Spring Break- BUZIOS BRAZIL!!!!

Our vacation started off a little different then expected. Our flight to Curitiba was delayed two hours, therefore not allowing us to make our connecting flight to Rio later that night. After talking to the airline staff, we were transferred to a direct flight to Rio that was boarding that moment. We ran to the other side of the terminal and got onto the plane with hand written tickets. The plane took off shortly afterwards, and we were in the air on our way to Brazil.

Once we arrived, we found our luggage did not make it to our direct flight, and that our luggage had arrived in Curitiba aboard our original flight. We filled out some paperwork, and the airline told us they would send us our luggage when it arrived.

We got onto a bus and started the drive to Buzios. Even though we only got to see Rio from the bus, it was a magnificent city, and very beautiful. We arrived to Buzios in the afternoon, and after settling down in our hotel, headed out for a much needed lunch.

We decided on a restaurant on the main street in town that had a little eating deck onto the beach. After a fresh fish and a drink, I was feeling much better, and was enjoying the view onto the beautiful water. After lunch we all walked around the town and explored the area a little. Later in the afternoon we took a nap, since our overnight flight had made us all very tired. After sleeping a little, we felt much better, but were not too hungry. We walked into town and found a crepe restaurant and had dinner there. It was perfect, since a light but sweet dinner hit the spot. After dinner we headed to bed early and decided to start our adventures the next day.

The next morning Kate and my luggage arrived at the hotel, although Elise was still missing hers. The included breakfast at the hotel was grand: coffee, tea, a fresh bread basket, fresh jam, and a plate of fresh sweet fruit. We walked into town and bought some towels and sandals before getting a water taxi to take us to a beach for the day. We arrived to Tortaruga beach shortly thereafter and set up camp in some chairs under umbrellas that belonged to one of the many restaurant/bars that populated the beachside. The chairs were a service to customers, and buying one drink at the restaurant paid for the use of the chairs. We spent the entire day on the beach-swimming, sunbathing, walking along the coast. At the beach, there were guys walking up and down the beach trying to sell stuff. Anything you could want while lying at the beach was available: towels, hats, and blankets. On top of that, there was a good selection of food: fresh corn, fresh oysters, and ice cream. For lunch we ordered a shrimp dish from the restaurant. By 5pm, we were ready to leave, and the water taxi came to pick us up. I was definitely red from the day in the sun, but little did I know that I would burn from only one day in the sun. I bought some aloe vera on the way home from the beach. After a little nap in the early evening, we went out to dinner at a Thai food restaurant. After dinner we checked out Mix Bar, a little bar on the beach with live music. We stationed ourselves on a table on the sand, and danced the night away to the live samba music. On the way home we stopped for ice cream, at a self serve ice creamery. It was glorious.

The next day we woke up a little earlier and decided to take a boat tour of the area. We boarded the catamaran boat around noon after some shopping in the morning and took off. The boat tour included going to a few beaches, snorkeling, and drinks on the boat. I ended up befriending some of the other people on the boat, and had a great afternoon. After the boat we headed over to a local burger shop for lunch. In the afternoon we took a nice relaxed walk to a beach on the other side of the peninsula. After getting back after dark I read and relaxed a little while the girls did some shopping. For dinner we went out to a Sushi restaurant. It was amazing, since the fish was so fresh. After dinner, we went to Mix Bar again, but on the way there, Alex and Elise made friends with some locals in one of the shops, and after they got off work, we met up with them to go out to another bar. This bar was filled with mostly locals and had a samba show going on. After a samba show, they opened up the whole place for dancing, and it was a lot of fun. After this bar closed at two, we all went to a hip-hop club that was open. A little later we retired back to the hotel with some new friends and a fun night.

The next day we made a nice long walk to a beach far away. When we got there an hour later, the beach was empty. Literally, we were the only ones on the beach for as far as we could see. We spent the morning relaxing and sunbathing at this beach, then walked across the island to another beach for lunch. After lunch we walked to the main road, and took a shuttle back to our hotel. From the hotel we walked north to the other side of peninsula to watch the sunset from a cute little beach. After an amazing sunset over the water, we returned to the hotel and realized there was a sauna that we could use. Afterwards, I went out on a search to find Nell and Jane, two friends that arrived that day in Buzios, but we had no way of contacting them since our cell phones didn’t work. I somehow stalked them down by asking at their hotel and searching some restaurants. We all went out for some drinks before dinner, and then said goodbye to Nell and Jane since they were very tired from traveling. We continued to a great fresh fish restaurant, and then had ice cream on the way back to the hotel.

The next day we took a full day tour from Buzios to two other beach towns near by. The bus from Buzios to Arrial de Cabo was about 45 minutes. When we arrived we boarded a boat and set off for a great afternoon abroad. We went to the first beach to snorkel and enjoy the beautifully blue clear water. Then we sailed past a grotto. The tour guide told us they had a surprise for us, and a crew member jumped into the water and came back out with fresh oysters he had harvested from the side of the grotto walls. He shucked them right for us in front of our faces and we each enjoyed one. The next stop was a little beach that had a hill, which you could rent snowboards for. Elise and I rented snowboards and enjoyed trying to snowboard down a hill of sand. The boat went back to the dock, and from there we went to lunch at a great buffet place. After lunch we checked out a few different beaches by bus, and then stopped at a shopping area for swimsuits. We got back to our hotel later that afternoon, and relaxed in the sauna until it was time for dinner. We met up with Nell and Jane for a nice fancy fish dinner. After dinner we went to ice cream, and then I went out for a drink with Jell, Nell, and Elise at the House of Rock and Roll bar.

The next day I did not go out with Alex, Kate, and Elise, and instead met up with Nell and Jane in the morning to spend the day with them. We attempted to rent a buggy beach car, but after a half hour, we realized none of us knew how to drive a stick shift well enough to actually use the car. After we worked out returning the car, we took the taxi shuttle to a beach for the afternoon. That beach was a perfect mix of quiet beach and popular hang out. The restaurant we had chairs at had a lice acoustic guitarist playing music all afternoon. We walked to another beach to watch the sunset, then parted ways to relax before dinner. That night for the last dinner in Buzios we went to a little romantic fish restaurant. After a great meal, we went to Mix Bar to enjoy the music and drink on the beach, then headed to bed.

Sunday morning we had to wake up and be ready for the bus to the airport at 6am. Once we got to the airport we were lucky and were able to change to a direct flight, and also make sure our luggage made it there with us. We got to Buenos Aires in the afternoon and relaxed before our school week would start again the next day.