Living the Good Life: February 2017

So after our little stint in Olinda, we decided to head up the coast to Praia da Pipa (Pipa Beach). In order to get there we had to jump on a local bus back into Recife, get on the metro in Recife to the long distance bus stop, jump aboard a bus and travel to a town where we jump off ,and get on a combi to take us the last 30 mins into Pipa. Sounds simple right. This turned into jumping on a wrong bus in Olinda and randomly finding out we weren't going to where we thought. Jumping off the bus and waiting for the right bus which never seemed to be coming. Getting too hot and hailing a taxi to take us to the metro. Jumping on the wrong train, but realizing it soon enough as to jump off the train before the track splits and goes different directions. Jumping on the right train. Getting on a long distance bus and riding the 4 hours. Jumping in a combi, that didn't hear us when we told him to stop multiple times at the place we wanted to camp, in what we thought was the Portuguese word for stop. Getting to the last point where the combi stops and them telling us we had to get off. Having a random Brazilian guy that could speak English translate that we were trying to tell them to stop. Jumped in another combi that took us back the few kms to where we wanted to be. It nearly didn't stop for us as well until we really started yelling. Checking out a deserted campground that we had decided to stay at, but then deciding it was too creepy and walking back into town. Finding a cool little hostel right on the beach after walking for a couple kms. Ahhhhhh. For those of you who have backpacked, you know how it is. Sometimes things just don't go as you planned and it isn't just awesomeness for every minute. Just like when you are working, there are good days and bad days. Probably if we weren't so cheap, we wouldn't run into some of these problems, but the costs add up when you are gone for months. We don't usually include all this in blogs because they would take forever to write and would ramble on forever. But between the things that don't go as planned, many amazing things happen and that's why we do this.

The hostel was right on the beach and had a relaxing atmosphere.

We only stayed there the first night though as we thought we would check out the other campsite in town. After a
hike down the beach and up a cliff, we found it.

This one was the exact opposite of the last. Quite a few people and some amazing views along with a kitchen to use.

We got ourselves some groceries and basically had a maintenance day. Well I did at least. Roberta spent the day baking with a lady around our parents age. The lady didn't speak any English and Roberta has very limited Portugese, and from what I saw it didn't matter. They both knew that the end goal was corn bread. I could tell that the Brazilian lady was just really happy to find a younger girl that loved to bake and Roberta was enjoying the fact that she had someone to bake with and could connect with without knowing eachother 's language. Remember those amazing things I talked about earlier. They can be as simple as this.

I never got any photos of her baking the corn bread (which was delicious), but this is her making her first tapioca which is a very popular Brazilian dish.

Her stuffings were Nutella, bananas, and sweetened condensed milk. Quite tasty.

The next day we got up and hiked down the beach to the Baia dos Golfinos (Bay of Dolphins) at low tide. It didn't disappoint us. We swam out a couple hundred yards and got some good views of the dolphins. As a wave went passed, they were literally cruising through them like you see on tv. One actually leaped really high out of a wave behind Roberta, but she didn't see as she was looking at others.

Picture from the beach. The Dolphins really came close to shore at low tide. Saw them catching fish a few times as well.

Must have missed the dolphins in this picture......Oh Brazil.

We spent the rest of the day wandering around town and watching the really good surfers doing flips and what-not from the cliffs. It was a great day.

We decided to try out our own luck at surfing the next day. Roberta got a lesson and I just rented a board. The waves were a lot larger than I was used to, but I was able to stand up more than I ever had which was satisfying. Roberta also did really well too. We aren't pros by any means but at least we can stand up quite regularly now.

Couldn't always stand up....

A bunch of kids were riding the waves like pros. This guy was showing me where to go.

Roberta giving it a go.

We pretty much surfed all day and I can see why most surfers are in such good shape. It's exhausting.

There's proof of Roberta standing!

And me!

I definitely get in a lot better shape when I'm traveling from lugging around a 17 kg pack to surfing. It just seems to be much more fun than running on a treadmill.

Some of the marmosets visiting us at our campground.

The last full day we went back to Dolphin Bay and spent much of the day hanging out there.

We went for a another walk around sunset which was beautiful. This was on Valentine's Day. Roberta discovered it was World Bonobo Day (look it up) and decided we would be celebrating that instead of Valentine's Day. She just hates how commercialized it has become. Yes, she is getting more hippie each day. Haha

Sweet selfie. We have noticed that Brazilians really like their selfies, so I had to join the fun.

Our camp spot with a view.

Next up:Natal and Salvador

Hey guys,
Next stop on our somewhat whirlwind tour of Brazil was Olinda. We flew into Recifé and took a rather sweaty, packed couple of buses and a metro to the quieter city of Olinda. We stayed in the Old Town, and were again treated to cobblestone streets, colonial architecture, and this time lots of little houses in pastel shades. It was marvellous.
Many of the churches were built around the time of the founding of the city in the 16th Century. At this time, a new hip fad called Protestantism was sweeping Europe, and the Roman Catholic Church was responding in the New World by trying to convert as many souls as possible. The Catholic Kings of Portugal sent many religious orders into Brazil and Olinda, and they built churches with great gusto. Unfortunately, the Dutch invaded in 1630 and burnt the place to the ground. Undeterred, the residents of Olinda rebuilt with fervour, and here is some of their handiwork:

Igreja do Carmo- original built in 1580

Look at all the beautiful colours on one street!

This cat was just amazing, had to take a picture. She had the prettiest blue eyes

Monasterio de São Bento- the Monastery of St Benedict- the last refurbishment was done in 1761.

Lots of great street art here, too.

Cute Olinda in the foreground, crazy Recifé with the skyscrapers in the background.

These are used in the parade at Carnival in Olinda. Every small town and city has its own spin on Carnival, and apparently Olinda's is very interesting.