Las praias do Brasil

I have a plan B for life. Got a job in Brazil. If things don´t work out in Wales or I don´t manage to get a proper job (stuffing envelopes in five languages is not a proper job) I will come down to work by the beautiful Brazilian beach. I really would not mind spending a couple of months working for the hostel, surfing, doing my translations and escaping the stresses of normal life I used to have.

A lovely fishing village

Funny that - I haven´t had a headache since I got to South America. I packed a load of paracetamols that I used to take on a weekly basis but there has been no need for them. I know I have to return to real life of mortgage and responsibilities in a few months but maybe I could make that real life more enjoyable? No wonder people die young and are obese when they literally live at their work place. It is important to set priorities. Do I really need a big shiny car? New clothes every month? I believe simple things in life bring happiness.

Bridge

I worked hard to be able to afford this trip but now realise that working six days a week made me unhappy and ill. In an ideal world I would not have to do a job in an office with no real meaning to pay the bills - we will see what happens.

Brazilian Portuguese is such a beautiful language. July´s eyes were glowing while she listened to the bus driver explaining different fares. She said it was romantic. I think the driver´s good looks had something to do with it. "No importa lo que te digan - si compras un pasaje, preguntas: ¿puedes repetir por favor? Es tan bonito."

We spent the relaxing days with an international crew and the friendly hostel staff. I even met a young Finn, Eetu. The Brazilians said he looked constantly scared but then I think many Finns do. The young Clark Kent lookalike from California had the hairstyle, shirt and all. Brazilian girls were fun and taught us very useful words in Portuguese, my favourite being bum-bum. Some random English and Australian backpackers had spent the day drinking cocktails at the beach and were finding it difficult to remember where they were from. A kind-hearted Uruguayan artisan had an interesting way of travelling around South America: selling hand-made jewellery and juggling. A very white (the following day he reminded me of a shrimp in boiling water) Irish engineer had been travelling for so long that he could not be bothered to learn people´s names anymore. The blond Swedish people (apparently even blonder than me) were very sweet and let me use their rented surf board. 

Itchy bites from the jungle

A local mad man approached us at the long, sandy beach offering sea shells. "In paradise you need no money, just sea shells, " he said with a big smile on his face. We returned to the hostel a few sea shells richer.

La praia do Armacao

My paradise

Superman and Alice

The crew

We were there