Rio de Janeiro, nicknamed Cidade Maravilhosa, was formerly the capital of Brazil until 1960 with a population of about 6.7 million people and around 13.5 million people in the greater metropolitan area making it the second largest city in the country. People born in Rio are called Cariocas.

Rio is one of the most beautiful and energetic cities in the world and truly a place for living the good life. It has everything – unique landscapes, amazing beaches, top notch nightlife, vibey and distinct neighborhoods, countless scenic viewpoints, great food, friendly people, an infinite amount of things to do, and so many beautiful women it’s out of control. I could write a whole blog post about the woman alone, but I’ll spare the audience. This city is a magical place that you have to see and feel for yourself to get the full experience. There’s a certain energy in the air that just can’t be described by words. It is truly one of my favorite cities (possibly favorite?) in the world. Rio embodies everything that is amazing about Brazil.

I was stoked for Rio because everyone I met talked about how amazing it was, but I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t have a little anxiety about security. I had heard some horror stories about pickpockets and muggers. In the end nothing bad happened and I never even felt unsafe. It’s just like any big city where extra caution should be taken. Act like you belong. Don’t look like a lost tourist constantly holding your phone out looking at your maps. I carried my phone in a shoulder bag across my chest rather than in my pocket and only took it out briefly for photos. I would call Ubers from inside the bar or restaurant when possible and if doing so in the streets was diligent to look around first. When going out at night, certain neighborhoods like Santa Teresa and Lapa we would always get an Uber between locations but other neighborhoods like Copacabana and Leblon it was fine to walk around. After six weeks in Brazil, my takeaway about safety is sometimes you have shit luck but just be smart and you will be fine. 

I ended up spending nine days in Rio in total with a second trip to Ilha Grande sandwiched in between. My good friend Matt from Denver came to visit me for eight days – four in Rio, three in Ilha Grande, and a final day back in Rio. After he left I spent my final four nights in Rio to cap off an amazing six week stint in Brazil. 

Matt and I were drinking a lot so our pace during the days was slower but we still accomplished the things we wanted to. We would always at least do one thing each day. I was at the end of my Brazil trip too so I was fine going slow. It was nice not rushing. Plus I had a few extra days on the tail end to explore some of the attractions we didn’t get around to. It’s really hard for me to describe all the things that happened in Rio but I will do my best to give an overview of the highlight attractions and top neighborhoods.

I spent 3.5 weeks in the north of Brazil working my way all the way up the coast from Salvador to São Luis (plus detour to Chapada Diamantina) with lots of long buses. I couldn’t be more happy with my itinerary because I got to see so much of the northeastern coast but it was a lot of time spent traveling between destinations. However in the south I really settled into each place spending 16 days only doing Rio and Ilha Grande.

Getting In

The first time I came into Rio was one of the easiest travel days of my trip. I took the 1pm ferry from Ilha Grande to the mainland where a mini bus was already waiting to pick us up. It was just me and one other woman so the drop off in the city went quickly. 

The second time when I came back in with Matt was not as lucky. Ilha Grande was a lot more crowded that time because of the sunny weather and we had a van full of people. That and the fact that we hit really bad traffic on the way back made me miss the island life with no vehicles. I was really feeling the city claustrophobia and wondering why we ever left the island. Luckily it didn’t take the charm of Rio long to win me back over.

Lodging 

I stayed in three locations during my nine nights in Rio to get the vibe of different neighborhoods. I spent my first four nights in a hotel in Larenjairas with Matt (he arrived on the second morning), three nights in a hostel in Santa Teresa, and my last two nights in a hotel in Copacabana.

Food

Being a big city, Rio has food from all over the country and really all over the world. The highlight for me was the picanha steak which is similar to a top sirloin cut. It was always a go to and I ended up eating it at least four times. You could get a massive portion of steak with sides for $20-25. It felt expensive at the time but then I returned to the U.S. and that was still cheaper than a regular entree. 

I also ate a lot of delicious fresh seafood and went to my final pay by the kilo buffet.

Neighborhoods and Nightlife

Rio is all about the diversity of neighborhoods which are separated by the giant hills and each one has a unique look and feel.

Copacabana Beach

On my first day in Rio after dropping off my bag, I walked along the promenade of Copacabana Beach and immediately knew I was going to love this city. The most iconic beach in the city is about 2.6 miles long with incredible views of the Atlantic Ocean, city skyscrapers, and the surrounding mountains; soft white sand; huge crashing waves; hundreds of volleyball courts; lined with restaurants and beach bars with live samba music; countless vendors selling 2 for 20 caipirinhas, food, and souvenirs. The beach is buzzing with energy all day no matter what day of the week it is. 

One of my favorite Brazilian songs that got introduced to me is called Pé Na Areia by Diogo Nogueira where the lyrics talk about having your feet in the sand drinking a cold one on the beach and it perfect exemplifies sitting on Copacabana Beach. The chorus is: Pé na areia, a caipirinha, água de coco, a cervejinha which translates to Feet in the sand, a caipirinha, coconut water, a little beer. I found a tote bag with this saying on it and immediately bought it.

On Matt’s first day we spent hours sitting on Copacabana Beach being the typical gringo tourist targets for the caipirinha vendors always buying another round. We were having a good time soaking in the sun, getting sloshed on the beach, and catching up on life stories. But you do have to be extra careful here when using card. After we left the beach, Matt’s card got declined every place we went that evening. Upon double checking his statement, one of the vendors charged him $1,800. It was a quick bait and switch scam on the machine. The guy was greedy to charge such an absurd amount and Matt was able to easily dispute it with his credit card company. Note to self, only use cash with the beach vendors from now on. 

Besides the beach, the neighborhood of Copacabana has countless restaurants and bars and is very safe for tourists. I stayed at a hotel in Copacabana my last two nights and would walk to dinner with zero concerns.

Ipanema Beach

Ipanema Beach is equally as impressive of a beach as Copacabana and just as lively. It has less volleyball courts but more surfers. If you continue along the promenade from Copacabana passing Pedra do Arpoador then you hit Ipanema. The neighborhood itself is a little more upscale and fashionable than Copacabana. The beach spans 1.25 miles long until it turns into Leblon beach and has incredible views of Dois Irmãos. Anyone who knows jazz knows the bossa nova classic song Girl from Ipanema. I spent an afternoon on Ipanema Beach listening to tunes and soaking in the sun. 

Santa Teresa and Lapa

These two neighborhoods sit right next to each other with Santa Teresa sitting on a hill overlooking central Rio and Lapa at the bottom of the hill. Matt and I spent our second day walking around the narrow, winding, hilly streets of Santa Teresa. We went to the famous Escaderia Selarón staircase which has thousands of colorful tiles and was cool to see, but a bit too crowded for my liking. 

Then we walked up to Parque das Ruinas which has some nice views of the city. 

Afterwards we walked down to Largo dos Guimarães the main square of the Santa Teresa. We wanted to hop on the tram that goes through the neighborhood but you can only buy at the main station lower down the hill so instead we are a delicious seafood rice lunch in the square.

We ended up getting a hostel in Santa Teresa after Ilha Grande. At first we were let down being back in a busy neighborhood city in a dingy hostel after being in paradise, but the night turned for the best and we ended up having a great time. We walked down into Lapa and had beers and multiple caçasa shots from a popping local outdoor bar with a samba band playing. Bars in this neighborhood are cheap and where the locals hangout (versus the more expensive Ipanema and Leblon). We ended up getting pretty drunk while out and came back to the hostel where the party was still going. We made friends with a Mexican girl who lived in Austin and her Colombian husband. I ended up watching the World Cup finals with them a few days later.

Laranjeiras

This quiet residential neighborhood was a nice spot for Matt and my first hotel because it was very centrally located to all the other neighborhoods and attractions in the city. Within 15-20 minutes we could be anywhere in the city…well depending on traffic. Rio has horrible traffic and you don’t want to be caught driving around during rush hour. On Matt’s first night in town after our all day drinking affair in Copacabana, we went to a neighborhood bar on the street of our hotel and watched the Futbol match drinking Brahma beers and taking shots of caçasa.

Centro

The only time we went to Centro was to go to the famous Monday night samba party Pedra do Sal where people gather around the rock to dance in the streets. This is a much different experience than going to a night club. Wedged between the alleyways, vendors sell very cheap and very strong caipirinhas while people are packed in the streets dancing the night away to samba. 

Botafogo

We went to this Botafogo in search of a record store that we could never find so instead we got lunch an authentic restaurant for cheap. We never actually went out here at night but the neighborhood was lined with bars and restaurants.

Leblon

On Matt’s second night we went out on Rua Dias Ferreira in Leblon which is a street lined with upscale bars. We had two amazing cocktails at Liz Cocktail and Wine before heading to Boteco Belmonte where we had the best picanha of any that I tried in Rio. This bar was the spot to be on a Monday night and was packed with beautiful people socializing and drinking the night away. 

Viewpoints 

Rio is full of incredible viewpoints and you could spend weeks in the city and still find new ones. 

Pedra do Arpoador

This is a famous rock formation that sits between Copacabana Beach and Ipanema Beach where hundreds of people go to watch the sunset. If you look west you see Ipanema Beach with the Dois Irmãos mountains behind it; looking east is the open Atlantic Ocean; and northwest is Copacabana and Leme.

You have to work your way through the crowd hopping along slanted rocks to find a spot. The place is an absolute party and the best way to transition from day to night. It feels like a scene out of a movie. There are vendors walking around selling caipirinhas and beers, music blasting from multiple speakers, and the constant chatter of conversations all around. 

I ended up coming here three times to watch the sunset and the energy was always electric. Not to mention the insanely beautiful colors in the sky with the city lights coming up from the hills and the surfers riding the waves on Ipanema beach until it gets dark. When the sun goes behind the mountains everyone claps. 

Christ the Redeemer

The world renowned Christ the Redeemer is one of the new seven wonders of the world. While neither Matt or I were dying to see a giant Jesus statue, it seemed like something you have to do when going to Rio; and in the end it was pretty cool. We were pleasantly surprised with the lack of crowds on the day we went (it was a bit cloudy). We booked our ticket in advance for the train on the Corcovado railway and didn’t have to wait in any lines at all. It was a beautiful 20 minute ride through the urban rainforest of Tijuca National Park. The 360 views of the city from the top were with the trip alone. You can see Sugarloaf Mountain, Copacabana, Ipanema, Lagoa, and downtown Rio.

And obviously we had to get a picture in front of the 30 meter tall Christ the Redeemer himself. If it were a nicer day we might have stayed up for a beer, but after about 20 minutes we got the gist and took the train back down. 

Sugarloaf Mountain (Pão de Açúcar)

Now this was worth the hype! Once again we got lucky with the lack of crowds. We didn’t book our ticket in advance but the line wasn’t very long. I think it’s because we went around lunchtime and most people try to go for sunrise or sunset. First you take the gondola up to Morro da Urca (you can actually hike this first section but we were hungover and feeling lazy) which has some nice city views and lots of shops and restaurants to keep you hanging around. 

Then you take a second gondola (this one had a longer line but it moved fast; probably took 15 minutes) to the very top of Sugarloaf Mountain where you are treated with incredible views of the city – Copacabana and Ipanema, Christ the Redeemer, Botafogo Bay, downtown Rio, Guanabara Bay, and the surrounding mountains. 

The views give you a greater appreciation for the unique geology and landscape of Rio. We spent awhile up here walking all around the top and enjoying each vantage point. We even ran into a few monkey friends. Afterwards we headed back down to Morro do Urca and weren’t ready to call it quits so we got a bite to eat at a restaurant with a view.

Hike Pedra Bonita (2.85 miles; 1,322 feet elevation gain)

Once Matt left, I got back into my hiking mode and decided to summit some of the big hills around Rio. The first one I did was Pedra Bonita. I got dropped off by an Uber and was going to have wing getting home because there was no service in that area (although I read the restaurant at the base has WiFi). The terrain of the hike reminded me of Ilha Grande with steep hardened mud through lush green Atlantic rainforest trees. 

On the way up I ran into a monkey and a coati (long snouted animal in the raccoon family). The coati was trying to get the monkey’s food but the monkey wasn’t having any of it. I also saw a toucan hidden in the trees!

The views from the summit were spectacular and might have been the best yet. And since Pedra Bonita is a little further southeast, it provided a new vantage point of the city. It was a very clear day and I could see most of the Rio coastline, Pedra da Gávea, São Conrado beach, and Barra da Tijuca. The views were even more rewarding because I had to hike up top the top rather than arriving by train or gondola.

There was a French guy who was setting up to paraglide off the top and we all assumed that he knew what he was doing, but when he jumped off his wings didn’t open and he nose dived straight down. It was a bit scary. We started yelling down toward him and got no response. There were a couple of Brazilians that were cursing the French people who always think they can come here and do what they want. One of them started calling the firefighters to let them know what happened when we finally got a response from the French guy saying he was okay. I’m not entirely sure what happened because I left soon after but I’m guessing he got stuck in a tree and had to cut himself out. 

I got back down the hill and ate a nice lunch at the restaurant where I ended up having a good Spanish convo with a group of women from Uruguay. They were surprised I had been to their country and able to name drop some of the beaches I went to. The WiFi wasn’t working at the restaurant but the waitress told me there was a bus I could catch down the hill. Once I got down I waited at the stop for about 15 minutes before a paragliding instructor came by and asked if I wanted a ride. Sure! Although of course it had a price, but he drove me down to a metro stop and I ended up taking the metro for the first time. It was much better than dealing with Rio traffic. I should have been doing this the whole time!

Hike Morro Dois Irmãos (1.87 miles; 663 feet elevation gain)

On my last day I decided to hike the famous Morro Dois Irmãos because I had been staring at them daily since arriving in Rio. Getting to this trail is an adventure in and of itself. First I  had to Uber to Vidigal, which is a favela, but known to be a safe one as long as you go during daylight. Once in Vidigal square there’s a group of guys on motorbikes who drove me up the steep windy streets of the favela to the trailhead for a small price. It was actually a very well oiled machine and way less sketchy than I thought it would be. The ride up took about 7 minutes and gave me an opportunity to get a look at the inside of a favela. 

The trail up to Dois Irmãos is short but steep. It started out with steps and then turned into the usual steep hardened mud with tree branches.

I probably sound like a broken record at this point, but once again the summit had incredible panoramic views of Rio. It was a fitting way to spend my last morning in Brazil. I’ll let the pictures do the talking. 

I spent about 30 minutes at the top enjoying the views before heading down. Once I got back to the soccer field where the motorbike dropped me off, it took all of 15 seconds before someone showed up to take me back down through the favela and to Vidigal Square. I then walked 20 minutes along the sidewalk to Leblon beach enjoying the coastal views and looking back at Morro Dois Irmãos.

Markets 

On the weekends, Rio has a number of weekly street markets that are lively and worth a visit:

Feira do Lavradio – Saturday street market in Lapa that sells custom goods, art, clothing, hats, food, and all sorts of other cool stuff. Matt was having a heyday buying souvenirs. He got some great shit that was all very unique. He liked it so much we went back a second time in the same day after we did Sugarloaf Mountain. The market was way more popping in the evening. There were a lot more people walking the street and a live samba band was playing.

Feira da Gloria – more of a food market but also had artesanal goods and clothing. It was the place to be on a Sunday morning where locals were shopping for their weekly groceries. I went with the Mexican/American girl and her Colombian husband. 

Feira Hippie de Ipanema – Brazilian arts, crafts, jewelry, leather goods and paintings; smaller but lots of nice stuff. I came here by myself to check it out before hitting Ipanema Beach.

Ilha Grande Take 2

I went to Ilha Grande before Matt came to visit me so that I could spend time with my Colombian friend Sara and not feel like I was juggling seeing her and hanging out with Matt. Also she doesn’t speak much English so I didn’t want Matt to be stuck hanging out with us while we spoke Spanish, or visa versa her stuck with us while we spoke English. 

Matt and I were originally going to go the colonial seaside town Paraty for a few days just to escape the city and so he could see a little more than just Rio during his stay in Brazil, but once I told him how amazing the island was he said he would prefer going there over Paraty; and I was totally okay with island take two. The weather was much sunnier and nicer on my second trip so it made the island even more of a paradise. Plus I could see Sara again without the pressure of spending too much time together, as well as see my new Argentinian friend Manu. Between the two trips I ended up spending eight nights in Ilha Grande and felt like I got to know it intimately and even started developing my own little community there. 

We did a lot of the same things that I did the first time on the island, but it was nice to share those experiences with Matt and to act as the local tour guide. The first day I took him to Praia do Abraãozinho and we ended up going to the beach bar Bonito Bar e Restaurante which I didn’t do the time before. We were loving sitting on the beach chairs with our feet in the sand drinking a caipirinha and enjoying lunch. 

The next day we hiked to Praia Lopes Mendes and Matt was in awe at how incredible of a beach it was. I could do this hike and go to Lopes Mendes every week the rest of my life and die a happy man.

We ended up doing the speed boat back rather than hiking and that was a wild experience. The driver was going so fast crashing over the waves that it felt like we were on a rollercoaster. Matt ended up falling down and spilling his beer everywhere. They told us we could bring on beers…after that we were holding on for dear life. We got back to Abraão in time to watch the Argentina versus England match and see the Argentinians go crazy when they won the game.

That night we met up with Sara for drinks. Matt got to see how laid back of a person she is; even if he couldn’t speak in Spanish with her. He went home early and her and I ended up chatting on the beach for a while. She told me about what life was like on the island during the pandemic when there was no tourists. While it was tough times for earning money; it also meant the locals had the entire island to themselves. Everything in perspective. 

On the third day we had a slow start to our morning then hung out on Praia de Galego for a few hours soaking in the sun. We got Matt’s first Brazilian all you can eat buffet for lunch and he was a big fan. Then we walked around and did some shopping on the island. That night we went to my Argentinian friend Manu’s restaurant and shot the shit with him for a solid hour. That guy loves to talk! I was glad I got to show Matt my island people.

On the last morning, Sara and I woke up at 5am (Matt opted to sleep in) to catch sunrise from Praia Preta. She had been hyping it up to me, and even though I didn’t want to wake up at the crack of dawn, I figured I had to do it on my last day of the island. It lived up to the hype and then some! It was one of the best sunrises I’ve ever seen. The colors were astounding and the evolution from night to day last for 45+ minutes! It was definitely worth the early wake up. 

Afterwards Sara and I grabbed breakfast together and said our goodbyes to each other for the second time in less than a week. She had become one of my best friends on the trip and I hope we remain in contact in the future (we said we would but it’s always easier said than done). Between her and Manu, I know that I have my people in Ilha Grande and would love to go back one day. 

Matt and I sat on the beach one last time then we got some really strong cocktails before taking the 1pm ferry back to Rio.

Brazil was truly a gem of a country with a culture and energy that can’t even put be into words, it has to be felt. The warmth and friendliness of the people was on a whole new level. I barely scratched the surface of this massive country during my six week stay but I’m glad I started scratching. I hope to come back sooner than later.

Ilha Grande is a tropical island a few hours outside of Rio de Janeiro where no vehicles are allowed (you can only get around by walking or taking water taxis) and has numerous hiking trails through lush green Atlantic rainforest landscapes to secret beaches. The island itself has over 100 beaches. My type of paradise! An estimated 9,200 to 9,600 people live on the island which spans 193 square kilometers.

The first time I came to Ilha Grande for five days to explore the island and see my Colombian friend Sara who I met in Salvador. She had been living in Ilha Grande for over five years and highly recommended that I visit. It was already on my radar before the trip, but once I bonded with Sara in Salvador, I made it a priority to come to the island for more than just a few days. Sadly the weather wasn’t super great during my stay – a lot of cloud days and some rain; but I still did get a bit of sunshine and it didn’t stop me from having an amazing experience.

Getting In 

I woke up at midnight in order to head to the São Luis airport for my 2:40am flight. It reminded me of waking up for the treks in Peru except this time I didn’t have to climb a volcano. I got about 3.5 hours of sleep before my alarm went off. I was running on fumes since I had woken up at 3am for the sunrise hike in Lençóis Maranhenses the day before, but I knew there was an island at the end of the tunnel. My uber driver was very chatty. He was working on his English so I sacked up and talked to him the whole way. Once on the plane, I slept the entire 3.5 hour flight to Rio. It was nice to finally catch up on some sleep. 

I got into Rio at 6am and it took forever for the bags to come out. Nothing happened for thirty minutes and then finally it started. I thought I had plenty of time before the shuttle picked me up, but it turned out to be a tight window. Luckily there was no issues and I hopped on the shuttle. 

I took shuttle transport recommended by Sara “mas rápido y cómodo” (quicker and more comfortable). It was only slightly higher cost than figuring it out all by myself and worth it for the airport pickup alone. Sara got me in touch with her Argentinian friend Euge who organized and arranged everything for me.

It was a gray and rainy morning; not exactly ideal island weather, but that’s okay I have five days. It was a two hour ride in an minivan including a stop for breakfast. Then we waited for 30 minutes for the boat and took a 20 minute speed boat to Abraão (the main town of the island). I landed in Rio at 6am and was on the island by 10. I did well. The whole commute was very easy and seamless. You have to pay a tourist tax (~$10) to enter the island; which is fair. I walked to my hostel and the streets are all clustered together; it was the first time in Brazil that the distances in person were less than what they seemed like on the map.

Lodging

I spent my first three nights at Lila Limao Hostel (recommended by Sara) and my last two nights with my own room in a pousada. The hostel had a nice kitchen and I decided to get breakfast food to cook for myself every morning since I would be on the island for a few days and I was getting sick of always eating out. 

There were three Irish lads in my room: Patrick, Connor, and Kian, who became my crew for the first few days (Sara was busy with work so we didn’t hangout until my third day on the island). They were 23 year old kids who worked as wood shop teachers and were doing a three week trip to South America during their summer break. They got mugged in São Paolo on their second day of their trip. Man that sucks. Although the more I learned about the story (and the longer I hung out with them), the more obvious it seemed as to why. These guys are loud and rambunctious Irish lads who were always getting absolutely hammered…easy targets. Good learning experience for them. We also hung out a good bit with an Australian guy named Shannon.

Hike Praia de Feiticiera – Cachoeira de Feiticiera (8.11 miles; 1,896 feet elevation gain)

I couldn’t check into my hostel until 2pm so after dropping off my bags; I got an Açaí bowl and a coffee for breakfast, dropped of my laundry, then decided to make the most of my first day on the island.

The rain had stopped and a little bit of sun was starting to poke through the gray clouds. All of the hikes start directly from the village of Abraão so I was on trail in just a few minutes. It didn’t take long for the trail to be a steep incline as I gained 600 feet in 1.2 miles on hardened mud trench terrain through lush green trees with lots of different type of vegetation including bamboo trees. Then it was back downhill to get to the waterfall. Islands always have an interesting topography that looks like a sin wave with steep ups and downs along the coast. 

I sat at Cachoeria da Feiticeira waterfall for about 20 minutes listening to the rhythmic sound of the water crashing. There were a few people swimming in it but with no sunshine I decided to just enjoy the views. 

Then I continued along the trail toward the coast. I had to be extra careful on the downhill because the hardened mud was a bit damp and slippery from the morning storm. The trail became more narrow with overgrown plants as I made way to Praia da Feiticeira. I took a brief stop to sit on this beach before going back into the trees and continuing further along the coast. 

I walked along Praia da Camiranga then back into the trees before hitting Praia do Perique. There was no one else on this beach so I decided to set up my conga and lie down for a bit. The island is lined with small beaches so it’s easy to find a private beach if you’re willing to walk. It was a bummer there was no sun, but the nice part is that it was the perfect temperature for hiking; not hot at all. A lot of the beaches on the island are very small and close to the shore to where they don’t even exist during high tide. This hike reminded me of hiking in Parque Tayrona in Colombia where you’re traversing a combination of lush green vegetation and beaches.

I could have stayed longer on Praia do Perique or even kept hiking further along the coast, but the Brazil game started at 5pm and it was already 2pm so I decided to start hiking back. The tide was getting higher too so I had to take my shoes off to cross sections of Praia da Camiranga where your feet were inevitably going to get wet. On my way back I ran into a group of monkeys swinging around the trees. 

I did one solo hike in Jericoacoara but otherwise it had been a few months since I solo hiked in the Sacred Valley in Peru. Group treks are great for socialization but I missed the silence. Of course you’re not always talking on a group tour, but there’s something about hiking solo that brings me an extra sense of peace and solitude. Hiking around the island by myself made me feel like Tom Hanks in Cast Away or a character in Lost.  

Brazil Futbol Match

The hype was real for the next Brazil match against Norway. There was a concert stage and big screen set up on the beach right next to the water; it was a beautiful location to watch a Futbol game. After a delicious shrimp poke bowl, I went with my Irish lads to find a spot in the crowd. 

Sadly it was a bad ending to Brazil’s World Cup. They put out a weak showing and could never get any offense going. After a scoreless first half, Norway scored a goal early in the second half and quickly put up another; the whole crowd deflated. You could tell this was the end. Brazil put up a meaningless last second goal but the game ended in defeat. Sadness filled the air. I was really bummed because (a) of course I wanted them to win it all but (b) if they had just won one more game then I would be in Rio de Janeiro for the next one with my Denver buddy Matt on his day of arrival; which would have made for a great welcome to Brazil party for him. Oh well. 

There was a concert on the beach after the game but almost all the Brazilians had gone home to drink away their sorrows and the beach was filled with gringos. The first act was a heavy techno DJ that the organizers had probably scheduled in hopes that Brazil would have won the game and the energy would be high. Instead it was aggressively heavy music for the mood of the crowd. He was playing for mostly drunk gringos and a few sad Brazilians.

The next two acts were much chiller reggae music that better suited the energy of the crowd. I ended up chatting with a Brazilian girl, Bruna, and ditched the Irish lads to spend the rest of the night with her. She didn’t speak English or Spanish but she understood Spanish well. So I would speak to her in Spanish and she would reply to me in Portuguese. Not that I always understood her Portuguese response, but I always able to bullshit my Portuguese listening enough for us to be having conversations. Drinking always helps.

Hike Praia do Galego (1.90 miles; 240 feet elevation gain)

I was quite hungover the morning after the Brazil game and had a slow moving day. I made breakfast at the hostel then hiked past the main beach of Praia Preta and continued along toward Praia do Galego. I wanted to avoid some of the crowds. It was a bit cloudy that day, but still felt nice to be a blob on the beach. After a few hours of beach chilling, I took an alternate route back that went through the woods toward town. 

I hung out with the Irish lads again that evening. I wasn’t planning to drink much, but it’s hard not to drink when you’re with Irish guys in their early 20s. We went out to an Argentinan churrasqueria style restaurant for dinner where I got a nice pork chop and salchipan.  

Then we found a bar on the water to watch the U.S. – Belgium match so that warranted a couple of two for one caipirinhas. At one point we ordered a shot of cachaça and the guy literally brought us out an entire cup each. And this was some low quality stuff. We took it like champs but yikes. 

The U.S. got their butts handed to them and it was never really a close game. The best part of the night was that the bar had a really good acoustic guitar player shredding Brazilian reggae songs in the backdrop. The Irish guys were heckling him to play certain tunes and he was getting a laugh out of it. He did play us a Bob Marley cover. When he got off stage one of the Irish guys went to the mic and started singing a Gaelic chant. The other two started to join him. I must admit the Brazilian crowd was loving what they were seeing; if nothing else for the antics. 

The boys were continuing to the next bar to party after the game but I had to call it quits to go home. I had already drunken more than I anticipated; plus I wanted to have a productive day on the next one.

Hike Villa do Abraão – Lopes Mendes Beach (9.41 miles;  2,054 feet) 

I woke up a little more hungover than I planned after my night with the Irishman but I still forced myself to get up 7, have breakfast done by 7:30, and be on trail by 8. The weather forecast showed sunny in the morning with a chance of rain by the midafternoon. I really had to seize the day and enjoy my first sunny day on the island. The two trails I had done the previous days on the island headed northwest from town; for this one I would be heading southeast. So it was an opportunity to see a new part of the island. 

The trail started with a short section along the beach before entering the woods and becoming more steep. It was similar to the first trail I did on the island where the terrain was hardened mud of varying steepness between the “steps” and lots of tree branches to use as grip. The trail was narrow and completely surrounded by trees on both sides; you couldn’t even see the ocean. The elevation went from 31 feet on the beach to over 740 feet in just under a mile so it was definitely a steep pitch before reaching the first viewpoint. 

It was a beautiful bluebird day and I was very happy that I got up early to spend my morning in the trees. I saw a few other groups of people but the trail was lightly populated. I was able to get into my peaceful and quiet solo hiking mindset. 

After the viewpoint, it was a steep downhill section that took away all of our gain from the last mile. That’s how island hiking goes. You gain a bunch of elevation just to immediately lose it. By the end of the downhill, the elevation was back to 0 feet and I was on Praia das Palmas. It was a very nice beach with a few small restaurants and pousadas to spend the night at. 

Then the trail continued back into the trees with a bunch of small ups and down for about 1.5 miles. Some of the inclines/declines were quite steep and other sections were flat as I worked my way to the south side of the island.

Then I arrived at Praia do Pouso, which is the beach where the boat tours drop off/pick up people doing the day trip to Praia Lopes Mendes (for those who don’t want to do the hike). It was around 10am at this point so I had still beat most the crowds but this was more people than I had seen on trail. From Praia do Pouso to Praia Lopes Mendez there’s one last up and down section with about 250 feet elevation gain and loss. It had a few steep parts and was quite muddy in some sections. Plus this is when you get stuck behind the non-hikers who came in on the boat tour wearing their flip flops and were ill prepared for a 20 minute hike. 

I got to Praia Lopes Mendes beach a little before 10:30 and I could immediately see why it was considered the top destination on the island and often at the top of lists for best beaches in Brazil. It had incredibly soft sand (reminded me of siesta key beach) with a shoreline that stretched for miles, big waves crashing, beautiful blue water, and 360 views of the island and all its amazing topographic structures. 

Only a few people were there when I arrived but it started filling in as the day went on. I walked down a little further from the main entrance and found a good spot to call home for the next few hours. I brought supplies to have a picnic on the beach – couple of mini sandwiches with ham, cheese, and lettuce; and a bag of chips. I cycled between reading, listening to music, and swimming in the water. A classic beach day. 

After a few hours, the clouds on the south side of the island began looking a little more threatening so I decided to at least start hiking back toward Abraão. I just had to retrace my steps going up and down through the trees with a few sections of flat beaches. The interesting thing about an in and out hike that starts at sea level and ends at sea level, is that it’s the same elevation gain and loss both directions. I had gained 1,027 feet to get to Praia Lopes Mendes so it was going to be another 1,027 back to Villa do Abraão. 

I started working my way back to town and ran into a group of friendly monkeys swinging around in the trees who provided me some entertainment.

When I made it to Praia das Palmas, I decided to stop for an agua de coco and a pineapple juice – all the refreshing fruit drinks. I also took a dip in the water. The sun was shining more on the east side of the island so I felt like I was in no rush again. After that short period of relaxation, I did the final big uphill and downhill section that I had started the day with. 

As I got closer to the Abraão I heard a bunch of partying coming from the beach bars and this was my cue that Argentina won their match. I meant to make it back in time but I was having such a nice day on trail that I didn’t rush anything. Interestingly enough, just like in Praia de Pipa further north, Ilha Grande has been an Argentina 2.0. There are lots of Argentinians that live on the island and own businesses and this in turn draws Argentinian tourists to spend time in the island. It feels like you meet almost as many Argentinians as you do Brazilians. 

Sara Hangs I 

That evening I finally hung out with my friend Sara! She had been working the past two days and too busy to meet up; which I totally understood. It was a rainy night so we met up at an indoor bar to watch the Colombia Futbol match. She doesn’t really care about Futbol but obviously wanted to support her country. We kept making fun of how boring the match was and it ended 0-0 before going to Penalty kicks. Sadly Colombia didn’t win. Regardless it was a good couple of hours of fun conversations in Spanish with her during the game. When we hung out in Salvador, I always found her one of the easiest people to talk to in Spanish. She does a good job speaking more clearly with me and has a great sense of humor. We also kept the “Suzie!” joke alive that always made us laugh when we hung out in Salvador. While she was the one driving the conversations, I was still able to add some value; and it’s just nice to talk about different topics than the norm. I still froze up a bit when I’m trying to tell a story or add more details, but nonetheless we talked about a lot of different things during the game and at our dinner afterwards. She was as lovely as I remember. At the end of the night we got really bad and overpriced ice cream that became the topic of our next joke rather than a bad memory.

Hike Villa Abraão – Praia do Abraãozinho (3.12; 400 feet elevation) 

Sara and I were supposed to meet up in the morning to hike to Dois Rios but the weather was gray and cold so she wanted to use her day off to run some errands instead. Fair enough. I decided to use this as an opportunity to get a much needed hair cut. I enjoyed listening to the island barber Portuguese banter even if I didn’t understand anything. The guy did a really great job! 

Sara was still busy in the afternoon and recommended I hike to Praia do Abraãozinho. Might as well take the advice of a local. It started out in the same direction as the hike to Praia Lopes Mendez but it quickly forked north up the cape. Like all the island trails, it was a mix of walking along a beach and walking through the woods. The incline was very small. I must have walked across three beaches, and since the tide was higher, one of the beaches required removing my shoes in order to reach the “hidden” Praia do Abraãozinho. So many tiny beaches sprinkled around this island.

It was a nice beach with a little bay situated in front of it and a small beach bar in the corner. I hung out for about 30 minutes, but it wasn’t all that sunny, so I decided to walk back to town and settle in my new pousada.

Sara Hangs II 

Sara and I met up again that night for couscous dinner from a street vendor. We paired it with a few beers from the market and sat on a bench to enjoy one of the cheaper dinners you could get on the island. Once again we had some nice conversations about topics I never have in Spanish – politics (she is not a Trump supporter; nor does she like her current Colombian president), favorite places traveled to in the world, what I like about being an American, and even whether or not we want children. It was interesting to hear her take on this scenario. Her viewpoints matched those of a lot of friends my age who have started shying away from wanting kids for reasons such as money, fear over the future state of the world, responsibility, etc. It was cool to get the chance to discuss these deeper topics. As usual my answers weren’t as fully fleshed out as they would have been in English but I was able to communicate enough. 

Afterwards, Sara went home and I decided to keep my Spanish speaking night going by grabbing drinks with Bruna. Once again I spoke in Spanish and she spoke in Portuguese. We were able to communicate well enough. We started by talking travels we had done and sharing different photos and experiences but then we ultimately dove into deeper conversations too. She had an interesting take on all the Argentinians living in Brazil. She didn’t like that they didn’t try to assimilate into Brazilian culture. Most at least learn the language but not the lifestyle, music, dancing, food, culture, etc. A lot of them treat Brazil like an extension of their own; living in pockets of Argentinians; rather than embracing those aspects of Brazil. This is just the opinion of one Brazilian woman but you can kind of see that sentiment in the streets, during Futbol matches, on the beaches, and other places in public. Now that being said there’s also a lot of good interactions seen between people of those two countries, but there is certainly a bit of tension between them.

Hike Villa Abraão – Praia Dois Rios (10.07 miles; 2,510 feet elevation gain)

Since Sara and I didn’t do this one the day before, I made it a top priority for my last day. Once again it was a bit cloudy in the morning but I decided to just send it. I had a slow start to the morning but got on trail by about 9:30. Most of the hike was on a dirt road rather than a trail so not as exciting as the others, but it was still surrounded by green trees. I ended up popping on some headphones and power walking my way up it. It was about 1,200 gain in 2.8 miles to the top of the hill then it started going immediately back down the other side. 

The town of Dois Rios was a former prison and had a ghost town vibe to it. The ruins of the prison still remains of a former 20th century maximum penitentiary housing Brazil’s most violent criminals and political prisoners until it was shutdown and blown up in 1994.

The Dois Rios beach is beautiful with clear blue waters and great landscape views! Since it was a bit cloudy, and this beach isn’t as popular as Lopes Mendes, there really weren’t a lot of people. It was a nice quiet, relaxing time lying on the beach. 

I had missed the shortcut through the woods on the way to Dois Rios but paid more attention to AllTrails and caught it on the way back. It was much more exciting to hike through a narrow trail with dense vegetation than the dirt road. I also found another short cut that took me downhill some steep mud slopes. It would have been a bitch to go up but it sped up the downhill process. This shortcut ended up spitting me out on another side of town that looked like more where the locals live. It was more clustered, smaller houses, non-waterfront properties so they would be more affordable for the locals. 

Sara couldn’t hang that evening, and Bruna had showed interested, but I told her I was too tired. It had been a long couple of days. But then I ended up making yet another new friend. When I booked the return boat to mainland with Euge, she gave me a discount coupon to eat at Bravas so I decided to check it out for dinner. The guy working the counter was a super friendly Argentinian from the Patagonia region named Manu and we started chatting. He told me he wanted to practice his English and he spoke perfectly. It turned out he was also the owner of the restaurant. He’s a techno DJ and always wanted to go to Burning Man so we started really hitting it off talking about music festivals, concerts, artists; all the stuff I haven’t geeked out on with someone in awhile. He was a very chatty guy and next thing you know we talked for nearly an hour. It was a great conversation that left me buzzing (that and the two heavy IPAs). Man I love this island!! People are so cool! So now I have yet another contact on Ilha Grande. 

On my final morning in Ilha Grade, I grabbed breakfast with Sara for one last good convo and to say our goodbyes (or so we thought). Sara was trying to convince me to stay on the island because of the beautiful weather forecast ahead. She’s like your friend can meet you here (Matt was getting in the following morning) but I told her that we had already booked our first few nights in Rio so it’d be easier for me to corral him first anyways. And that perhaps we will decide to go to Ilha Grande over Paraty. We yelled “Suzie” at each other one last time then I headed to the beach for 1.5 hours to soak in the sun before my ferry back to the mainland. 

This last day was the best weather of any of the days I had been on the island – clear blue skies and bright sun shining. I was sad that it hadn’t been this type of amazing weather every day but I still left the island with the impression that Ilha Grande truly is paradise. I did some incredible hikes, chilled hard on a bunch of beaches, saw a lot of monkeys, and even made my small community of people in just a few short days there. I would definitely come back! And little did I know…I would. But that’s for the next post.

Lençóis Maranhenses National Park is a protected area in northeastern Brazil that covers around 380,000 acres and is famous for its vast white sand dunes and seasonal freshwater lagoons. The dunes were formed from sand being carried down rivers in the interior of Brazil toward the Atlantic Ocean that then gets pushed back onto the shoreline by ocean currents and heavy tides depositing it along the beach. During the dry season, strong winds blow the sand back east up to 50km inland to form crescent shaped dunes up to 30m high that are constantly shifting over time. 

Although the landscape looks like a desert, the park sits near the Amazon basin and receives up to 2,000 mm of rain per year. Underneath the sand sits a dense layer of impermeable rock and underground clay. Because this underground layer blocks the water from draining away, heavy rainwater builds up in the valleys between the dunes, creating thousands of temporary, crystal-clear pools ranging from the size of a small pond to the size of a lake. 

I was fortunate enough to go right after the rainy season so the lagoons were freshly formed and could be seen every couple hundred feet. It was truly a breathtaking sight and one that never got old even after a three day trek through the seemingly same landscape the entire time. Somehow each new lagoon would have a slightly different shade of blue, or be positioned differently against the sand dunes, to inspire awe and wonder. 

Getting In 

The easiest way to get to Barreirinhas (the gateway city to Lençóis Maranhenses) from Jericoacoara is by private 4WD transport. I later found out there is a bus from Jijoca two days a week but I didn’t have that kind of time to wait; and the private transport wasn’t too expensive. We left Jeri at 9:30 and the ride took around seven hours with our lunch stop. The ride went through rural Brazil driving through tiny villages in the middle of nowhere. It was hard to picture what these peoples’ daily lives were like, but I imagine it’s somewhat similar to living in central Indiana. 

The car was me, Oriane (my French friend), a young French couple, and a Brazilian guy. The three French were blabbering in French the whole time and I had a nice conversation with the Brazilian guy. He was working on his English so it was good for his confidence to speak with me. He was also in tech so we talked that world. We stopped halfway through at a set price buffet, rather than per kilo. In addition to the self service buffet, there were guys walking around with sticks of meat where they would cut off slices for you.

Barreirinhas

I wasn’t sure my plan of attack for Lençóis Maranhenses before my arrival. I had done a little research but figured I would wing it. I had three days in total and was leaning toward doing a one day tour and a two day trek. We got in around 5pm and after checking into my pousada, I walked into town to go tour shopping for the following day. Most of the agencies were closed, or some that I googled didn’t even exist. I finally found an agency to talk about tours, and they told me the three day trek was much better than the two day trek. They didn’t speak any English so I was stumbling my way through the negotiation in Portuguese. Originally I was worried I wouldn’t have time for the three day trek because I had a flight out of São Luis at 12:40am, but they told me that they can provide transport from where the trek ends on day three directly to São Luis. This certainly made the three day trek more appealing. They started at one price and when I showed hesitancy they lowered it. I said give me 30 minutes to think about it. I sat by the water and messaged Oriane asking how much she paid for her three day trek (this was her plan all along so she had already signed up for the trek in advance). She told me what she paid and it was the same price the agency was offering (after they had lowered from the higher price). Okay perfect I’m not getting ripped off. I wasn’t sure what kind of group I would be assembled with through this tour agency, especially after being put in a random group months before in the Uyuni Salt Flats when booking on the fly and not from a recommended agency, but figured screw it the dunes will be amazing regardless. Plus I didn’t really love the vibe of Barreirinhas so I’d rather just spend all my time inside the national park. I had only booked the one night at the pousada so that worked out perfectly. I went back to the agency and said let’s do it. They wanted me to pay in cash but that’s fine I could go to the ATM. They said no worries just bring it tomorrow morning by 8:30.

I had some hesitancies about the agency, but was feeling satisfied with my decision to do the three day trek. Time for dinner. All the restaurants along the river had the same menu serving sushi, pizza, burgers, and seafood. What is this the Cheesecake Factory? I just ordered a burger because it was the cheapest thing on the menu. It wasn’t amazing but got the job done. I paired it with bacuri juice, which was an interesting tasting Amazon fruit. Not my favorite either. I went back to my pousada and watched the U.S. beat Bosnia in its first knockout round game. 

Lençóis Maranhenses Trek Group

I got to the agency a little before the 8:30 time they told me to arrive so I could ensure my spot. I handed the guy my cash and when I asked for a receipt or at least some form of verification that I also paid for the transport from Santa Amaro to São Luis on day three, he goes “tranquilo não é necessário.” Okay I’m just going to trust the process. Then I sat waiting at the agency for 30 minutes before finally he called me and said the rest of the group is here. I was ready for the group to be a bust, but to my pleasant surprise, it was all backpackers including Oriane. Cool! My expectations from this agency were low, but it all turned out to be great. 

We were a group of ten including myself and it was mostly French people – my friend Oriane plus five 22-23 year old kids Evan, Yenis, Melchor, Margot, and Antony. Then we had Manu, a Dutch girl who was friends with Oriane that I had also met in Salvador. She was an absolutely hilarious character and I really enjoyed her sense of humor and complete lack of filter. Finally there was a couple who lived in Amsterdam but the guy, Bruno, was from Brazil; and the girl, Julia, was from Poland.

Overall we had amazing group chemistry and it was one of those tour where everyone vibed. Throughout the three days I had good conversations that had depth with every single person in the group, except Margot because her English wasn’t quite as strong. She spoke some English but was definitely more shy. Julia, Bruno, Oriane, and I were the old folks of the group in our thirties so we connected on different levels given where we were at in our lives. But the French kids and Manu kept us young with impromptu dance parties in the sand, handstand competitions, coordinated dance lessons, and their nonstop energy. They loved running down the dunes and nose diving into the lagoons then running right back up and doing it again. 

There was a number of times where the French would revert to speaking French amongst themselves even when the whole group was together. It didn’t bother me too much but it very much annoyed Manu. If you have a group of Dutch people together, and there is one person who doesn’t understand Dutch, then they do a good job speaking in English even to each other so that way everyone is involved in the conversation. Whereas with French people (or at least this particular group), they would tell stories and have discourse in French then occasionally include the English speakers. One on one they were all great at having English conversations, but once they got in a group they became a little less inclusive. To be fair if I was on a three day tour with a group of Americans who also all spoke Spanish, and Spanish was the common tongue with other people, I’m sure at times we would still revert back to speaking English in front of the group. Anyways language and group dynamics can always be interesting. I am fortunate (and unfortunate) that English is almost always the common language. I always saying being a native English speaker is a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because we can go anywhere in the world and people are likely to speak our language. But it’s a curse because we aren’t good at learning other languages since everyone speaks English; we aren’t forced to do so out of necessity.  

Lençóis Maranhenses Trek Day 1 (3.52 miles; 433 feet elevation gain; 404 feet elevation loss)

The first day of the trek wasn’t much hiking, it was mostly spent transporting us deeper into the dunes of Lençóis Maranhenses National Park with a few pit stops along the way. The morning started with a boat ride from Barreirinhas down the Preguiças River heading toward the small town of Atins on the Atlantic Ocean.

After about 30 minutes on the boat, our first stop gave us a glimpse of the crystal clear blue rainwater lagoons that would be the theme of the next few days. These particular lagoons were very crowded since it was a common stop for day tours. Still beautiful nonetheless and it gave us a taste for what’s ahead. The contrasting colors of the white sand dunes, dark blue and turquoise lagunas, green trees, and light blue skies would become the norm. Plus it was nice to cool down with a quick swim. 

And monkeys!

Then it was back on the boat for another 20 minutes to stop number two. This was the least interesting of them all and was more an opportunity for the little river village to make some money off the tourists. Oh well that’s all part of it. There was a lighthouse where you could climb the staircase and get some fringe views of the park. 

Another 10 minutes on the boat and we arrived at stop three for lunch. We had time before eating for another swimming cool down in the Atlantic Ocean; it was freaking hot! The lunch was incredible and probably the best fish I ate the entire trip! The fish tasted so fresh and was cooked to perfection with crispy skin on the outside and a juicy inside. The group was really getting to know each other at this point and we were starting to develop that strong group chemistry that continued throughout the trek.

We got back on the boat one last time for about 10 minutes before arriving in the town of Atins. Then it was onto our next mode of transportation – a 4×4 truck that had seats built in the bed. It was a fun 45 minute ride through the vast and endless dunes as the driver whipped it up and down the hills treating the ride like it was a roller coaster. No traffic jams here. Finally by 3:30 we got to the place where we would start hiking. It was cool that we got the boat and driving through the dunes experience. That checks off what you get from the day tours alone. 

I had brought my hiking shoes because when I hear the words three day trek then I assume I need hiking shoes. But it turned out we were doing the entire hike barefoot. It made sense in sand dunes, I just didn’t know that’s actually how it would go down. Everyone else had gotten the memo that shoes weren’t needed for the trek, but since I had booked from the agency the night before in my poor Portuguese, they provided me zero information. Oh well I can just tie them to my backpack.

Even though the air was hot, the sand was surprisingly cool. It was also very soft and reminded me of being on Siesta Key beach. As we started walking, I immediately had that soul satisfying feeling looking around these landscapes with sand dunes and lagoons as far as the eye could see. It was breathtaking! And this was truly a unique trek like nothing else I had ever done.

It was cool to see our fresh footprint tracks in the pristine sand. And by tomorrow the tracks will probably already be gone, swept away by the wind. Walking through untracked sand reminded of getting a fresh powder line when skiing. Well it’s not nearly as exciting but there’s still something so mentally satisfying about going over untouched terrain and being the first one who makes the tracks. 

We walked up and down a few sand dunes and passed a few lagunas with a range of shades of blue depending how the sunlight was hitting the water. After about an hour of walking, we stopped for a refreshing 20 minute swim. There was only one other group at this particular lagoon. Now we’ve really escaped the crowds!

We continued our walk in search of a high dune to perch on for sunset. It was cool to see all the other groups off in the distance deciding which dune they were going to climb for the sunset. This whole place is a choose your own adventure path. It’s just an open sand dune; there’s a million ways to go. The guide was playing Brazilian music while waiting for the rest of the group, we just started an impromptu samba dance party. The vibes were high!

The sunset that night was slightly blocked by the clouds but we still got some very nice colors – the yellows, oranges, and bright reds were out to play. 

We got to the lodging compound around 6:30pm and were introduced to the hammockery where we would be sleeping. The property had multiple open air, roofed buildings with rows of hammocks lined up. The property was also home to a variety of farm animals – pigs, goats, chickens, ducks, dogs.

This was the night one stop for all the groups that had started the trek that day and there must have been at least 40-50 people in total. We all took pre-dinner showers and the water was surprisingly lukewarm. While waiting for dinner, I chatted up a guy from São Paolo in another group who spoke great English. He loved reggae and always wanted to visit the U.S. during the Reggae Roots Festival in California. The fish dinner that night was not nearly as good as the one for lunch, but it got the job done. Afterwards there was a bonfire under the stars where I had a nice convo with Oriane. Then it was off to hammock sleeping. 

Lençóis Maranhenses Trek Day 2 (9.4 miles; 1,237 feet elevation gain; 1,342 feet elevation loss)

Breakfast was at 5:30 but people were already rustling around by 4:30. The hammock sleeping wasn’t great but I slept better on night one than I ultimately would on night two. 

We were on trail by 7 and it was another day of going up and down sand dunes and seeing endless lagoons. The surreal beauty and landscapes can’t be captured in a photo due to the vast nature of the dunes. It’s still photogenic nonetheless but it’s the type of place you need to see with your own eyes to truly feel the grandeur of the area. This sand hits different with the naked eye.

This day is best described through photos but the high level overview is that we would hike for 1-1.5 hours then stop at a lagoon and swim for 20-30 minutes. We stopped at three lagunas in total. 

It was in the lower 90s and the sun was beating on the sand, so the swim breaks were always the perfect refreshing stop to cool down from the heat.

In addition to walking up and down the dunes, there were also countless water crossings. As I mentioned earlier in this post, I had solid conversations with pretty much everyone in the group about travel, sports, life, telling stories, cracking jokes, you name it. Bruno is also a software developer so we nerded out on tech talk for a bit. After months of travel, we both appreciated being able to have that type of conversation and brain stimulation.

We arrived at our second accommodation just after noon so there was more time to chill and relax today before our sunset dune hike. This refuge was much smaller and it was just and one other group staying here.

We swam in a nearby river while we waited for lunch. Lunch was grilled chicken, rice, beans, and pasta. It was decent but I was still dreaming about that fish from the day before. Afterwards I watched the “local TV” aka pigs, goats, chickens, ducks hanging out while a woman was washing the dishes. Everyone else took a nap during the afternoon but I hung out by the river reading and listening to music.

Around 4:30 we went back into the wavy sand dunes and walked about 30 minutes to swim in another lagoon before sunset. 

Today we had an amazing sunset where we got to watch the red fire ball disappear into the dunes followed by exploding colors in the sky. It was magical! The line of sight across the horizon goes forever. 

Once again the French kids were on one. It started with handstands, cartwheels, and backflips; and eventually led to Antony teaching this absurd coordinated dance that had so many steps that I’m not sure how he kept it all straight. 

Even one of the guides joined in the fun showing off how his capoeira skills have helped him do infinite cartwheels. 

We didn’t get back to the refuge until after dark. That night the conversations were flowing over chicken torta dinner. The refuge had the Argentina – Cabo Verde game on thanks to Starlink. It felt wrong to care about watching TV that far in the middle of nowhere but when the game was tied, we all had our eyes glued to it. Of course everyone was rooting for Cabo Verde. Other than just being the darling underdogs, the Brazilians are rivals with Argentina and always root against them; and the French wanted Argentina out to avoid playing them in the finals again. It was one hell of a game and amazing how close Cabo Verde got to winning. Then it was bedtime for me as we had a 3am wake up the following morning.

Lençóis Maranhenses Trek Day 3 (8.3 miles; 741 feet elevation gain; 741 feet elevation loss)

3am came way too quickly. I had a horrible night’s sleep in the hammock struggling to get into a deep sleep. Although maybe it was best just to rip off the bandaid early since I was getting good sleep anyways. We were a big group and very slow moving; always running behind. The other group left more than 30 minutes before us for sunrise. The guides were relaxed about our slow pace the first few days, but they were a bit more pushy on the final day. I think they were just ready to be done and go home. 

We started hiking around 4:15 and walked for about an hour before settling on a dune facing the sunrise. 

The colors started appearing over the infinite horizon and it was truly a thing of beauty. There was just the right amount of clouds to give the sky textures and layers as the colors became brighter and brighter. 

It was one of the most beautiful (if not most beautiful) sunrises I’d ever seen. There was about 45 minutes of different colors appearing in the sky before the sun slowly started poking out. It was incredible! We were taking photos, dancing, laughing, and appreciating the moment. Antony gave part two dance lessons to expand on the previous day’s class. 

We couldn’t have asked for a better sunrise experience! Sometimes sunrise experiences can be a little disappointing but this one was 1000% worth the 3am wake up. 

We started walking again by 6:15am and everyone was in great spirits after the sunrise experience we just had. I had some deep convos with Julia about books, writing, history, and life experiences. She said that it was “the deepest conversation she’d ever had with an American” so I felt honored to hold that title. I was telling her about my blog and how writing helps me release my thoughts. She also likes to write and told me that one of her podcasts said that you should try to write two pages every morning when you first wake up to help activate the brain and get your morning thoughts out of your mind and onto paper. Even if you have nothing in particular to write you can say things like “Just having my coffee. I don’t know what to write. Blah, blah, blah.” Because in the end these morning writings aren’t for anyone but yourself so who cares what it says. Some days will be incredibly meaningful and others will be garbage, however just doing the exercise is a good way to stimulate the brain. I am really hoping to introduce this habit to my routine once I get settled again after my travels. I even started really getting crazy with it thinking that I could do it in Spanish, but maybe that’s biting off too much. Step one is to develop the habit. Doing backpacker travel is great for the memories and experiences, but I also really hope to use it as a way to develop better long term habits and improved ways of thinking. We’ll see; it’s always easier said than done. 

The last day was the longest of them all mileage wise. You would think after seeing the same type of landscapes for a few days in a row it would good old, but it was still as impressive as ever; maybe even more beautiful. 

The lagoons were getting bigger than ever and the dunes wavier. Also the color of the water seemed more turquoise. This part of the dunes must get exposed to more sunlight, or maybe it has less algae. I’m not really sure how all that works. 

We got to our first swim session of the day and Manu started teaching aquatic twerking classes. Yes it was as fun as it sounded. We were all giggly and just high on life. Top notch energy.

We walked for a few more miles where Manu and I had a mixture of heart to heart talks and silly jokes. She really is one of the funnier people I’ve met on the trip. Then we reached our final lagoon and last opportunity to swim. The guide said it was his favorite of them all and I could see why. It was absolutely massive and the water was a gorgeous shade of blue.

This lagoon had the biggest dune of them all for running into the water and the French kids were having the time of their lives. At one point they all somersaulted down it. I wish I got a video of that because it was so funny but I still got a good one.

Swimming in the lagoon one last time, I reflected on what an amazing three day trek this was. It was such a cool and unique experience through surreal landscapes – hiking barefoot in wavy sand dunes, walking by at least 50 natural rainwater lagoons (maybe 100 I have no idea, I wasn’t counting), swimming in eight lagoons, seeing an amazing sunrise and sunset over the endless horizon, and sharing memories with an incredible group. A few days before I wasn’t even going to do this tour, then I reluctantly booked with an agency I was skeptical of, and this was the end result. This is what I love so much about the backpacker style of travel. The unexpected adventures that turn out to be the best experiences. 

We got picked up by a 4×4 truck that took us on a 30 minute ride to Santa Amaro as we passed by many more lagoons. This place just never ends! We had an early lunch together before saying our goodbyes. 

My big backpack had been successfully been transported to Santa Amaro, and it turned out that Oriane and I were on the same bus to São Luis. This all went seamlessly too. The bus driver asked everyone on the bus where they were staying for direct drop off. Wow what service! It ended up being 5.5 hours with stops before arriving at my hostel around 6:30. My flight was at 12:40am, but I still got a hostel so I could shower and get a few hours of sleep. No way I was going directly to the airport to sit for six hours. 

It was rainy in São Luis and very depressing after being in the paradise that is Lençóis Maranhenses. Life isn’t all sand dunes and lagoons. It was the 4th of July, and the most American I could be was to get burger from a spot nearby the hostel. It was cooked a perfect medium rare and tasted better than most burgers in the U.S. Then it was time to shower and get a few hours of sleep. 

Jericoacoara is another small fishing village that existed for centuries uninterrupted before a 1994 Washington Post article ranked it among the top ten beaches in the world and it started becoming a tourist destination. Electricity wasn’t even introduced to the village until 1998 and today electrical street lights are forbidden to main dark night skies and massive hotel chains are banned. 

It is popular amongst backpackers and Brazilians as a beach paradise where time stands still. It’s isolated from the main roads, separated by shifting sand dunes, and can only be accessed by driving a 4WD vehicle or ATV. There is no pavement; just sandy streets with beach bars, seafood restaurants, swimwear boutiques, açaí self service shops, and ice cream stands. There are more ATVs than cars and donkeys walk the streets with the pedestrians. 

The town has a very unique charm to it, but it is certainly no longer off the beaten path. While I loved the vibe here and am glad I came; I would choose Pipa Beach over Jericoacoara if I were to return to one of the two. I think Pipa has better beaches and more beautiful coastal landscapes. Plus it is less touristy…for now.

Getting In

Jericoacoara is not an easy place to get to; especially all the way from Pipa. It was a multi day commute. I walked to the “bus station” in Pipa, aka a parking lot, for the 7am bus. I was walking up at 6:50 right as a bus was driving away. Shit I hope that wasn’t the one I needed. Why did it leave early and why didn’t I get here earlier? Luckily 15 minutes later another bus showed up. Okay phew. The bus took 2.5 hours with all the stops along the way. Then I had another two hour wait until my bus to Fortaleza. I ate lunch in the terminal and had a surprisingly tasty couscous with shredded chicken and egg paired with a cajá juice. Then it was a 9 hour ride to Fortaleza and we stopped halfway for dinner where I ate a couple of coxhinas. I arrived in Fortaleza just before 9 and Ubered to my hotel. 

The next morning I got picked up by a bus directly from my hotel at 6:50am to begin the commute. It was a five hour ride to Jijoca with a 15 minute breakfast stop. Then it was a 45 minute ride from Jijoca to Jericoacoara in a 4WD vehicle. The first 15 minutes were on a normal road then we entered the pot hole ridden sand dunes. It required some serious driving skills. I got to my hostel just before 2pm.

Lodging 

I stayed for three nights in Mandala Hostel. The breakfast was included so that was nice. I met some really good people while staying here. I realized I had barely spoken English during the last week in Maceió and Pipa so it was nice to meet some Brits and get to have some good banter in English; show my true personality. The first night I met a British guy Fras and we quickly became good friends. We hung out together the whole time the next few days. He was in his early 30s and we were able to vibe not only with our jokes and sense of humor but also on a more serious, deep level. We also hung out a lot with a 23 year old British guy Jimmy. You get two Brits together and the banter is absolutely hilarious. They take the jokes to extreme levels. It took me a day to get my wittiness back then I was right there with them. It was nice to have a sense of humor again and crack stupid jokes. 

I also hung out a good bit with two young Dutch kids Storm and Tony. These poor 18 year old kids were at the end of their Brazil trip and had basically run out of money. Outside of lodging, they were on a 10 euro a day budget. Yikes! They decided to spend a week and a half in Jeri; it’s an easy place to do nothing and still be satisfied. We also hung out a few times with Stephanie, a Swiss girl who absolutely loved Brazil. It was her fourth time in the country in as many years. Finally there was Oriane, a French girl who I had met weeks before in Salvador. I had seen on Instagram she was also in Jeri and we ended up at the same hostel. It was nice to see a familiar face.

Food

I kept my seafood diet going while in Jeri. For my first meal I got grilled tuna with the fixings and a cashew juice to drink. 

The best meal I ate was creamy pineapple shrimp served inside a pineapple with a side of crispy potatoes. It was the perfect blend of flavors. 

Fras and I shared a red snapper on the day that we did the ATV tour. I was a bit too hungover to fully enjoy it, but it still hit the spot.

I continued my trend of getting the build your own Açaí and had two more in Jeri. Once again I absolutely loaded them up with toppings. I love this concept!

Hike Praia Malhada – Pedra Fuerda (2.9 miles; 318 feet elevation gain)

Of course the first thing I did when I arrived after eating lunch was go for a hike. It was a short trail along the coast just above the beach walking between the brush along a narrow path of sand. 

I ran into an older couple from Manaus in the Amazon and we had a short conversation. They told me my Portuguese was very good. That’s a huge stretch, but it still always feels nice to get complimented. I just finished reading the Trevor Noah book Born a Crime (which I highly recommend) and as a traveler who always tries to learn some basics of the local language this passage really stuck with me:

“Nelson Mandela once said, ‘If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.’ He was so right. When you make the effort to speak someone else’s language, even if it’s just basic phrases here and there, you are saying to them, ‘I understand that you have a culture and identity that exists beyond me. I see you as a human being.”

I have felt this way many times while traveling around South America. Learning Spanish immediately got me more respect from the locals that I showed appreciation for their language and culture and it opened up a whole new world of opportunities and experiences. My basic Portuguese has done the same. Even if the conservations don’t go as deep as I can in Spanish, the Brazilians appreciate that I am at least making the effort to speak their language. It’s a very valuable lesson that I’ve learned from traveling and one that I will continue to leverage in the future. This is going to be much trickier in Asia but even if I learn a few words, it will go a long way. 

When I arrived at Pedra Fuedra, a natural rock bridge in the ocean, it was impossible to get a photo of the rock without other people posing in front of it. Because of course Brazilians have to take the same photo with 30 different poses. Finally there was a quick reprieve and I snapped a few shots.

This Brazilian guy who was with his family started talking to me and he loved that I was from the U.S. He asked me to be in a photo with him and his family. Sure why not? 

On the walk back I was beaming from the nice interactions I had. Brazilians really are the friendliest people. They love interacting with strangers.

After the hike I got a beer and watched the second half of the Canada – South Africa game. All the locals knew one another. Each new person that walked in said hi to everyone at all the different tables. Not surprising in a small town like this but it was fun to witness. 

Night Life 

On the first night, after having dinner with Fras, Jimmy, and Stephanie; we went to the entrance of the beach where a DJ was playing Samba music and vendors were setup on the sides. Naturally we ordered a caipirinha. We ran into the Dutch kids and went with them to Serramar a little outdoor “club” playing reggaeton and cumbia hits uplifted with a house beat. It was fun but by midnight I had run out of steam and walked home. 

Brazil Futbol Match

The Brazil match was at 2pm. That morning Fras and I got some açaí bowls then hung out on Praia de Jericoacoara. The beach wasn’t as nice as the ones in Pipa but it was still good to soak in the sun and watch the wind surfers. On top of cracking our usual jokes, we also had good deep convos about our lives and the future.

We went back to the hostel for a quick shower then it was game time. A lot of people were sitting around watching at restaurants but we wanted something a little more high energy and found a two story bar that had a good crowd. It cost money to enter but also came with a free beer if you were wearing a Brazil jersey so that offset most of the cost. 

Tension was high since this was the first game in the knockout round so everything was on the line. Japan scored the first goal and was up 1-0 at halftime. Yikes. People looked stressed. But Brazil whipped into shape in the second half quickly scoring a goal to tie it and another to take the lead. Every time they scored the bartenders would breakout a bottle and start pouring shots down peoples’ throats if they walked up to the bar. I was also a few caipirinhas deep at this point so I was feeling good. Brazil ended up winning 2-1 and the place absolutely exploded. These two girls came on stage to DJ and people were getting lit. It was 4pm on a Monday afternoon but the crowd energy felt like 11pm on a Friday night. People were getting lit!

Afterwards we went for an early dinner since we didn’t have lunch and I ate the delicious pineapple shrimp. Then Jimmy met up with us and he hadn’t eaten so we went to another restaurant. Fras had a second dinner but I stuck to beer. We went back to the hostel and ran into the Dutch kids who were about to head out for the Netherlands game. Perfect timing! I had wanted to watch the game with them. The three of us headed to a resto bar in the center. These kids absolutely love soccer so it was fun to watch with them. They were yelling at the scream throughout the game. The restaurant employees were also enjoying watching their reactions. The place normally closed at 11 but they stayed open just for us. The game went to penalty kicks and Morocco ended up winning. The Dutch kids were crushed. I felt bad for them, and also knew that they were on a tight budget, so I bought their beers. 

ATV Tour

I woke up a bit hungover after drinking for hours the day before; starting with the Brasil game and ending with the Netherlands game. I almost bailed on doing the ATV tour with Fras since we hadn’t booked it yet but I willed myself out of bed and powered through. I knew I would regret it later if I didn’t go and just lied in bed all morning. I got up at 8 and the tour started at 9:30am. They were semi automatic five gear ATVs with no clutch but we did have to change the gears with our foot. It was just me, Fras, and the guide; who drove a motorcycle. The guide was absolutely ripping it. We got up 72 KPH on the flat beach. Then it was up and down the bumpy sand dunes, river crossings, and a few straight downhill nose dives. I was in the back just trying to keep up. I didn’t get any videos because we were going so fast and it seemed ill advised. You’re welcome Mom. The only footage I got was when we got off the ATVs and rafted across a small river. 

We made a stop for coconut water then kept plowing forward. There was a few additional stops we could have made that cost extra money but neither me nor Fras cared to go down the water slides. It was a surreal experience cruising the dunes on ATVs and I enjoyed soaking it all in. After about an hour we stopped at restaurant on a Laguna with hammocks in the water. We were one of the first groups there since we didn’t make any stops and we didn’t take a million photos; as a matter of fact we took none.

It was nice to swim in the laguna on an incredibly hot afternoon. We ordered the red snapper for lunch. After two hours of chilling at the restaurant we were both ready to go. Once again we drove home like we were in a formula one race. I was getting used to driving the ATV at this point so I didn’t mind going top speed. Overall it was a really fun experience and I’m glad we did it. The hostel receptionist rides his ATV from Jijoca to Jericoacoara every day to get to work. What a life!

Fras and I watched the sunset that evening from the aptly named Dune Sunset Jericoacoara. Then we watched the first half of the French match and met up with Jimmy for sushi dinner. After more jokes and laughs, it was time to call it an early night. 

Pipa Beach is located in the state of Rio Grande do Norte. It was a quiet fishing village for centuries until it was “discovered” in the 1970s by backpackers and surfers who fell in love with the towering red cliffs, beautiful beaches with crystal blue water, and powerful waves. The village has a permanent population of roughly 1,500 people but tourism has grown rapidly in recent years and the main street is now lined with restaurants, shops, pousadas, and even luxury resorts; but Pipa still hasn’t lost its charm. I definitely fell in love with it and could see why people wouldn’t want to leave. If the weather was nicer I would have stayed longer than two days.

Getting In

It was a 10.5 hour over night bus ride from Maceió leaving at 9pm heading toward Natal. I read a bit then slept for the rest. I got off at Goianinha an hour before Natal (the state capital) so I could transfer to Pipa Beach. It was surprisingly easy and straight forward. I had read online that the local buses to Pipa Beach leave from behind the church in Goaininha and within five minutes one arrived and we were on our way. The bus filled up quickly after the first few stops so I was glad that I had a seat. I arrived in Pipa Beach 45 minutes later around 8:30 in the morning.

Lodging 

I stayed two nights at Hostel do Ceu which had a pool and a laid back vibe. The hostel was run by two Argentinians and most of the guests Argentineans who were planting themselves in Pipa Beach for two to three months. Pipa Beach was basically Argentina 2.0. I felt a bit like an outsider looking in and didn’t make any close friends; although I did get offered mate one afternoon so that was a sign of acceptance. I did all activities outside the hostel solo, but I had some good short convos with a few of the Argentinians in the hostel. It was the usual conversation about being in Argentina during the World Cup victory and listing some of the places I’ve been to in their country, but then I ran out of things to say. It’s hard to make small talk in Spanish. It made me realize that speaking the language is one thing, but being able to hold a new convo with a stranger is the next level. Of course I’ve previously spent an entire day interacting with Spanish speakers; however there’s something different about touring a city together versus hostal small talk. Obviously it depends on the person that your talking to as well. Since most of the guests were Argentinian they already had this close bond with each other by default. 

Pipa Chapadão

After dropping off my bag, I got an Açaí bowl from down the street. It was a build your own bowl adventure where you got charged by the kilo. I added so many toppings – granola, chocolate chips, various fruits, crushed peanuts, milk powder, dolce de leche, and a whole bunch of other stuff. It was delicious! 

Then I headed to Pipa Chapadão, a scenic viewpoint atop the cliffs looking at the heart shaped Praia do Amor in one direction and Praia das Minas in the other. The wind was ripping and the waves in the ocean were massive; I immediately understood why this was a popular location for surfing and wind surfing. The views were stunning with the contrasting colors of blue ocean water, red rock cliffs, and lush green trees. I love this place already!

I climbed the steps down to the beach and walked along an empty section of Praia do Amor before rock hopping my way to the main beach area.

Praia do Amor

It was still early in the morning so I decided it would be worth the money to rent an umbrella spot with a lounge chair and two regular chairs. Time to order a caipirinha and settle in for the day. I rotated between sitting in the sun, protecting myself in the shade of the umbrella, and swimming in the ocean. It was a very sunny day with a quick five minute rain shower then back to sunny. There weren’t quite as many vendors as on the beach in Maceió, but I was still frequently approached by someone selling something. I ended up buying an empanada off two different Argentinians and chatted it up with them a bit. 

I was considering taking a surf lesson because the waves were huge, but after an overnight bus I decided to just chill. I’m the type of person who always feels like he has to do something, but on the beach doing nothing means you’re doing something. I’m starting to adjust to that mindset. Life slows down to a pause in Pipa Beach. I ended up chilling on the beach for over four hours before heading back to the hostel around 3pm.

I took an afternoon nap then went out for dinner at Sofi Bistrô nearby the hostel and ordered a delicious octopus ravioli dish with a pumpkin cream sauce. I wasn’t feeling very social so I called it an early night. 

Praia Baía dos Golfinhos Pipa

The next morning I woke up early to go to Praia Baía dos Golfinhos Pipa, a beach famous for spotting dolphins. You can only get there from Praia de Pipa by walking 10 minutes along the shore and you have to go early (or late) during low tide. 

The beach had only a handful of other people there at 8 in the morning. There was a guy throwing coconuts for his dog to chase; very resourceful. I walked all the way to the end of the beach getting closer to the red cliffs. 

A few dolphins were jumping off in the distance so I decided to hop in the ocean and ended up swimming within 20 meters of a pair of dolphins.

Rainy Day

The weather forecast for the day was rainy so I was glad that I went to Praia Baía dos Golfinhos Pipa early in the morning. After an hour on the beach it started drizzling on me so I walked back to the hostel and got another fully loaded build your own Açaí bowl on the way. I could get used to this type of daily breakfast. 

It proceeded to rain the rest of the day into the early evening so I just read, worked on the blog, and did some Portuguese practice. It was similar to a bus day except I was sitting outside under a roof with fresh air and the ability to walk around. After two straight sunny beach days my skin could probably use a rest anyways. Let it go from tomato red to Latin tan. The only time I left during the afternoon to brave the storm was to get a Prato Feito lunch from the restaurant two minutes away from the hostel.

Night on the Town

The rain finally stopped and that evening I went to a restaurant that had a street front view of the liveliness in Pipa on a Friday night. I ordered a beer and shrimp with garlic and oil. The restaurant was across from a bar with a band that I could hear on top of the street noise. There is only one main street that runs through town so there was a constant steam of people walking by. Where did all these people even come from? It was great people watching. 

After dinner I went to the bar across the street with the live music and had a couple beers while watching the Uruguay-Spain game. Little kids kept coming up to the tables making flowers out of sugarcane plants. I wasn’t on a date so they ignored but they were hustlers.

Right before I was planning to go home, this Brazilian guy from Pipa sat at my table and started chatting nonstop. He called himself Jack Sparrow and he was all over the place with his flow of conversation but at least he spoke good English. He was chalked full of energy and knew everyone. He would talk to anyone that came by. The next band came onstage and started playing American rock hits: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine, Radiohead, The Doors, Creedence Clearwater Revival. I knew all of them. The group next to us was singing along and of course Jack Sparrow started talking to them. They invited us to sit at their table. It was a group of Chilenos on a one week holiday. We were having some nice convos (when you’ve been to people’s country you immediately have more to talk about), and the music was good, so I ordered another beer and ended up staying another hour. I was pretty buzzed by the time I walked home.

It was an unexpectedly fun evening. I went out by myself just to grab dinner with no other agenda and that is how my night turned out. Now I better understand the Pipa nightlife. Everywhere in Brazil is a party. 

If the weather forecast were better I could have easily spent more days in Pipa – the Argentina game was the following night and the hostel had an open mic jam two days later on Monday. It all seemed very appealing, but my time was limited, and I didn’t want to sit still waiting out a few more rainy days. In order to stay longer I would have had to skip Jericoacoara and that was high on my list. Plus staying longer would have made my transport to Lençóis Maranhenses National Park more complicated because skipping Jeri would mean I would have to go past Lençóis to get to São Luís then transport backwards. It’s a hard national park to get to and I had to stay the course.

Coming into the trip, I didn’t have a next stop after Chapada Diamantina, I just knew I was going to start heading north up the coast. My Bolivian friend Dani, who I met at my hostel in Salvador, was volunteering in a beach town outside of Maceió. She was about to have two days off and wanted to spend them in Maceió so I thought it’d be nice to see her again. Plus it was already a 20+ hour commute from Chapada Diamantina so that would get me far enough up the coast for now.

Maceió is the capital of the state of Alagoas and a population of just over one million people. It is nicknamed the “Caribbean of Brazil” with its white sand beaches, coconut palms, and calm turquoise waters. The city has a beautiful promenade that connects several beaches and natural pools in the ocean when the tide is low. The city felt safe, or at least along the beach promenade and in the neighborhood I was staying. I wasn’t worried about taking my phone out in public and had no concerns walking 15 minutes at night to a restaurant. 

Getting In

It was an all day and all night type of travel day. First I took the 9am bus from Lençóis back to Salvador. I was in the front seat on the upper level of the bus. It was nice to look out the window and have additional leg room, but also I could feel the wobbliness of the bus with every gust of wind. The girl next to me, Carini, spoke good Spanish and we started speaking porteño chatting about the excursions we did in Chapada. Halfway through the trip, we stopped at the same restaurant buffet as on the way there so I was a pro this time at how the system worked. The bus was running behind schedule and poor Carini had a tight window to catch her flight out of Salvador. I could tell she was really nervous. When we were about an hour outside the city, she got off the bus and decided to take an Uber. Hopefully she made her flight.

There was an Italian guy in the seat across the aisle who struck up a conversation with me. He looked and talked like a young Keanu Reeves. He was studying to be a yogi and had this very slow intonation in the way he spoke. “My name is Neo.” Not really, but he reminded me of  Keanu from The Matrix. He would ask me these deep and profound questions as we discussed travel, work, meditation, things like that. Whenever we would finish talking about the topic, he would be like “Thank you for the conversation. It was very enlightening.” He was a very grateful guy. 

The bus ended up taking 7.5 hours to arrive in Salvador, but I still had a few hours to kill before my night bus. I caught up with my parents and ate dinner in the terminal. Then I was onto the next one leaving Salvador at 7:45pm and arrive in Maceió around 7:30am. I was able to sleep for a good chunk of the ride. 

Lodging 

I had spent the last 10 nights in a hostel, on a trek, or sleeping on the night bus so I was ready for my own space. I booked a pousada (inn) for two nights and even ended up extending an extra night. The beginning of Brazil was go, go, go; it was time to slow things down a bit. My pousada had a comfy bed, big TV, desk, and it was a five minute walk to the beach. Plus they offered delivery breakfast to the room. On the first day they gave me a piece of paper with a checklist of food and drink options that they would deliver to my door in the morning. I selected way too many things and that became my daily breakfast. I would have actually done less the following days but I never filled out the checklist again. I ordered: sausage, eggs, ham and cheese tapioca, cassava, couscous, assorted fruit, coffee, and fruit juice. It was more than enough food. The pousada “reception” was a laundromat in the front so that was convenient for cleaning my clothes. There was side door back to the rooms with a separate key so it felt private and secure.

Food

The food in Maceió was one of the highlights. Aside from my daily breakfast delivery service, I ate many good meals during my stay. My first lunch was fried shrimp and fried macaxeira (cassava) at a restaurant on the water. It was a bit pricey for the quality but you were paying extra for the view. 

The first evening I was tired after my early arrival from the night bus and spending a day at the beach, so I just wanted to eat nearby my pousada. I looked up restaurants and found called Bodega do Sertão with over 20,000 reviews and 4.6 stars that was a two minute walk from my pousada. Perfect! It turned out to best buffet yet! There was an incredible spread of traditional Brazilian dishes and the food was high quality. I took a small portion of many different things and didn’t even know what half the things were. There were four different kinds of couscous and the ones I selected were delicious. I didn’t realize couscous was such a big thing in Brazil but it’s really popular. My friend Gabriel from Chapada had even thought that couscous was from Brazil. I also had a great cheesy rice, some very tasty slices of meat, and a fully loaded salad. I wasn’t a huge fan of the popular dish carne do sol (salt-cured beef dish that was originally dried in the sun although not as common in modern times). My massive plate was paired with a refreshing sugar cane juice. The desert table also had over twenty different options and I loaded up on sweets. My favorite was the cocado de forno – a baked coconut pudding. I could have eaten a plate of just that. I walked out so full I could barely breathe and waddled the two minute back to my pousada. 

On the third day, Dani and I shared caldo de quenga from a food vendor on the beach. Neither of us had heard of quenga, but the guy was slanging bowls left and right so we figured we had to try it. Soup on the beach sounds like a weird combo but it actually slapped. The temperature was just right to where it wasn’t boiling hot, but it wasn’t cold either. Well done sir. The soup base is made of shredded chicken and blended puree made from cassava root and topped with bacon, fried chicharron, onions, cilantro, and sautéed greens. 

For dinner that night I walked 15 minutes to a highly rated seafood restaurant called Massaguierinha that did not disappoint. I had read reviews to order the casquinha de Siri (creamy crab meat stew topped with breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese that is broiled until golden and bubbly) and was closing my eyes with satisfactory approval of every bite. I also ordered the white fish in Belle Meunière sauce (brown butter, fresh lemon juice, parsley, shrimp, and capers) which came with a hearty helping on sides. Everything was cooked to perfection. Once again I ate way too much food and left uncomfortably full. Worth it!

On my final day, I got my first (of many) Açaí bowl of the trip. I ordered off a vendor on the beach and she had me choose three toppings. I didn’t know what half of them were so I just pointed to random ones and went with it. It was good, but my future açaí bowls were build your own adventures where you served yourself as many toppings as you wanted. I much preferred that style.

That evening I tried acaraje the first time. It was decent but not my favorite. I prefer the meat skewers. Acaraje is an iconic street food originally from Salvador so maybe it was better there, but I didn’t leave this experience feeling like I need to order it again. It is made from deep-fried black eyed pea fritter and split open like a sandwich then stuffed with shrimp, onions, tomatoes, and cilantro topped with hot sauce. 

For my final meal during the Brazil match, I ordered caldo du sururu. I had read that it’s a speciality of Maceió and I was a big fan. It tasted like a coconut curry. The soup is made from shucked sururu (small mollusk), coconut milk, palm oil, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and cilantro. It is known to be a great hangover cure. 

Wandering Around Town

The city of Maceió itself isn’t that pretty but it’s lined with beautiful beaches and a promenade that goes along the water for miles. Sometimes referred to as the “Brazilian Caribbean”, the water had crystal clear visibility and was turquoise colored when it was sunny. Unfortunately the weather was all over the place – mixture of sunshine, cloudy, and rainy. The beaches were paradise, but the weather was not. Late June is the end of the rainy season in northern Brazil so there was still lingering rain. 

Praia da Pajuçara

This beach was a five minute walk from my pousada so it became home base for the next few days. My bus from Salvador arrived at 7:30am and the streets were a ghost town on a Sunday morning. I couldn’t check in to my pousada until 2pm so I went straight to the beach; there’s worse places to be stuck. I got to watch it go from empty to crowded while I soaked in the sun. 

After a few hours of chilling, I walked along the beach and everyone was trying to sell me their umbrella spot. They weren’t too pushy though. I went up to the promenade along the waterfront that had vendors and live music; it was filled with people walking, biking, scootering, roller blading. Everyone was out enjoying a beautiful Sunday in Maceio. After eating at a waterfront restaurant, I continued up to Ponta Verde, which had beautiful views looking back on Praia da Pajuçara and in the other direction toward Praia de Ponto Verde. I sat on the Ponta Verde beach for a bit before heading to the pousada and having a chill, early night. The highlight of the evening was the incredible buffet meal at Bodega do Sertão.

The next day Dani arrived at 9am and we spent the rest of the day and evening together. I was proud of my Spanish; there was rarely a shortage of conversation. She has a very bubbly energy and is easy to talk to. Her hotel happened to be two blocks from my pousada; how convenient! After my one day in Maceió, I acted as the tour guide. We walked along the Pajuçara beach this time heading south toward Nova Orla do Porto de Maceió. It was a sunny morning so the water looked extra turquoise and beautiful. At the end of the port was a giant hand sculpture that was great for taking photos. 

We continued our walk by going to the historic Jaraguá neighborhood. There was only one beautiful street with lots of colorful flags on it, but otherwise not a whole lot to see. There was also a big stage being setup that we were wondering about; which we would learn more later.

From there we Ubered to Ponta Verde and walked back toward her hotel so she could get her beach clothes. We stopped all the different tourist signs and gimmicky spots for taking photos. South Americans eat that type of shit up. They love doing their 20 different poses at each spot. It started drizzling on us during the walk, but luckily it didn’t last very long. 

We went to the beach and drank a very strong caipirinha. I felt like I was already buzzing. People were coming up to us every 5-10 minutes trying to sell something – boat tours, jet skis, food, bracelets, you name it. We wanted to do the sunset boat cruise to the Natural Pools so we booked a tour with this guy who really liked our energy. Dani had been in Brazil for a few months so she spoke decent Portuguese. I was just nodding along and smiling. We put down a small deposit and he said we could pay the rest later (which we never ended up paying). His business partner sold us on a jet ski tour and we signed up for that as well. This we paid in full so I didn’t feel as bad that we didn’t fully pay for the Natural Pools. 

Jet Skis

We sat under an umbrella for about an hour going back and forth between the shade and the water before it was our turn to jet ski. We just drove around not too far from the shore, but it was fun to cruise around and look back at the beach with the city skyline in the backdrop. It was probably 20-25 minutes total and we took turns driving. Afterwards the guy who sold us the tour said he couldn’t get any drone footage because it was too cloudy and that we could come back and do it again the next day free (which never actually came to fruition. Oh well; we didn’t fully pay for the Natural Pools tour).

Natural Pools Boat Tour

We sat on the beach for another 20 minutes before the 4pm boat tour. Of course in typical South American fashion we didn’t actually depart until about 4:45. The tour was very local, I was the only gringo. As a matter of fact I didn’t see any other gringos during my four days in Maceió. Granted I stayed at a pousada and not a hostel, but I don’t think it’s as popular on the backpacker trail. It was more of a Brazilian tourist destination. I was totally okay with that as I quite enjoyed my experience. It also helped that I spent two days with Dani and was with someone who spoke some Portuguese. The natural pools party boat wouldn’t have been nearly as fun otherwise. 

There wasn’t a great sunset that day, but it was still nice to be on a boat and look back at the city skyline. We arrived at the natural pools (shallow water pools out in the ocean) just as it was becoming dark and this is when the party turned up. We all got a free caipirinha (very small cup) and swam/danced in the pools while a DJ blasted Brazilian tunes from the boat. We made friends with a couple from São Paulo and a guy from Argentina. Everyone was drinking beers in the water and starting to turn up. It ended up being a great time! The couple from São Paulo told us that the stage being setup in Jaraguá was for six days of free concerts to celebrate São Joao. The main artist playing on this night was Gustavva Lima. Funny enough Dani was showing me some of his music earlier in the day. What are the odds! She got super excited. Looks like our evening plans are set. 

We went back to our respective hotels to shower and change for the night. While I was waiting for her I went to the food vendors outside my pousada and ordered a few espetinhos (meat skewers). I was enjoying my dinner when this Brazilian guy at the table across from me started to chat with me; because of course that’s what Brazilians love to do. He spoke perfect English and when I told him I’m from the United States, he goes I’ve actually been living there the past few years. I live in Sarasota, Florida. No freaking way!! This is the first time I’ve even spoken English in Maceió and the guy lives in Sarasota. What are the odds of that?! Of course I geeked out and told him that’s where I grew up. We chatted the next 15 minutes until Dani showed up. He was from Maceió and back home for a few months. His friend owns a Brazilian restaurant on 41. I will definitely have to go there and name drop this guy. Small world! 

Gustavvo Lima Concert

Dani and I ubered to Jaraguá for the concert and the place looked completely different than in the morning – it was all lit up with lights and decorations, crowds of people were walking toward the stage for the concert, and there were countless street vendors.

We got there just before Gustavvo Lima started and found a spot in the crowd. It was packed! This was a big deal. People lost it when he came on stage. The entire 1.5 hour set, everyone knew every word to every song. 

It turned out that I even knew one of his songs that had come out in the early 2010s and was popular in the U.S. At one point Gustavvo jumped onto a crane that rotated him above the crowd with people holding their arms out trying to touch him. He then threw a sweaty towel into the audience. Dani and I were dying laughing about how badly everyone wanted this sweat rag. They could forever have the stench of Gustavvo Lima in their home. It was a really fun show and I was glad to be there to soak it all in. I now have a much greater appreciation for him as an artist and plan to dive further into his collection. This was a very local experience and not something I would have done by myself so I was glad to be with Dani. 

After his show, we got out of the crowd and sat on a curb people watching. There were still two more artists to perform that night. Then it started pouring rain and we ran underneath a canopy on the outskirts. Lo and behold, who is standing next to us, the guy who sold us the natural pools boat tour that loved our energy. He was jazzed to see us and started giving us sips of his caipirinha. This had been a day full of coincidences. The rain slowed down and we watched a few songs of the next artist before calling it a night. It was almost midnight at this point and we had been going nonstop since 9am. It was a great day! 

I was quite hungover the next morning. They delivered my continental breakfast at 7:45 and then I went right back to sleep until 9:30. There was no way I was going to finish my entire cold breakfast. Dani and I met up around 11 to go to the beach, but it started pouring rain upon our arrival. We walked to the Pajuçara artesanal market to take cover. The rain slowed down after 45 minutes so we headed back to the beach. We ran into our Argentinian friend from the natural pools boat tour and he worked as a vendor for umbrella spots. Okay we’ll go with his! I was nursing a hangover so my Spanish was much worse this day. I already feel like day two of speaking Spanish can be tough because I’ve started to run out of things to say. Add in a hangover and I become a mime. Needless to say we would either sit in silence or Dani did most of the talking.

Once again, we were constantly being approached by the ever present vendors selling this and that. The good thing is they aren’t very pushy. Some walk away immediately when you say obrigado and put up your hand and others try to strike a conversation. You just have to be clear with them you’re not interested. It is very convenient when you’re actually hungry and they come right to you. This is when we ate the delicious caldo de quenga.

It didn’t rain again but the afternoon was cloudy the entire time. We just rotated between sitting in our umbrella spot and swimming in the ocean. No alcohol was had this day; just good old agua de coco. We stayed on the beach until 4pm and then it was time to say our goodbyes since Dani’s transportation was at 5. It was a fun couple days together and certainly made Maceió more entertaining. That night I had my nice dinner at Massaguierinha then went back to the pousada and chatted on the phone with some friends back home.

Praia de Ipioca 

My bus wasn’t until 10pm so I decided to spend my last day in Maceió at a beach a little further outside the city. It was less than $10 for a 30 minute uber ride to Ipioca Beach. It was the first day in Maceió with sun in the forecast for the entire day. This beach is much less crowded and chiller than the ones in the city so I was very happy with my decision to come here. 

I walked past the one resort selling umbrella spots and then had the entire beach to myself. No people, no vendors; just pure relaxation. I set up my conga (beach cloth), popped on my earbuds, closed my eyes, and soaked in the sun. It was very nice! I would occasionally go into the water to cool off. 

I spent 3.5 hours on in Ipioca before Ubering back to Maceió. I walked along the promenade and found a good spot to enjoy waterfront views and catch up with Paul and Nichole on the phone. 

Brazil Futbol Match

I had finally bought a Brazil jersey that morning that I could sport during the game. The Brazil – Scotland match started at 7pm and my bus wasn’t until 10 so I had just enough time to watch the game before grabbing my bag and making it to the bus station. The first few beach bars I walked by were packed. I was by myself and didn’t feel like dealing with that type of crowd for ordering drinks. Also I wanted to be somewhere I could make a quick exit after the game to not stress about timing for the bus. I ended up going to a beach bar that was less than a 10 minute walk from the pousada and wasn’t too overly crowded. I ordered a sururu for dinner since I hadn’t tried it yet and had been wanting to since day one. I also kicked back a few beers. Brazil dominated the game getting up 3-0 early and never looking back. 

Since it wasn’t a close match I even left a little early to ensure plenty of time to catch my bus. During the Uber ride to the bus terminal, we drove by all these different small bars, restaurants, food stands, laundromats, you name it; every single one had a TV with a crowd of people in front watching the game. 

Chapada Diamantina National Park was created in 1985 and spans over 375,000 acres; which is larger than countries such as Singapore. The park has more than 300 waterfalls, impressive canyons, blue water caves, rock meadows, and untouched forests. Billions of years ago the area was covered by an ancient sea, but tectonic shifts and erosion ultimately formed the region’s dramatic cracks, depressions and plateaus. Chapada Diamantina translates to “Diamond Plateau” as the area served as the strongest gold and diamond mine on the planet from the 1700s to the 1900s until mining was officially banned in 1996. In 1895, the world’s largest black diamond (weighing 3,167 carats) was discovered here. 

While doing my Brazil research (which was minimal – I learned the names of some places to visit, but didn’t do any deep diving. It was a figure it out as I go type of affair. Which can be a dangerous game to play in a country as large as Brazil, but I was just trusting the process. It usually all works out.) I put a gold star next to Chapada Diamantina for top places I wanted to visit. The Andes do not go through Brazil, and the country as a whole is not mountainous, but it is home to many amazing landscapes and presents a different type of hiking experience. The hiker in me had to check out this highly regarded national park that boasted some of Brazil’s top treks. Bonus points that it was easily accessible from Salvador. I knew that I wanted to do the three day Vale do Pati trek, but otherwise was coming in blind. I spent 4.5 days here and easily could have stayed longer. I didn’t want to get stuck though. As beautiful as the landscape was, and as much as I love hiking, a big part of coming to Brazil is to enjoy the coast. It just means I will have to come back to Chapada again in the future to keep exploring more of the park.

Getting In

My first Brazilian bus experience! The bus terminal in Salvador was massive and felt like a small airport. Luckily there was good signage for the platforms and it was easy to navigate. We left at 8am and didn’t get to Lençóis until around 3:30 (an hour later than the schedule). It was a shaky bus ride on the second deck. You could feel the wind and the driving style was a bit wobbly. It was my first day time bus ride in a while so I was able to look at the landscape – green, sparse, rural. We ain’t in Salvador no more. 

The Brazilian girl next to me, Natalia (Naty) was super nice. She offered me snacks and we chatted some via Google Translate. It was a testament to the friendly nature of Brazilians. Little did I know we’d end up hanging out the next four days. She was from Espírito Santo, the forgotten state situated between Bahia (where Salvador is) and Rio de Janeiro. It’s not on the typical backpacker trail but is home to hundreds of miles of coastline and she showed me some beautiful photos of where she lived. The more you know! 

Halfway into the bus ride, we made a 30 minute pit stop for lunch at a buffet style restaurant where you pay per kilo based on the weight of your plate. I didn’t know it beforehand, but it turns out this is a very common restaurant experience in Brazil, and would be the first of many times that I would eat at a pay per kilo buffet. I found it funny that we stopped for lunch on a 7 hour bus ride, when in Peru, you’re lucky to get a 10 minute stop on a 18 hour bus ride. 

Lodging 

I stayed at Chapada Backpackers hostel which also doubled as a tour agency. It had a very laid back vibe to it. Naty was staying at the same hostel as me. So was Issay, a Japanese guy who was on the same bus and Naty had met at her hostel in Salvador. And we all happened to be in the same dorm the first night. After showering and settling in, a Brazilian guy named Gabriel arrived and he spoke perfect English. When I asked where he’s from he said Espírito Santo. I go from never having heard of this state to meeting two people from there in a matter of hours. Just like that we had formed our crew. 

Naty was a fun silly energy, and even with the language barrier we interacted using facial expressions, body language, and the new Portuguese phrases her and Gabriel taught me. I could see her bubbly and animated personality when chatting Portuguese with the locals. She literally talked to everyone. Gabriel was a super friendly and positive guy. Since he spoke great English, he acted as our Google Translator between Naty and me and Issay. Naty and I would yell “Google” whenever we wanted to get his attention to translate. Also he was Instagram famous with nearly 200,000 followers. He creates videos with inspirational advice and also teams up with tour agencies to document excursions and shares them as reels on Instagram. Smart man! Issay was a nice guy with a very reserved personality. 

Me, Naty, and Gabriel signed up to do the Vale do Pati trek together the following day. We tried to convince Issay to join us but he had already booked two nights at the hostel, and rather than asking to switch his second night, he decided to do the trek a day later. He was very by the books…plus maybe he thought we were all too crazy. 

Lençóis 

The small town of Lençóis serves as the gateway to Chapada Diamantina with countless tour agencies to choose from. I had no expectations for the town because I came for the hiking Chapada, but it was actually a very charming place with colorful flags, cobblestone streets and narrow alleyways with outdoor patio seating restaurants, and a river running through town. After the hustle and bustle of Salvador, it was very quaint vibes. However this is still Brazil and even this small town had a strong energy to it. People were still always out and about. The night we got back from Vale do Pati, Gabriel and I went out for dinner and beers when it started pouring down rain, but that didn’t stop the town from being lively on a Thursday night. There were these two girls dancing together on the streets in the rain absolutely getting after it; another guy was running under the gutters and showering himself in the rain water. People were getting lit.

On the first night, the four amigos went out for to explore the town. We started out at a cafe where I ordered my first tapioca with a side of mangaba juice. Tapioca is normally more of a breakfast dish but I hadn’t eaten one yet and we were treating this meal as a late afternoon snack so it seemed like a good time. It was decent; reminded me of a “Brazilian quesadilla”. Google calls it a crepe. Okay sure, it is very thin. The tapioca crepe is made from hydrated cassava starch folded over and stuffed with sweet or savory fillings.

Then we went to a local brew pub with live acoustic music and got some craft beers. Issay doesn’t normally drink much but Naty was peer pressuring him into taking some sips of her beer. Then she ordered a few shots of cachaça for the table and a caipirinha for Issay. She was really trying to get everyone loose the night before the trek. It was a fun time. On the way home we stopped at a street vendor and each ordered a few espetinhos (meat on a skewer). The vendor coated it in farofa at the end to add a little extra flavor. Plus he had a pineapple hot sauce that complimented the meat perfectly. It was the perfect way to soak up the alcohol before going to bed. 

Vale do Pati 3 Day, 2 Night Trek (21.34 miles; 6,709 feet elevation gain)

I was coming into the Vale do Pati trek with minimal knowledge. I just saw it was rated as one of the best treks in Brazil, but I didn’t actually do any research into the difficulty of the trail or the type of terrain; nor did I look at any photos. I figured eh what the hell I’ll be fine, I went over 19,000 feet high three times in Bolivia and Peru. It can’t be as hard as those hikes, right? And while it certainly wasn’t as difficult as a high altitude mountain ascent, it was no walk in the park either. The trek had some very steep sections, countless river crossings on slippery rocks, giant tree roots, boulder scrambles, and narrow cliff edges. It was not terrain for the faint of heart. The daily distances were never too long, but the terrain was tricky.

We hit the road around 7:45am. It was a two hour drive with first half on a normal road and the second half on a bumpy dirt road. We were staying in lodges but still had to help carry the food. The guide, Willian, split the food between the five of us and himself: me, Naty, Gabriel, and a French couple on their honeymoon – Guillaume and Dian. My pack was lighter than on the volcano treks in Peru but it still weighed a decent bit with the food. Luckily there were many water sources along the way so I never had to carry more than a liter at a time. Throughout the trek Gabriel was shooting 8-10 second clips that he was going to piece together for his Instagram influencer reel. He was constantly taking videos so I don’t know how he sorted through all that content. 

The stats for day one and two are slightly understated because stupid AllTrails has a tendency to stop the recording automatically, even though I don’t tell it to, and I have to manually restart it. Because of this bug (or maybe it’s working as designed which is a shitty feature in my opinion) that started about 1.5 years ago I am constantly checking my phone to see if it’s recording. It’s very annoying. Maybe I shouldn’t care but I love my stats. All that said I probably only lost recording 1-2 miles in total.  

Vale do Pati Day 1 (6.35 miles; 1,362 feet elevation gain; 1,835 feet elevation loss)

The trail started out with a butt kicking ascent. We gained 850 feet in the first mile with the maximum amount of weight in our backpacks since we had all the food. It also didn’t help that the trail was unshaded and there was no escape from the morning heat. I was feeling the partying from the last two weeks after being at the California wedding and spending four days in Salvador. I was out of my top hiking form that I achieved while in the Andes but it felt good to sweat again. Being on trail surrounded by beautiful scenery immediately reminded why I love hiking and being in nature. It was a narrow trail with a mixture of dirt path and medium size boulders. 

We got to the top of the hill and took a break to enjoy our first good glimpse of the Chapada Diamantina landscape. The park was enormous and went as far as the eye could see. There was a variety of shades of green representing the different types of vegetation. We could also see some of the butte-like plateaus off in the distance. Little did I know that we would be climbing to the top of some of these guys. 

The next section was a few miles through open highlands of flat trail with small ups and downs. We walked past green plants, colorful flowers, and prickly cacti. Willian explained that if you get lost in the area then the cactus can be cut open to obtain water. He also showed us how you can make a musical sound by lightly touching the cactus. He didn’t actually know English so he would speak in Portuguese and Gabriel acted as the translator. It’s a good thing we had him in our group! 

We passed by a small black water pond and Willian said the water is potable, in spite of its questionable looking color. I had my filtered water bottle so I wasn’t worried about drinking the black water. It was cold and refreshing. 

We arrived at our the Pati Viewpoint, which was even more beautiful than the last one, and stopped for a snack and to enjoy the landscapes. The plateau buttes as I’ll call them were now much closer. Throughout the trek, Naty and Gabriel were teaching me good new Portuguese phrases. One that we said regularly was “a vida é uma maravilha” – “Life is a wonder”. A few others they taught me were “Que massa” – “How cool” and “Bora” – “Let’s go”. In Brazil it’s popular to speak Porteño which as I explained in my last post is a mixture of Portuguese and Spanish. We were joking that we spoke a new version called Porteñingles. We would say things like “Let’s bora!” and “Very massa.” These inside jokes continued for the three days and they always seemed to fit the moment. It was a good way for me and Naty to communicate since we didn’t know each other’s native language. 

We continued downhill for the next two miles where the terrain got more challenging. It was steep and narrow with boulders. Our guide Willian was basically running down the hill. He was the exact opposite of my high altitude guides who would go at a snail’s pace. This guy made me look slow on the mountain. Good thing everyone in our group was young and fit, but he set an insanely fast pace. This theme would continue all three days. Normally I am in the front of the group, especially on high altitude hikes where the proud Leo in me needs to go fast, but for this trek I kicked back and usually stayed toward the back. I felt like I was acting as the second guide to stay behind Naty to make sure she was all good (she was a perfectly capable hiker, just had to go at a slower pace sometimes) because Willian was too busy being an Olympic sprinter at the front.

We were back to flat, hardened mud and had entered a new vegetation zone that was more jungle-y as we got closer to the Funis River. The trees and plants were more dense which also provided more shade. 

It was nearly 2:30pm by the time we reached the first waterfall Cachoeira do Lajeado. There were a few other trekking groups stopped here as well, but it still felt very quiet and remote.  Willian prepared our picnic lunch while we swam in the waterfall and surrounding pools. The water was cold but it felt so refreshing after the morning hike. 

Willian made a beautiful spread that allowed us each to make two fully loaded sandwiches. I’m always a big fan of “sandwich with a view” and this one was particularly stunning with the waterfall in the background.

After lunch, we spent another hour relaxing and enjoying the scenery. The constant sound of the waterfall provided a calming white noise that nearly put me to sleep. 

Then it was back to work as we made our way downstream the river toward the next waterfall. The next section was narrow rock cliffs along the river where you occasionally had to grab a tree root to help with stability. It required a high level of concentration and the distance gained was slow moving, but I enjoyed this type of challenge. Very different than the huffing and puffing required at high altitude. 

We arrived at the second waterfall Cachoeria dos Bananeiras around 4:15. This one had a much deeper pool at the base so it was better for swimming. The sun was hidden behind the clouds at this point but I was still game to swim. Guillaume and I were the only ones in our group with the cajones to jump in. Worth it!

The final section was the most challenging part of the day as we had to rock hop along the river zig zagging back and forth at least 10 times. The rocks varied in size and slipperiness which required a high level of concentration and good balance. Slow and steady wins the race. Unless you’re Willian. He had now turned into an Olympic hurdler. 

When I wasn’t fully focused on the river rock hopping, I reminded myself to soak in the beautiful scenery. We passed by waterfall three  and eventually took a break to enjoy golden hour hitting the top of the plateau butte. Que massa!

I was really embracing the moment and how this hike was way different than all the mountain hikes I’ve been doing recently in life. It was a totally different type of terrain, beauty, and trekking experience; very unique. The most similar hiking I’ve done to this was in Colombia or Costa Rica; but this was the cream of the crop. A nice reminder that it’s not always about high above sea level you are.

We made it to the lodge around 5:45 and it was a beautiful property with fruits growing in the trees, colorful flowers in the gardens, a bonfire, lots of bedrooms, big kitchen and dining room, and multiple bathrooms with showers. Woohoo!

The five of us all shared a dorm room. Next was shower time. The water was just as cold as the waterfall so it was a quick in and out. The lodge hosted a number of other groups so we sat around the campfire chatting with new people. It was mostly Brazilians but there was a Greek couple and a Romanian guy that I talked to. There was also a Brazilian guy in his mid 50s from Salvador who spoke good English. I felt the hikers’ high from the day and it was nice to mingle with some new people. 

The dinner was buffet style and had a lot of different options. Even though we had a late lunch, I was starving. I thought my plate was big but Gabriel’s was twice the size. He legitimately had a mountain of food. After dinner I drank a beer and chatted with the Greek couple. It was a new moon and a clear sky so the stars were incredible! You could see a faint haze of the Milky Way. It had been a long day and I was in bed by 9.

Vale do Pati Day 2 (4.73 miles; 1,909 feet elevation gain; 2,102 feet elevation loss)

We woke up at 7 and breakfast was served around 7:45. It was another nice buffet spread with more than enough food for all the groups. After breakfast I watched a few monkeys playing in the trees. Sure beats the morning news. 

We got on trail a little after 8:30. We left our big bags at the lodging and just packed a small day pack for summiting Morro do Castelo. Once again we got off to a steep start as we gained 900 feet in the first mile. It was steep uphill rock steps with lots of roots. Sometimes I had to grab onto the tree branches to help lift me up. You have to be resourceful when jungle (tropical rainforest?) hiking. Luckily we were in the shade this time. We heard the constant chirps of the arapanga fill the air during our climb. Of course Willian was running up the hill. Now I see how other people feel when I go at a quick pace. 

Willian had a good eye for spotting things in the trees. He randomly pulled down a tree branch and picked off a coffee bean. He also found some berries that he let us try. If the guide says it’s okay then I assume it’s not poisonous, right? They were kind of tart but I enjoyed it. Doesn’t get more organic than that. 

We made it to the first mirante (viewpoint) after 1.3 miles and stopped for 10 minutes to soak it all in. 

Then it was another 20 minutes of steep uphill before we reached a cave and took a break. More photos, snacks, water, sunscreen; the usual. Willian gave some explanations of the geological history of the surrounding area and Gabriel acted as translator. 

The final uphill to the top of Morro do Castelo was a rock scramble that required use of hands and a good sense of balance. At 4,550 feet high, we had gained over 1,500 feet in 2 miles. The 360 views were absolutely incredible! It’s hard to capture the true beauty of Chapada Diamantina since the landscape has such grandeur and depth. Photos don’t do justice what the naked eye sees. A vida é uma maravilha!

We had fun pretending like the shape of the rock was an ice cream cone or comparing the flatness of the cake to the terrace butte.

Then we down climbed the rock scramble and went to a viewpoint on the other side of the plateau that looked into the endless Calixto Valley as eagles soared off in the distance. Sheesh! This place rules! I was all smiles appreciating what Vale do Pati trek day two had to offer. You really can’t beat that sense of satisfaction enjoying amazing views with a great group of people. Me, Gabriel, and Naty had become a dynamic trio of fun and laughter; Willian added his own happy go lucky vibe; and even the French couple on their honeymoon had started to open up more to us.  

Going back downhill required intense focus as there were lots of potential ankle twisters – steep path on boulders and tree roots. The three Brazilians were jibber jabbering the whole way down but I was focusing on where I stepped. Not that I could have added any value to their conversation anyways. We had to get on our butts a few times to slide down the rocks.

We made it back our first lodging by 1:45 to get our big backpacks and decided to continue the 30 minutes to the next lodge and eat lunch there. It was pretty much flat the whole way. 

The next accommodation was much smaller and we were the only group to stay there. The French honeymooners got their own private room and me, Naty, and Gabriel got the other. It had enough beds for ten people but it was just us three so that was nice. There was even a double bed that they kindly let me take. We had beautiful views from the house and hammocks setup to kick back and enjoy them from. 

This time we all pitched in to help Willian setup the picnic lunch splitting duties of cutting veggies. It was the same lunch spread as the previous day, but no complaints here. 

Afterwards we walked five minutes down to the river which had a mini waterfall and a swimming hole. Sadly it was a bit cloudy but that didn’t stop Guillaume and I from swimming. Then I blobbed on a rock to air dry. We stayed down there for about an hour but the lack of sun drew us back up to the house by 4:30. 

We took turns taking a cold shower then chilled hard in the hammocks. Naty made a round of homemade caipirinhas while Gabriel DJed Brazilian reggae music. It was a vibe! There wasn’t a worry in the world at that moment in Chapada Diamantina. As the sun started to go down, golden hour hit the terrace butte perfectly. A fine way to take us into the evening. 

Naty made us another rounds of caipirinhas before dinner. Willian had really put on his top chef hat this evening. He had been in the kitchen for over three hours by the time food was ready. And boy did he outdo himself! There were seven different dishes of typical Brazilian food; all in bulk quantity. My man!!! To eat a meal this elaborate literally in the middle of nowhere was the icing on the cake to a fabulous day. Everything was delicious too! Cooked to perfection! We asked where he learned to cook like this and he said his uncles were also guides on the Vale do Pati trek and taught him. Cool to see that it runs in the family. 

After dinner we went back to the hammocks. Sadly there weren’t many stars out because it was very cloudy. But me, Naty, and Gabriel sat around chatting; and I felt like my Portuguese was starting to improve. I had heard them talking so much the past few days that I was starting to get more used to the accent and pick up more words. It helped to have Gabriel translate certain things that Naty would say to me and then he would also translate things I would say back to her. This truly is the best way to learn a language. I got to hear real time translations. Naty had also picked up on a few new English words. Even Gabriel was getting in a lot of good English practice talking to me and acting as the group translator for Willian. Everyone was improving their Porteñingles!

Vale do Pati Day 3 (10.26 miles; 3,438 feet elevation gain; 2,732 feet elevation loss)

We got up at 6:30 to the disappointing sight of cloudy and foggy weather with slight rain residue from the night before. It’s okay the day is still very young. Once again chef Willian outdid himself providing an amazing breakfast spread. 

While we didn’t have many views of the landscapes, there were some birds posing for us while we ate breakfast. 

The hike started in the trees so the foggy air added a level of mystery to the woods. That part was cool. But we still hoped for sunshine and blue skies. The trail started out very steep as we gained 1,500 feet in the first 1.5 miles. Added caution and extra attention was needed as the rocks were more slippery from the rain overnight. I was feeling a bit groggy from the booze and the dreary weather didn’t help. 

We got to the first viewpoint and couldn’t see anything. It was supposed to be a view back at  Morro do Castelo so we could see our accomplishment from the day before from a different vantage point. Sigh. Willian showed us a photo on his phone instead. Good enough. We continued along another 15 minutes to the next viewpoint and still nothing. 

Then it was Inca flat along top of the rock with extra attention needed for slippery spots. Dian took a fall at one point but she was okay. Around 10:30, the sky started to finally clear up a bit and we were able to see the landscapes again. It was still gray and cloudy but at least the visibility has cleared up. Yay! 

The fogginess went away just in time for the cliff edge photo op at the Cachoerião from above. The waterfall was dried up this time of year but it was still an incredibly impressive sight. The sheer 270 meter vertical drop of the cliffs into the valley was enough to make your gut wrench. Perfect place to take scary photos! The first spot was an overhanging slab of rock that looked scarier when other people went onto it. It seemed plenty wide when going on it yourself. But there’s just something about watching others get on. Willian took all the different angled shots of the daredevil photo. Including ones that really revealed to me how big my bald spot has become. Oh no! I knew it was happening but it’s worse than I thought. Ignorance is bliss! 

Then we went to the other side where we took photos looking straight down into the canyon. I found this to be scarier than sitting on the overhanging rock. It gave me slight vertigo when looking over the edge. But hey, worth it for the photo! 

We walked about ten more minutes to our final picnic spot. There was a black water pond that we could swim in. This time Guillaume chickened out on me and I went solo. The sun was fully out now and the cold water was refreshing. Plus how could I pass up the opportunity to swim in black water?

During lunch, Gabriel taught us that Brazilians combine guava with cheese and call it Romeo and Juliet. Sure I’ll give it a shot. It was a good combo with the sweet and salty offsetting each other to create a nice balance of flavors. 

We had another 6.5 miles to go in the afternoon to complete our loop. It was mostly flat with small ups and downs before the final downhill back to the parking lot. We had now entered yet another type of vegetation and landscape as we walked amongst very green tall brush. We have escaped the jungle and re-entered the wetlands. 

The clouds had all vanished and now it was blue skies, sunny, and hot. What a difference from the morning!  I was lost in my thoughts happy about how much my life has changed in the last 10 years. A decade ago I had barely ever hiked or spent time outdoors in my life and now my entire identity is based on outdoors activities. And five years ago I didn’t know a lick of Spanish, and now I love speaking the language and have had many good conversations. It’s crazy how much can change in a decade. Who said you can’t learn new things as an adult? It may be more difficult and require a bigger time commitment, but it’s never too late. 

I also had a deep conversation with Gabriel about how spending time in nature helps deal with day to day life anxieties. He’s only 23 years old but wise beyond his age. He also told me about some beautiful treks in the state of Minas Gerais and how the tourist infrastructure hasn’t built up yet, but he foresees it becoming more popular in the coming years. We talked about opening a hostel called “Let’s Bora” that would offer treks and also Porteñingles classes.  

After miles of flat terrain in the highlands, we approached the first viewpoint from day one with a greater appreciation for the landscapes that we had just traversed. One last semi-steep downhill and we were back at the parking lot drinking coconut waters. Man what a trek! I felt happy and rejuvenated from the experience. 

We were all tired when we got back to the hostel, but Gabriel and I went out for dinner and a celebratory beer (Naty was too exhausted to join). We ate his favorite meal, Prato Feito, which is an all in one plate served with protein (I chose beef), farofa, rice, beans, salad, onions, pasta. It’s a hearty dish and very fitting after three days of hiking. 

It started pouring down rain so we waited it to slow down a bit before going back to the brew pub from day one. This is when we saw the girls dancing together in the rain. A guy came up to us and started chatting Gabriel’s ear off. Everyone in Brazil is so friendly and social. I was glad to have Gabriel as my translator. Earlier I had taught Gabriel the term wingman and he called himself my wing translator. He gets it! After one beer, we were both heavy eyed and called it a night.

Four P’s Day Tour

Following the three day trek, Naty and I signed up for a more chill and relaxing tour. It’s known as the four P’s tour because each destination has the letter P in it – Poço Azul, Vale das Piscinas, Poço do Diabo, and Morro do Pai Inácio. It turned out to be a private tour – it was just me, Naty, and the driver. The first stop was an hour and a half drive so she was talking with driver while I sometimes listened and sometimes zoned out looking at the scenery. It was still good listening practice to soak in the language. I was starting to get used to the accent and the rhythm of the language. We are at Poço Azul and had the entire place to ourselves. Another private experience. It was a cloudy morning so that probably contributed to the lack of crowds. 

You descend into a V shaped cave that has crystal clear blue water. They provide a life jacket and snorkel to admire the extraordinary transparency of the water and the geological formations of the cave. We got 20 minutes to swim around and gaze into the depths of the light blue water. The water gets up to 27 meters deep but appears shallow because of how clear the water is. The temperature of the water was actually quite nice. It wasn’t hot, but it wasn’t too cold either. The color of the water would have been even more vibrant on a sunny day, but it was still beautiful. 

It was another hour drive to the next stop and this time Naty and I were interacting more. We were playing music we liked for each other and using Google Translate to have a conversation (plus my occasional choppy Portuguese). All the sudden the driver stopped and pointed out a cobra in the middle of the road. Crazy Naty got out of the car to get closer, but I was okay to see it from inside. 

We arrived at Vale das Piscinas which was a restaurant next to a waterfall and river. The kids whose parents’ owned the restaurant were running around with the cat getting it to chase a piece of string. It was very cute and entertaining to watch. 

We ordered a beer and sat next to the river listening to the natural sounds of the fast flowing water and chatting in porteñingles. In spite of it all we were able to communicate quite well and enjoying each other’s company. Again we had the place to ourselves. 

It was another buffet lunch with many options of traditional Brazilian food where you weigh your plate at the end. This buffet was much higher quality than the one we stopped at on the bus ride into Lençóis. The food was delicious and paired nicely with our riverfront view. 

The next stop was a 30 minute drive to Morro do Pai Inácio, which is a short 15 minute hike to the top for panoramic views of the extensive mountain range of Chapada Diamantina. The guide told us about the geology of the area and told us an urban legend about Chapada. Of course I only understood bit and pieces but I pretended to follow along. In typical South American fashion he had us do a number of different poses at various viewpoints atop the terrace. He also showed us the same cactus musical sound trick that Willian did. 

The final stop of the day was Poço do Diabo, which was another short hike along the river to see two waterfalls with natural pools at their base. More of that classic Chapada Diamantina beauty. Overall it was a relaxing day and a good opportunity to see a variety of different attractions. 

Brazil Futbol Match

After the four P’s tour, we chilled at the hostel for a bit before heading into the center. It was a game day! Naty and I ate coxhina (chicken and cream cheese pastry) for dinner then went to a bar for caipirinhas. These were particularly strong and I already felt it after one. Then we went to the Mercado Central where they had a giant projector setup to display the game and a bunch of plastic chairs stacked for people to grab. Luckily we got there early enough to snag a seat. Gabriel and his friend were coming to meet us in a bit so we grabbed two extras for them. There was also a makeshift bar setup in the corner that was selling beers. Perfect! It was packed by the time the game started. Brazil dominated Haiti scoring all three of their goals in the first half. The place exploded every time Brazil scored. We didn’t go out afterwards because Naty and Gabriel had early tours the next morning and I had an early bus. It was sad to say our goodbyes that night as they had really become good friends these past four days. It was nice to have been adopted by the Brazilians and spent quality time with locals. Now I have to visit Espírito Santo next time I come to Brazil. 

Salvador is the capital of the Brazilian state of Bahia and the fifth largest city in the country with a population of 2.6 million people (over 4 million in the metro area). It was established in 1549 by Portuguese settlers and became the country’s first colonial capital. Considered by many to be the birthplace of modern Brazil, the city is rich in history and culture. 

It was the primary port of the transatlantic slave trade for the sugarcane industry and still has a lot of African roots as the heart of Afro-Brazilian culture for music, food, dance, and history. Today nearly 80% of the city’s population is of African descent and it holds the title of being the most African city in the Western hemisphere.

The energy of the city is unreal and like no other place I’ve been. It reminded me a lot of New Orleans but with Afro-Brazilian culture and flare. The whole city is a walking music festival and never ending dance party – constantly a drum beat playing on the streets, Samba music bumping on every corner, random parades, big Brazilian booties bouncing in the club, and nonstop action. You can’t walk a block without seeing another street musician. It’s colorful, loud, and fun.

Everyone has said to be super careful with your phone because lots of pickpockets (in all of Brazil but particularly in Salvador). You just have to be extra vigilant with your phone and valuables in public areas. If you’re going to take it out then do so quickly and cautiously. It’s okay to snap a photo and immediately put your phone away, but you don’t want to walk around phone in hand sending texts or looking at Instagram. The locals do it, but as a tourist it’s ill advised. I escaped Salvador with zero issues. 

Getting In

It was an incredibly long travel day to get from San Francisco to Salvador with three flights in total. I took BART to the airport after dinner, but my flight wasn’t until 12:45am so I had over four hours to kill. I caught up on the blog for a while before going through security (I couldn’t even check my bag until four hours before). When I went to the lounge, it was packed and I had to add my name to the waitlist. I still had plenty of time to kill so why not? After waiting 40 minutes, I was finally able to enter the lounge and enjoy some free food and drinks. It was a nice lounge and the food was actually quite tasty. Then I slept the entire time 3hr50 flight going from San Francisco to Houston. 

We landed in Houston at 6:35 and I had a 3.5 hour layover before the next leg of my trip. Once again I took advantage of the access my Capital One card gives me and went directly to the lounge. I ate some breakfast then sat in a comfy chair with my eyes closed listening to music. The time actually went by quickly and before you know it I was on my 10am flight to Panama City. We ended up sitting on the runway for an extra hour so things were about to be interesting in Panama City because my layover was only 1hr25. The flight was a little over 4 hours and I slept for some of it and caught up on the blog for the rest of it. By the time we landed in Panama City my flight to Salvador was leaving in 45 minutes and had just started boarding. I was in the back of the plane so it was going to be a close call. Most people on the flight had a tight connection so there was no real way to fast track the process. This would be the second time in my life that I’ve had to run through the Panama City airport. By the time I was off the plane, there was about 30 minutes (20 minutes to door close) until take off. And of course I had to go to the other terminal so I jogged from terminal 2 to terminal 1, and lucky enough for me, my flight was the first gate in terminal 1. Phew! I was one of the last people to board but I made it with time to spare. I just didn’t get to eat any lunch, but I had some snacks to hold me over until the always delicious airplane dinner.

The flight from Panama City to Salvador was another 7 hours. I worked on the blog, watched a few movies, and took the Portuguese notes on my phone and hand wrote them in a notebook. It went by relatively quickly. I landed in Salvador at 12:40am. Exactly one day since my plane left San Francisco (not exactly because it’s 3 hours ahead but also I got to the SF airport more than 4 hours early so the travel day itself was longer than 24 hours). Sheesh what a journey. I knew going to Northern California for Sam’s wedding was a detour but it made for an incredibly long travel day back to South America.

Readjusting to Backpacker Life

I was glad to see my college friends and make jokes like no time had past, plus it was nice to have a little taste of American life, but it also got me out of my backpacker travel rhythm. At this point I feel very comfortable going into a Spanish speaking country, but I had a little more nerves and anxiety going to Brazil, a new country with a new language and culture. I reminded myself about the mental stresses I faced the first couple days when I lived out of my car last summer in Colorado; how it was difficult to adjust at first but ultimately turned out to be one of the best experiences in my life. Or how nervous I was when I first arrived in Colombia in 2022 on my last South American adventure. I’m no stranger to going outside my comfort zone. Change can be tough, but I’ve always been good at adapting, and once I do, then the experience ends up exceeding expectations.

Brazil is so massive that it’s a bit overwhelming to come up with a game plan for only six weeks that includes seeing a lot of the country, but also doesn’t spend too much time transporting around different areas. I could spend six months in Brazil and still only cover a portion of the country. Also their airlines operate like the U.S. where the price goes up exponentially closer to the day of the flight, so I can’t just book a last second flight from the north to the south. Instead I booked a few fully refundable flights from different cities on different dates to give myself options. My goal was to only take one flight and otherwise take the bus.

I’m coming in with zero to none Portuguese but luckily there is a lot of similar words to Spanish. However the pronunciation is completely different. Many words are spelled the same in Spanish and Portuguese but pronounced completely different. The difficulty of Portuguese is that words don’t sound like how they are spelled. Of course there are patterns to how words are pronounced, it’s just going to take time for my brain to adjust. For example the word restaurante is pronounced like “heh stoh rawn chee”. R’s are H’s. Got it. I had heard that many Brazilians speak Porteño – a combination of Portuguese and Spanish so I will try to use that to my advantage (or at least they will understand if you speak in Spanish…or understand better than English). 

Lodging 

Since I landed after midnight the first night, I booked my accommodation by the airport. I didn’t get to the B&B until almost 2am and luckily the woman whose house it was spoke perfect Spanish because she had lived in Argentina for 20 years. It put me at ease that we could communicate. My ability to speak Spanish already coming in handy.

The next four nights I stayed at Nomad’s Hostel. It had been recommended to me by my American friend Cecelia that I met in Bolivia. I thought she was going to be there but unfortunately we just missed each other. Nonetheless it was an amazing recommendation. It turned out to be one of the best hostels I’ve ever stayed at. They did a great job creating a tight knit community. There was a WhatsApp chat for people to communicate on and it was very active. They would also post nightly parties and events in the city. I ended up meeting so many amazing people during my four nights there, which quickly squashed my anxieties about being in Brazil and put me back into the adventurous backpacker mindset.

Food 

I wasn’t super familiar with Brazilian food coming into the trip but I had heard it was good. Salvador has a lot of traditional dishes specific to the Bahia region it’s located in. The most well know dish from Salvador is moqueca (although I met two Brazilians from Espíritu Santi who argued that moqueca is originally from there; it’s like Peru and Chile arguing about who created the Pisco sour, each place believes they are the originators). Moqueca is a seafood stew made with white fish and shrimp slow cooked in a coconut oil and red palm oil broth with tomatoes, onion, cilantro, and garlic. It is served with white rice, farofa (toasted cassava flour), and pirão (porridge-like paste made from mixing the moqueca broth with cassava flour), and coconut milk pinto beans. It’s a dish so delicious that I ended up eating it three times in my four days. The serving size when eating it with two people is insanely large. I always left with a moqueca baby growing in my stomach. But it was an appropriate amount when I ate it with seven people. 

I also ate abará – black eye peas paste with red palm oil, garlic, onions, and shrimp wrapped in a banana leaf and topped with a sauce. 

Another delicious food I tried was Caja flavored ice cream. Caja (known worldwide as hog plum or yellow mombin) is a tropical fruit with a sweet and sour profile that worked well as an ice cream flavor. 

Overall my appetite was smaller than normal due to amount of drinking I was doing. Hungover me isn’t the best eater. 

Wandering Around Town

On my first day, I dropped off my backpack at Nomads before check in and ate a tasty abará at Maimbé (recommended by the hostel). It was a great first meal to taste the flavors of Brazilian cuisine. Then I walked on the boardwalk along the water around the Barra neighborhood. Salvador faces the Bay of All Saints in one direction and the Atlantic Ocean in the other. The views were beautiful and it was nice to hear the crashing sound of the waves. I walked by Morro do Cristo and the famous Farol do Barra (lighthouse). 

Then I went back to the hostel and utilized the WhatsApp chat to join a group of backpackers going to Monica’s Bar. This is a bar that you get to by row boat (you can also get there through a mini favela but we opted for the boat). The Brazilian girls rowing us there had Olympic level strength to take a group of seven. 

I had a few beers and some good convos and laughs with the group. It didn’t take long to get over the nervousness that I previously felt. From here on out I was back in my backpacker zone. The sunset views on the water from the bar were incredible and the colors just kept getting better after the sun went down. That night I drank a few caipirinhas (famous Brazilian cocktail made of cachaça, lime, and sugar) at the hostel and met so many new people. It set the tone of socialization for the days ahead.  

On the first night at the hostel I chatted with a Colombian girl, Sara, and we decided to explore the city together the following day. I spent the entire day speaking Spanish with her. She didn’t speak much English, but was fluent in Portuguese because she was currently living in Ihla Grande and had been living in Brazil for the last eight years. It was great to be with someone who spoke Portuguese to act as my translator. My ability to speak Spanish coming in handy once again (this would be a running theme). 

Pelourinho 

Pelourinho is the historic center of Salvador and a great representation of the energy and liveliness of the city with its cobblestone streets, colorful flags, and nonstop live music. I ended up here every night. It is also the location of Michael Jackson’s balcony where he filmed his music video of “They Don’t Care About Us” alongside a local Afro-Brazilian percussion group so the pop star is beloved here and his music can constantly be heard in the streets. 

Sara and I wandered around Pelourinho getting lost in its beauty and charm walking down whichever street caught our attention next. One downfall of the area is all the pushy street vendors. It’s a popular thing to receive (or buy) a bracelet and tie it around the fence in front of a church three times making a wish each time you tie the bracelet. This woman came up to Sara and I and said the bracelet was free. So we figured okay we’ll follow the tradition. But then afterwards she started pestering Sara into buying a necklace. Against her will, and after some bartering on the price, she ended up buying one. Meanwhile during their negotiation a kid came up to me with white paint and started painting a design on my arm saying it was a part of their culture. Afterwards he asked for 20 Reals. I did not consent to this! Sara looked at me and goes “Corre!” (Run!). So we started quickly walking away. I felt a little bad but also I never agreed to let him do that so it wasn’t exactly a fair deal. Sara and I both agreed that it was a learning experience. The best thing to do to avoid the harassment is to just quickly walk away.

We were hungry and all of the outdoor restaurants had people trying to corral you to their spot. But one woman in particular, Susie, had a great energy and really bonded with Sara. Susie’s restaurant had outdoor seating in a beautiful narrow alley with a drummer and trumpet player serenading the streets. Okay this is the spot. The rest of the day (and following days) whenever Sara and I would cheers a drink, or if we had a moment of silence and didn’t know what to say, we would go “Susie!”. It became our top inside joke. 

We were constantly laughing, making silly faces, and just being goofy. I really enjoyed hanging out with Sara for this. I plan to visit her in Ihla Grande when I head down south. It can be difficult to have the same personality in Spanish but this was more akin to how I normally act so I was proud of myself for being able to do so. Of course there were still plenty of moments where I wanted to add more details to the conversation but couldn’t because my Spanish has its limitations. Sara was definitely doing more of the talking, but I was still able to add my splashes of humor. For lunch we shared a moqueca and I was a big fan (although this turned out to be my least favorite of the three that I ate).

After lunch we went to a famous church, Igresa de Sao Francisco. It was okay. The beautiful ceilings and chandeliers were nice but the violent photos of the crucification of Jesus weren’t our favorite. Then we went to Foundation Casa de Jorge Amado, the house of the famous Brazilian author. I didn’t really know much about him so it was interesting to learn his story (everything was in Portuguese so I’m not sure how much I actually learned).

We went to Elevador Lacerda (which connects the Upper City, Cidade Alta with the lower city, Cidade Baja) to watch another amazing sunset and crack more jokes. Then we watched a free concert band playing in the square in front of the elevator. They mostly played Brazilian classics but then they hit us with a Michael Jackson medley that had the crowd moving. We sat in the grand stands drinking beers bobbing our heads and watching the moves on the dance floor. 

Sara had a friend from Salvador, Isabel, who came to meet up with us. They met three years prior and hadn’t seen each other since so I let them blabber to each other in Portuguese while I drank cachaça (popular distilled spirit made from pressed sugarcane) and bull shitted on my phone. There was a drum ensemble playing Afro-Brazilian beats on the streets nearby so I left them for a bit to enjoy that. Once again a guy painted a design on my other arm with white paint without my consent. I said no obrigado when he asked but he continued to do so anyways. And of course he wanted money after but I held strong on not giving him any. Sorry dude, I didn’t want this. Sara and Isabel were dying laughing when I returned with my other arm painted. I ended up going to the bathroom and washing off both sides because I felt like it made me look like fresh meat tourist. 

Then we went to the club to go to the event posted in the WhatsApp group to meet up with the rest of the people from the hostel. I recognized a lot of people from the night before and also made a handful of new friends. The DJs were playing Brazilian Afro house but the music was all over the place. Some tracks were really good and others were questionable. Regardless we were all having a good time dancing and chatting. Sara was tired and went home but I stayed out with the rest of the group. The first show ended at midnight and we went to another club down the road. The music was great but the venue was very small and cramped. I ended up becoming friendly with a Bolivian girl from the hostel, Dani. She was from La Paz so I was able to talk with her about my recent experiences in Bolivia. Then a few of us took an Uber to Rio Vermehlo (another neighborhood in town) and went to club San Sebastián. It was a much bigger venue and the music here was great. This was the spot to be! We stayed out dancing until 4:30am. From exploring Pelourinho during the day to dancing for nearly eight hours in the night, it was an unforgettable day! I now understand Brazil and I am in love! 

Porto da Barra Beach

Day three was a struggle to start the day after partying until 4:30 in the morning. I slept until 11 then a French guy, Axel, and I went to lunch for another round of moqueca. We went to Restaurante Dona Suzana recommended by the hostel and it did not disappoint. It was probably the best moqueca that I had, and it paired nicely with an amazing waterfront view. The flavors were on point and they had was a spicy sauce that made me sweat like I was in a sauna. It was nearby Monica’s Bar from the other day and had amazing waterfront views. Rather than take the row boat we walked through the mini favela. The streets were narrow and the tiny houses were clustered together. It was totally fine during the day, but I would be hesitant to go here at night. 

Afterwards we met up with a big group of people from the hostel at Porto da Barra Beach. Hungover and dangerously full, I was ready to be a blob on the beach and soak in the sun. The beach was packed with people and like everywhere in Salvador, full of energy. There were vendors walking around selling food, drinks, headphones, etc; people kicking the soccer ball around; way too many guys in speedos; and music blasting from multiple different groups. The water was the perfect temperature – slightly cold but refreshing after sitting in the sun. It was a relaxing few hours on the beach and once again we were blessed with a colorful sunset on the water. 

Brazil Futbol Match 

After the beach, we had a quick turnaround to shower at the hostel and get ready for the Brazil futbol match. The hostel was playing the game but we wanted to soak in the energy of the city. I could be at a hostel anywhere in the world and watch the game, but I’m in Salvador and want to be with the Brazilians. We got wind of a bar in Pelourinho that would be fun and Ubered that way. The crew was me, Axel, Paula (Colombian girl who also spoke great English), and two British guys. As we got close to the bar, streets were hectic and the traffic horrible. We decided to get out of the Uber and walk. The game was about to start, and on our way to the bar, we stumbled upon a square that had hundreds (thousands?) of people standing in front of a big screen TV with beer and street food vendors. This will do! We were toward the back and being a short guy I could barely see the TV screen. That’s okay, I’m here to soak in the energy of the locals. We had to stand in a tightly packed crowd for the entire game. It was surprisingly quiet during the game with a lack of chants compared to when I was in Argentina. Nonetheless the place absolutely exploded when Brazil scored their only goal. Overall it was a pretty boring game and ended in a 1-1 tie with Morocco. 

Then we walked around Pelourinho, which felt like walking around New Orleans after a Mardi Gras parade. There were thousands of people in the streets drinking and dancing. You didn’t even need to walk into a bar. You could just buy a beer off a vendor in the streets and walk around. It was absolute chaos. I wasn’t sure if this was because of the futbol match or if this was just another Saturday night in Salvador. Probably a bit of both. Either way it was super fun! Eventually we went to a bar so we could finally take a seat at a table on the outdoor patio. We ran into Sara, Isabel, and a few others from the hostel. After a couple drinks at the bar, the British guys were continuing the party but a group of us decided to go home. I was tempted to go out but wanted to be a good tourist the next day and knew I wouldn’t be able to do so if I had another late night. 

Me and the South Americans 

Originally I was going to leave Salvador on Sunday, but during the Brazil game I decided that I wasn’t ready to leave quite yet. I had met so many amazing people at the hostel and I wanted to keep connecting with them. Also I was thoroughly enjoying the vibe of the city. Sara and I planned to be tourists together again and that morning our group size grew as others showed interest. It ended up being me and five South Americans (six once Isabel arrived) so the two languages spoken all day were Portuguese and Spanish. The group was Sara (Colombian but speaks perfect Portuguese), Paula (Colombian – only person who spoke some English so she was my reprieve. Although I tried to stick to Spanish with her too), Dani (Bolivian), Vitor (Brazilian), Veronica (Brazilian), and Isabel (Brazilian) met us later in the day. Needless to say I was very quiet and just  soaking in their conversations. My Spanish is good one on one but it’s difficult when in a group. The conversation moves too quickly and by the time I’ve come up with something to say, it’s too late. That’s okay. I enjoy getting out of my comfort zone and being in these scenarios. It’s a more authentic experience than hanging out with a bunch of European backpackers. I mean I am in Brazil. I’m here to connect with the local people and culture. 

We Ubered to a new neighborhood further out in the city. Our first stop was Basilica do Senhor do Bonfim. This church was more impressive than the last one. It’s much different doing tourist activities with South Americans than doing them solo; everything moves at a much slower pace. Everyone has to take a million photos and videos with different poses. They also went into every souvenir shop looking at all the trinkets. We spent close to an hour and a half at the church; an activity that would have taken me five minutes. It was all good though, I was there for the company. Even if I wasn’t talking much, I was still enjoying the moment and having a different type of backpacker experience. 

Afterwards we walked toward the water and strolled along the boardwalk. It was a much more quiet and peaceful part of Salvador; and also very local. I’m pretty sure I was the only gringo in the area. There was one section of the walk that was pedestrian only where the path went in front of small waterfront properties with incredible views. People were sitting on their stoops drinking beers, a guy was cutting a freshly caught fish, and life was moving at a slow pace, It was cool to see another side of Salvador. 

We continued walking to Forte de Monte Serrat, which served as another prime location to model for photos. Even I got into the mix and did a number of poses in front of this one window that had beautiful views of the ocean and the beach with the Salvador city skyline in the backdrop. 

Then we had a late lunch/early dinner at a restaurant on the pier. What did we have? You guessed it…moqueca round three! It was for seven of us so it came out in a massive bowl and this time it included langostinos. I was very hungry as all I ate was a small breakfast. This was the first time that I finished moqueca and didn’t feel uncomfortably full. Plus the portions were a bit smaller in a group of seven. The crew was bantering and laughing with the waitress the entire time. Interactions with locals are so much better when you’re with people who speak Portuguese – waiters, uber drivers, people in the street. Brazilians are very friendly and chatty. There’s always a conversation to be had. Even if I wasn’t the one talking, it’s still fun to witness this type of energy. 

After the meal was time for another beautiful sunset. This one might have been the best of them all. The colors melted from yellow and orange into a fiery red. It was a great way to cap my final day in Salvador. 

But the festivities weren’t over quite yet. We Ubered to Pelourinho to grab some drinks at a bar, but as we got closer the street was blocked off for a São Joao parade. We did not know this at the time, we just happened to stumble upon it. São Joao celebrates the birth of Saint John the Baptist and is the highlight of June festivities in Brazil, particularly in the north. Fortunate timing to be here for it. We found a spot in the crowd with good views of the parade. It felt like watching a broadway musical in the streets. The participants were dressed in various colorful outfits doing coordinated dances, singing, and being very theatrical. It was a pleasant surprise to witness the parade; this city never stops! The culture and history resonates through the air. Afterwards we went to a sorvertia and got ice cream. I wanted to try something new so I ordered caja flavored ice cream. The mixture of sweet and sour flavor was delicious! 

We Ubered back to the hostel around 8pm and sat around chatting for a bit. At the same time I did my laundry at a self service place down the street. I had avoided doing it earlier in the day so I could be a tourist, but now was the time. Overall it was another unique and memorable day in Salvador! I capped off the night watching MMA in the upstairs room at the hostel with a big group of people, finally returning to speaking English.  

Getting In 

On the way to the bus terminal in Arequipa, I had a good convo with my uber driver about climbing the Arequipa volcanos and about the high cost of shrimp (chupe de camarones strike back). He goes fishing for shrimp with his friends to make it cheaper to cook at home. He was telling me all about the local spots that he goes. My bus left Arequipa a little after 6pm and a short 18 hour ride later and I made it to Lima, my final stop of part one of my trip. Right back to where I started. It was good practice for the long bus rides I will have ahead in Brazil. I caught up on the blog, started my Portuguese lessons, slept, and researched Salvador. It actually went surprisingly fast. Starting Portuguese from scratch made me realize how far my Spanish has come these past few years. I don’t expect to get anywhere close to that level with my Portuguese but I would like to at least learn the basics to have better interactions with locals in Brazil and show that I am trying to learn their language. I got into Lima a little after 12:30pm and had a few hours to kill before Camille arrived.

Lodging 

Camille and I booked a nice hotel for two nights on the outskirts of the Miraflores neighborhood by the boardwalk. It had a massive king bed, small couch, table with two chairs, and great shower. Figured we would treat ourselves. Then on my final night I booked a cheap motel by the airport because my flight was at 6:30am and I didn’t want to deal with having a long commute to the airport. 

Wandering around Town

Even thought it’s not my favorite city, I have spent more than a week of my life in Lima between my last trip and this one. At least it’s a great place to eat. The first night we wanted fresh seafood and went out for sushi dinner at Edo Sushi Bar. Then we got ice cream and went out to a bar in Miraflores to soak in the Saturday night Lima scene. The streets were quite lively and it was fun to sit at an outdoor table and people watch. We drank a few 9% beers that got us a bit buzzed. As the night wore on people were dressed more fancy and looked more ready for a night on the town. However we are old people and went back around 11. 

The next day I showed Camille the classic Lima boardwalk walk from Miraflores to Barranco as we enjoyed the various parks and sights along the way. We stopped for a late lunch in Barranco at El Muelle Cevicheria and shared a delicious ceviche and grilled fish. Then we walked around the colorful artsy neighborhood enjoying the different murals and going to a few art studios. Then we walked all the way back to our hotel in Miraflores with an ice cream pit stop. We got in a lot of steps that day. That evening we were tired from all the walking and still full from lunch so we went out for chifa in the neighborhood and called it an early night. 

On my final day of part one of my trip, we went to Museo Larco; which has an impressive collection of archaeological artifacts from throughout Peruvian history. There were lots of amazing ceramics, vases, jewelry, headdresses, fabrics, and more. 

The museum landscape was also very beautiful with an incredible garden full of gorgeous flowers. The final exhibit of the museum was dedicated to eroticism in arts and statues so that’s always fun. 

Afterwards we went to Panchita for my final lomo saltado for lunch with a side of three different potato dishes covered in sauce (the side dish was enough to feed six people). Then we walked around some of the artesenal markets before going back to the hotel to chill. That evening we shared ceviche and a fish sandwich. As usual the food in Lima was the real highlight of the city. 

American Detour – California Dreaming

My first trip back to the U.S. was for my college friend Sam King’s wedding in Chico, California. There was a group of us Tulane guys going so it was going to be a good throw back to the past.

But first I flew from Lima > Miami > San Francisco and spent a night in SF. My buddy Evan from Denver happened to be in SF for work and let me stay at his room in the Downtown W hotel. Let’s just say it was a bit of an upgrade from my accommodations in Bolivia and Peru. It was nice to see a familiar face on my first day back in the States. I don’t think about it when backpacking but Evan was the first person I saw in the last eight weeks that I actually knew before hand. Wild thought. 

When meeting backpackers, it immediately feels like you’ve known them forever. We got an amazing pizza for dinner (I didn’t even realize how much I missed a good American pizza until now) in North Beach then went out for some drinks chatting it up about my travels, what’s been going on in Denver, and just random nonsense. I missed shooting the shit with Evan so it was nice to catch up. Even on a Tuesday night, SF had a lot of liveliness with so many restaurants open and people out at the bars. The city is full of business professionals and wacky characters on the streets. It’s very multicultural and you hear lots of languages spoken in the streets. 

The next morning I walked through Chinatown past North Beach to Fisherman’s Wharf to see the sea lions at Pier 39. Then I walked to the famous windy road Lombard Street. On my way back to the W, I ate an incredible General Tso’s chicken in China Town. It was good to be an American tourist in a cool city with lots of unique neighborhoods and lively activity. I miss the American luxuries like free public bathrooms with a supply of toilet paper.

I had to walk from the W to the San Francisco bus station to catch a bus to Sacramento. People probably thought I was homeless with my double backpack setup..and I guess they really aren’t too far off. I’m just a different type of homeless than your average SF panhandler. The greyhound was quite the experience. American buses are shittier than Bolivia and Peru. The seats are horrible, the clientele is sketchy, and the stench is rough. At least it wasn’t full so I grabbed a seat to myself, but it was far from a luxury experience.

I met Sumner at the Sacramento bus station and we drove the 1.5 hours to Chico catching up about everything. Paul Nadasi showed up later that evening and the 15+ year old jokes began. Some things never change.

The wedding had three full days of events and it was a great way to get everyone to know each other better! By the time wedding day rolled around I was already friends with people I hadn’t known just a few days before. 

The first day we tubed down the river drinking beers and breaking the ice with strangers. Stypa showed up that afternoon so it was great to see him and that evening was welcome drinks. I also got to see Pat and meet his girlfriend Riley. The jokes were flowing faster than the beers.

The next day Scotty showed up and our house was complete. There was a “field day competition” where the wedding guests were split up into teams of 7-8 people and we performed a number of competitive games. Sam even gave a personalized introduction for each competitor. Mine was something of the likes of “hitchhiking here from South America.” It was a lot of fun and another way to grow the bond between the guests. That night was a cowboy themed rehearsal dinner at Taylor’s parents’ beautiful home along the river followed by more drinks out on the town. 

After multiple days of events, Saturday was wedding day. The Tulane squad went to Sierra Nevada Brewing for lunch and to kick back some day time beers. Then it was showtime. There was a shuttle that took the wedding guests to a beautiful location along the river. It was a gorgeous venue! Sam and Taylor’s vows had the whole party in tears. After a delicious dinner, hours flew by on the dance floor and before you know it we were all back at the bar from the night before. The entire event was a great time!

The hangover was real that Sunday after four straight days of drinking with college friends and new wedding guest friends. I rode with Paul to Sacramento where he dropped me off at my motel and I watched movies and slept the rest of the day.

The next day it was back on the bus to SF with my other smelly homeless friends. The guy sitting next to me really had an odor. I got into SF around lunch time and luckily the hotel let me check in early. That afternoon I went to Dolores Park > Haight Ashbury > Golden Gate Park (a small section) before heading home. I was considering going to a Giants game that night but was still recovering from my wedding hangover and decided to go out for Thai food for dinner and watch the NBA finals in my bed.

My last day in SF I was conditioning myself to rejoin travel life. My flight(s) to Brazil didn’t leave until 12:45am so I had all day to kill. I had a slow start to my day. After my hotel check out I got a pastrami sandwich for an early lunch. Then I rode the bus to Land’s End and sat at a cafe enjoying an ice coffee before hiking along the coast to Baker Beach. I forgot how beautiful the SF coast was with its rocky formations along the Pacific Ocean. The views of the Golden Gate Bridge kept getting better and better as I approached Baker Beach. Afterwards I did a few minor shopping errands, ate dinner in Chinatown, and headed to the airport way too early because I didn’t really have much else to do.