Month 1 done and done already! Insanity - considering we initially thought that we would just be in Brazil for 3 weeks, we‘ve got at least 4 more weeks left before we head out to Argentina…we think! I can’t believe it’s already been a month. So far so great. We’re still friends and getting along beautifully - although we probably know each other way too well by now!
We’ve made it to our 5th city in our 5th week (we are obviously taking our time and just enjoying all that Brazil has to offer - not to mention that it seems to take anywhere between 15-24 hours to get anywhere). We traveled inland to a national park called Lencois. It’s known for it’s great excursions and wonderful outdoor activities. In the last 3 days, we went:
- Swimming in the Poco do Diabo Waterfall (unfortunate reason for why it’s called the Devil’s waterfall and it’s rather sad slave driven past)
- Climbed a mountain, Morro do Pai Inacio, to see the views of the region
- Swam in the 3rd clearest water in the world, Pratinha
- Saw stalagmites and stalactites in a gigantic cave, Gruta Lapa Doce
- Trekked through the mid-day heat to go down natural water slides!
- Canoed across a mini-pantanal
- Bushwhacked through a mountain
- Lazed in natural pools
Lesson’s learned: Yuko is afraid of caves, we still haven’t acclimatized, and the definition of “light to moderate” for an excursion is not the same in North America. We have a different description for that. Cause when you start climbing trails that resemble the Grouse Grind, there is nothing easy about that! Ah, just another day in Brazil! It’s a different pace inland, definitely a different feel from the beach towns but it’s a great break from finding sand everywhere and in everything that you own!
Oh, we also have a new section we are calling…Dumblights:
- Spot the Asian game: Unlike Vancouver, we are a complete anomaly here. So we’ve created - see who can spot the most Asians. You get a point for each one you see…I think we’re tied at 4 all - there’s only been about 8.
- Guess our ethnicity conversation: For Yuko we get Chinese and occasionally Japanese. For me, I’ve had Puerto Rican, Argentinean, Brazilian and um, Black! Apparently, the tanning is coming along nicely…
- Most ridiculous airport security award goes to Refice. They made us leave the secured zone and reenter only to end up at exactly the same gate we came from. Ugh.
After 5 airports, 5 buses and 5 cities - here are our Verdict to Date:
Salvador - Definitely more on the Afro culture. Beautiful with it’s historic center, awesomely crazy for Carnival but if you actually want to see something - go a different time. People - so/so looking. Party - definitely. Sites - Didn’t see all but pretty darn interesting once we actually found the UNESCO heritage site.
Fortaleza - Much bigger than we thought. But if we actually had a Lonely Planet maybe we’d have known that it‘s the 4th largest city. Fantastic cause of the friends we made. This was our first foray into Backpacking. We learned 3 things - 1. Shell out the money for AC. 2. Always have your own Toilet Paper and Towel. 3. Make great friends early cause you’ll keep seeing them in different places ;)
Jericoacoara - Awesome cause it was our first beach town. Great for chilling, day adventures and kite surfing but it would have been better if there was an ATM that you could pull money out! An entrepreneur’s dream - You had 2 options if you ran out of money - Go to a town about 20 kms away (but their machine was broken and apparently it was going to take a month to fix it - WTF) or go to super Mercado where they charged 10% for debit and 15% for credit cards! Craziness - I‘m still not over it. Had our best nites out with the friends that we made!
Pipa - Great cause Yuko discovered that she’s a Surfing Pro! I take back all my comments about her lack of athletic abilities. I was good, but she was ridiculously awesome. I keep telling her it’s cause of her short legs - but really, she’s a natural. The beaches were nicer and there’s suppose to be tons of dolphins and sea turtles but we weren’t so lucky. I had to swim out to a boat to see 3 of them - I lost 2 lbs just trying to swim back to shore. Had the best time with the boys, we’re officially half Israeli now. Toda.
Lencois - Small towns always have a unique charm about them. It’s beautiful and topographically really interesting with it’s waterfalls, caves, mountains, canyons and the varied landscape. Imagine BC but about 20 degrees hotter and more exotic. We did't even scratch the surface of all the activities you can do.
*Pics to follow...
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