When a man is exposed to different modes of life, his sense of understanding and sympathy is correspondingly activated.  Preconceptions and prejudices begin to recede into the mist, and steps are made, perhaps still hesitatingly, towards a feeling of human commonalities.  And things that may once have seemed to be so important in our own lives take on a much more diminished aspect.

I visited the village of Mundaú today.  It is about 135 kilometers from Fortaleza, and its primary sights to visitors are a sheltered lagoon and a series of startlingly beautiful sand dunes.  The photograph below speak for themselves, and need little if any comment from me.  One unrelated point that impressed me today was the solidity of the construction of the tables and chairs in the restaurant where we ate lunch.  They had doubtless been made from some dense Amazonian wood; I have always loved rich woods and it was amazing to lift these chairs and find out they weighed at least twice as much as any other chair of comparable size.

 

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