The Road Home

We started off by making a master plan for the next two weeks, as we still had quite some designing and interpreting to do; making a strict plan was not the worst of ideas. It was decided that Koen and Arno would focus on reporting our findings with the Delft3D computer model, while Marius and Laurens would start with the design of several of the proposed solutions we had come up with.

While Marius and Laurens where drowning in design formulae of breakwaters, the interpretation of the results of the Delft3D model also caused quite some headaches with Koen & Arno. Because Delft3D is such a sophisticated programme, its results can easily deviate from reality. With some logical thinking and spitting through our Coastal Dynamics book, they were able to come up with a closing theory. A meeting on Friday with our supervisor here in Brazil allowed us to conclude that our theories were sound and our designs checked out.

The weekend was marked by a traditional Brazilian barbecue, and an attempt at some wake boarding. Unfortunately the board broke on the third attempt; so only some improvised towing by the jet ski remained. Later that evening we decided to go out to one of Lagoa’s most famous rock and roll clubs. From the outside one could say it is a cheap rip off from the hard rock café, and I guess we could say the same about the inside.

As our final week is about to commence, we are already starting to look back on the eight weeks we spent here. With the weather turning a bit more Dutch we are starting to feel a longing for home. In our time off, while we were not playing cards, we started making two list: a list of things we will not miss from Brazil (supermarkets, tap water, shower), but also a list of things we will miss (the people, the weather (before turning Dutch) and the attitude).