seekingmygreaterperhaps

Oi gente, tudo bem?

I was so happy to host my cousin, Jennifer, for a visit to Brazil this January! We met up Rio de Janeiro before flying (and driving) to Jericoacoara (or Jeri for short). This was also my last tourist hurrah in Rio before I moved, so I was happy to revisit all the tourist sites, and also see a few new ones!

The first stop was Cafeiteria Colombo, a historic and famous cafe serving up huge portions and delicious food. We were so lucky, because we met up with my friend Maria and her friend who had been standing in line. We met with them right as they were seated, so that was so nice. Maria and I shared a rabanda (a fancy Christmas-time special treat, basically the Brazilian version of french toast).

After fueling up, Jennifer and I headed into the heat of Lapa to explore some historic areas of Rio.

We walked by the Cathedral, some some incredible art, hiked up the Escaderia Selaron. Maria had recommended us checking out the Parque Das Ruinas, an old church and park nearby the steps, that I had never been to. Well, walking up to it we got some incredible views of the city, and Jennifer got her first peek at Pão de Açúcar- Sugarloaf mountain. The Parque Das Ruinas was pretty amazing. It’s free, you just walk around- they have a little bar if you want refreshments, they have great views, and it’s mostly shaded! It’s definitely an easy walk from the steps as well. It was nice to just be able to chat with Jennifer and catch up a little bit. She had a chaotic travel story arriving in Brazil, so the easy touring day was probably the right speed.

You’ll notice me rocking this awesome pink hat in these pictures. I (who live in Brazil) forgot my hat. Jennifer brought two and lent me one of them, because she is an angel cousin. So I am styling, and I give her all the credit.

Our touring continued with some excellent food. Jennifer tried “real food” according to Brazilians, our flavor was steak with all the accompaniments. I took her to my favorite açai spot in all of Rio (my carioca friend brought me here once, and I swear by it now)- Tacaca do Norte. When we were at the counter, a very cute older couple were chatting with us (me), and when they left they gave us these little origami dogs that when you pull the tail it moves around.

We visited Cristo- Christ the Redeemer, and got up early and had the first train ticket to “beat the crowds.” LOL- we didn’t beat any crowds, it was still super crowded, but we had a beautiful day and had great views from the top. I wonder if there is ever a time when Cristo isn’t completely packed? I mean, it is a wonder of the world, so I guess that probably plays a part.

We made it to Copacabana beach, of course, and I got to show Jennifer some of my favorite parts of Brazilian culture- beach culture. We got beach cheese (my favorite), capirinhas, I bought sunglasses, we rented the chairs, enjoyed the water, and the sun for a perfect beach day.

I had the genius idea of doing Pão de Açúcar for sunset… but it was so crowded that we basically missed sunset. The other time I had been here with my dad and Janet, it was a super easy experience, but this time I think every tourist in Rio was trying to go up at the same time. I think all we did was wait in lines to use the cable cars. There are 4. One to get up the main bit, one to get up to the top, and the reverse. I think we waited in line for like 3 hours. I’m glad Jennifer was there because then I was like… okay you wait in line and I’ll go get us dinner (hot dogs). The lines were not fast guys. Sunset was cool in theory, but we missed the sunset basically, and then were trapped with tons of people.

My choice in activity for a “new” thing was to go on a sunrise hike to the Pedra do Telegrafo. I saw it on an Instagram ad and booked it for such a good price! Then realized that we needed transportation there because we had to leave at like 4 am, so it ended up not being entirely “cheap” but overall still affordable, haha. I’ve never done a sunrise hike before, and it was hard for me, but the payoff was worthwhile!

The views from the Pedra do Telegrafo were remarkable. Watching the sunrise took my breathe away. We had an awesome guide, and I was so happy to be able to see a completely different side of Rio.

Another reason for this trip was to celebrate Jennifer completing her PHD in MARINE BIOLOGY! She is so wicked smart, and I am so proud of her. After our morning hike and a hefty nap, we headed to AquaRio, the aquariam, and I happily followed Jennifer around as she explained things to me. Her PhD is about plankton (and other things… but you’ll have to talk to her about it), and AquaRio had a special plankton exhibit that neither one of us were expecting, and that was really neat.

Our time in Rio completed with visits to Parque Lage and Jardim Botanico, two places I hadn’t been to, but are ICONIC to Rio. We found algae and giant palm trees, and had a good time walking around and enjoying some nice weather. An easy stroll down Copacabana beach brought us to our final dinner in Rio at the Churrascaria Palace. You can’t be in Brazil and not go to a churrascaria- I think it’s the law (unless you’re a vegetarian, I probably wouldn’t go unless you can enjoy the picanha or the cupim < my favorite).

BUT WAIT- there’s more.

In order to get to Jericoacoara (Jeri), we flew to Fortaleza, and then hired a driver to drive us the 3+ hours to Jeri. The arrival was… bumpy. Jeri is a national park basically in the sand dunes. The last 30-40 minutes of the arrival are just going through the dunes. It is beautiful but also chaotic when you don’t know how long it is going to take to get there.

We arrived, and checked into our absolutely adorable pousada right on the beach- Ponta da Pedra (I would recommend). Jeri is absolutely raved about by my friends, foreigners and Brazilians alike, so I was geared up to love it. Honestly, it was good, but if I am going to the dunes, I think I prefer the Lençóis Maranhenses. We did one day of a dune buggy tour which drove us around to different lagoons… where you have to pay for the tour but also pay entry into each place, and each place kind of looks the same. We did a day pass to a beach club and got to play around on the water obstacle course, that was probably my highlight. We did a beach day where Jennifer got to surf, and I got to swim around. We saw some kite surfing, we hung out, we ate some great food, and didn’t get too sunburnt (me)!

My description above sounds like a bummer I realize… we actually had a great time! I really enjoyed spending time with my cousin! She is a great travel companion and makes even a cloudy beach day into a good time.

On our last day we did a little hike to this famous arch. And I have to laugh, because this is such a Brazilian thing. The first set of pictures is us not waiting in line, but just kind of standing to the side. Then you look and you see the line of like 25-30 people waiting to get the inside shot, the perfect picture. And they take like 5+ minutes each person because they get to have their own photo shoots. We looked at each other and said… nopity nope. The hike and the slightly not in the middle pictures were good enough for us.

It was a very fun beach vacation to Jeri, and I was happy to be able to translate well enough to Jennifer to enjoy this slice of the Northeast of Brazil!

Jennifer also flew back to Brasilia with me! I was able to show her my hometown and what my every day life looks like. Of course, I toured her around, we did the Esplanade, the Hippie Market and TV tower, my favorite acai spot, Subs, and Jennifer even found something I didn’t realize was a tourist thing- the wishing tree. I biked by this tree every time I go to the pool, but it is in Atlas Obscura, so naturally, we got some pictures there too.

Overall, I was super happy to host my incredible cousin and tour her around 3 very unique places in Brazil. Thanks for reading, and tchau for now!