Before you start, let’s set the tone…
Cue music: Any version of The Girl from Ipanema, Elis Regina’s Águas De Marco or Spotify’s Brazilian Jazz and Bossa Nova station.
Prepare yourself a Caipininha: In a large glass (cuz it’s a long blog post) add:
3 Lime wedges, 2 tsp Sugar (option to add a few pineapple chucks or passion fruit)
Muddle together, then add ice.
Fill remainder of glass with Cachaça (the local moonshine made from sugar cane)
Garnish with a lime wheel
OK, now you’re ready!
So much has happened since our last update that, honestly, it’s hard to know where to begin.
So yes, we’re still in Brazil
We left São Paulo on June 16th with our first invitation of an exit — a beach house in Ubatuba. We jumped at the chance to flee the city.
We rented a car and headed north 3 1/2 hours to Ubatuba and settled in to the most glorious stretch of private beach, with hardly anyone in sight. Social distancing…not a problem here.
Hard-packed, fine sandy beaches — perfect for walking miles. Calm, rolling waves and perfect 72° water temperature — ideal for swimming and a little boogie boarding. And the fiery sunset sky — true nirvana at happy hour. Praia de Enseada, our beach in Ubatuba, was exactly what we needed.
We claimed one of six bedrooms in a very large family bunkhouse (designed to comfortably sleep 15), stocked with absolutely every kid- (and adult-) friendly water toy known to man (at $30/night it was a steal).
A quaint, nearby beach restaurant was open for patio service with, what we deemed as an acceptable omelet and seafood lunch. With a short drive into town, we discovered a few bathing suit shops and clothing stores were also open. I wanted to shop — just because. We even found a dine-in restaurant and enjoyed a true Brazilian Pincanha dinner (steak with rice and beans, flour-coated bananas, fried manioc, sausage and farofa (nutty-flavored flour). I was also able to join some local ladies for beach yoga (taught in Portuguese). Groceries were purchased and we settled into paradise.
For six days, our daily routine consisted of pre-sunrise beach walks with a hot mug of coffee, mid-morning swims, late lunches and early happy hours on the sand.
(Click images to enlarge)
Life was starting to resemble an island dream, instead of home detention.
Then we got evicted.
It happened innocently enough. Our São Paulo friends, Leo and Ancé, were visiting their beach house just two miles south of our place. They joined us on our patio Saturday afternoon, along with Leo’s uncle and nephew, for an early barbecue. Dinner was a spectacular feast of grilled steaks and sausage, cheese-on-a-stick, and Ancé’s delicious caipirinhas; along with roasted veggies and a salad (our Southern California touches to this otherwise traditional Brazilian meal). All the while, consciously keeping our distance (ish).
Then Scott received a call during dinner.
Apparently the housekeeper, who lives on this property, shared with the owner that we had guests. The owner didn’t appreciate us bringing outsiders onto her property and we were asked to leave.
So on Father’s Day morning, we woke up, fixed coffee, and scrambled to find a new place stay. With help from our other Brazilian friend Juliana, we found another beach two hours south. We packed our bags and left.
MARESAIS
We soon arrived in the idyllic beach town of Maresais — a little more upscale than Ubatuba but much smaller. We unpacked and settled into our tiny surfer’s bungalow in the jungle just a 1/2 mile from the beach ($28/night).
‘Bungalow’ might be a bit of an overstatement for our new home. It’s basically a bedroom and bathroom, with a front deck and an outdoor kitchenette.
We hit some nice weather and spent the first few days at the nearby beach. We parked ourselves under some coconut palms, read books and drank Caipirinhas (when in Brazil….) provided by this handy bar cart just 10 feet away.
Book and boogie board in hand — ready to chill.
After 4 days the weather turned… and it started to rain. And rain. And rain some more — basically sequestering us to our bedroom for 48 hours. We had to remind ourselves it’s winter here.
So much for our get-out-of-jail card.
So, aside from walking the beach and spending way too much time in our bedroom, we found a couple of nice restaurants: Terral and Badaue (both with lovely seafood meals with delicious caipirinhas), and an amazing empanada take-out restaurant, Tucumanas. I now have a new appreciation/ addiction for empanadas.
JUST TO BACK TRACK A BIT…
São Paulo was our home for the last 90 days. And oh what a 90 days it was. Full of too much world-wide turmoil, too much Coronavirus news, too much devastation about police brutality and murder, and a new awareness of what people of color experience each and every day — and how we’re part of the problem. An awareness that we’re all learning to understand on a deeper level; how to listen and how to change.
The news has been disturbing, heartbreaking and overwhelming to absorb. And on top of that, I read that my relationship gurus, Rachel and Dave Hollis, are getting divorced. What the hell is happening to the world?
The testing site near our Airbnb. Very low traffic at this site.
Scott and I are both doing well but, with news of Brazil’s infection rates skyrocketing (although, seemingly not in our neighborhood), things were getting a little tense back in the big city. Since we arrived at the start of the shutdown, São Paulo had gotten busier and busier. Traffic grew each week and even the bike paths became over-crowded. São Paulo no longer felt like a safe haven. It was time to get out.
We hope to go back one day to explore and see our friends.
So what happened to Portugal?
Our Plan B (…or was it C, D, or Z, after our Africa trip was canceled), was to fly to Portugal on June 23rd and spend the summer in the EU. It was one of the first places to invite tourism and we were all in. Then last week Scott read that Portugal changed their travel policy restricting all non-essential travel until July 1st. Hours on the phone to TAP Airlines finally got us rescheduled for the end July when pricing returns to reasonable rates. So here we are again…change of plans.
While we’re waiting, our friend Juliana suggested we fly north to Salvador and Bahia — home of some of the world’s most beautiful beaches. It’s another area in Brazil that is starting to open up their beaches and restaurants. With a short one-hour flight, we’ll be staying in the beautiful little town of Praia do Forte.
So that’s where we’re headed. And if Portugal doesn’t open up soon, we could be here in Brazil for awhile. But who are we to complain? If life gives you lemons (or limes)…make caipirinhas.
ADDITIONAL TRIP NOTES
Semblance of Normal Life: In São Paulo, we finally got haircuts (cut + color for me = $90), teeth cleaning, and Scott even got a tooth implant. We got fabulous massages ($30) at the house — all while (mostly) wearing masks.
Scott also had a little minor Mohs surgery on his leg, receiving ten stitches; so his swimming days were off limits for a couple of weeks. He welcomed our beach venues anyway since it makes me so very happy.
The Most Frustrating Part of Brazil: A PCF code (think SS#) is required for some purchases like food delivery. Without a permanent address here, we don’t qualify to receive this code. It’s maddening.
And OH, Then There’s the Portuguese Language: It appears we won’t be speaking it anytime soon. Each word sounds nothing like its spelled — and with the rolled Rrrrr’s and heavily-accented syllables….even with Scott’s best efforts (I gave up a long time ago), no one knows what we’re saying. He has been successful saying Thank you, Good Morning, Check Please, and I don’t speak Portuguese. At least he’s trying. :)
Our Local Budget: Although we budgeted $150 per day ($60K for the year), we’re averaging $75 per day ‘all in’ here in Brazil. The US dollar has been extremely strong during our visit and the shut-down has squashed our normal entertainment excursions, indulgent cocktails and restaurant dining.
News From Home: So, aside from the pandemic, the economic upheaval, uncharted unemployment, George Floyd’s murder, BLM protests and riots, and the election coverage (did I leave anything out?), Brazil’s infection rates began skyrocketing and we started receiving multiple texts from family and friends wanting to make sure we’re okay. As you can see, we’re getting by just fine.
Gussie Update: We miss our sweet cat Gus so much, especially since we’ve been home-bound. He was such a source of love. We’re incredibly lucky to have him adopted by our neighbor, who’s been a great new mom for him. She sends us regular updates on how he’s doing. It puts our mind at ease.
We did hear he had gained a little weight over the winter, but is taking it off now that summer is here. I wish I could say the same!
And finally…..I Launched My New Business! I focused on a couple of things during the shut-down. One was an online certification program to teach English as a second language, and the second was to launch my new business, Estate Management Systems!
During my short stints as an Estate Manager for Microsoft’s co-founder, Paul Allen, a Sony Exec and a Walmart heiress, I developed tools to manage multiple luxury properties all over the world. I launched the website last summer, but when Scott and I decided to do this trip, I put everything on hold. The shutdown has allowed me time to focus on developing content and marketing. As a result, I have been invited to teach an online master class in mid-July for The Los Angeles Chapter of the Association of Celebrity Personal Assistants.
It’s official, I’m now a digital nomad!
What’s next? Who the hell knows, but we’ll keep you posted!