Saturday, February 26, 2011

Beach Bound (i.e. Getting Lost)

Beach Bound!Another weekend arrived with the promise of a new adventure.  Our friends, Susan and Marcus, had invited us to join them at the beach for a couple of days.  Sao Paulo is situated only about 60 km from the Atlantic ocean, offering many beaches to enjoy, within a short (1 to 2 hour) drive.  Our friends were staying in a little “pousada” for a couple of nights, a small inn just across the street from the beach – though we tried to get a room in the same place, they were completely booked.  We were given the name of another nearby pousada, but only wanting to stay for one night, had no luck in booking a room there either – basically, you have to book for two or more nights, or you can’t get a reservation.  Given the fact that we were only about two hours away from the beach, we figured we’d save the R$ 450 and just drive up and back the same day.  After spending about an hour looking at Google Maps, and copying the 27-step directions (we have no printer yet, so we had to write out every little detail) to the beach, and the 32-steps to get us back to Sao Paulo, we felt we were prepared to find our way.  We also had the back-up of a borrowed GPS to guide us in case we got turned around.  Little did we know that our “back-up plan” would backfire on us, adding almost 2 hours to our trip!    
After loading our things into the car, we happily set out, looking forward to a day of relaxation away from this mega-city, and some fun in the sun.  We didn’t get far (500 meters, perhaps) before we realized we were already heading in the wrong direction.  One wrong turn in this crazy maze of streets can set you back several minutes until you can find a way to get back where you intended to be.  We had not been gone 5 minutes, and already our Google Map directions were useless to us, since we couldn’t even find the first street on which we needed to turn.  We decided to go with our back-up GPS, that was still “searching for satellite” – as a side note, we’ve never owned a GPS, having avoided them because we know they are not always accurate, and never seemed to need one, though we’re told you can’t survive in this city without one.  Once our little friend (the female voice on the GPS) located a satellite, she confidently started guiding us in the “right” direction.  It was not a good sign, when 20 minutes after pulling out of our complex, we drove right by it again!  After an hour of being in the car, we were still in Sao Paulo – first having been in a traffic jam caused by an injured motoboy who had hit a dog, then by following the directions right through the heart of downtown.  I may not know Sao Paulo well, but I knew we couldn’t possibly be going the right way.  I was pretty frustrated, and called my friend in a panic, letting her know we had no idea which way we were headed – Matt tried to keep me calm, insisting that we would find our way.
Two hours into our drive (we should have been close to arriving to our destination), we were finally out of the city, and following signs to Rio de Janeiro – at least we were headed in the right direction.  It’s an amazing feeling, to get out of the city traffic and feel yourself relax and breathe a bit more easily.  That feeling was short-lived as we entered a little town, Mogi das Cruzes, and the GPS had us going in circles – literally!  Streets in Brazil use a lot of “roundabouts”, and we ended up going around the same one 3 times – each time, our little friend would shout, “Recalculating…”  We gave up on trying to figure out where to go, and decided to stop at a gas station for directions.  A very kind lady looked up directions for us, and was sweet enough to print them, along with a map.  Feeling only a little more confident, we followed the directions she gave us, only to end up in the same roundabout again.  We ignored the GPS as she continued to “recalculate” and ended up driving into the middle of the town, obviously lost!  I convinced Matt to pull over and decided to take the advice we’d been given – ask a taxi driver to guide you to where you need to go, and pay them once they get you there.  We found a taxi stand, and I took my chances, walking up to one of them, with my map in hand, and in my limited Portuguese, pointed to our destination, and asked if he could get us there.  I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when he explained that we were still about 100 km away from where we wanted to be!  He told me he could get us to the main highway, and then we could find our way easily from there.  What a blessing he turned out to be!  For only R$ 30, he led us to the road that would finally get us to the beach – he kindly reminded us to watch for the speed humps and to obey the speed limits so as not to get a steep fine and ticket.  We thanked him profusely, handed over the well-spent money, and went on our way.
By this time, we’d been in the car for three hours, and were wondering if spending one day at the beach would be worth all the hassles of trying to get there.  As we continued on the highway, we began to see the glories of nature in Brazil.  We were surrounded by lush green mountains, dotted with purple flowering trees, steep cliffs, and the occasional waterfall.  We laughed and rolled our eyes as the GPS, by this point more confused than we were, continued to recalculate, and tried to have us “turn left” – into a waterfall, or “turn right” – off of a cliff!  I swear, if it had been my own GPS, I would have thrown it out the window!     
Almost four hours after leaving our apartment, we finally arrived in Juquehy, our final destination!  A beautiful beach, with mountains behind us, fine white sand beneath our feet, crystal-clear water, and little islands that jut out of the ocean, Juquehy was a paradise.  We found our friends right away, and quickly forgot about the ordeal of trying to get there, and enjoyed our day.  The boys had a blast playing with their new friend, Nico, for hours, while we relaxed and soaked up the sun and surf.  Having only eaten breakfast (and a bunch of snacks I’d packed), the boys were ready for a late lunch.  Menu items at the little food stand on the beach are limited to hot dogs and corn – they literally cut the corn off of a cob and serve it to you in a little plastic cup, with butter and salt.  We ordered the hot dogs, which after one bite, the boys refused to eat.  Matt and I had to agree that hot dogs in Brazil are nothing like the hotdogs in the U.S. – not to mention the ketchup!  Coming from the ketchup capital of the world, our boys have become ketchup snobs – if it’s not Heinz, they don’t like it!  So, our meals for the day consisted of one cup of corn, and lots of ice cream snacks – there is no shortage of ice cream vendors that constantly walk up and down the beach with their little carts.  Another interesting option if you are hungry is the grilled cheese.  Young guys stroll along, carrying with them a cooler full of cheese on a stick and a little grill – for 3 reais, you can eat gooey, melted, grilled “cholesterol on a stick”.  We didn’t try it this time, but I’m sure it will beat the hot dogs – I will definitely get one on a future visit. 
We spent five glorious hours on the beach, got cleaned up, and joined our friends for dinner, before heading back to Sao Paulo.  This time, armed with better directions (and with the GPS turned off), we found our way home in just 2 hours – only getting a bit turned around once we were back in the city.  Now that we know the right way to go, we’ve decided it would be great to try to get to the beach at least one weekend a month – we’ll see if we stick to that plan.  Despite the ordeal we endured to get there, it had been completely worth it - we had a beautiful day, and a good story to tell! 
Sunday passed quickly, hanging out by the pool – we are quickly getting used to this kind of lifestyle.  Walking back to the condo from the pool, Ian spotted a caterpillar that he recognized from a show he liked to watch in the States, “Nature’s Deadliest”.  He was convinced it was the “assassin caterpillar” that is native to Brazil – we watched it inch along the walking path, taking care not to touch it.  Once back in the apartment, we “googled” the caterpillar and found that Ian was right – if you see one of those little critters, steer clear!  As Matt stated, “We’ve been here less than 3 weeks, and have already seen a deadly creature” – though I’m sure it wouldn’t kill us, our new rule is, “don’t touch anything if you don’t know what it is”!  Ah, the adventures of living in Brazil continue…..!
                 



                 

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