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Published: November 8th 2006
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HEALTH WARNING: If you're feeling a bit glum about the onset of winter in England, it might be best if you skip this blog 😉
I think the photos probably speak for themselves. These beaches are just stunning. Any of you who have been on holiday with me will know how much clear, turquoise, shallow water just does it for me so I've been in total heaven for the last week or so. We're on the north-east coast of Brazil just south of the equator where the sun always shines apparently (why didn't it in Ecuador, then? If anyone understands that, please fill me in). A lot of the beaches here, like the one at Pipa, are fabulous but we decided to splash out and visit the beautiful island of Fernando de Noronha where the beaches were something else again. We saw amazing sealife just by snorkelling off the beach but we were ecstatic when we snorkelled a bit further out and saw loads of turtles which were so cool, and even two sharks (little ones tho, else I probably would have
turned back!) I am generally a bit of a wuss in the sea and did need the help of a life jacket and guide to get me out that far but it was definitely worth it!
The island is pretty small and the only cool way to travel is by buggy so, of course, we hired one for the day (I'm not sure we've really got the gist of this backpacking thing), taking in the different beaches, stopping off to snorkel and generally living the high life. It also meant that we could get up at sunrise and go to a point overlooking the bay where literally hundreds of dolphins arrive every morning after a night out on the tiles in the ocean. It was an amazing sight and although we were so high up we needed binoculars to see them clearly, it was brilliant to watch them all jumping, cavorting, flirting and generally hanging out in their natural environment. We stayed for hours.
Buggies are pretty big news along this whole coastline. "The buggy may almost have been designed specifically with these beaches and dunes in mind" says my guidebook. So it would have been rude not
to make the most of them. Along the coast at a place called Genipabu there are dunes 50m high and you can choose to be driven round them "com emoçoa" (with emotion) or without! I'm not sure if 'without emotion' would have been a nice sedate ride enjoying the scenery but I never got to find out as Fiona was demanding "Grande grande emoçoa" in between us screaming at the top of our lungs as our buggy driver hoofed it up and down the dunes. Our shrieking just encouraged him to repeatedly hurl the buggy sideways down the dunes while we clung on tightly, convinced that it, and we, would roll over. Which it didn't. Of course. But it was better than any rollercoaster I've ever been on. Probably something to do with the added danger element of lack of seatbelts and complete disregard for health and safety.....(Which is a bit like the taxis in some of the towns here which basically involve getting on the back of some bloke's motorbike. In a skirt and flip-flops and, of course, no helmet, it's probably not the most sensible transport option, but there's no other way to get around. Plus it was
actually great fun!)
Beach is a whole way of life in Brazil and fortunately it didn't take us long to adapt to this laid-back pace. On our second day in Pipa we spent over an hour basking in the turquoise shallows watching two hermit crabs on a rock! We did manage to rouse ourselves for a couple of hours to go kayaking but otherwise it was all very, very relaxed. We kayaked from the sea inland into mangrove swamps where there were crabs that climbed the trees. After all this inactivity we were ready for some serious socialising in the evenings but, despite this area having a reputation for legendary nightlife, we found most places to be pretty dead (that damned guidebook!) Probably because high season is from Dec-March. But it worked in our favour too as the beaches were practically deserted and it was easy to find accommodation. Plus there were plenty of local men keen to teach us the regional 'forro' style of dancing if we got really bored!
Another thing that really surprised me about Brazil was the lack of music. Having been subjected to Ecuadorean and Peruvian music every waking minute (and some sleeping
ones too), Brazil seems strangely quiet. They also don't make fruit juice as well as the other countries (cashew nut juice, anyone?) and they're missing a trick by not forcing passengers on buses to watch the gore-fest movies so popular everywhere else. The buses here are very modern and well-equipped (and v.expensive) but there's absolutely nothing to do. As much as I moaned about the chickens and Jean-Claude Van Damme movies in Ecuador, at least they provided some entertainment! (Also I was very envious of Joe & Nosi's account of bus-bingo in Peru. I think they should definitely introduce that over here!)
However, the things I like about Brazil are numerous. At first I found it frustrating that I couldn't communicate with local people but a few weeks in I have discovered that I can, in fact, speak Portuguese! Well, that's to say I can just about understand people if I make them speak
really slowly, and if I sprinkle my Spanish with a few Portuguese words that I have picked up the people can just about undertand me. And, without exception, all the people have been soooo lovely and helpful to us. From the woman who spent her
mobile phone bill and fifteen minutes of her time reserving a flight for us when the travel agency was shut; to the policemen who, when we asked for directions to the bus station, drove us there in their police car (Cool! Who says South American officials are difficult characters?); to the numerous bus station employees who patiently and good-humouredly try to explain the inner mysteries of the bus timetabling system to us simpletons who just can't understand a word they are saying (okay, so I was exaggerating slightly about my linguistic abilities earlier). I was also going to go on about how good the food is but this blog seems to be turning into a bit of an epic so I won't, except to say that there are lots of delicious prawn dishes and the portions are huge. It took us a while of shameful over-ordering before we worked out that most dishes are intended for two people, but most of the time four could easily share and not go hungry.
Today has been another brilliant day. We're in Maçeio where the water is clear and turquoise and the sun always shines etc etc. But the added attraction here
Jangada
Where would you put the gas stove? is that at low tide you can take a jangada (sail boat) out to an offshore reef where the water is shallow and teeming with fish. After a few hours snorkelling (I saw an octopus!) we had a delicious lunch of hot, salty, fried fish cooked right there by a very enterprising local with a gas stove on his jangada, and a cold beer. Perfect! We're now about to catch the overnight bus to Salvador. It sounds really interesting but people keep warning us about how dangerous it is. Time to get city-heads back on I guess, but beach-life was fabulous while it lasted!!
The condensed version: I've taken up my new position with the Brazilian tourist-board; It's great here!
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Cutler
Jacquie Cutler
WOW, WOW!!
It looks amazing - am wondering who did all the driving?? (and at least you survived!), did Fi start talking to herself underwater, then fall about laughing when she realised she couldn't talk?!? Now, girls, please take care at your next destination. Miss you heaps, Love Jacxxx