Trancoso

Friday 1/2 - Monday 1/5/15

We arrived around 9pm to a small pousada called Big Bamboo owned by an Italian couple about our age . The little village and beautiful empty beaches have exploded in popularity over the last 10 years with a young wealthy hipster crowd (not us!). We actually stumbled into part of this hipster crowd at our pousada the first night, as the hotel owner told us we were lucky to come at the same as Gusttavo Lima, a famous Brazillian singer, hanging out with his entourage at the pool and bar area (we had to google him to understand the significance and comprehend his excitement). We didn't have to google Neymar and Messi, the soccer players, we were also hanging out in Trancoso during the holidays. On the first day we visited Espelho Beach, about an hour taxi ride south of Trancoso on sandy rutted roads lined with trees, vegetation, water buffalo (think fresh buffalo mozzarela) and cattle. The beach had several restaurants that rented chairs, umbrellas and served drinks and food. We walked halfway down, found a nice, quaint spot to spend the day and ordered beers, mojitos and appetizers in order to spend our minimum $80 Reals (about $15 per person) in order to use their chairs, bamboo mats and awning for the day . Thinking we already reached our cheap minimum, we still ended up carrying 11 unopened beers back to our hotel to reach it. Some people traveled by helicopter that would drop off right on the beach. After returning to Trancoso, we walked the Quadrado, the town square with the third oldest church in Brazil and full of overpriced shops and restaurants. We ended up finding a great place to eat with a chef named Vito. His claim to have the best burgers (we could add about ten different toppings from bacon, avocado, cheeses, etc) in Brazil did not disappoint! They were so good, Dean and Michael ate them again the second night (after Michael got his sushi appetizer fix at a different place).

Day 2 we took another taxi ride even further south to the town and beach of Caraiva. The road to Caraiva ends at a river crossing which essentially makes this place the end of the road and very difficult for most to get to due to the road conditions (think bouncing around and hitting your head on the side of the back seat, all while Jon Bon Jovi is singing Never Say Goodbye on the car radio .) When arriving, several boats wait to take people across the river to the village, where no cars are allowed and horses with carts are the only taxi. We spent the day sitting on a point where the river and ocean meet. Again, beautiful beaches and a young, backpacker vibe permeated from this place (except for the rich elitists in their helicopters). It's been hot and the beers have been impressively ice cold everywhere in Brazil. There were a few "bars" set up on the beach... People with tents, coolers, a little fruit and a few bottles of hard liquor. We paid another $15 Reals per person to use another awning/tent shelter and beach chairs. Tami and I had something strong with a few pieces of watermelon mixed in. Not sure what we drank, but we later saw the bottle of alcohol in the market for 6 Reals, about $2.50 for a liter It's tough to make fancy drinks when all of your supplies need to arrive by boat and horse! We ate a lunch on the beach of fresh hand-made deep fried pastries filled with various unidentified meats and creamy cheeses. We've been able to navigate the Portuguese language enough, getting by mostly with our limited Spanish. We've hardly heard any other English speaking tourists since we left the Iguazzu Falls area. As we get further north, theres even less people who know English at all, which doesnt stop anyone from just repeating what they say to us, thinking we're eventually going to get it. Brazil has continued to exceed our expectations. We're a bit behind on our postings, already on night 3 of our 4th leg. Sending love and heat!