Last weekend we went to a place that I have wanted to visit for a very long time, Ubatuba, the surf capital of Brazil!
It's a bit of a long trip for a weekend but the weather forecast was perfect and I had just been paid for my evening teaching job so it was now or never! After a quick stop at a cafe on Paulista for a super unhealthy breakfast of Brigadeiro cake, Vanessa and her sister picked us up at the metro station and we took the marginal out of São Paulo.
After the usual two-hour delays due to traffic we finally arrived. We dropped our stuff at the hostel and headed straight for the beach! The first beach we chose was called Itamambuca, around a 15 minute drive from the centre. It was without a doubt one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever been to.
We arrived starving after the long journey so immediately headed to the beach bar. We ordered an ice-cold Brahma followed by camarão and chips, typical Brazilian beach food but maybe not the best for our plans to swim afterwards!!
The rest of the day was spent doing absolutely nothing...
We stayed until sunset, and it was definitely worth the wait. I tried to capture it on the camera but it never comes out as good as you hope.
Vanessa cartwheeling in the sunset
My not quite so elegant attempt!!
We stayed until the beach was deserted...
In need of a sugar boost following our hectic day (!), we headed to the centre for an ice cream at the famous Sorveteria Napoli.
When we got back to the hostel there were already people cooking in the kitchen. We cracked open a bottle of wine and introduced ourselves. Like all the best hostels, there were people from every corner of the world, all with amazing stories to tell,with which the copious supplies of caipirinha only improved as the night went on! Before we realised it was 1AM, Vanessa partied on and I called it a night!!
For me breakfast is definitely the most important indicator of a good hostel and this one did not fail to disappoint! The best tropical juices, fresh pão francês, coconut cake, homemade goiaba jam and Toddy (the Brazilian equivalent of Nesquik!)were just a few of the things to choose from! After eating enough to make absolutely certain that we wouldn't need to buy lunch we set off for the town bus station.
When we thought it would be impossible to top the beach from the day before we arrived at Praia Félix. It was different to Itamambuca, surrounded by thick forest, but it was equally, if not more beautiful.
Watching the surfers made me really wish I'd hired a board, especially as the water was like a warm bath compared to the Scottish and Cornish beaches that I'm used to! I will definitely be surfing next time...
The day only got better when Vanessa went for a walk and brought back a coconut!!
After what felt like no time, it was time to head back to São Paulo...My estimation of the hostel went up again when the owner gave us a lift to the bus station in his pick-up! Even the fact that the journey back to São Paulo took 8 hours when it was meant to take 3 couldn't dampen our spirits.
The state of São Paulo has the largest Japanese population outside of Japan. Obviously this is of great cultural importance but more importantly for me is that it means the sushi is incredible and a lot cheaper in the UK! Even at the cheapest por kilo lunch restaurant there is normally a plate of freshly made sushi on offer. My new favourite type of sushi that I tried for the first time when I arrived in São Paulo is Temaki. It is so popular here that there are restaurants where it is the only dish served, called Temakerias.
How a Salmon Temaki should look!
Temaki description from Wikipedia!: Temaki (手巻, "hand roll") is a large cone-shaped piece of nori on the outside and the ingredients spilling out the wide end. A typical temaki is about ten centimeters (4 in) long, and is eaten with fingers because it is too awkward to pick it up with chopsticks.
Last week Paula had some friends over and we all had a go at making some Temaki ourselves. It was definitely not Paula's first attempt, she made it look very easy.
Mine didn't look so professional but wasn't bad for a first attempt! It was seriously yummy and so much cheaper than at a restaurant. I will definitely miss the Japanese food when I come back to the UK and will be bringing back lots of sushi making ingredients!
Friday night was eventful. My flatmate woke me at 3 in the morning having returned from a club to find a cockroach in her room. Let's just say I was not happy, it was nothing I could help with; she said she woke me for "moral support"! Eventually she called the porteiro and begged him to come up to kill the cockroach, he must have thought we were such wimps!
Anyway, the next morning the cockroach incident was all forgotten and we headed to Paula's parents beach apartment, in a resort called Riviera de São Lourenço. On the weekend the whole of São Paulo seem to leave the city and head for the beach. The traffic is AWFUL, a journey that was meant to take 1hr30 ended up taking nearly 4!
However, when we arrived at the apartment, the stress of the journey immediately disappeared. It was in an amazing location, after just a 2 minute walk from the apartment we arrived here!
After a few hours of relaxation, or in my case pacing up and down the beach, why do I find it so difficult to sit still and do nothing?!, We headed back to the apartment and drove to Pão de Açúcarto buy provisions for the all-important churrasco.
Barbecue duty!
View from the apartment...
Bye beach...until next weekend!
Sunday was a very chilled day spent alternating between swimming in the sea, going for walks and browsing the beach barracas! Paradise...
After another huge meal we headed back to São Paulo and got caught in another traffic jam...
I am going to write in both languages today as although I am speaking lots of Portuguese, I don't feel like I am writing enough! Sorry for the mistakes in advance! Maybe one of the reasons why I haven't felt homesick yet is because I'm basically working in a little British bubble in São Paulo. In my building there is not only the consulate but also the British Council, the BBC and Cultura Inglesa. So much Britishness in one building! Talvez uma das razões pelas quais não tivesse sentido saudades do Reino Unido ainda é porque estou trabalhando, basicamente, numa pequena bolha britânica em São Paulo. No meu prédio não existe apenas o consulado, mas também o British Council, a BBC e a Cultura Inglesa. Tanta britanidade numsó prédio!
The new lift in the consulate reception! O novo elevador na recepção do consulado!
And this was the red carpet that greeted us on our recent "away day"! E este foi o tapete vermelho que nos acolheu quando a gente chegou para nosso "dia fora!" recente.
The desks are littered with British flags and random objects that people have collected like this sculpture of Winston Churchill's head that sits opposite me! As mesas estão repletas de bandeiras britânicas e objetos aleatórios que as pessoas tenham recolhido tal como esta escultura da cabeça de Winston Churchill que se senta à minha frente!
All the meeting rooms are named after British authors and the office is decorated with very British modern art! Cada sala tem um nome dum autor britânico e o escritório é decorado com arte moderna britânico!
We also have an endless supply of British chocolate brought by staff returning from business trips and we make sure to have regular tea breaks! A gente tem também, uma fonte infinita de chocolate britânico trazido pela equipe ao retornar de viagens de negócios e a gente sempre assegura de fazer uma pausa de chá regularmente. However most importantly, we have São Paulo's only British pub, the Queen's Head!! I sampled it for the first time last week after work for a friend's leaving drinks and it definitely beat all expectations. I thought it would be a bit gimmicky but it was very tastefully done! Contudo, a coisa mais importante é que, a gente tem o únicopub britânico de São Paulo, "The Queen's Head"! Eu fui pela primeira vez na semana passada depois do trabalho, para bebidas de despedida de uma amiga, e bateu as minhas expectativas. Eu pensei que seria um pouco artificial, mas acho que foi designado com muito bom gosto!
The selection of British drinks was impressive with a huge selection of ales and whiskies. However I don't drink beer and am not about to start and wasn't feeling that nostalgic so went for the much better value 2 for 1 Caipirinha deal!! I was very surprised by how much Brazilians liked Guiness though! A selecção de bebidas britânicas era impressionante, com uma variedade enorme de cervejas e uísques. Entretanto, não bebo cerveja e não vou começar por sentir saudades, por isso escolhei a oferta de 2 para 1 Caipirinha! Fiquei muito surpresa como o quanto os brasileiros gostaram da Guiness!
The food was yummy and made a welcome change! There was a huge choice, of course including classics like cornish pasties and mini fish and chips! A comida era gostosa e fez uma mudança bem-vinda! Teve uma escolha ampla, é claro, incluiu clássicos como "Cornish pasties" e mini "fish and chips"!
It was such a fun evening and somewhere I will definitely enjoy going back to, especially when I am feeling saudades! Era uma noite divertida e é semdúvida um lugar para onde gostaria de voltar, sobre tudo quando estou sentindo saudades!
On Saturday night I went out for Thais', a friend from work, birthday. We started the evening in a Catalan themed bar called "Gràcia".
Thais had bought a table and when we arrived there was vodka and lychee juice laid out for us, great combo! Like usual, I arrived too early, will I ever learn?! However by around 10, the place was heaving and there was a great party atmosphere. No wonder it is considered one of the best in São Paulo. Thais' friends were all so sweet and very patient with my Portuguese; I did feel it improved during the night though, I wonder why?!
After the obligatory queue to pay we left the bar and drove to what we thought was a PUC University party. We arrived at around 1:30 and were met with the customary huge queue. It moved quickly though and after being thoroughly frisked for drugs, we headed inside! It was one of the weirdest clubs I have ever been to. It was more like a warehouse than a club with no decoration and it had obviously been taken over by non PUC students as Thais and her friends didn't know many people there. We were determined to have a good time though and the fact it was an open bar made it a little easier!!
When we first arrived the DJ was playing standard house music which I could just about cope with. However after a while a women and a man took to the stage and gave out lots of free alcohol including packets of pre-made caipiroska which landed by my foot(we chucked it back!). Then the funk began! Yeah favela funk was new to me too... it's hard to explain so I've uploaded some videos below.
Funk Carioca or just funk(pronounced funk-y!)began in the favelas of Rio in the 1980s and is now popular all over Brazil. It's normally an electric drum loop with a man and a woman rapping to each other using some pretty explicit lyrics. All I can say is that it was insanely difficult to dance to; some of Thais' friends were so good at it and tried to teach me but it just didn't work! It was a lot of fun as an experience but i'm afraid it's not going to be my music of choice any time soon!
Although it isn't funk Anita was also played a lot, again not my favourite, but fun to dance to and made a change from David Guetta!
At around 4 most of us called it a night and took a taxi home, Thais and her friends partied on until the end! I had a great night, even if I hadn't realised that dancing to favela funk was on my to-do list! On Sunday morning, after a solid 10 hour sleep, I woke up to this...
...Much more my cup of tea!!! All part of life's rich experiences! Thanks so much Thais, I had an awesome time!
