This is a continuation of yesterdays blog post, and our adventures in Fortaleza. Well as you should have read Jen and I enjoyed a delicious breakfast. After that, we were on our way to the bus ticket office which was located about 6 km across the city to get tickets for the bus that would take us back to Jeri at 5:30 that night. We mainly walked along the smaller side streets to get more of a feel for Fortaleza. The area where we started was in the center of the city, and much more worn down then near the beach promenade. It was an extreme reverse of anything you would see in Vancouver. There were essentially no plants or green spaces, each home had a high concrete wall surrounding it or the buildings were just built out to the street so no one had any yard space. The sidewalks seemed to be the responsibly of the people that lived next to them. It was clear how some cared for their small bit of sidewalk by putting down tiles, sweeping and cleaning their area regularly. Others however did not, you definitely always have to watch your step when walking through the neighbourhoods.
After reaching the Avenida Beira Mar, the boardwalk along the ocean, we had a cool and refreshing coconut. The beach was nice, we walked along with our feet in the ocean and admired the huge buildings. It seemed weird to see the high rises because Jeri is in the middle of a national park and there are strict building restrictions. There are new modern buildings mixed in with semi torn down ones and some that are a decade or so old. The mix creates a unique capture of Fortaleza. Along our walk we ran into an old and rusty boat that is slowly deteriorating on the beach. You couldn't see that back in Canada, there would be all kinds of chemical tests and environmental issues brought up.
We walked to the Dragão do Mar Center of Art and Culture. There was some modern art that we had a look at, I realized I'm not a fan of was passes for modern art. It was interesting to look at and there was one section on the Brazil coffee, beans and rice industry and its history which I found interesting. From there we walked over to the massive Central Market. It is a building the size of a shopping mall, but all open in the center. There were five floors of one shop after another. You can buy any and everything there. We ended up bartering for a hammock each, only R$25! They have already been well used as we just happen to have two hammock hooks in our room. The market also had a big buffet of the typical Brazilian foods we engorged on: Lots of different flavours of rice, beans, fried things, marinated meats and some fruit for dessert.
After the overwhelming market atmosphere we walked over to have a look at the near by Fortaleza Metropolitan Cathedral. It looked quite dingy from the outside, but once you entered there was calming music, beautiful stain glass windows and sculpted pillars. By this time our feet were pointing us in the direction of the beach. We walked back to where the bus would pick us up as the sun was setting on our day in Fortaleza. One sleepy bus ride later and we were back in Jericoacoara by 2am. I found the big city was too overwhelming to spend much time there, it was nice for a day, but I much prefer to call the little town in the dunes my home.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Side Trip to Fortaleza: Visas
The wind had been light for a few days with no sign of it picking up so Jen and I decided to go on a trip to Fortaleza, the large city near Jeri. Really the wind being light was just a perk, we had to go into the city anyways to get our visas extended because we are staying two days over the 90 days we are allowed in Brazil. We took the night bus leaving Jeri at 10:30 p.m. and arrived in Fortaleza at 5 in the morning. Some how Jen fell asleep on the 1 hour ride across the very bumpy, stop & go dunes from Jeri to Jijoca. I don´t know how she does it but that´s almost equivalent to falling asleep on a rollar coaster ride. The bus that runs from Jijoca to Fortalzea has comfy seats that go way back and the bus is kept at a nice and cold temperature. However it is still a night on a bus and neither of us slept very well and were very exhausted by the time we arrived at the bus station in Fortaleza.
The Federal Police Station didn´t open until 8:00 so we had some time to kill before going for our visas. We stumbled around the busy bus station until we found some seats to plunk down in for an hour or so because Fortaleza isn´t the safest city to be walking around in before sunrise. Once the sun was up, we decided we were in desperate need of a coffee and there was a very conveniently located hotel across the street with café and pequeno almoço (Coffee and Breakfast) written on the windows. After asking if we could just purchase a cup of coffee and didn´t want a room, we happily sat down and had a cup-a-joe and snuck a refill when the servers weren´t looking because the cups were tiny. As it turns out you should always ask how much something is before consuming it. When we went up to the front desk to pay, we thought the clerk said "três" (three) but when we tried to give her only three reals, she shook her head and clearly said "trinta" (thiry reals). That was a bit of a shock, and has got to be the most I´ve ever paid for a tiny cup of coffee as the glasses were only about 250 mL. We wanted to just leave and not pay, but since there was security at the doors we forked over the money and left. (R$30 = $20 CAD).
We had google mapped the location of the Federal Police Station that we found online so we semi knew where we were going. The map made sense and we made it to the police station by 7:00. Luckily the gate was partially open so we walked right in. There was a friendly man sitting at the front desk, who attemped to explain we were at the wrong location and where we should go. So after a lot of hand gestures and using common english-portuguese words we gave him our map and he pointed us in the right direction. The walk wasn´t too far, just back to the bus station and a few blocks the other direction. When we arrived there were a few people already standing out front so we knew we were in the right place.
Eight o´clock rolled around and the guard greeted us with a bom dia! (good morning!) and let us in. The wait wasn´t too long as there were only a few foreigners in line. Once we got to the brazilian visa guy, with all our papers and documentation ready, we figured we be done and out of there pretty quickly. The latter was true, we were only in the police station for about 15 minutes however all was not done. As it turns out you can only get your visa extened within a week of it expiring. Humph. It was rather hard to argue with the man and try to get them extended then when he didn´t speak a word of english. We were a little bummed after that, and the trip into Fortaleza seemed like a huge waste of time and money. We were tired, hungry and still a little bit fazed about the R$30 coffees.
We wandered up the street a bit, put on some sunscreen and then walked past a very happening breakfast/bakery/restaurant/bar. It was currently in breakfast mode, so we sat down, had a delicious completo sanduíche (A breakfast sandwhich with the works) and a very good and reasonably priced coffee. From then on, we had a great day in Fortaleza seeing the sights and exploring the city.
I´d like to pass on some wishes for a very happy 80th birthday to my Grandpa today!!!!
Or as they say here: Feliz Aniversário!
The Federal Police Station didn´t open until 8:00 so we had some time to kill before going for our visas. We stumbled around the busy bus station until we found some seats to plunk down in for an hour or so because Fortaleza isn´t the safest city to be walking around in before sunrise. Once the sun was up, we decided we were in desperate need of a coffee and there was a very conveniently located hotel across the street with café and pequeno almoço (Coffee and Breakfast) written on the windows. After asking if we could just purchase a cup of coffee and didn´t want a room, we happily sat down and had a cup-a-joe and snuck a refill when the servers weren´t looking because the cups were tiny. As it turns out you should always ask how much something is before consuming it. When we went up to the front desk to pay, we thought the clerk said "três" (three) but when we tried to give her only three reals, she shook her head and clearly said "trinta" (thiry reals). That was a bit of a shock, and has got to be the most I´ve ever paid for a tiny cup of coffee as the glasses were only about 250 mL. We wanted to just leave and not pay, but since there was security at the doors we forked over the money and left. (R$30 = $20 CAD).
We had google mapped the location of the Federal Police Station that we found online so we semi knew where we were going. The map made sense and we made it to the police station by 7:00. Luckily the gate was partially open so we walked right in. There was a friendly man sitting at the front desk, who attemped to explain we were at the wrong location and where we should go. So after a lot of hand gestures and using common english-portuguese words we gave him our map and he pointed us in the right direction. The walk wasn´t too far, just back to the bus station and a few blocks the other direction. When we arrived there were a few people already standing out front so we knew we were in the right place.
Eight o´clock rolled around and the guard greeted us with a bom dia! (good morning!) and let us in. The wait wasn´t too long as there were only a few foreigners in line. Once we got to the brazilian visa guy, with all our papers and documentation ready, we figured we be done and out of there pretty quickly. The latter was true, we were only in the police station for about 15 minutes however all was not done. As it turns out you can only get your visa extened within a week of it expiring. Humph. It was rather hard to argue with the man and try to get them extended then when he didn´t speak a word of english. We were a little bummed after that, and the trip into Fortaleza seemed like a huge waste of time and money. We were tired, hungry and still a little bit fazed about the R$30 coffees.
We wandered up the street a bit, put on some sunscreen and then walked past a very happening breakfast/bakery/restaurant/bar. It was currently in breakfast mode, so we sat down, had a delicious completo sanduíche (A breakfast sandwhich with the works) and a very good and reasonably priced coffee. From then on, we had a great day in Fortaleza seeing the sights and exploring the city.
I´d like to pass on some wishes for a very happy 80th birthday to my Grandpa today!!!!
Or as they say here: Feliz Aniversário!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Jeri Sports Festival 2010
Oí! There have been a few concerts in Jeri, never much advertised and not too large of crowds. This weekend however there has been a huge festival here in Jeri. In fact, it´s the annual Jeri Sport Music Festival. They set up a mammoth stage, drew in a crowd and cranked up the volume.
On friday morning there were kitesurf and windsurf downwinders from Pria to Jeri. The wind was so extremely light, no one else was on the water. We watched the kiters race in, I was slightly impressed none of them got their lines crossed because about 10 of them came blitzing in at the same time to one little strech of beach. We didn´t see the windsurfers come in, and haven´t heard of who won so I get the feeling the wind was too light for the windsurf race.
Since the wind has been so light, we didn't feel so bad if we stayed out late. Which was a good thing because the bands definitly were running on Brazilian time. Each night the main act which was alway schedualed to start at 10:00 p.m. began a little later. On Thursday it was a 10:30 start (not too bad), 11:30 on Friday (little bit on a wait) and on Saturday the band didn´t roll on the the stage until midnight. The concerts have attracted a huge crowd. I didn't know there were so many people in Jeri, although I think a lot of people have come in for the festival. I'd say on average there is between 2-3 thousand people having their ear drums pounded each night. We found the music a bit too loud standing up close, especially when you don't know the lyrics and when you don´t know when the songs volume´is going to amplify. So we usually wandered to the beach to sit, listen and relax. Although I did enjoy standing in the crowd when everyone was singing along to the songs, it really made you feel a part of everything to bob your head along with them.
On friday morning there were kitesurf and windsurf downwinders from Pria to Jeri. The wind was so extremely light, no one else was on the water. We watched the kiters race in, I was slightly impressed none of them got their lines crossed because about 10 of them came blitzing in at the same time to one little strech of beach. We didn´t see the windsurfers come in, and haven´t heard of who won so I get the feeling the wind was too light for the windsurf race.
Since the wind has been so light, we didn't feel so bad if we stayed out late. Which was a good thing because the bands definitly were running on Brazilian time. Each night the main act which was alway schedualed to start at 10:00 p.m. began a little later. On Thursday it was a 10:30 start (not too bad), 11:30 on Friday (little bit on a wait) and on Saturday the band didn´t roll on the the stage until midnight. The concerts have attracted a huge crowd. I didn't know there were so many people in Jeri, although I think a lot of people have come in for the festival. I'd say on average there is between 2-3 thousand people having their ear drums pounded each night. We found the music a bit too loud standing up close, especially when you don't know the lyrics and when you don´t know when the songs volume´is going to amplify. So we usually wandered to the beach to sit, listen and relax. Although I did enjoy standing in the crowd when everyone was singing along to the songs, it really made you feel a part of everything to bob your head along with them.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Juggled to Jijoca
Somehow we managed to get by on very little cash for the first month in Jeri, but it was time to bite the bullet and go to the bank. The town of Jericoacoara doesn't have an atm in it, so it was off to Jijoca, the neighboring town. Usually tourists get roped in to taking the scenic route to Jijoca by paying for a buggy ride in and around the lagoons but since we're gringo-locals (or at least we like to see our selves that way!) we hitched a ride in the back of a pickup truck for R$7. These trucks are Jeri's form of public transit: there are two benches in the back and a wooden frame above the bed. Our driver was a little crazy. First we drove around Jeri for a good 45 minutes (he said we'd be leaving in 10...) trying to pick up more passengers. Then we embarked on possibly the fastest, most wild and bumpy ride anyone has ever had across the dunes. Ever. It really didn't help that mid way there he decided to take a new path because apparently the one he was on was quite rough enough, but he hit one bump too many and had to stop to fix something around the wheel. Uh oh. He slowed down a bit after that, but had to stop every few minutes to fix something new. We did finally make it into Jijoca in one piece.
Walking around Jijoca was weird. Paved streets, two way traffic, tall buildings, sidewalks and traffic signs seem very foreign to us after not leaving to beach for over a month. After we figured out how to use the atm machine (it was all in Portuguese) we wandered around town. As it turns out, the super cheap prices in Jeri are actually inflated quite a lot compared to the rest of Brazil. A meal in Jijoca costs at least half of what it does in Jeri, of which is already half of what it would be back home. We didn't end up spending much time in Jijoca, I found it was just moving too fast for my liking. We wanted to get back to the beach and the relaxed atmosphere of Jeri.
Walking around Jijoca was weird. Paved streets, two way traffic, tall buildings, sidewalks and traffic signs seem very foreign to us after not leaving to beach for over a month. After we figured out how to use the atm machine (it was all in Portuguese) we wandered around town. As it turns out, the super cheap prices in Jeri are actually inflated quite a lot compared to the rest of Brazil. A meal in Jijoca costs at least half of what it does in Jeri, of which is already half of what it would be back home. We didn't end up spending much time in Jijoca, I found it was just moving too fast for my liking. We wanted to get back to the beach and the relaxed atmosphere of Jeri.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Slight Electrocution
Today was a very light wind day, I was out on a 4.7 & 84L and Jen was on 4.7 & a 90L board. The was just enough wind for me to get on a plane, so I played around a bit doing a few circles around Jen as she tried to slog in. Over all it was a bit of an exhausting day for my arms, lots of pumping and juggling of my rig.
In the evening we took a page from the tourist textbook and rode horses up to the top of some petrified dunes to watch the sunset. It was very nice, I had a bit of a reluctant horse as it kept to the far back of the group and needed a bit of prompting to get going. Jen's horse decided to gallop a bit, which 10 minutes later we realized caused the camera to fall out of her pocket. Of course she had taken my camera (after I told her not to!) so now it's full of sand. Luckily it still took some great pictures which will be uploaded as soon as we find a new voltage adapter. Why do we need a new adapter? Well today Jen also thought it would be a brilliant idea to hang her dripping wet rash guard and bathing suit directly above the outlet. When we came into the room later, it smelled like burn plastic. Initially we thought it was just the computer because it keeps over heating, until we realized the computer was shut down because the power apparently disconnected. But no, it was just the adapter that was fried. So after a minor electric shock to make sure it was really busted we now only have half a battery's life left for the two remaining months of our trip.
In the evening we took a page from the tourist textbook and rode horses up to the top of some petrified dunes to watch the sunset. It was very nice, I had a bit of a reluctant horse as it kept to the far back of the group and needed a bit of prompting to get going. Jen's horse decided to gallop a bit, which 10 minutes later we realized caused the camera to fall out of her pocket. Of course she had taken my camera (after I told her not to!) so now it's full of sand. Luckily it still took some great pictures which will be uploaded as soon as we find a new voltage adapter. Why do we need a new adapter? Well today Jen also thought it would be a brilliant idea to hang her dripping wet rash guard and bathing suit directly above the outlet. When we came into the room later, it smelled like burn plastic. Initially we thought it was just the computer because it keeps over heating, until we realized the computer was shut down because the power apparently disconnected. But no, it was just the adapter that was fried. So after a minor electric shock to make sure it was really busted we now only have half a battery's life left for the two remaining months of our trip.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Crêpe Night
If there is someone to make delicious crêpes with, its the french couple staying at our pousada. My crêpe attempts usually turn out unevenly cooked, too thick and most of the time fall apart when I try to eat them. Laura and Bastiens crêpes were amazing! A group of us got together for crêpe night: Jen, myself, Laura & Bastien from France, Anna from Holland, Vicky from the UK and Greg from the states. While I cooked the bacon (yum!) everyone else chopped, diced and sliced all sorts of vegetables and fruits for both savory and sweet crêpes. Then while the rest of us enjoyed a cool beer or icy caprihina Laura and Bastien slaved over hot elements cooking more then enough crêpes for all of us.
This was probably the best crêpe experience you can ever have. The shmorgishborg of toppings ranged from bacon, tomates, queijo (cheese) and especiarias (spices) to mangas (mango), abacaxí (pineapple), Doce de Leite (caramel topping) and, of course, nutella.
Have I got your mouth watering yet? Mine sure is talking about it. It sure was a fun bilingual night. As it turns out my high school french is better then I thought and although I can't carry on a conversation, I can understand a good part of it. Thank you Canada for making all students learn a second language, it's about time I put it to use.
This was probably the best crêpe experience you can ever have. The shmorgishborg of toppings ranged from bacon, tomates, queijo (cheese) and especiarias (spices) to mangas (mango), abacaxí (pineapple), Doce de Leite (caramel topping) and, of course, nutella.
Have I got your mouth watering yet? Mine sure is talking about it. It sure was a fun bilingual night. As it turns out my high school french is better then I thought and although I can't carry on a conversation, I can understand a good part of it. Thank you Canada for making all students learn a second language, it's about time I put it to use.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Streamers, Candy, Pop, Loud Music and Games
Yesterday was Childrens Day, and boy did we celebrate it in style! Instead of English classes and childrens capoeira classes we put on a huge party. Julianne made streamers, Jen and I coloured signs and blew up balloons. Plenty of games ensued ranging from duck-duck-goose, competitive darts, capoeira and mind games. The party seemed to get louder as more and more candy was quickly consumed. It was fun to play with the kids here, a lot of the younger ones would chat to us in portuguese and not care that we haven't a clue what they are saying. I think its an annual tradition that should be brought to North America! Then again according to parents: every day is childrens day.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Nossa Senhora de Aparecida
This weekend the population in Jeri grew about two times larger than usual because on October 12th there are two holidays: Nossa Senhora de Aparecida (Our Lady of the Appeared Conception) and Dia das Crianças (Childrens Day!)
The story behind the Apparation and creation of Nossa Senhora de Aparecida:
In October 1717, Dom Pedro do Almeida (Count of Assumar and Governor of São Paulo and Minas Gerais) was on his way to an important gold mining site when he passed through the city of Guaratinguetá. The people of this city wanted to hold a feast in his honour but it was not fishing season. Regardless, three fishermen: Domingos Garcia, João Alves, and Filipe Pedroso prayed to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, asked God's help and went out fishinhg. They werent successful and after a few hours they were ready to give up when João tried his luck one more time. They were near the Port of Itaguaçu when their net brought up the body of a statue missing its head. When the net was cast again, this time statue's head was caught. The fishermen found that it was a black version of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. As Legend follows when both the figure and head were recovered the Aparecida Virgin became so heavy that they couldn't budge it.
The fishermen named their find Nossa Senhora da Aparecida Conceição (English: Our Lady of the Appeared Conception), wrapped it in cloth and continued to fish. Now their catch was so great, their boat threatened to sink with the weight of the fish. This miracle was attributed to Our Lady of Aparecida.
Children´s day is basically self explanatory.
Happy Thanksgiving! Jen and I will have to hunt down a turkey tonight. Some how I think we´ll have to settle for eating chicken instead of turkey, rice in place of mashed potatoes, and beans for the usual delicious candied yams, curried cauliflower and sesame broccoli. Nothing can replace stuffing though. Jen is feeling kind of bummed because she´s got an eye infection so no swimming for her for a bit. Maybe I´ll try to make a pumpkin pie to make her feel better, although the stove needs some tampering with to get it working.
PS This post is being written on our Pousada´s computer. The spell check is in Portuguese so it thinks I´m spelling everything wrong and neglects to inform me when I really do have a spelling error. I´ve had to look up the spelling for a surprising number of words. Oh technology, how much I depend on you!
The story behind the Apparation and creation of Nossa Senhora de Aparecida:
In October 1717, Dom Pedro do Almeida (Count of Assumar and Governor of São Paulo and Minas Gerais) was on his way to an important gold mining site when he passed through the city of Guaratinguetá. The people of this city wanted to hold a feast in his honour but it was not fishing season. Regardless, three fishermen: Domingos Garcia, João Alves, and Filipe Pedroso prayed to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, asked God's help and went out fishinhg. They werent successful and after a few hours they were ready to give up when João tried his luck one more time. They were near the Port of Itaguaçu when their net brought up the body of a statue missing its head. When the net was cast again, this time statue's head was caught. The fishermen found that it was a black version of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. As Legend follows when both the figure and head were recovered the Aparecida Virgin became so heavy that they couldn't budge it.
The fishermen named their find Nossa Senhora da Aparecida Conceição (English: Our Lady of the Appeared Conception), wrapped it in cloth and continued to fish. Now their catch was so great, their boat threatened to sink with the weight of the fish. This miracle was attributed to Our Lady of Aparecida.
Children´s day is basically self explanatory.
Happy Thanksgiving! Jen and I will have to hunt down a turkey tonight. Some how I think we´ll have to settle for eating chicken instead of turkey, rice in place of mashed potatoes, and beans for the usual delicious candied yams, curried cauliflower and sesame broccoli. Nothing can replace stuffing though. Jen is feeling kind of bummed because she´s got an eye infection so no swimming for her for a bit. Maybe I´ll try to make a pumpkin pie to make her feel better, although the stove needs some tampering with to get it working.
PS This post is being written on our Pousada´s computer. The spell check is in Portuguese so it thinks I´m spelling everything wrong and neglects to inform me when I really do have a spelling error. I´ve had to look up the spelling for a surprising number of words. Oh technology, how much I depend on you!
Friday, October 8, 2010
I do Duck Jibes, I'm cool.
The wind has been rather light today, I'm glad because it makes it easier to be sitting on the beach when everyone on the water is slogging. When I asked Jen what I should mention in my blog today, she replied: "Say I can do a duck jibe! I'm cool!" It's true, I've even witnessed one myself. Although it wasn't a planing one yet, Dad and Tim better watch out: Jen's going to be duck jibing circles around you soon.
Now the past three (THREE!!) weeks we have been watching the sunset from on top of Sunset Dune, but one thing we hadn't done was give sandboarding a go. There is always one or two guys going up and down the dune as everyone watches the sunset. Seeing as the sunset is rather slow, they provide some good entertainment. The boarders seem to be a bit of entrepreneurs as they give a turn to tourists, for a small fee. Jen and I went to give it a try with Daniel, Adam and Orley (sp?), the three fellow pousadaers from Israel. It was more awkward then I expected but still fun, however there aren't any lifts to take you back up to the top of the dune. Climbing up the front of the dune was a feat in itself, especially when everyone is making fun of you, your clumsy ride down and the fact the it takes you forever to climb back up. I think I'll have to hire someone to carry me up the slope next time...
Now the past three (THREE!!) weeks we have been watching the sunset from on top of Sunset Dune, but one thing we hadn't done was give sandboarding a go. There is always one or two guys going up and down the dune as everyone watches the sunset. Seeing as the sunset is rather slow, they provide some good entertainment. The boarders seem to be a bit of entrepreneurs as they give a turn to tourists, for a small fee. Jen and I went to give it a try with Daniel, Adam and Orley (sp?), the three fellow pousadaers from Israel. It was more awkward then I expected but still fun, however there aren't any lifts to take you back up to the top of the dune. Climbing up the front of the dune was a feat in itself, especially when everyone is making fun of you, your clumsy ride down and the fact the it takes you forever to climb back up. I think I'll have to hire someone to carry me up the slope next time...
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Finally the Forró
Well it's about time, but I finally made it to the hot spot here every Wednesday and Saturday night: The Forró Dancing.
Around 2 o'clock in the morning the usually quiet restaurant is transformed into the place to be by removing half the tables and chairs and setting up a band who rock the rest of the night away. The locals who have been dancing the Forró and Samba and practicing Capoeira all their lives could easily have danced circles around us gringos. Instead everyone was welcoming, slowing down their steps and attempting to teach the dance to those of us with two left feet.
I didn't plan on going out that night because I hurt my elbow and after attempting to windsurf with it, it just hurt more. So I figured I'd call it an early night and went to bed around 10:30. (Jen was already asleep in her book so I figured she was out for the night.) But turns out she intended to get up and go out with the three Israelis at our pousada. So after a few Capinheiras down at the beach she headed to the Forró Place and sent Daniel to come wake me up. I was super confused because I was forced out of a deep sleep at 2 am due someone pounding on my window telling me to come out dancing. I 'zombied' over to the Forró and was jolted awake with loud music, cool beers and fast paced dancing. The club was extra busy that night so it kept up the beat until 5 in the morning, which means dawn was well on its way before we finally collapsed in to bed.
Around 2 o'clock in the morning the usually quiet restaurant is transformed into the place to be by removing half the tables and chairs and setting up a band who rock the rest of the night away. The locals who have been dancing the Forró and Samba and practicing Capoeira all their lives could easily have danced circles around us gringos. Instead everyone was welcoming, slowing down their steps and attempting to teach the dance to those of us with two left feet.
I didn't plan on going out that night because I hurt my elbow and after attempting to windsurf with it, it just hurt more. So I figured I'd call it an early night and went to bed around 10:30. (Jen was already asleep in her book so I figured she was out for the night.) But turns out she intended to get up and go out with the three Israelis at our pousada. So after a few Capinheiras down at the beach she headed to the Forró Place and sent Daniel to come wake me up. I was super confused because I was forced out of a deep sleep at 2 am due someone pounding on my window telling me to come out dancing. I 'zombied' over to the Forró and was jolted awake with loud music, cool beers and fast paced dancing. The club was extra busy that night so it kept up the beat until 5 in the morning, which means dawn was well on its way before we finally collapsed in to bed.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Perfecting Lunch
Usually Jen and I go out sailing early, which means by the time one or two o´clock rolls around we are HUNGRY! It started out as plain jam or nutella sandwiches maybe some fruit or veggies. But now it's an art form: Jen goes to the bakery to get these crazy delicious muffin-scone hybrids hot out of the oven while I pick up some yogurt and fresh fruit (mango, pineapple, oranges, etc). Top it off with the complimentary chocolate cake from our pousada and its almost the best meal of the day. Although its hard to compete with the breakfast sandwiches we get made from us every morning. Nothing beats; eggs, ham, tomatoes, a pound of butter and tbsp of salt to start off your morning. (We try not to think of how much of the last two ingredients are added but guaranteed my arteries will not happy by the time we leave.) We've been finding the Brazilians add copious amounts of salt to everything, for example, the toast tastes like popcorn should.
The wind is picking up but I think it's going to be a lazy day today. My elbow is hurting since I stressed it during a Capoeira lesson and Jen's almost got a pulled muscle in her neck. It's very difficult not to go out when the wind is so great, but we just need a day off. Although we both had the same story yesterday and still went out for a 2.5 hour sail.
We helped teach English to a group of 10 kids last night. They were very eager and some quite good at picking up the language. All of them are much faster than I am at learning Portuguese that's for sure.
Jen just came back and said she happened to find out its R$30 for a 30 minute massage. I think this will be a very relaxing afternoon.
The wind is picking up but I think it's going to be a lazy day today. My elbow is hurting since I stressed it during a Capoeira lesson and Jen's almost got a pulled muscle in her neck. It's very difficult not to go out when the wind is so great, but we just need a day off. Although we both had the same story yesterday and still went out for a 2.5 hour sail.
We helped teach English to a group of 10 kids last night. They were very eager and some quite good at picking up the language. All of them are much faster than I am at learning Portuguese that's for sure.
Jen just came back and said she happened to find out its R$30 for a 30 minute massage. I think this will be a very relaxing afternoon.
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