M/ay 28th 2017

So…. there’s no easy way to say this.  A lot has changed in this point of my life.  I got back from mexico in February and Renata and I decided it was time to move in together.  We now have a house in Suzano about one hour from sao paulo with our two awesome kids Vinny and Felipe and Renata’s mum Dona Anna and I am living something more close to what would be called a normal life.

I also have gotten a job at a really interesting school in Mogi das Cruzes (one town over from Suzano) . I started on May 8th and for the remainder of the calendar year I am assisting the english and math teachers of middle school and next year, when we open the high school I will be in charge of the entire english program.  Pretty exciting stuff, but also a commitment that makes me uncomfortable.  There’s been a ton of commitments lately, to the family, to the job, to a new car (new to me it’s a 2010 nissan Livina) . and all of these commitments honestly scare the shit out of me, they sort of still do, but they are also pretty great and I love my family a lot.  Even if they waited this long to tell me that we had some pretty amazing beaches just an hour away from our house.

It’s been twenty days at work when we decide to take a saturday day trip to the beach and hop in the car in the late morning.  The drive down is beyond stressful as Renata, not yet confident with my driving, mixed with crazy Brazilian drivers always wanting to pass, and a road that’s curvier than most mountain roads is not a good combo.  Still we make it to the bottom intact, both our car and our relationship.

We head into the small town of bertioga, park the car at the first beach we come to and hop out.  I leave my shoes in the car as it’s just meant to be a quick stop and I’m just eager to get into the water.  After a refreshing swim we decide to take a short walk along the beach which eventually turns into a very long one, broken up by quick dips.  It’s winter time so the beach is not too crowded but still dotted with typical Brazilian life.  (Keep in mind a nice day in winter can still reach 20 or 25 degrees here).

We end up walking for actual hours along the beach which never really seems to end.  Eventually though we do reach an end where a river cuts through the city, and since we are all pretty starving we decide to head into town to find some lunch.  We keep it cheap getting some meat and fries at a small brazilian local place and then, after talking about heading back to the car decide that instead we should take a ferry across the river and hike to praia Branca a beach Renata says is much more beautiful than the one in town.  Despite my sore feet I’m more than game and we head towards the free ferry port just up the river.

As we wait for the ferry we observe a whole bunch of white sea birds and then stumble upon an empty lot packed with creepy looking vultures while Renata finds a hidden corner to pee in, only making me love her more.  I need to make sure I don’t let these new responsibilities and routines get too established and make sure I always remember I’m living in Brazil, a truly beautiful country, and while I can’t quite travel like I used to, I need to use the weekends and holidays to explore this incredible country as much as I can.

We get off the short ferry crossing and find the trailhead just a few hundred meters from the ferry and enter onto a well maintained trail, but I’m overweight and my feet are getting sore from walking so far with no shoes, still I grit my teeth and keep going, enthralled by the jungle.  It’s something I’m going to have to be careful of, with a job, and kids, and a whole bunch of other responsibilities, I don’t want to let myself forget I’m living in an amazing country, full of natural wonders.  Even if I can’t take long trips, I can still explore on the weekends.

We walk along the trail for a little over half an hour (our pace slower than usual due to the lack of shoes) . and eventually make it past a few backpacker camping places and a soccer field with a truly incredible view out over the beach.  It’s Brazil so of course there is a whole tournament going on.

I watch for a minute or two but the beach beckons, the sound of huge waves crashing calling to me and before long we’re all at the beach.  The waves and undertow are not to be estimated here and the kids just paddle a bit, I wander in a bit deeper, much to Renata’s displeasure and enjoy the incredibly liberating feeling of huge waves breaking over my body and knocking me right off my feet.  It makes me think back to summer trips to nova scotia as a kid and braving the waves with my father.  Praia Branca is crazy beautiful, removed from the city and surrounded by lush green jungle it truly feels like a piece of paradise, and it’s just 75 minutes from my house (plus the hike).  I think this whole living in Brazil thing might just work out well.

The sun is starting to get low in the sky so we eventually decide to head back along the trail to the ferry, and there we join up with all the soccer teams.  They are drinking and celebrating with the amazing energy of Brazilians, though I’m also shaken when I see someone take a pistol out and hide it in the back seat of their car.  Living in Brazil means different dangers than Canada too, and it’s important to remember that, though nothing happens and most Brazilians are just kind, outgoing, amazing people.

We get back to the town of Bertioga only to remember we have another 5 km or so to make it back to the car…  so much for my dream of doing the drive back with the sun still up.  My feet are killing me but we manage the walk and eventually make it back to the livina just as the last glimmers of late are fading from the sky.

The drive back is nowhere near as bad as expected though, the way down is one lane but the road back up is two lanes making the passing Brazilian drivers a lot less of an issue and we make it home safe.  I feel refreshed and ready for another week of work.  I just hope later in life I get another chance to travel as I’ve been traveling over the past 4 years.  Because it’s been pretty amazing, but don’t worry blog followers, I still make sure to have lots of adventures all around the world, their just crammed into a smaller time window, but still,. there’s lots of stories to come.