Fernando de Noronha

Or, The Trip Where I Decided a Family in Bathing Suits Wouldn't Brutally Murder Me

The end of Teacher Summer 2016 was with a trip to Fernando de Noronha, an island off the northeastern coast of Brazil. It was an additional country point that definitely earned its status as a separate point!

Fernando de Noronha is an island chain protected by UNESCO for its ecosystems. Only one of the islands is populated and the entire area is a national park. Upon landing you go through a version of customs to pay a park fee to help preserve the island. It is an especially popular location for divers and snorkelers. 

I knew the island was fairly primitive from the hotel search. All of the hotels are guest houses (pousadas) with no more than 8 or 10 rooms. I don't think there were any buildings on the island over two stories and many roads were not paved. 

Besides being a country point, I was excited to go for the beaches. I arrived in the late afternoon and made it to a nearby beach for sunset. 

In hindsight, I didn't take any pictures of actual buildings on the entire island, so please don't think this was the quality of living. Instead it was just a pretty thing in the forest en route to the beach!

I promise my pousada was nicer!!

I spent the first day enjoying the sunset at the local beach and planning a trip to another beach. With the advice of possibly the only English speaker on the island, I worked out a trip to one of the more exotic beaches the next day- Praia do Sancho. 

I learned that since the roads aren't paved, taxis can't take you everywhere. Instead it would be a bus ride to a walk to the beach. It sounded slightly complicated, but worth it.*

The beach excursion started off well, the bus wasn't hard- there is only one road and so only one bus route. I told the bus driver when I boarded where I was going and he gave me a thumbs up. When we got to the unlabeled beginning of a dirt road stop, the driver announced it by another name. The whole bus waited for a few minutes while I did the classic "look around, wonder who he is talking to, wait are people looking at me? ask is this my stop" routine.**

Once that was sorted, I got off the bus and started walking down the only dirt road while the bus made a u-turn and went on its merry way. The walk began as:

A few minutes, no signs, and a road turned to mud later, there was a slight wavering. 

My decision to keep walking was based on the following conclusions: 

1. I didn't go the wrong way because there was no other way. 

2. The island isn't that big so eventually I will hit ocean and, presumably, some kind of beach.

3. I came all this way.***

After a little mud-slipping and about 30 minutes, there was a beach! And not just any beach, the one I was actually trying to find!

I sat on that beach for a while before heading to the national park portion.

Uphill was fine and on the descent back down there was this lovely warning:

Personally, I think "evaluating your personal limitations in order not to surpass them" is always a smart move. What they meant to say was, "from here on out you will be picking your way over rocks. Look at your life. Look at your choices." I interpreted this as, "I came all this way."

It was worth it.****

There was oohing and ahhing and then there was more walking over rocks. At some point, there were many crabs. I talked openly with the crabs about various topics, including, how much I enjoyed their work in "The Little Mermaid" and how if they let me pass I would never eat one of their kind again.*****

At some point I made it to the end of the line. 

But, really. It was so beautiful. 

After some more beach time, I began the return trek. Fortunately, the roads had dried out for the walk back. Unfortunately, it was now uphill. 

I was all of four minutes into the trek when a family in a buggy, similar to this one, drove by. 

The buggies are popular all over the island because they can handle the roads where cars can't. 

The family (consisting of a man and two women- one of whom was holding a toddler in her lap- all in swimsuits leaving the same beach) slowed down and asked if I needed a ride.****** Ignoring everything I have ever learned about hitchhiking and stranger danger,******* I hopped in and they drove me to the bus stop. This will be something I look back on from my death bed as one of the greatest decisions of my life. Fortunately, one of the few things I can say in Portuguese is "thank you." 

The remainder of the day was chillaxing, loving buggies, and another sunset. 

On the last day I stuck to the walkable beach before returning to Rio for a last day on the Copacabana beach. 

Teacher Summer 2016, you have been wonderful and I can't wait to see what 2017 holds!

-KT

*Incidentally, this is the byline I would like to flash on the screen should I ever appear on a reality TV dating show. 

**Classic. 

***My motto for most travel adventures that has led to mostly excellent choices. 

****All these beach photos are #nofilter, btdubs. 

*****I, of course, did not anticipate that later that same day I would order a mango and tomato salad that was actually a mango, crab leg, and tomato salad. The lesson here, crab friends, is to never trust a giant lady who thinks she can read Portuguese. 

******I assume. We all took a gamble with my interpretation of Portuguese.

*******Sorry, mom and dad!! And double sorry you're learning about it through the blog. I was tired yesterday. 

#rio2016

Dear Olympic Athletes,

I have prepared the city for your arrival! The people are super friendly, the city is a mix of mountain and metropolis and beach, and the food is good. It's everything you could ever want. While I'm sure the games won't be as good as if they were in Melbourne,* I do think they'll be great. To make better use of your busy time here, I have broken down the tourist hits. I realize you can't win all the gold medals AND see all the sights. Feel free to pick and chose as your needs require!

Must Do:

1. Copacabana Beach

It's a beautiful, clean beach with big Atlantic Ocean waves and activities to please everyone. You can sit, you can walk, you can eat, you can shop. The entire city has black and white mosaic sidewalks but the boardwalk at Copacabana is an alternating wave pattern that runs the entire length of the beach. 

On Sundays they close the road for better walking. On every day, but especially Saturday, you can admire the incredible athletic prowess of the Brazilian people. The beach is packed with people playing volleyball, soccer, soccer volleyball,** and there appears to be a super intense doubles beach tennis intramural league. 

If you can catch a local band jamming on some Samba, it's even better. 

2. Christ the Redeemer at Corcovado

Pictured here in Ptarcie purple. 

You came all this way to Rio for one thing:*** a picture with the big Jesus. I took the tram ride to the top which was enjoyable enough by itself. At the top you get an up close and personal view with the statue you've been watching watch you from all over the city. 

It's a mob scene up there**** so don't be in a rush to get your panoramas and your obligatory "pose like Jesus" picture. 

Throw in a few selfies to pass the time.

3. Sugarloaf Mountain

Sugarloaf Mountain is one of the mountains you see impractically popping up from the ocean and gives Rio it's unique beachfront view. You can take a cablecar to the top of two different mountain peaks for great views of the city. Although the view is not as expansive as Corcovado, I enjoyed the atmosphere of this one more. There are more places to walk around at the top and simply enjoy the view. I was there in the early afternoon but you could definitely go up later to see the view and enjoy sunset. 

Can Do:

1. Ipanema Beach

Neighboring Copacabana beach, Ipanema offers another stretch of beach that is less crowded. The neighborhood around it is more upscale than Copacabana and has shops galore. There was some litter on the beach when I was there that wasn't at Copacabana. It was still a great place to enjoy long walks along the beach.*****

2. Theatro Municipal

Located in the city center amongst art museums, real people with jobs, and an under-renovation library, this theater is built in the grand European style. They offer tours throughout the day, including a tour in English. 

The interior of the building is impressive and was renovated less than ten years ago. Our tour coincided with a rehearsal for an upcoming ballet and we were allowed to watch a good chunk of their performance. 

3. Speak Portuguese 

Well, I didn't, but you can. It was perfectly easy to get around the city with my low-level knowledge of Spanish****** that I deemed "close enough." Fortunately, most Brazilians I encountered spoke excellent English. When we were both at a loss, mumbled Spanish, hand gestures, and map-pointing was enough to get us through. 

Don't Need to Do:

1. Various Art Museums

As an art lover, I can tell you that your time is better spent at the beach. Unhelpful websites didn't let me know that the Museo de Bellas Artes would be closed for repairs the week I was there. The Modern Art Museum was between expositions and only had a limited portion open. Touring the entire thing took less than half an hour, the approximate length of the time it took to get there. 

2. World War II Memorial

When one museum was closed and the other wasn't open yet, I wandered over to the WWII memorial that was only a few minutes away. Everyone was confused as to why I was there, but especially the members of the army who seemed to be using it as a training facility. 

3. Worry about Zika

I was going to report that I saw zero bugs in Rio but on the last day, while sitting in a park, I did see a few ants. I brought bug spray and put it on each morning, but that was more a show than anything else. It's winter in Rio right now and the mid-60s seem a little too chilly for any mosquitos. There were no giant bug spray displays in drugstore windows or signs around the city. Panic levels can be taken down a notch. 

In summary, you're going to have a great time but, most importantly, do your best! Your country is already proud of you!******* You're an Olympian!!! That is the coolest!!

Ever your Olympic fangirl-

KT

*Devoted blog readers know what I'm talking about!

**It's like volleyball but using a soccer ball and you can't use your hands. But the ball still goes OVER the volleyball net. I watched strangers play for at least an hour and was solidly amazed by their casual athleticism. I realize this might not impress you, the Olympian, but this bench warmer was awed. 

***True for tourists. Two things (gold medal and Jesus) if you're an Olympian.

****Other people came all this way, too 

*****I'm a libra. 

******Upon arrival to Brazil, I realized that all my knowledge of Portuguese came from repeat watching is of "Love Actually."

*******Remember my rule: you either sing your whole anthem or you sing none of it. Getting halfway through and forgetting the words is unacceptable. Unless you're overcome with emotion because of the gravity of your accomplishment and the realization of all your hopes and dreams. I totally get that. You're a hero.

Do Go Chasin' Waterfalls

We came to Iguazu Falls, the world's largest waterfall system, and it is awesome. That is "awesome" in the truest sense of the word, by the way. We are full of awe about these waterfalls.*

We are staying in the national park and our hotel is directly in front of the falls. This gives us an added perk of being able to visit them before the park opens in the morning and after the park closes at night. So, what I'm saying is, we just keep going back to visit these falls.

 Wouldn't you?

I've basically spent the past two days going all Monet** on these falls and the following are the results. They will be briefly interrupted by pictures from the museum we visited in Buenos Aires that I forgot to post about.***

We visited the falls at sunset. 

We visited the falls in the morning when everything was covered in fog. 

Art break!

We saw a rainbow!

We got completely drenched from waterfall spray.*****

Art break!

We went on a river tour that began with a walk through the rainforest. We were outfitted with fantastic ponchos. 

We were on a boat that gave us a great view of the falls and then drove us directly under one of them.****** Some of us got seasick. 

Art break!

We took 8,000 more waterfall pictures. 

Am I too late for those no-makeup next to a waterfall close ups?

At some point, we had a caipirinha. 

But then it was back to work. 

Art break!

Last one, I promise.*******

Ice cream break!

-KT

*But they are also totally rad and gnarly. 

**These water lilies look totally different at sunrise then at noon!! I must paint them again!!

***I can not take the credit, this was Jessica's idea. We visited the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes and it had a lovely selection of international and Argentinian artists from throughout modern art history. Also, it was free.****

****Don't even get me started on how I think making all museums free would lower crime rates, create a more educated public, and generally lead to world peace. 

*****Not available at Bath and Body Works. 

******Not pictured for the safety of the iPhone camera. 

*******To learn more about these waterfalls or to see a gazillion more pictures, please email me directly.