Canoa, Are You Ready to Rock?!?!
Trip Start
Apr 27, 2006
1
106
110
Trip End
Apr 01, 2008
Canoa Quebrada,
State of Ceara,
Brazil
Thursday, July 24, 2008
I didn´t stay in Fortaleza itself, a city of 3.3 million, but had to choose between Jericoacoara and Canoa Quebrada (pronounced chee-bra-da). Both are former hippie discoveries of the 1960s and 70s that have evolved into international beach destinations famous for sand dunes, dune buggy riding and kite surfing
Bars From Above
. Jericoacoara was featuerd on E´s Wild on in 2000, but I picked Canoa Quebrada because it was significanly easier to get to and Jericoacoara was in the wrong direction.Canoa Quebrada itself was smaller than I expected after reading some of the hype. See, e.g., this website. Almost all the shops, bars and restaurants are on a six-block stretch of a street called Broadway. The pousadas, or guesthouses, are on the surrounding streets. The beach is always only a couple of blocks away, after descending the sand dune cliffs.
Otherwise, it was a pretty typical beach town, but laid-back and not built up at all. There were no massive hotel resorts, or anything over three stories for that matter. No one ever wore anything dressy at all, even on Friday or Saturday nights. Americans, however, were notably absent - the tourists and expats being either European or S. American. Other than feijoada, a meat and bean stew served with rice and beans, it was hard to get typical lcal food. I did have a rodizio (barbequed meats), but it was Argentinean. Otherwise, it was pizza and other ïnterantional¨ cuisine.
I stayed at a pleasant place a couple of blocks from center owned by a voluble, but helpful, Italian named Marco
Beach Scene
. My days were spent on the beach or at outdoor cafes, and there is not all that much exciting to say. I read, but the weather was not the best, i.e. it rained some and was windy most of the time, so I did not kitesurf, particularly because the choppy and presence of a shore break make it considered difficult for beginners. The nights were when the town came alive.As an aside, I note that I can figure out much of the Portugese when it is written - it is sufficiently similar to Spanish and the other Latin-rooted languages. Sometimes it is easier. For example, the word for lawyer is ¨advogajo,¨ even closer to advocate than the Spanish ¨abogado,¨ but still not as close as the French ¨avocat.¨ We will ignore German´s ¨rechtsanwalt.¨ However, the spoken langauge is completely different. It sounds more like German to me than Spanish, and even words very similar to Spanish and English, such as the word for ¨night¨ is pronounced more like noi-tch. Spanish speakers are equally dumfounded, although many Brazilians understand Spanish when spoken. I, however, have been reduced back to the basics of hello, good day, good night, how much?, and thank you, which is ¨obrigado¨ and not gracias, which is a hard habit to break.
The first night, Thursday, I found what appeared to be the starter, mellower, pub-like bar and started meeting various people
Canoa´s Symbol in the Sandstone
. The drinks of choice are 600 milliliter beers for or caprihinas, the national drink of Brazil, made with cheap cachaca, muddled lime and sugar. It is basically a mojito but with lime instead of mint, and cachaca instead of rum. Each are about $1.80. I was avoiding the distaster in waiting that is a sugary drink made with cheap liquor in favor of trying some of the artesenal, higher-end, drink-them-on-their-own cachacas. I´m not sure it was an improvement, though. I met lots of people, including a couple (American and Brazilian) who I hope to see again when I get to Rio de Janiero (they live there), but I made the mistake of letting a too-heavy chick get her hooks into me and I couldn´t really escape. At least, however, her friends were so protective that I did not have to address how to extricate myself from sex.Friday night was also a doozy, but in a different way. A large stage had been set up at one end of town and two bands were playing for free. Apparently it was a Brazilian band from 30 years ago that had reformed and it was quite a big deal, kinda-of a Brazillian REO Speedwagon reunion tour (hence the title of this post). There were, however, a lot of kids who were clearly not born when the band last toured, but I was told they still knew the songs from their parents and the radio (unlike REO I guess, but it clearly wasn´t the magnitude of a Zep or Stones, so ...)
Chilean Chica
. After that, there were packed bars and clubs on the main street and a big DJ party on the beach. I hit the beach scene, met a Chilean chick, and never left until they shut it down around sunrise.As for Saturday, the town was still packed, but I was dragging from two late nights/early mornings in a row. I went out and tried to drink myself a personality, but it wasn´t in me to battle the language barrier. If I had found some native Englishers, maybe, but it wasn´t happening. Sunday, I killed a lot of time at the beach and on the internet planning multiple things remaining in the trip before catching an overnight bus to:
Recife, Brazil
