The hotel is charging us R$25 because we got mud on a hand towel. They will charge us R$25/hand towel and R$40/regular towel if anything is on it besides water (they said it couldn’t possibly come out). Come on!
This morning, we went scuba diving! Beleza. Maravilhoso. It was fantastic. Firstly, we took a nice boat out to this beautiful cove. The water was so clear! Seriously, I can’t get over how blue and gorgeous all the water here is.
"My soul is full of longing
For the secret of the sea,
And the heart of the great ocean
Sends a thrilling pulse through me."
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
It was perfect weather this morning. We got briefed on our dive and got into gear – each of us got a personal guide to be with us the whole time. Here, they call your first dive Batismo – baptism.
When I was still in the boat, we had to practice breathing into the mouthpiece. I got nervous, because it felt really unnatural and difficult to me. I started worrying a little that I might freak out under water or something. But once I actually was underwater, I had no problem at all. Breathing made sense and was easy, even when I had to equalize my ears or swallow.
Immediately, I saw a school of 3 or 4 sting rays (is it called a school?). Fernanda (my guide) brought me really close to them. I’ve touched a lot of sting rays in shallow petting ponds before, so I didn’t feel afraid, but I did have a moment of realization when I remembered that these rays had stingers fully intact and had killed Steve Erwin. It didn’t really make me afraid though – it just made everything more thrilling. Then we found a nursing shark. I knew it wasn’t dangerous, but it was still pretty big. Fernanda brought me so close! Just like the rays, if I had just extended my arm, I would have touched it!
Everything I saw was exciting. There were so many colorful fish. Even tiny ones had such vibrant colors. I saw an octopus (though I didn’t know it until I came back up – it was hiding in a rock, you could only see it’s eye). I also saw a barracuda. Fernanda took me under some rock croppings, so it was almost like being in an underwater cave – it was so cool. I loved the sensation of scuba. Because of all the wildlife we saw, it was at once peaceful and exciting.
After we surfaced, we still had some time in the cove. So we went back in and snorkeled some, which was nice, but on the heels of scuba not so exciting. Eventually I have up the goggles and just swam around, enjoying the setting. I burst into How Can I Keep From Singing – everything was so marvelous! Such a wonderful gift.
Seriously, I want to go diving again.
When we got back, we rented a buggy for the day, which was really fun and quite the adventure. It was a manual with an awful clutch, and the placement of the pedals made it almost like driving the kiddie cars at Cedar Point.
After a nap, we decided to find a beach. First we got some açai at a little roadside place. It was the best I’ve ever had – very refreshing.
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| yum :) |
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Then we found Praia do Bode. It was so gorgeous. Really, everything about it. The water, the sand, the rocks. The sand was so soft. When I walked along the beach up to my calves in the cool water, my whole leg felt like it was wrapped in velvet.
"Such art thou, stupendous ocean!
But, if overwhelmed by thee,
Can we think without emotion
What must thy Creator be?”
- Bernard Barton
We watched the sunset there and it was so beautiful and serene.
I wish we had more days here.
While were at the beach, I was wearing a short sundress, and I was sitting, and the sand got all up in everywhere. Then we went to a hotel restaurant, and I was really uncomfortable – you know how it is. Sand. Not knowing exactly what I would do, I asked for a bathroom. Stroke of luck – it had a bidet hose, so I used that to clean off.
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