I am writing this from the balcony of my new apartment in the historical and peaceful neighborhood called Urca in Rio de Janeiro. The salty ocean breeze kisses my face as I drink a lemongrass tea and watch the children playing in the water below. My heart is full and I am truly blessed to be here. My apartment overlooks praia Urca (Urca beach) which is the very same beach that the Portuguese first arrived upon in 1565 when they settled in Rio de Janeiro.

Just out my front door I can walk onto the oldest street in Rio and follow it to the iconic Sugar Loaf which hosts epic views of the city. To get to the top you can take two bondinhos (cable cars). I recommend hiking the first leg up Mt. Urca (about 45 minutes) and then paying the less expensive fare to take the second cable car up to the sugar loaf. You’ll discover many exotic plants, sweat, and see lots of monkeys.

Photo courtesy of Leonardo Metre

Also close to my new pad is the harbor, which locals call the “Quadrado” (The Square). Every day I am there painting the boats. I have a vision to paint the whole harbor which houses about 65 tour and fishing boats. The tops of them are perfect canvases and together they will form a floating gallery which can be seen from the sky!

My amazing friend Maxine Nienow designed two boats while she was here and is making a return trip to Rio in April to paint more. She came up with the perfect name for the project: Flotarte, which means “floating art.” Friends have joined us and even strangers from Couchsurfing.com. People are getting excited about the project and I am inviting and encouraging artists to make their own designs and paint a boat.  In total we have painted five boats so far and there are 60 left. It is an enormous project!

(One boat at a time)

I have a ticket to Bogota March 7th… I am trying to decide if I will go to Bogota and then come back, or if I will just stay here and continue in this groove.

But for now, I am off to the harbor!