. She’s a dentist in Bahia married to an engineer from Norway who’s working at a petroleum camp in Nigeria that he spells “Miseria” and pronounces “My-zeer-e-a”. They met at Carnaval around 20 years ago and have lived all over the world, the last place being Nigeria. Riviane and the kids moved back to Salvador several years ago after Nigeria became unsuitable. Her husband comes home about every 12 weeks. Their son Christian, who eluded my camera, is an old pal of Daniel and Patricia’s.

All the ladies were to join us at Carnaval that afternoon, beginning with Dave’s march with Chiclete com Banana.