An overcast day in the cemetery, feeling grateful, fishing with Germans, and simply not much more.

I woke up early, before the sun came up. I went outside to the hammock on the balcony outside our room. I slept there for a while.

It was rainy and overcast all day. I had breakfast of bananas and honey and too much coffee. I took a walk through town and got a little turned around trying to find the cemetery on the island. There is only one main street that is set away from the water with side streets shooting off into the jungle, so I found it eventually with little difficulty.

It was not a very large cemetery. It was tucked within old, white walls, dirty from water worked mud puddles. Some of the graves were mostly washed away. Some of the grave stones had completely eroded, and there were just left overs of what was once there. Some were just cracked and decrepit. It was peaceful there, and being there helped me enjoy the overcast day light. Neighborly peoples were on their porches looking over at me, probably wondering why some tourist was in their backyard cemetery. I was happy and did not leave just because they were curious. After looking at every grave I decided to head out.

I headed back to the hostel and played gammon with Josh until his girlfriend met up with us. Jenny Boyd is her name and she had been trecking from Paraguay. It had taken her a couple days and several or more bus rides and then a final boat ride to the island until she found us. The three of us went for lunch out on the beach. We got some good grub. Can't remember what it was, but it was alright, although pricey.

After Josh and Jenny got a private room in the neighboring hostel, they had some business to attend to, and I went for a walk with Katherine and Tamara down the beach in the other direction. It was less of a beach and more of a path that coasted the water's edge. We found a beach and they did their best to fish with a line and a hook and some sort of bait. It was really funny to watch. We sat on a rickety dock while they gave fishing a shot. We walked a bit farther down the path and they tried fishing some more as we sat on some large rocks. We headed back a little before dusk.

Walked around town with Josh and Jenny. We got food on a side street. We got back to the hostel and played some gammon. Then there were some drinks with some Uruguayan and Argentinians. Sleep.

Off to the Big Island.

So, here I am four(4!) months after I got home from Brazil. Even though it has been so long since I was there I still feel like I should finish up my trip there(and Josh gave me a hard time about it). So here we are....

Had breakfast and chill time till checking out of the hostel. We were on a bus to Angra dos Reis for a while as the jungle faded in and out of my sleepy state. The bus cruised northward along the coast for nearly 2 and a half hours. We found the port which didn't seem like a place for civilians, especially tourists, to be wandering around, but it was the right place. We were headed to Isla Grange( Large Island ).

It didn't take long for us to get there. Once we arrived we sat down at the corner bar and started drinking with backgammon. It was drizzling when we showed up which was one of our reasons for stopping. I believe we were near famished as well. We had prato fretus and ended staying for an entire tournament, if not more. Bummed some cigs from the English couple just on the other side of the window. The were nice and engaged. Wedding plans were on their minds. The rain came to a stop and we headed off to find the hostel at the end of the beach.

The hostel was a Che Legarta, just like the one in Paraty. It was nicer and more established, not to mention right on the water with a nice deck. We got checked in and found our way upstairs to our room. There were two German girls and a Japanese fellow. Katherine and Tamara were the Germans and Daisuke was the Japanese friend. Josh had it out for the Germans right away. It was hilarious. It was almost flirtatious in a first grade kind of way. Daisuke laughed a lot. Most people don't get a chance to have people like Josh in their lives. I consider myself fortunate.

We made our way downstairs, which was loud in a party atmosphere kinda of spring break way. but we had our caporinas over gammon all the same. Smoked cigarettes with other people on the deck until last call. These people were from Great Britain and other South American countries. Being drunk, I wanted to drink more, but the bar was closed, so I drank the empties that were scattered around the hostel, mainly the full caporinas. Once I was done laboring over lost drinks I went to bed on the top bunk that I was assigned.

Who needs a beautiful beach when you can just stay at the bus station all day?

Up and at em again. Josh was onto his paper by the time I got up. I went for the laundry while he stayed academic. It was a nice walk, and it got my strings tuned up for the day. We both went on a walk into the old town. There is a church there that has an unfinished back wall. When I say unfinished I mean that the boulders of rock they used for the corners were never shaved off, but only on the very back of the church. On the sides they were chipped away. I only mention this because I had never seen anything quite like it. It made us scratch our chins for a second.

We took our time. Swung by the hostel to get some things, and then headed over to the bus station. The plans for the day were to go to Laranjelas and hike to Praia do Sono. The bus we were looking to take didn't have the name of the town on the front. All the other buses are labeled for the towns that they go to, so it seemed obvious to us which one to look for, Laranjelas. Not so. When we arrived we were under the assumption that we had just missed our bus so we sat there playing gammon and drinking beer while waiting the hour for our bus. An hour later, all the buses show up and there is still no Laranjelas. It was only then after they had taken off again that Josh asked what the dealio was. He was so pissed off when we realized we had sat at the bus station for two hours when we didn't need to, not to mention we were going to have to wait another hour or less for the next bus. So eventually, we got out of the Paratay bus station.

Laranjelas is close to Trinidade, but it is basically a gated community for extremely wealthy Brazilians. We didn't go there, and instead we were dropped off at the end of the line. I started walking and didn't look back for quite some time. I hadn't realized Josh wasn't there with me until it would probably have been pointless to sit and be a mosquito buffet. So I kept on truckin. There were crew of men in blue jump suits running cable through the jungle. I suppose they were running lines so that the village in Praia do Sono can have electricity. The jungle was very jungley, as Snail would say. The beach snuck up on me, including the sound of the waves. All of a sudden they were just there in a soft roar. "A soft and snuggley place."

Praia do Sono stretches out to the north. There are umbrella trees that line the entire distance of the beach from end to end. The trees behind them are a much darker green and they crawl in a thicket over the mountains that cradle this remote haven. The only way to get to this beach is by footpath, or one can get there by boat from Laranjelas. This beach is also one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen!

I got my clothes mostly off and got into the waves as quickly as I could. I floated spread eagle for some time. I made my way out and sat in the sand and waited for Josh. By the time he got there, he thought that we should leave soon since it was getting late. If we hadn't done all that waiting at the bus station we could have had a couple hours there. I got back in for another quick minute. Boats were coming around the cove from Laranjelas. These boats are not commercial boats. They are little 5 to 6 person boats that are privately owned by the families that live there in Sono. We got a ride from one of the two men just arriving home. The boat ride out was picturesque to say the least. The rock faces and foliage framing those faces were paradise. There were some rocks that were unexplainable as to how they had broken and stayed balanced amongst the waves. A volkswagon van took us from the port we were dropped off at to the bus stop on the other side of the gated community. So we got a ride through the ritzy community, and the architecture sucked. There are idiots with too much money all over the world with the same poor taste in buildings. Boo.

We were tired and a bit hungry perhaps, so we had a beer while we waited for the bus. The bus got us back as they usually do. I dosed off for a bit. The scenery is so beautiful all over this country that I feel like an ass when I don't actively soak up as much as I am offered. But when a man has to sleep, that man must sleep, even if he is drooling on strangers...

Shower and out for food. Josh and I walked to the sandwich shop for ol' time sakes. We decided to keep looking and we aimlessly walked the streets on the south side of the main street, near the bus station, until we found something that was the right price and had good atmosphere. We found a nice spot. They caporinhas were good. The food wasn't bad, nor was it the best. The waitress was cute, and Josh The Goofus tried to flirt with her. He was just being sweet but I think he is a big dork. That's right Josh, a big dork. Don't ever change. I think we were in good spirits with laughter and gammon, but what else is new?

We had been drinking all day, and we were kind of sore from it. We needed lots of water so we went back to the hostel and hydrated. We listened to music on my I-pod(with my splitter) until the big J.O. fell asleep. I went downstairs and got on the computer until I could no longer stay awake and sleep was once again my good friend.

A church of churches

I had another simple breakfast from the hostel. They serve such a basic breakfast that I get hungry faster than I would if I did not have anything at all. But I eat the food none the less. Bread with butter and honey. Banana in a bowl of cereal. Too much coffee. Josh needed to get some head way on his thesis that he has meaning to get to. I decided to walk aimlessly through Paraty. I winded around till I found the center. I sat on a bench next to the river that leads out to the bay which then leads out to the ocean. It is the kind of bay where pirates would hide. Steep islands pop out of the water, like snouts of Suessian beasts. I actually saw a ship off in the distance that looked like a pirate ship. It slowly angled off and sailed away. Walked around the old town after writing things and watching the water.

When I got back to the hostel Josh and I took off for the town of Trinidade, said like Trin-e-da-ge. But before we split, there was laundry to drop off at the laundry mat near the bus station. We arrived to Trinidade nearly an hour later, and it started to sprinkle, so we ducked into a restaurant for a meal. Beers and gammon. We sat right on the road, where dogs and people some how circled around and around like they were walking a marathon loop of the town. A cat befriended us during our meal because she knew I am a sucker for them feline kind. This cat was blue eyed and had a crossed pair of them. Too fucking cute! She loved fish bones. She ate the spine in under 30 seconds. We had a great fish and shrimp dish, accompanied by the black beans and rice, salad, and powdered mandioca. Not sick of it yet. It does the job.

By the time we were on the road to the beach, the rain was done. We made our way down a narrow alley leading to the ocean. The beach here at Trinidade was the most beautiful beach I have ever seen in my life! Most Beautiful Beach! Seriously. There are huge boulders that are scattered along the water front. Some are large enough to jump to the top, and others are as large as a house. We found a cave and sat there for a smoke. We played more gammon.

The rocks called to us, so we went searching for more places to climb and perch upon. This place is one of the worlds True playgrounds. A church of churches! There was a man fishing on a large rock that kept kissing the waves. He walked up and down the beach, just in front of us all day. There was a rock close by the fisherman where we sat and watched the waves smash against other house sized rocks in the surf. Sometimes the waves would completely cover the rock houses, and the bubbles would stream down in impermanent trickles of eternity. It was breathtaking. We continued on, following in the fisherman's foot steps.

There was a rock hill that lead to a cliff face and we gave it our best, but there came a point where we could not go any farther. The waves were entrancing. We sat close together in conversation, and then we wandered apart in silent meditation. Eventually the two of us found one another and headed back down to the beach. We found another cave and another smoke. The beach is good for it. There is something about the humidity on the ocean that pacifies me. Waiting for the sun to set, the night snuck up on us and the moon was above us. This was a kind of beach where I wouldn't think to be nervous after sun set.

Coming upon the towns corner market, I had water and Josh a juice. We walked down the main road just to look while we waited for the bus. The bus came, and for some reason we both decided that we could find another bus stop down the road. Once realizing this was not the best idea, we headed back into the light of town. The bus picked us up and it sped down the jungle's crazy roller coaster roads and around curve ball corners. It was quite fun!

After hanging with Leo and Lolo, the couple that owns the hostel, we went out for sandwiches. There was a little stand out on the main road that was up and at it, so we ate there. We both got burgers and sat in plastic chairs on the side of the road watching people walk and ride by on their bikes. We had a caporinha each, and the dude cooking made them lip stretching strong. More bite than I was used to, and not enough sugar, but certainly worth the price. Making our way back, I ducked into an internet cafe which was actually some couples garage converted into the neighborhood hang out/computer repair shop/internet spot. Their little daughter was skipping around in her pajamas acting like a tropical bird. No one seemed to notice. There were two young boys playing Grand Theft Auto next to me. An old man had made a place for himself on one of the two sofas that made a 90 degree angle towards the wide screen t.v. This was the place to be if you just needed to get away from it all.

I stayed there getting my Skype on till they closed, and then I was off to sleep.

From the clutches of canine hostility to the coarse, velvateen mud bath beyond the fork in the road where the water just rolls on down.

Woke to a simple breakfast in a large room with too much echo. Josh and I walked around Paraty a bit. We headed through the old town again, this time a bit farther than the night before. We made it to the water's edge and then back towards our hostel. We walked to the bus station, saw that we had time for lunch, and went for lunch. We got out pratu feito on. Good fish dish, over a backgammon game, and then off to the station. We got on our bus and headed towards the mountains just outside of town. There were waterfalls up this way, and we were determined to find the one that is off the beaten path.

It was an overcast day and it had been raining on and off. We got off of the bus just after a bridge we were looking for. This muddy road was to take us into the jungle for a while. We had a smoke. The mud forced its way up between my toes as I walked bare foot on this lonesome road. A drunk man followed us for a while, barely able to walk straight. A couple of times it looked as though he was going to march straight off of the mountain. We came to his road and he invited us to his house so we could get out of the rain and drink with him. We thanked him and traveled on. There was the occasional dog party that wasn't happy to see us. We started walking with stones. My blue flip flops were a good defense from the clutches of rural dog chompers, but stones seemed to make us feel a bit better.

There was a sign for a small pool Josh had heard about, so we took this simple jungle path on our right. We nearly passed it the sign was so small. This path would criss cross over a stream and under wire fences and random pipes through the jungle. We found the pool and it was angelic. We could not get any wetter, so we shed our layers and we went skinny dipping. It was not the warmest pool, especially since the sun was not out. We perched half in the water on rocks near the edge of the pool. The feeling of sitting naked in a jungle pool while the rain comes down on my skin is something to remember. I could look up and see the rain drops coming right for me. The sound of water falls and rain drops is trance-like. It was cold, so we didn't stay in the water for too long. We put our wet clothes back on and headed back to the muddy road. Once there, we headed even farther away from the main road we were let out on.

There were beautiful green fields hugging at the mountain sides. Streams of clouds clung to the tops of these hill sides and mountain tops. The rain would let up and let out, on and off. We took shelter under an abandoned shack to smoke a bit and to play gammon while we dried off. We were just going to get wet again, but there was the prospect of getting warm for a little while. The rain had considerably let up again by the time we were ready to head out into it. We kept walking and questioned how far we were willing to walk before we would head back. Soon after deciding to turn back after 4 or 5 more curves in the road, we came to a fork that went up and down. We chose down and the water falls were one curve farther ahead. It was really nice and peaceful there. The falls were more like a slowly running river with big rocks, opposed to the water falls one will find in North Carolina or Chiapas, Mexico where they are more vertical than horizontal. The mud here was a play ground for my toes. I still walked barefoot, and this was a series of good moments. The mud was coarse yet soft, and how peculiar one might say. "How peculiar!"

We walked around a bit before our party headed back to the base camp. There was no desire to miss the last of the buses thus possibly getting stuck out in the sticks for the night. With stones in hand to battle the fangs of the aggressive song dogs, we passed them by like ships in the night and reached the main road without complications. Freakin' dog smokers.

There was a grocery where we took shelter out front on the steps. Josh bought some beers and a candy or two. Gammon. Then I bought some fixins for ham and cheese sandwiches. Two each and another beer before we got on the bus heading home. Instead of a bus, we took a collectivo to a parking lot off of the main road. We couldn't wait to get back for a shower and a chance to get warm. This we did.

A group of hostel folks made some spaghetti and meat sauce, and I was invited to join. The group was comprised of a German, two Argentinians, a Costa Rican and his German girlfriend, and a Brazilian who worked at the hostel. Beers and food, what a good combination. I spent some time digesting on the computer downstairs, while Josh was up in our room watching a movie on his computer the whole night. Sleep is my friend.

Heading north along the coast

I woke up early again. I felt rather good, and I am glad I was not feeling the pain of such a good time. I was the first hotel guest in for breakfast, and I had a long breakfast reading my book by David Sedaris. I took my coffee out to the pool and read some more. I packed as did we all, and we were off to Maresaias again. We went to Danny and Adolfo's compound. She and some of her family members were up and about. Karin took off soon after because she needed to get back to Sao Paulo earlier than later.

Josh and I hung out and played some back gammon, of course. It was nice to have a chance to just chill out in a still place. It was raining a bit, and we didn't really need to get out into it yet. Danny was so sweet and she made us some spaghetti and meat sauce along with a salad. She was making food for everyone there, but it was great that she included us. What a woman! We got going not too soon after the meal.

We headed to the bus stop to wait for the bus heading north along the coast. We had to take a few buses to make it all the way to Paraty, pronounced Para-Chee. We sat under cover and played gammon and had a beer. We got to Uba Tuba by 8:40 or so. The buses were taking longer than we anticipated. We thought we had missed the last bus to Paraty, but there was another bus company around the corner that was leaving around 10 or so. We bought our tickets and walked down the street for dinner and gammon. The bus got us to Paraty in what seemed like no time, either because I slept or because I had been having an out of body experience. Oh, wait, I think I was asleep.

We stumbled around town until we ran into a hostel. Checked in and were offered a shot of rum by the hostel owner. O.k! Welcome to Paraty! We walked around the street looking for some samba street party. What we found was coming to a close so we walked to the old historic center of town and then back to the hostel. Sleep was eminent.

Wedding bells and dizzy spells...

I woke up still fully clothed with my headphones on. I sent an email and headed out to the beach to get some mental stability. I woke up rather in a panic, and needed some beach medicine. I got out there and was befriended by a couple white boxers. Those dogs were sweet, but I didn't trust them at first. After last night of being distracted by the dog and having my shoes stolen, I thought that maybe these dogs were distracting me from some other gang of hooligans creeping up on me. These dogs were too dumb for that, and they just wanted to a)drool on me b)drool on one another or c)both. Their owner called them back, and I walked down the beach a bit. I was befriended by another dog, and after that one took off for its morning jog I looked at the ocean until I laid down and took a nap. I woke to a lite drizzle of rain, and headed back to where I started my walk. I got my morning coco nut and was very happy with this fine fruit. The dude man who cut it open after I was done with the milk had a meathod I had not seen yet. He cut all the meat out with his knife. Usually they just cut it in half or thirds, and then they slice a little wedge off the side for a spoon. By cutting all the meat out, it was more like a breakfast than a snack. Big points for that guy!

When I got back to the hotel, Karin and Josh were just serving themselves some breakfast and I joined them. After taking our time with coffee and the tasty morsels we were offered, we headed down to the beach. It was a tad overcast and we played gammon amongst crowds of Brazilian wedding goers. We didn't get in the water just yet. Instead we went back in to get some sun screen on and to iron our clothes that had gotten infested with wrinkles. We headed back out and then farther down the beach, away from the crowd. More backgammon and Josh water colored a bit. The sun fully came out for a while and this is when I went in for a dip. I remember how nice it felt, and I floated around until the sun went back behind the clouds.

We booked back to shower and get ready for the wedding. We could hear them testing the p.a. system down at the wedding tent. The wedding was to be right on the beach and we could tell it was getting close to time. We got over there around 5ish. Kaio was there to greet people when we showed up, and he looked very nice, dressed casually in all white. He had his shirt untucked and he might have been bare foot. Josh and I were once again feeling awkward about not being able to squash the language barrier so we kept to ourselves.

As I said, the wedding was right on the beach. It was taking place at an outdoor restaurant / bar. The wedding tent was only a frame covered by translucent plastic, as to keep the rain out and to let the light in. There were wooden pews set out for anyone who wanted to sit. There was no hierarchy as to who could or couldn't sit. People stood behind the pews and even back into where all the tables were set for dinner. The ceremony was very nice. Leslie walked down the isle(of sand) in a simple and beautiful white dress. None of the brides maids wore the same dress. It was very free form. They actually signed their wedding papers there at the alter, or maybe they were vows of sorts. We couldn't understand anything they said, other than love love love love love love love love, etc etc. A couple brides maids and best men said some things during the ceremony, which once again was unorthodox to me. The Gunn's family dog brought the rings down the isle, somehow attached to its neck. Gogiba, that was the dogs's name. I had a chance to hang out with him on my first night in Brazil. As I heard from others, this was not like a typical Brazilian wedding. Leslie and Kaio had paid for the wedding on their own. They didn't want any family members telling them how certain things should or shouldn't be done.

We ran into Karin and Leslie's friends, Vanessa and her girlfriend, who we had had sushi with several weeks before in Sao Paulo. They asked us if we wanted to sit with them. We were looking for them for the same reason. They are really sweet and it was nice to sit with people that we already felt comfortable with. We did not want to have to have awkward translation conversation for a couple hours. From the get go, there was champagne and beer. Food was brought out fairly quickly in small bite sized pieces. The assortment was delicious. Then came the glasses of whiskey on the rocks. More food amongst our conversation and laughter. I really liked these girls because they were easy to joke with and were having a good time, just as we were. More food in small portions. I guess it was good that the food was in small portions, because the drinks were coming out strong. There was a coconut and rum drink which was small and delicious. Then the girls got us all some caporinhas. So at one point I believe I had 5 different types of alcoholic drinks in front of me. Shit! I just can't turn down an assortment of free and delicious drinks. We were passing our caporinhas around the table since we all had an assortment of flavors: kiwi, strawberry, passion fruit, and a mixture beverage. I couldn't put them down. We were done with dinner and we walked around a bit. I should have had an espresso to sober up a bit, but I was drunk and didn't think about this.

Josh was feeling it too. We headed back to the hotel room which was just down the street from the wedding. I can't say I remember the walk home. I do slightly recall walking out of the wedding, but not the walk home. I guess we were headed back to smoke a bit. The next thing I do remember, was a quick flash of Josh trying to get me up off of the bed to go back to the wedding. I wasn't having it. I woke up fully clothed around 5:30am. I completely missed the second band, which I heard was great. Karin came in the room as I was taking my wallet out of my back pocket. She gave me some attitude about sleeping through the party, but I ignored her and said nothing as I got back into bed fully clothed, once again.