"Don't think about that now." That was Abe's response to my paradise withdrawal symptoms two days after we got back from Brasil. We spent 18 wonderful days south of the equator wearing flip flops and bikinis (swim trunks for Abe), drinking freshly made juice, and taking short walks through the rainforest. A stark contrast to learning how to fall with grace on a snowboard in southern Austria just 3 days prior.
Tessa was our expert tour guide who spoiled us rotten. We started our journey with a lovely drive from São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro where we stayed for 5 days. While there we visted the Cristo on Corcovado, Pão de Açúcar, participated in the Imperatriz Leopoldinese samba school carnaval parade and endlessly searched for a "bloco" still in session. I didn't attempt to learn how to samba but Abe was amazing! Sneaky Tessa or Fedidona as I like to call her, told us we were going to watch the parade not strut our pale midriffs in front of tens of thousands of Brasilians down the Sambódromo, not to mention being broadcasted on live national TV wearing a flamboyant banana suit with an enormous orange peacock feather headdress!! Notice the lack of photographs. I will definitely never ever forget it. I'll need suggestions on how to pay her back adequately. ;)
Parque Nacional do Itatiaia on the way to Rio.
Bloco in el Centro. The day before we spent more than 12 hours on our feet in 30ºC-something degree weather, among vibrating, sweaty, friendly crowds in the neighborhoods of Santa Teresa, Lapa, and Botafogo searching for a bloco at it's zenith.
Views from Pão de Açúcar.
An early morning dip at Praia Copacobana on our last day in Rio.
From Rio we drove south along 'la costa verde' stopping in Angra and Paraty as we made our way to Ubatuba. We stayed a night in Ubatuba con "El Capitan", and then headed south again towards Barra do Sahy.
Paraty, a beautifully preserved colonial town.
Praia da Fazenda part of the Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar
View from Tessa's backyard in Barra do Sahy. Yes, it is heaven, and there is an angel there named Mari. During the week long stay in heaven I finally conquered my fear of devil boats: kayaks. Tessa escorted me on a 2 km paddle to the island in the background where we snorkeled and burned our feet on the dark boulders until we could no longer quite our tripas.
Paradise...
Sea shells by the sea shore at the surfer beach Maresias near São Sebastião.
These are gratuitous shots of charismatic mini fauna: the 7- legged ghost crab (it's missing 3 legs), known as Maria Farinhas in Brasil (Ocypode quadrata), Diego, la bella rana, and a gnarly-looking spider.
From Barra do Sahy we drove inland to São Paulo via Rodovia dos Imigrantes. It is an amazing highway that's elevated above a protected mountainous coastal rainforest. While in São Paulo we visited the flower, central, and downtown street markets, Parque do Ibirapuera (where Tessa trains), the Jardim Botânico, Univeristy of São Paulo, and Paulista Avenue.
I heart cactus at the Jardim Botânico de São Paulo, while there we also heard and saw howler monkeys!
Central market in São Paulo where everyone goes for the freshest ingredients.
This was our farewell lunch, traditional feijoada. Brasilian food is freakin' amazing!
The thing that amazes me the most about Brasil is how incredibly friendly the people are even to foreigners or "gringos" (anyone who does not speak Portuguese). On several occasions I was on my own outside a padaria or walking around and not 3 minutes would go by without someone approaching me to spark up a conversation. The most common line coming out of my mouth was "Não falo português", but that didn't discourage anyone from trying to communicate.
No amount of pictures or words can do this trip justice. Thank you Tessa for sharing your home with us.
