Beaches, beaches and more beaches in Brazil

Wow! So much to say! It's been weird because the further north I've traveled in Brazil, the cooler it has gotten (it's definitely not cool, just not as disgustingly humid as it had been in Rio) - Which is surprising because I'm getting closer to the equator - and what I'm guessing is totally unconnected to anything is the fact that I've had less and leas access to a computer! Wi-Fi has been as reliable as ever but constantly accessing the internet from your phone can get a little annoying. But c'est la vie... I'll blog from my phone.

So where did we last leave off? I think about two weeks ago I left Rio to a little town called Paraty (looks like party but is pronounced Parachee). It's a great little town with it's own special historical feel (cobblestone roads and old buildings and churches - once again cool architecture ) and an intimate climate. Since it's such a small place you kind of get the feeling that everyone knows each other.  I winged it to get to the hostel not thinking it would be a big deal, but on the way after surveying everyone in the van (by the way It was the first time that everyone there was a native English speaker - what are the chances??) I discovered that everyone had already booked their accommodation and many of them had trouble securing something because places were filled up. It worked out great in the end and I very luckily got the last bed in the whole hostel! The staff there was awesome and there was a really great group of people staying there, too.  There's just a fun vibe there and it's infectious! Turns out I'm named well for Brazil - there is a popular drink called cachaca and a popular type of it is called Gabriella.  When I met each staff member at the hostel and I introduced myself as Gavriela,  they said "Oh your name is Gabriella? You have to try our cachaca - it's the same name!" and they gave me a free drink.  One guy joked that if I go to Mexico I should tell them my name is Rum.

Nearby Paraty is a town called  Trinidade - nice area with beautiful beaches! It rained like mad on the way back and the bus experience was insane and sweaty - it was like a clown car on the bus - even when people were getting off it didn't seem any less crowded or less sweaty or like there was any more breathable air. Another day trip was to a place called Cachoeira Toboga where I accomplished a life goal that I had set out to sepcifically do on this trip. There is a cliff next to a small waterfall about 10/12 meters high (about 35 feet) and I jumped off of it into the water next to the waterfall! I was scared out of my mind and it was probably the most terrifying thing I have ever done (I think more than skydiving and bungy jumping). A friend jumped first and I was left up there alone just contemplating the jump, standing there with my terrifying thoughts and it took me about 8 minutes to jump. I finally just said to myself (I think outloud even) - YOLO..  and you want to do this!! So I did! It hurt a little because I think I hit a rock somewhere under the water - and Oh yeh,  I was jumping from over 30 feet - but I'm really excited that I did it and am very proud! (video on Facebook). In the same area there is also a natural water collection place with a massive rock that you slide down like an actual slide into a pool of water at the bottom.  Apparently the locals are daring enough to go down snowboard/skateboard style on their feet but we didn't see that.

Early Friday morning I took a flight from Rio to Salvador - once on the plane I thought now THIS is the way to travel! No more buses if I don't have to. The ticket I got was cheaper than the bus and obviously faster. When I arrived I went to beach in the afternoon and asked a girl to watch my bag while I went in the water for a quick dip (these are some of the issues when you travel alone - they say never leave your stuff alone on the beach but when you are by yourself what else can you do but ask a reliable-looking stranger to watch your stuff) and only after I came out of the water and thanked her and asked where she was from did I find out she was Israeli! We ended up spending the rest of the afternoon together and it was really nice! I once again spent Shabbat at Chabad and it was really lovely! At first it was so super hot and there were millions of mosquitos. The first night I barely slept because the room had only a fan and the window was open so there was no air and I got covered with mosquito bites. In the morning I talked to the hostel about airconditioned rooms and ended up asking 3 others in the dorm to move to a private room with me and it worked out to be cheaper with aircon and a TV and a private bathroom! One of the guys was actually from New York, and he was Jewish! The other two were Brazilian. We went out on Saturday night to the boardwalk and I finally had my first acai! Its a berry native to the amazon and is suppised to be very healthy and its a super common snack here in a smoothed out frozen form like sorbet.  I visited the Historical Center which is a popular attraction in Salvador.  In one of the areas there were some locals doing capoiera (of course to get some money from watching tourists) and I was happy to finally see this Brazilian art/dance form. Salvador is like the South-American Africa. There is a lot of African culture from when native Africans came to Brazil and its still very influential to the culture.  Reminded me a lot of my time in South Africa. I found a local gourmet supermarket in Salvador which sold some imported products including kosher Philadelphia cream cheese! I stocked up on some peanut butter M&Ms. It's funny because in real life one little 49gram packet would clearly be a one-sitting snack (maybe even two packets) and yet in this keeping kosher on the road lifestyle I have to ration out my food, maybe eating 4 or 5 individual chocolates a day.

On Monday I had another flight continuing up the coast of Brazil.  Once again it rained that morning and the storm made the coastal drive to the airport pretty cool because the waves really grew and danced in the storm! The next stop was another beach location called Pipa. An adorably small town with I think 6000 locals but many more visitors flock that way for the beaches.  Also cobblestone roads - or really one main road running through the place with lots of little shops and guesthouses /hostels/pousadas along the way.  There are 4 beaches that line the coast in the area and many of the "dividers" between beaches are rocks that are only crossable at low tide. One beach is called Dolphin Beach where apparently from there you can spot dolphins swimming around.  I didn't see any from there when I walked along, but from the beach next to it not only did I see them, but swam right near them! I also took a surfing class and surfed right near them as well (picture proof exists!).  Both the surfing and dolphin spotting were pretty awesome. The one down of the day was a wicked sunburn I got on the back on my legs from the time I lay on the surfboard.  Despite my sunscreen appliance, the sun was too strong and I have this painful line running across the back of my legs.  Thank God they gave me a shirt to wear because otherwise my back would be totally burned as well! In Pipa I also stayed in this adorable hostel and for the first time on my trip I hung out with a group of Israelis - and it was actually fun! Good times all around.

After Pipa I went a bit further north to the states capital of Natal.  I really just had a day there as I used it as a place to get my bus heading to the next location but there was also a great beach there too! Ponta Negra is the safer downtown area to stay... it was a trip getting there trying to have conversations with people who don't speak English but I somehow pulled if off.  What's cool about the beach where I was is that because of it's situation lower down in comparison to the city road level and the trees along the side offer shade on the sand at a relatively early hour in the day.  It's getting to be winter in the southern hemisphere and it gets dark already at five-ish now. But starting from already about 230, the beach gets shady and you can sit out on the sand and not be exposed to the sun!  For someone like me who is recovering from a painful sunburn but loves being on the beach, this was perfect! And the waves there were super strong so sitting there and just listening to the sound of the waves crashing was pure heaven - in the shade. 

Recife (pronounced Hesifee) was my next Shabbat destination.  Due to luck and some good connections I got set up with a wonderful woman in the community who housed me for the weekend. She has been incredibly hospitable and warm and open and I'm sensing this is a Brazilian trend. Shabbat meals were spent at Chabad but during the rest of the time she showed me around, walking on the boardwalk Shabbat afternoon, taking a driving tour Saturday night and going for a long bike ride on Sunday.  There are a few notable things here in Recife.  First of all the first ever synagogue in all the Americas is here in the city (I saw it both on the driving tour and the like ride!).   There is a lovely beach here but unfortunately it is known for sharks! There is a reef a number of meters out and at low tide it is OK to swim in the shallow pool that is created in the water because sharks can't get over the rocks.  But at high-tide, it is illadvised to go swimming.  The last shark attack was about 3 years ago when a girl died, and there is another location on the beach in front of one particular building where there have been 9 attacks! Why anyone would continue swimming in that particular area is beyond me.  Along the beach you can often see lots of volleyball games going on which always makes my heart soar!

So that basically brings me up to date. I'll be out of reach for the next couple of days because tonight I fly to Manaus, Brazil which is in the Amazon and I leave tomorrow morning on a 3 day excursion  into the Amazon! I'm super excited and this is another one of those iconic things I feel like I'm doing.  I don't think it will be exactly like the experiences I've seen on Survivor but I'm hoping for a really cool experience.

Until next time, Ciao Ciao!