"Beaches!," Bitches...
Yes, it's true. I have not continued with this little project in more than a month. Truth is, most days I don't even know what month it is. So, with that said, I'm just going to throw down some more pictures from our Brazil trip with some captions. I am sorry to report, however, that I failed to take pictures of the mystery bug bites that bruised and oozed (yes, too graphic, I'm sure)... after our ridiculous travel debacle, the rest of the trip went relatively smoothly. The only thing I'd warn you about in advance, if you travel to Brazil, is that the "okay" sign you make with your hand definitely DOES NOT mean "okay." And in ANY EVENT, do NOT make the "okay" sign to your mother-in-law, or to the nice lady who is fixing you food.
Just trust me.
On to the beach pictures!
The next three are from the beach in the city of Natal. Great beach - pretty heavily populated, lots of annoying but very nice vendors, and great food and drink service...
The next set of pictures are taken from a day trip we took with Beto's brother, Leo, to a beach whose name I forget... very remote and very nice. The rock barrier created a great little lagoon to swim in. Shark free, thankfully -
That brings me to the subject of sharks. Everyone in Natal tells me there are no sharks. However, just a three hour drive south, Recife holds the world title for highest rate of shark fatalities. Great white and bull sharks, I think. My supervisor at work will confirm this, as he directed me to the Discovery Channel documentary on the very same subject. He's also the guy who, while we were stuck in Dallas, sent me the newspaper article about how horrendous and ineffective Brazil's air traffic control is, and the guy who, upon my return, sent me the article about the Brazilian bug bites that lead to the irreversible degeneration of the nervous system 30 years later. (Todd, if you're reading this, you are the BEST SUPERVISOR EVER. And Gwen, if you're reading this, your husband is the BEST SUPERVISOR EVER.)
I might also add that Beto had a new perspective on my seemingly unfounded paranoia, when we finally watched JAWS all the way through a few weekends ago.
Back to the subject at hand. What I'm thinking is .... sharks in Recife... sharks in Natal. Neither you, nor any band of Brazilians will ever convince me otherwise. And let's face it - if ever someone were going to be the "first" shark attack in Natal, it would be me.
Where was I? Right - day trip with Leo. That's him ...
And, me at the same beach, sporting the unholy five-head. With a skull like that, who needs a helmet? Anyway, I tried to avoid being photographed at all costs, but I know one of you will ask, so here it is.
And of course, the obligatory Speedo shot for those of you obsessed with the same. You know who you are. More importantly, I know who you are. And no, Beto does not wear a speedo.
These are some cool shots of an area where the river meets the ocean. Again - can't remember the name. Something like "Piranha" although they say there are none (yeah right - just like there are no sharks... ever see the movie "Piranhas"? Right up there with the movie "Frogs" - albeit with a slightly higher propensity to inspire nightmares). Anyway, the name of the area? Pirangi? Can't remember. I know. I'm horrible. If Beto ever returns from his work trips, I'll ask.
We took those two pictures above from private - but apparently abandoned - property. The shot below is of the brothers on that same property. Can you hear the "Cops" theme in the background? "Bad Boys Bad Boys, whatcha gonna do..." This expression promptly changed when we somehow activated an alarm.
And finally, this is Cotovelo beach, which is near the family beach house. Much quieter, more family-oriented (read: fewer string bikinis consisting of dental floss and palm leaves and overstuffed men in speedos). My J-Crew tankini and I loved this beach.