Northeastern Brazil

Kerry´s old house






We are recently back from the beaches up north. Although our
targeted town - Sao Miguel do Gostoso - wasn´t very far, it took two buses, a taxi (since one bus broke down) and six hours to get there. Once finally there, it was paradise with virtually no tourists or backpackers and we were thrilled to find mostly sunny weather, stunningly beautiful beaches, and warm water. For just US$2.50 more than what we´ve been paying at the hostels around Brazil, we stayed
in a really nice pousada on the beach. It was brand new and it is always wonderful to have our own bathroom and get out of the dorms. Over the three days that we were there, we had two fish dinners, both served out of little restaurants which were basically extentions of peoples´ houses.

Two days ago, we hired a car to take us inland to find the village
where Kerry lived when she did the Amigos program during high
school. The village is virtually nothing and I cannot believe that she spent two months there - a few small houses, a school, maybe 100 people if that. They were very excited to see her and remembered her from 7 years ago - ¨Cristina! Cristina!¨ - people exclaimed, using the easier Portuguese version of her name that she used when she lived there. It was fun to watch people shyly come out of their houses, puzzled and excited about why this familiar American who used to build latrines for the community was walking around their village. Her old host mother wasn´t there but
the neighbors were and they were kind enough to invite us to stay for
dinner. Unfortunately, our driver waited until we arrived to tell us that he had to return to the big city of Natal and we´d have to leave shortly. We walked around and were brought into one tiny Brazilian home where we were served passionfruit juice and buttered rolls. The people of the village have virtually nothing but were so welcoming in wanting to feed us. We joked that everybody probably thought that I was Kerry´s significant other - ¨Amiga?¨- they kept asking her with a curious gesture towards me, clarifying that I wasn´t more. Kerry is doing very well with the Portuguese and though she claims to forget a lot, she seemed to be very good at making conversation with her old friends.

We are now back in Natal and we are catching an eight hour bus to Forteleza this afternoon. From there, we will sleep in the airport before flying to Manaus, which is the jumping off city for the Amazon. We don´t have a trip booked
since we´ve been told to talk to people and shop around for a legitimate trip once we get there. We are hoping to do a three day/two night trip before flying out of Brazil and on to Panama City next Monday, which surprisingly turned out to be the easiest way to get out of this country.