Brazzil

GDP growth is a bit of an obsession in Brazil. You can't attend a seminar or presentation without GDP growth grabbing the center of attention and the same old arguments and comments being made. Everyone agrees that the country needs to grow if it is to increase its wealth and bring an end to the social inequality, which is a sad hallmark of what is otherwise one of the world's most convivial countries.

Sometimes the usual enticements of Rio de Janeiro are too sweltering to handle, especially in December and January. On occasion, in searing daytime temperatures, the hot white sands of Ipanema and Leblon that slope down to the cool Atlantic waves bake the feet too much, the expansive shores that often teem with impromptu soccer or volleyball games go comatose, the ubiquitous sarong, T-shirt, and chopp salesmen start using their wares and empty beer coolers as hats in the noonday sun.