Praias, praias, praias!

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Well the weather is finally behaving itself and I have been taking full advantage! It’s hard to believe it’s November; it’s weird walking down the road in shorts and t-shirt and seeing the city begin to be decorated - lights decorate the streets and snowmen and Santa Claus adorn many shops! Even more strange considering they don’t even get snow here - I guess it just shows the American/European influence!
I also don’t have any lessons any more! My Spanish teacher has had to give up teaching for a while due to illness and in true Brazilian fashion they’re not bothered about giving us a substitute! Though I still have my art class on Mondays, so at least it’s only a six day weekend! It’s actually rather annoying as I like to be busy and I’m still looking for volunteering opportunities without much luck… I’m thinking of offering my services as an English teacher somehow.

I have dutifully been going to the beaches, discovering them all in order to make a fully informed decision as to which is best. One of my favourites is Praia Moçambique, the biggest beach on the island and also the most deserted! It was stunning, the only problem was attempting to battle the slightly more than violent waves, for that I prefer other beaches such as Jurerê, which is not Brazil, it’s the richest part of Miami placed in Brazil. And the one and only Ronaldinho has the nicest and biggest house right on the beach here - the town's claim to fame I guess!

Last weekend I even went as far as the mainland! The Professional Surfer’s Association was having its World Tour - Hang Loose. So Patrícia, her sister Priscila (who was visiting from Sao Paulo for the weekend) and I made our way there - it was very cool experience, I saw some awesome surfers, including the amazing Kelly Slater - the crowd actually went crazy over him! I was fortunate enough to come within a few feet of him as we went entering the beach at the same time - a pleasant surprise. We watched the surfing action for a few hours before going to find somewhere to stay. We spent the night in a pousada in a nearby little surfer town. It really reminded me of Costa Rica; a tiny town full of bars and pousadas and surfers, with roads made of sand and everything centred on the beach. In the evening we went to this massive party held there once a month. It’s pretty much made of massive tents in the middle of nowhere, all open plan but each with different music and filled to the brim with surfer wannabes/posers! It was really cool and we stayed dancing until 5am, which is no easy feat considering I had had two similar nights in a row previously. (One night I went to my first ever gay club, which was the best club I’ve been to here, and I was even invited to join a threesome, to which I politely declined.) The next day we woke up ridiculously early and headed out to watch more surfers do their thing and enjoy the beaches. Alas, we didn’t come so close to dear Kelly again, but I can’t really complain, just your average weekend in Brazil really.

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