Dont touch my chillies...

The day came for me to finally say goodbye to Kyle as he was jetting back to the US and I was about to take my first steps off alone. Another looooong bumpy car trip back to the windy town of Jericoacoara where id spend the next few days relaxing, crisping and meeting lots of new friends. Such a great town to really chill out and relax if you're not out kite surfing all day. Another lagoa trip, night of samba, interesting new game of cards, and great mix of friends from; France, Israel, Canada, Mexico, Belgium, UK & Germany we were sure to swap some interesting stories and knowledge.

Here is where I met my Mexican Minion - Allie who happened to be travelling to the exact same places as I am at the exact same time. Fate is a wonderful thing sometimes :) so after an hours sleep ive never gotten up and packed so fast in my life. With a 5:50am meeting time for the bus, and us sleeping through the alarm til 5:30 it was an experience, half asleep and extremely under slept we threw our bags on and trekked through the sandy roads of Jeri and made it in time. Exercise done for the day haha...

8 hours later we reached Fortaleza where we had a 1 hour wait before climbing back onto another 8nhour bus ride to natal.. Its like an instinct now to just automatically try go to sleep as soon as you climb into your seat on the bus. Pull the recliner all the way back, stuff something under your head and watch the back of your eye lids. Only problem is, after the first 8 hour bus ride your body knows it doesn't need to sleep.. second problem; iphone headphone hole is broken, third problem; laptop sound not working. NO MUSIC, NO MOVIES, NO BOOK Nothing.. so back to trying to sleep. After a quick stop and a piece of chocolate cake later my body decided it could sleep the cake off.

Hello Natal.. Raining. Something that seemed so foreign after almost 3 weeks of no rain. Never in Brasil did I think I would find myself back at a pretentious nightclub like I would find back in Aus but here I was paying $20 to get into this club called " Peppers Hall" which was hosting a "white night:". Everyone was dressed up and in white, and being a pretentious club no one was dancing of course except us gringos who made the most of our night in Natal.

With no idea on what Natal has to offer we ventured on a bus towards central, but again the working ways of Brasil it was a Sunday and NOTHING was open. We managed to see the tourist building which used to be an all girls orphanage, jail, WWII point and now a centre for tourist and forro based on top of the tallest hill in Natal Centro. As rain had once again graced us and ruined our plans to do an Acai tour we decided to head out to Pipa earlier. So 5 of us and all our luggage cramped into a cab and we set off for our "Brazilian hour" drive down the coast. We arrived in this gorgeous little cobble stone beach town that sits on  a hill sounded by beaches. The perfect place to relax and take in the sun.

So our first night we check into this very empty hostel which was the only place with room for us. Here we are 2 small girls with the whole upstairs room to ourselves. Ocean views and breeze the perfect setting for the location. Perfect.... well there a price to pay with having a open window facing the ocean , besides the blowing winds, there's killer mosquitoes and Bats. Yes, after awaking from the constant noise of mosquitoes buzzing around my head I decided to spray myself head to toe in repellent. In doing this I woke Allie, who was quick to inform me there was a Bat in our room flying around. Lights off I couldn't notice so if anyone knows me well, knows that I DO NOT like flying things. So like a frightened child I freaked, squealed and run back to my bed and hid under the blankets. So we quickly decided that this room was not safe to sleep in and so we snuck into one of the private rooms with air-conditioning and a closed window where we were able to decently sleep away the remaining of the night, before having to sneak back into our room early and catch the sunrise beaming through our window.

Pipa ended up trapping us with it's beauty and tranquil charm for more than a week. A week of rain, shine, hammocks, maconha, brownies, beaches, boys and amazing new friends. Every day just became harder and harder to say goodbye too as we were embracing the relaxed lifestyle a little too much. I clocked up some oval hours during my stay. So once we were able to leave, we were on the road again to a city called Joao Pessoa.

                    

As a traveller you tend to want your money to stretch out for as long as you can, so we decided since we were together to give couch surfing a go. We arrived at Pablos place where we were welcomed to crash for a few nights in this city who happened to be celebrating it's 429th birthday. The third oldest city in Brasil. In the city centre we celebrated by watching locals reenact a past tribel war with bright costumes and masks before being shown some professional samba.

   

Another sunrise and another plan to take on the next city. Jacuma; a small fishing town with some secluded beaches, a real non touristy area. This we found out after we waited around for 3 hours on the side of the road for a bus that decided to never come. So back up plan was to try get ourselves down to Olinda. After another bus ride back to the Rodavaria we found out that it was impossible to get straight to Olinda so with 2 minutes to spare we raced for the bus to Recife.

5 hours later we arrived in Recife with no idea of what we were doing or where we were going to stay, with Hostel world telling us that all the hostels were booked out, we lucked it out with one. A metro ride and bus in the dodgy parts of town we finally  found our way and were happily in bed after an expensive room and a shot of Cachaca. This is where we found out that we have terrible luck with buses. After a quick decision of where to check out next we decided to check out Porto de Galinhas, but this was no QUICK transfer. We checked out the bus times and headed to the stop with plenty of time to spare and waited. And waited, with the rest of Recife by the looks of things as bus after bus piled up after one another on the side of the road picking up and dropping off new passengers, so many that when our hourly bus finally came there was no where for our bus to stop, let alone see us trying to flag it down. So we decided to wait for the next.. which not to our surprise NEVER showed up.

  

  

Porto de Galinhas a beautiful local brasilian hotspot with gorgeous natural pools and beach as far as the eye can see.. and what happens when we arrive? It rains for 3 days straight. After being frustrated with the weather and driving each other insane the sun managed to grace us on the last day for long enough for us to swim with the fish and catch some rays. ( not the Steve Irwin kind). Here we met Lilia & Mani, two friends travelling from Denmark who had plenty of fun stories for us.


Soon  again we were on our way to Olinda, a gorgeous Heritage sister city of Recife with streets full of old houses all stacked upon each other painted in different bright colours lighting up the city full of emotion. For 2 days we spent wondering around the small cobblestone laneways snapping up memorabilia and inspiration of these mansion masterpieces. For a small city with 22 churches it wasnt long before it was time for me to leave back to modern life in Recife.

   

Back in Recife we were joined by a number of friends we had made along the way one of which was celebrating her birthday, which meant party time. We found the nicest clothes of what we have packed and headed out to a local club with a great group of friends. Happy Birthday Aimee. A early morning struggle and the best buffet all you can eat sushi i have ever been to we decided to lay low and spend the day in bed.

A missed alarm meant for another rushed morning to the airport where we were heading to Salvador..

Until next time.. 

Wind, Sand & Lagoons.

So i said goodbye to my home of 5 months, and hello to north Brasil to kick off my journey ( again). Arriving in Fortaleza at 3am where i met up with Kyle we found ourselves amusing ourselves with massage chairs and anything open in the small airport until the transfer kiosks opened around 6/7. This is where we met Neymar Snr. ( our transfer driver who just happens to look like a older Neymar, not a bad thing for the ladies haha ). Filling the 4x4 with our luggage in climbed a Frenchman, Argentinian, Australian, American and a Brasilerio as you can imagine the car conversation was interesting, lucky for me the lack of sleep caught up to me and i managed to knock out an hour or two of our 4hr bumpy journey.   
Before it was even lunchtime we were greeted by the amazing heat of the north (and for me this was the arrival of my fever, little did i know it was about to keep me bed ridden for 2 days. Great start to my arrival in paradise. But to be honest having to be bed ridden in a 5 star resort in paradise reeeeeeallly isn't to bad, and not to mention the amazing friend i had by my side whom i am very thankful for. not only did he put up with my cranky sick ass, but he numerous times went out searching for soup. Hehehehe Thank you again Kyle :)
Recovered or not it was time to check out these amazing places people literally dream about and have as their computer backgrounds at their jobs they hate and wish they were where i was. Picture; lagoon in the middle of sand dunes filled with fresh clear warmed waters. Paradise right? How about all of that but with Hammocks IN THE WATER as well. Yeah, to me i don't think you can find anything more beautiful, natural and relaxing. Yet to top it off even more, the only way to get there is by beach buggy. Such a great experience flying around the toasted sand under the blazing sun while your hair is knotted by the crazy famous winds of Jericoacoara.
This is Jericoacoara. Lobster, fresh fruits, pools, Jacuzzi, sand dunes, sun baking  & buggy rides. 4 days of feasting and relaxing & recovery.

 

Another phone call to our new friend Neymar and we were bouncing around the back of his car around headed to Lencois Maranhenses. The only way i can describe this place is to tell you to imagine hundreds of sand dunes, all shapes and sizes and then the rain of Noah's arcs coming in for a few months stopping and then here we have hundreds of fresh water pools. These amazing pools are not easy to get to either, but obviously hard work pays off. After the journey to the national park which includes a river crossing and a bumping 4x4 sand trial your dropped at the bottom of a enormous sand dune. Standing here with too many tones of sand and trees behind you, a sight and land scape very rare to see your guided to walk up the dune. View from the top is insane. More and more and more sand, sand dunes as far as you can see. Such an incredible sight. Turn around and at the bottom of this dune is a pool, filled with bright aquamarine waters. What else are you going to do? Run down into the refreshing waters of course. And then you're going to climb up and DO IT AGAIN!!!!! and again. and again. Then find around pool over the next dune, and do it again. If you were brave enough to wonder off, you'd find yourself exploring untouched dunes which lead you to more mystical waters while the winds were fast to cover your tracks back where you could watch the sun say goodbye to the land.
Now if your budget was lucky enough as ours was, or you literally were just too tight ass to do this experience then that sucks for you and you only, because we climbed into a 4 passenger plane which took us over the entire sounding area and national park where we were able to view these pools. These places don't even exist it your dreams because you cannot even imagine something like this exists. Not only was the view speechless, such a crazy time in this plane. Anyone who has been in one understands the feeling, now add the high winds speeds that are natural to up here and i can describe it like being on a trampoline inside the aeroplane. Free falling.

Another bad day of planning meant another activity we missed out on. so we headed back into the town to see what they had to offer. Now meat here in Barreirinhas is not a short supply, with butchers on EVERY single corner. Not something to enjoy when you're a vegetarian, but hey kyle enjoyed it. After what was a short Stoll through the not so big town we found ourselves on another tour to the dunes, this time it was too Lagoa Bonita. One hour long bumpy sandy drive we reached the biggest dune, staring at us like a angry bull in an Spanish area and we were the red material. not half a lie since it was so hot and im sure we all turned red halfway up the climb. But was greeted us at the top was another site unimaginable. How I can describe it is, to think about a Dr Seuss book. hundreds of Fluffy marshmallow hills; and at the bottom of those hills yummy warm blue liquid heated by the scorching tropic sun. With our amazing guide Neilson he took us away from the rest of the tour groups and to Lagoa Bonitinha ( little beautiful lagoon). Here we had our own not so little lake all to our selves. With so much sand and whistling wind everything else is silenced. The most relaxing, mesmerising place you can be. The perfect ending to my north Brasil experience.. Until next time.

 

 

My life in Rio..

So after finding my feet again after the craziness of Carnival and much needed sleep, I was lucky enough to stumble upon the right person at the top of my favourite view point. Next minute I had myself a job working 3 days a week in the reception of a beach front hostel in Leblon. Little did I know that this opportunity would allow me to stay an extra 4 months in this thriving city. Soon enough I was getting Portuguese lessons and making a ton of new friends. I will admit my memory and learning new languages don't go together at all, but hey I gave it a try. Parabens para mim!!! This job gave me the opportunity to meet so many great people and learn a lot. Not to mention World Cup, hello Carnival 2. I have to thank Brasil for popping my football cherry, before coming here I don't thnk I had ever watched a game let alone know any of the players, but now I can say im quite a fan of a few of those boys now.. hehehehe GO TEAM!

So after; many many; crazy bus rides, weekend trips away, soaking wet feet of the flooded streets, enough bolo to feed a city, mountain trecks to have buns of steel, Sunday beach perving sessions to compete with Johnny Bravo and far too many Caipirinhas I should apologise to my liver and lastly to the huge amount of amazing friends I have made here ( locals, residents and fellow travellers), it is hard to confess that it is time to move on.

Today Kyle and I are setting off to Pure paradise... Jericoacoara in the north of Brasil.

Heres some of my rio snaps..

How the days fly..

18/2 Sao Paulo
After what was really bad planning and timing we arrived in Sao Paulo at 1am and with no information or operting terminal we relied on the help of our south america guide and picked the closest hostel.
Morning came and we managed to make itto breakfast in time and as always we treated ourselves to morning chocolate cake and fruit to energise us for what was going to be a goose chase around the downtown of sao Paulo city. We managed to get lost numerous times before we found the Parque de Luz. A Glorious old english train station acted as the entrance into one of Sao Paulo many parks. What looked as though was the exact train station from Harry Potter was unbelievable to see jammed packed full of commuting locals and a free public piano that bought together all the atmoshphere. Across the road was what assembled a miniture Botanical Gardens was buzzing with life of the locals on their walks, lunch breaks or pumping iron in the "gym". Next door was one ofthe many art galleries in the city which held a lot of brazils past captured in many concepts.
After wondering back to our hostel we managed to get a hold of our friend who was also staying in Sao Paulo, next minute we were chatting to the cab driver about the traffic on the way to the other side of town where we met with Ruben and Talitha. Talitha was a local of Sao Paulo who had lived and worked in Ireland and was full of so much life and energy. We downed some empanidas with some beverages before being invited along to dinner so that talitha could see her brother and family while they were in town for the night. After climbing into a cab we arrived at a well known Italian restuarnt where we were faced with a whole portuguese family awaiting the arrival of their pizzas. As none of them spoke english we managed to try embrace the atmoshpere ( while talitha translated) haha. This is also were Chris, Ruben and i were lucky enough to have our portraits done by Naoni.

19/2
As the night before was all a little to much fun we managed to sleepin and miss breakfast so we deicded to go for a seacrch. In Brazil they are very fond of the buffett style, Chris and i thought we had hit the jackpot with this place as it was just opening and th food was fresh. So after analysing all my options i had created what i thought was the feast of a life time. Finally some vEGGIES, fruit it was everything i had been missing. So after demolishing my plate and was onto the last bits i cut into my Eggplant and what was that i saw.... A MAGGOT!!! yep, ive never felt more sick in my life. And with the language barrier and no phrase book i had to rely on my pointing and wish for the best, luckily this doesnt seem to be a common problem here and after a few shocked looks from the ladies working there the manage came over and void the price of my meal, after asking if i wanted to get more insead. hahah neither of us had an appitite after that.
So back to the bus terminal we went to get moving to Paraty.

20/2
Hello paradise, old cobble stone streets and buildings and paradise island and beaches. Life doesnt get any better then this. Set out on the task to find a cheap boat to do island tours we stumbled across Marcelo, in his speedos with his boat blasting music, how could we say no to that. Oh and he was cheaper than the other guys too haha. This tour was amazing Marcelo knew exactly where to take us. We saw monkeys and fish on one of the islands before whizzxing off to the next. Clear water, bright blue sky and great company.

21/2 ilha grande.
What seemed to be the whole hostel leaving to the exact same place we arrived in Ilha Grande with a big group ready to party. A wild night was to be had and many new friends were made.
10am everyone was up and ready to hike to Dois Reis, a beach on the other side of the island. 2 hours and 10km later we reached the beach. It had never felt so good to be able to get into the water and relax before having to do that all over again. Yes 4 hours and 20km of hiking. Insane and possibly one of the hardest things ive done. It was so exhausting in the heat and the incline was never ending.
Beach beach all day beach!!!!

Somo So Amegos - Buzios

Chris and I got to the main Bus Station in Central Rio where we found our selves in possibly one of the busiest places I have ever been. People were everywhere. After translating signs we found the right queue to purchase 2 tickets to Buzios.

3 hours later we were finally on the bus... 1.5 hours later we were still on the bridge to leave Rio. TRAFFIC SUCKS!!

 

 

 

What should have been a 3 hour journey turned into 5. It was 9pm and here we were packs on our backs ready to hunt down our hostel. Cobble street filled with sun kissed tourists throwing around a mix of Spanish and Portuguese is just a easy way to describe the atmosphere..

Margaritas and crepes were the beginning of what was going to end up being a crazy night some of which I might just have to sensor for your safety and mine. hahaha kidddng Im not that badass.

                                    


Day 2 started quite late.. and very painful. And lets say I had some cleaning up to do. haha. So while I was recovering Chris managed to befriend some Americans - Ash, Mikey and Kyle whom we spent the day with discovering beaches finishing off by washing down some Caiprihinas till 5am.

Day 3. As im good at not making stupid decisions twice in a row I had managed to be good and stay sober the night before making today a lot easier. Kyle, Chris, Ruben ( our friend from spain)  and I decdided today was a good day to go and check out some of the beaches on the other side of Buzios. After what was one of the hottest and longest walks we finally reached, Praia De Geriba - massive surf beach filled with tourist. After a dip we moved onto Praia Da Ferradurinha this enclosed little bay which is normally calm and filled with paddle boarders. Today was not that day. Crazy huge waves crashing onto the rocks. Since we couldn't enjoy that beach we discovered a crazy set of stairs which according to the map were meant to lead us towards home. little did we know that it was just a huge detour over a mountain. After what was maybe an hour we found our way home..

                                       

    

 

                                       


...and to finish off the Buzios Trip some Caiprihinas.


Till next time, kk x