My last week is coming to an end. It has been a great time all around. People often think Im strange for taking vacations by myself, especially family. I don’t mind going with other people but they are often very excited about planning a trip and then at the last minute when its time to book they drop out. So while I don’t mind travelling with others, it also doesn’t bother me going alone. I have gone on several trips by myself and met some great people along the way. My last trip in april I even met up with 2 people I met on a previous trip (Lauren and Jennifer). Just like previous trips, I met some great, friendly fun people to hang out with on this trip.
The other thing people find strange is the vacation that is physically exhausting. There is nothing better at clearing your mind from work/home then putting your mind towards something fun and active. So while I will return home sore/tired, I will definitely be in a better mindset getting back into the work routine. Work was getting a bit tedious the last few weeks – it’s the lull before all hell breaks loose for the winter and all the psych patients and drugseekers were out in force. The only time Ive really thought about work was when I was trying to plan my next vacation request for maybe feb. I have a few friends that’s might also travel during that time so I will wait a little bit before I book my own trip to see if dates can be matched up. Otherwise Im booking on my own again. One of the guys (Sherman) who is here now may also come back in Feb so it would be cool to meet up again. He quit is job and travelling for an undetermined amount of time…..so jealous!
I think I’ve found a new favorite place to come surfing. Brasil is so laid back….ok I hesitate everytime I type Brazil/brasil. Here they spell it with an S which looked weird to me when I got here….now the Z looks off to me when I spell it that way. Anyway, you can walk down the street and there is no one yelling to get you into their store or to get you in a taxi. You go into a restaurant and the pace is generally slow but you will never get rushed out the door….I think you could sit there all day if you wanted. Not like at home where they are shoving the check at you and cleaning the table to say hey time to go. The beaches are beautiful and clean. Everyone is really friendly.
My arms are so sore from surfing but I cant believe how much my endurance has improved each surf trip. When I first took surf lessons, I needed a couple days between each lesson to recuperate. I was so frustrated at how out of shape I was. Then came the personal trainer, with the goal of surfing in mind. Each trip I have gone on has been better and better. Last year, day 4 was the day I needed a break. This time around (other then the built in Sunday off), I only took a half day off (did a half session). My paddling and balance is much better. Thanks Bobby for all your weird exercises you came up with to help with my surfing (without a pool).
Yesterday we went to Itacarezinho to surf. The beach there goes on for ever. As we arrived the waves did not want us to paddle out. We kept waiting for a lull but it seemed it never came. We immediately missed our nice channel to get out to the waves like at engenhoca. Finally after some persistence we go to the outside and took a rest sitting on our boards. You look back to the most beautiful scenery. Behind and to the side are mountains covered in trees that end abruptly in a cliff face that drop right into the water with the waves hitting them and making an almost eerie mist. The beach itself just seems to go on forever in the other direction. The waves were a bit steeper, faster and stronger at this beach so it took a little getting used to. You had to stand up and turn almost immediately or before you knew it you were at the bottom of the wave holding on for dear life fighting with the foam crashing behind you.
Today we are going back to Engenhoca to surf for my last day in Itacare’. Tomorrow Im off to Salvador. I would have had a 6 hour layover so I decided to just stay overnight and explore the town and to relax a bit. I made sure to book a hotel that had a pool. It also broke up the flights a little bit. It will be nice to get a little break. The last few days Ive had a cold, actually the first night it started I thought I had dengue. We were out at dinner and I started getting a headache, really sore all over and a little lightheaded. Thought I was just dehydrated so I went home early and then realized in the middle of the night I had a high fever. High fever, headache, muscle and joint pains = dengue right?…..the next day I felt better, fever went away and had some URI symptoms so its just a cold but that night I really thought I had dengue!
I’ll do one more quick update after Salvador with some new photos. I already prescheduled a massage online for Phila massage for when I get home. I know after the long flight it will be even more needed! The massage here are more the relaxation type massages, they do nothing to help with the post-surfing muscle soreness. I had prebooked my package with them included but wish I hadn’t because I hear there are much better places to go in town then the one thru the surf camp. Think next time I will stay at http://www.ilhaverde.com.br/ ,its closer to town and apparently a lot cheaper and a bit nicer. The place im at (girrasol) is nice but its across from a non-surfing beach (which I never have time to go to except on Sunday) and has a longer trek to town on a dirt road. I think Im paying more here because of the beach access but it was the place included in the package. So next time around it will be much cheaper booking things on my own separately and I have my visa already which is good for 10 years. Definitely will be coming back. Hopefully in Feb! Have to get ready for surfing....hopefully a good last day!
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