Peruibe - A beach and jungle adventure

Tio kept up his tourguiding and drove us all the way to Peruibe on the coast (about an hour and a half away). We passed through the Mata Atlantica on the way, which I always love to see. It's the kind of jungle where you don't want to get lost because there are probably things in there that will kill you.

Fabricio was there when we arrived and he showed us around his beach house that he was kind enough to loan to us for a few days. The boys took a little swim while Ryan, Tio and Anderson (the "caseiro") helped Fabricio load his motorcycle to take back to the city. The humidity is so high at the beach that it corrodes everything metal in a matter of 1-3 years.

After going to the store for food and supplies, we hit the beach. It was a beautiful day, probably 80 degrees. We enjoyed the sunset followed by a ferris wheel ride at the downtown carnival area and dinner at the town's best pizzaria. Nothing like brasilian pizza and guarana!

The next day, we enjoyed a breakfast of mangos for everyone (at about a quarter a piece, the boys feasted on mangos all day for the whole week, which was one of Dezi's goals in coming to Brasil). Then, we set off for an adventure in the car before Tio went back to Sampa (São Paulo). We went to the river with the pretty boats and then out to the jungle...protected Mata Atlantica. We went to a beautiful waterfall where we had to buy homemade mostquito repellant from the caciques, or native people of the area. I had my doubts, but it actually kept the mosquitos away for the most part. The boys had a great time getting in the clear pool and trying to catch the tiny fish with Papai. Before leaving, we ate the most delicious pasteis de palmito. The palmito is specific to the region and was so flavorful that I half convinced myself it was chicken! It didn't help that it was darker than store bought palmito, which must be bleached in some way.

Tio left us that evening and we were on our own for the next few days. We spent a lot of time lazing at the beach and watching the boys have fun digging, shell hunting, and splashing around. The beach was perfect for them as it was very shallow for a super long way out with no danger of surprise waves knocking them down. The Atlantic water was much nicer than the Pacific and I even got in on occasion (too bad the weather turned a bit to the 70s...I like 80s and 90s much better).

We also ventured out to several places around the city. We went to a little museum of one of the areas first churches from centuries ago and learned about the exploration here. We hiked in the hot humidity up a hill with a fantastic outlook of the beach and jungle. We rode the bus downtown for shopping and food. We rode bikes brasilian style with the boys sitting on handle bars and without helmets (yikes!) and talked for ages with some of the locals at a little beach kiosque.

The worst part about the trip that actually ended up being fun was the mosquito hunt inside the house. We all ended up sleeping in the same room with the fan on full blast. We spent a good 20 minutes each night hunting mosquitos before bed. The boys shouted with manly joy when they actually killed a mosquito. It was true team spirit. Despite the hunt, poor Ryan still got eaten throughout out time there.

When Tio came to pick us up, we were all packed and ready. We stopped at Itanhaém to see the cute little beach that Tio spent his honeymoon on. Then we stopped for an emergency potty break in Mongaguá at Beatriz' sister's house before heading back to Tio's.