Wandering Wednesday: Discover Brazil with a giveaway!

By Lisa Harris @heartofafrica

In my last Wandering Wednesday post, I mentioned how one of the things our family has been blessed to do is travel together, especially while our kids were growing up. Today, I'm sharing a few memories from our time in Brazil back in 2008 and 2009. (Wow. . .has it really been that long?)

And since this blog is all about books, I also have to share the with you about the novel our time in language school inspired. No Place To Hide releases from Love Inspired Suspense this Sunday, and I'm so excited to share it with you! (Keep reading for a chance to win a copy.) 

Now while our time in Brazil was a bit of a rollercoaster for me--I was homeschooling for the first time, finishing up a novel, AND trying to learn Portuguese--my hero and heroine in this book have it a whole lot worse! She's a witness to murder. . .now running for survival. Thankfully nothing like that happened to us while we were there! Instead, we came to love the country and made friendships that have lasted for all these years!

I'll share a bit more about the book in a minute, but first, here are some highlights from our time in Brazil. We were able to take two short trips--we decided we had to see some of the beautiful country--so these photos are from Rio and the Amazon.

RIO

My hubby snuck me away for an overnight trip to Rio, which ended up being so much fun! One of the best ways to see Rio's spectacular views is from the cable car that transports you to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain. From there you can see the stunning Guanabara Bay, Rio, and the Atlantic Ocean spread out beneath you. 

We spent time browsing through seller's stands till midnight and walking along Copacabana Beach. 

Christ the Redeemer, the 125 foot famous statue that sits on top of the Corcovado Hill, is another incredible place to see the city of Rio. 

THE AMAZON

Our whole family flew into Manaus where we saw from the air the 'meeting of the waters.' 

Here the dark Rio Negro meets the pale Amazon River (Rio Solimões). Here the two rivers run side by side without mixing because of the differences in the waters temperature, speed, and density. After landing, we took a boat up the river a couple hours to our rustic hotel.

One of the favorite things our kids did was fish for piranhas--and I admit it was pretty fun! The cooks prepared them for our dinner and they tasted like chicken. And yes, they have very powerful jaws!

Another favorite thing was swimming with the pink dolphins. Definitely one of 

those experiences you never forget!

NO PLACE TO HIDE:

And now for another fast-paced romantic suspense novel. . .Former navy diver Ryan Kendall’s father sent him to Brazil with a simple assignment: extract compromised witness Ellie Webb. But with Ellie determined to trek into the Amazon, following a lead on her father’s murder, Ryan must protect her. As cartel members and pirates chase them, though, can they survive the dangerous jungle…and take down a killer?

*You can pre-order your copy now and it will be released on Sunday, July 1st!!*

Amazon                            Barnes & Noble                        Christianbook.com

GIVEAWAY:

I'd love to give away an ebook of No Place to Hide. To enter, please leave a comment on this post with a way for me to contact you. I'll pick a random winner from the comments on Friday, July 6th at Midnight PST.

LISA HARRIS is a Christy Award finalist for Blood Ransom and Vendetta, Christy Award winner for Dangerous Passage, and the winner of the Best Inspirational Suspense Novel for 2011 (Blood Covenant) and 2015 (Vendetta) from Romantic Times. She has over thirty novels and novella collections in print. She and her family have spent almost fifteen years working as missionaries in Africa. When she's not working she loves hanging out with her family, cooking different ethnic dishes, photography, and heading into the African bush on safari. For more information about her books and life in Africa visit her website at www.lisaharriswrites.com