Our expats and repats are given to a lot of travel, especially in the winter months. Some fly to the U.S. or Europe, and others stay more locally, with short trips to Mendoza, longer stays in Buenos Aires, or, like Karen and Neal Nelson, who have left their twin Uruguay homes of Malvin and Punta Ballena, to the warm beaches of Porto Galinhas, in northeastern Brazil. We've been putting up with Karen's gloating for endless weeks. Here's the latest installment. I'm taking notes for next year...
"Today we decided to go somewhere nearby to have a look at some different scenery. We hired a taxi to take us to Praia do Cupe (Cupe Beach). This beach is only a short ride away, but a bit too far to walk to. I read on a blog that this beach was nice so thought we’d give it a try. The taxi dropped us off where we had to have about a 5 minute walk down a grassy path to the beach. At first glance the few little beach kiosks we saw were not very impressive so we walked along the beach to the next area we saw with umbrellas on the beach. It turned out to be a fabulous hotel/resort called Pontal de Ocapora. We wanted to stay there for lunch so we inquired at the reception desk. After a few fumbled sentences, another guest heard me and offered her assistance. She informed me that the hotel includes the meals with the room rates so they do not offer outsiders the option of eating there. The guest was aware that the kiosks where we entered the beach offer a very good deal on lobster and shrimp and she suggested we try there.
Nothing was noticeable further up the beach so we walked back to the kiosks and asked about the “langosta”. The attendant showed us the uncooked lobster and shrimp and our eyes were popping out of our heads! They were the biggest lobster and shrimp we’d seen since we’ve been in Brazil. They set us up with some beach chairs, an umbrella and a small table. We got ourselves quite comfortable and ordered a beer, Kohl. Before long they brought the 6 halved lobsters, grilled with oil and garlic and a nice assortment of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and green peppers. We squeezed a bit of fresh lime on everything and went to work. Oh it was so divine….we’d been waiting for just this opportunity to have lobster and shrimp at a good value. Finally the shrimp came out. Need I say anything more? We were on cloud nine…eating shrimp and lobster, sitting on the beach in Brazil, guzzling beer and having the time of our lives. The six lobsters, 15 jumbo shrimp and three beers were a total of $50.00 US!!!
After we finished we had another hour to kill before the taxi would be picking us up. I walked around a bit and took some photos while Neal took a snooze.
A few moments later, I was hearing some rustling in the bushes and it distracted me enough that I looked up to see the branches and the leaves moving furiously and often almost directly above where I was standing. In an instant from then I realized that what I was hearing and seeing was two monkeys jumping from branch to branch chasing each other in the trees. I rushed to grab my camera and was able to get two shots before having to jump in the taxi which had arrived just then.
It was another great day in Brazil…this time in Cupe, a beach next to the one where we are staying.
Not trying to make you all jealous...just want to share the experience and the joy we're having.
Saludos,
Karen and Neal"
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