As the clock hit 8am Ossi, the birthday girl, awoke to Confetti raining down, and the instructions: "make a wish...it's your birthday." Three intentions were set for this auspicious day: 1. Be in the every moment, all day. 2. find a calm maddness and 3. boogie all day long.
So, with that we headed down to breakfast and soon met our Buggy guide Mai Tai. He was to drive us along the coast and bring us to see sand dunes, beaches and lagoons. We headed out with him and proceeded to squwoosh ourselves into the buggy with our tour buddies Alex and Marianna. The top came off the music was turned up and we were on our way. First stop...Ferry.
Following the Ferry ride, we proceeded North to many beaches: Redinha, Genipabu, Pitangui, Jacumã, and Muriú. Here are some general photos of what we saw during our excursion north- details of particularly eventful moments follow...
After a few hours of riding around in the hot sunshine, we were delighted to find ourselves parked near an inland freshwater lagoon equipped with Brazil's version of a zip-line crossed witha rope swing. We were at first hesitant, but after watching others who were of much stouter proprotions, we decided the equipment would support us.
So, strapped in, off we went. Afterall, it was Ossi's birthday, and of course one must try new things on one's birthday...
While the "flight" down was a blast, the scariest part was actually riding the "chair lift" back to the top. This is the chair lift. Who knew the Brazilians were so damn literal.
Don't be fooled by this guy's casual pose- it is a rickety-ass bench at a >60 degree angle and it moves at an alarmingly rapid and jerky pace...
After a few more beach stops (one which included a one-hour disappearance of our driver and buggy, -neither we nor the fellow portueguese speaking Brazilians with us understood where the hell he had gone off to- we entered the Dunas national Park.
Don't be fooled by the peaceful, grand sweeping landscape- this experience was like a ride on the world's oldest rollercoaster (think circa 1955) with plunging downhills, spinning out turns, and riding rims of cliffs of sand that desccended into pits below. Our first experience was captured on film as follows. We rapidly approach a clearing between to large dunes..
**DISCLOSURE- MOTHERS, OTHER FRIENDS/RELATIVES WHO TEND TO WORRY, AND THOSE WHO HAVE JUST EATEN A LARGE BREAKFAST, YOU MAY WANT TO SKIP THIS NEXT PART...***
As we came around the corner, the view straight ahead disappeared- we were sure that we would soon turn, but no, we went straight. Up and over the edge, at an angle so steep, we were almost standing up while sitting down. If you look at this photo, notice the roll bar in the center of the buggy compared to the top of the windsheild at the front of the buggy. They are quite close together- this angle says it all.
Looking back, it does not do it justice, but here's a vague impression nonetheless
After surviving the freefall of dune driving, our driver notified us that it was time for a photo shoot. HE took many bizarre pictures, putting us in all sorts of poses. This is the best of the bunch:
This has not been photoshopped. This guy clearly has spent too much time playing in the sand dunes. We told you he was mad...but it is kinda cool...
All of the sudden, he lept into the buggy and took off to the top of the next dune, smiling and waving at us. We were at first alarmed because our bag was still in the buggy. But he stopped and parked the buggy up there, and gave us a wave.
Once again, we were confused, but so were our portuguese speaking friends. So, we decided to walk toward the buggy.
When we finally got there, Mai tai had vanished. we searched high and low, but no sign of him, and with the strong wind, his tracks were already covered. This was the second time we had been abandoned on the trip, and we were starting to feel a bit uneasy with the chap.
After about half and hour he returned, toilet paper in hand, smiling. He simply said: I had to use the bathroom. Shall we...?"
So, we got into the buggy. The next stop was the "waterfall". We were told we could swim and have a "natural massage" from its force. But, the expectations were a bit too high, and unfortunately, as you can see from our smiles, we weren't all that impressed.
Eight hours after having started this journey, it was time to head home. We passed a few more beaches which were equally beautiful to the earlier ones- this one especially caught our attention.
Then we had to cross a different river on a smaller ferry, that used "tecnologia do ponta negra"- aka, a man paddling a small piece of driftwood that barely fit the buggy using a large pole, like something out of Huckleberry Finn.
But we made it- over the river and through the woods back to the hostel we go!
Now, you may think we were tired after such an adventure. But it was Ossi's birthday and the fun and new experiences had to keep on coming. So, after a quick shower and change we met with the local Capoeira master for our first authentic lesson in this awesome martial art/dance/sport. It was difficult, and two days later we are still sore from all the damn kicks. We assure you, it is harder than it looks! But loads of fun and we will be doing it again soon.
You can only imagine how hungry we were by this point. So, off we went to the Japanese restaurant that has now become our favorite local eatery. We dined on miso soup, cucumber rolls, veggie rolls, and vegetable tempura. YUM! And some saki of course.
We returned to the hostel for the most creative chocolate cake and candle celebration Marah could muster in this town. It may LOOK meager, but those are BARBIE SUPER SPARKLY candles, and the chocolate bar was divine...
So we hope you've enjoyed this ride as much as we have. If we can maintain this level of adventure and excitement for the next year of life, we're pretty sure it will be a good one.
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