Sunday at the Ipanema Fair

Sunday afternoon we spent in Rio at the Feria de Ipanema, a big outdoor market in General Osório Square.

We walked around another indoor market, Cobal, and had a bite to eat at Humaitá. The Cobal market sells mostly foods and had many restaurants. They did have lovely florists as well.

Tamarin Monkeys

Tamarin, aka squirrel monkeys, are plentiful in this area. I've seen three already. Here are a few pictures. They don't have the prettiest faces, but are fun to watch.

Hiking with the Boys

We hiked the mountain between the beaches of Itaipu and Itacoatiara. The trail was pretty steep in many areas, but the two five-year-old boys kept us moving.

Breakfast at Itacoatiara Beach

Got to the beach at 6 am. Sand was freshly combed and clean; surf was high and thunderous; the water warm; beach was mostly deserted except for a few early morning surfers and joggers. Glorious time. That's me in the water!

Piratininga Beach, Niteroi, Brazil

For want of a little adventure before the day was done, we took a city bus from the street near Andrew's house which is called Avenida Everton da Costa Xavier but which everyone refers to as Central, and for R$3.30 we had an hour long ride and got to Praia de Piratininga which was the end of the line. I was a little disappointed to discover it was the very same beach we visited two days ago but it all turned out fine since we walked on a different part of the beach that felt quite different. We ate our supper of spaghetti, which we carried with us, in a little fishing boat on the sand since there were no benches in sight and nothing but sand to sit on. After a piece of dark chocolate to wrap our meal, we took a walk on the rocks, past some dead fish and parts of fishes--this being an area where the morning's catch is sold right off the boats and fishing nets. 

While waiting for our return bus, Raphael got a cup of coffee at a thatched "Starbucks" on the beach, while a local woman called out to a couple stray dogs to come get their evening meal.

On the corner before we turned into our street, Rua Guatemala, we stopped to peer at a woman's homemade desserts displayed on a small wooden cart. We bought a slice of something that looked like it might be flan in the dim glow of the street light but turned out to be a stiff pudding of sago and shredded coconut. It was pleasant tasting.

Visit to the Naval Club

We spent the evening at the Naval Club in Niteroi with daughter-in-law and grandson. Sorry no pictures of the club house only the seascapes surrounding it.

Another day - Another beach

Praia de Camboinhas beach, Niteroi, Brazil. Dangerous rip tides, surf spray against the rocks, sun setting behind the rock islands-- all made for another enchanting evening.

Last hours in Buzios

We spent most of the afternoon and evening in Buzios Center, which was not far from the bus terminal and full of touristy beach shops as it was close to the beach Praia de Canto. Many of the stores and restaurants lined the water and had great views. 

We stood in a long line at the local post office and bought R$ 88 worth of stamps for our postcards. By the time the woman had calculated the postage and dispensed the stamps of various values for the four countries--india,UK, Canada and the USA--something she probably hadn't done for a long time, she let out a big sigh of relief. 

The last hour before we boarded our bus at 8 pm, we relaxed in an amusement park close by that was totally empty. We stretched out on one of the four trampolines--after bouncing around a little, of course! We got back to Niteroi close to 11 pm; Cilene was waiting with two little boys fast asleep in the back seat.

Breakfast and Lunch, Buzios

Forgot to post our breakfast pictures yesterday. The Hotel Pousada Encanto dos Anjos served us a free breakfast. Very basic--a variety of white breads; I liked the one with anise seeds in it. Cheese, guava cheese (yummy, mummy just like yours), scrambled eggs and ham. The fruit, however was fresh and exotic--persimmon, melon, pineapple, bananas. Oh yes, and sweetlime juice--freshly squeezed.

Lunch--"self service by the kilo" restaurants are very popular here and found on every corner. You go through the buffet and at the register your plate is weighed. This plate cost me R$ 10.45. Black beans, brown rice with a little broccoli, a few fresh spinach leaves, potato fries, and a dab of mashed potato.

Praia de Geriba, Buzios

Beach Geriba, on the Atlantico, was a fifteen minute walk from our hotel, and it has turned out to be my favorite beach so far. The sand was silky smooth and fine. 

I love the graffiti in Brazil. So different from the US.

Misc Scenes - Buzios, Brazil

Rained through the night until about 5:30 am, then we took an early morning walk by the water. Clouds lying right on the water was something I'd not seen before. Streets are all cobbled stone.

Buzios

Took a bus from Rio to Buzios, a beach town two hours north. Population approx 28,000. Arrived in pouring rain that was reminiscent of monsoons in Poona. Streets turned into streams, knee-deep in a few areas. Taxis being scarce, we shared one with a couple from Chile. After the rain stopped we took a walk to the waterfront and shared a pizza. Handicapped by language, we ended up getting a pizza with ham on it. Raphael kindly assisted me with picking the pieces out.