Post Christmas Adventure #2: Beach at Bombinhas

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

We had a tough time deciding our next adventure for the week after Christmas.  We really wanted to spend some time at the beach by but by all accounts from every Brazilian we've talked to--the beach is where all of Brazil spends New Years so traffic would be absolutely horrific.  Still, this was the only week Papai had so we decided to just go for it.  Everyone we've talked to has told us that Bombinhas is the beach we just had to see--it was great for kids and someone told us we could take a boat to an island called Porto Belo and there are fish in the water that will come right up to you.  That came up because I told that person that on the last day of my mission my president took me and one of the office Elders who were going home to the beach Porto da Galinhas--a very famous port and beach in  Northern Brazil.  I told them how cool it was that you could buy food and the fish would come right up and gobble it out of your hands.  Anyway, with such high recommendations from various people, we decided to go for it, knowing that we'd probably get stuck in some traffic.

On our way out the guard gave Safari Girl a package--22 Christmas cards from her school class and her teacher!  You can see why she was so sad to leave her class and teacher!

Without traffic the city was only about an hour a half away.  We were delighted and surprised that we made it in only two hours.  We pulled off at a look-out place and got some beautiful pictures.  Then shortly after, we got off the freeway.

 "Welcome to the Best Vacation of Your Life!"

It was a bit sunny....

It took us another two hours to drive from the freeway to the beach--not that it was far--it was just one huge traffic jam as far as the eye could see.  Finding parking was next to impossible.  We passed one possible place and then ended up having to sit in traffic again to get back to that place since it really seemed to be the only option for us.  It was a little parking lot up a cobblestone hill and in our little VW Fox we ended up literally burning rubber to get up the hill on a turn.  We paid $30 reais to park and left our keys with the attendant so she could move it if someone needed to get out from 

behind us.  Then we grabbed our backpacks and hiked to the beach.

The beach was BEAUTIFUL!!!  And it was packed with people as far as the eye could see.  What I loved about it was that everyone was having so much fun.  There were people on rafts, people on paddleboards and sea kayaks, many people were playing this racketball/ping pong type game in the shallow parts of the water.  Tons of people were actually in the water swimming.  We had to hike down the beach quite a ways to even find a spot.  It must have been high tide because it was maybe 100 yards from the beach hotels to where the water was and there were beach umbrellas and beach chairs packed into every square inch between.  We found a spot that had some empty chairs and a beach umbrella in front of a hotel.   It looked to me like it was meant for people staying in that particular hotel but since I could see several available umbrellas and chairs I figured we weren't keeping anyone there out of a spot and we settled in.  Later, I talked to Papai about it and he thought is was just advertizing for the hotel and didn't matter.  But since all the umbrellas with the hotels 

name on it were on the sand right in front of the hotel, I really think it was meant for people staying there.  Oh, well.

It was so nice to have chairs and an umbrella though!  We helped the kids into their suits and slathered on the sunscreen.  Under the umbrella the temperature was just perfect!  I could see why everyone flees to the beach.  In Joinville, it's unsufferably hot!  I let Papai take Safari Girl out into the water first while I stayed with The Boss, who had no interest in going in.  I'm not sure he even wanted to be there.  But we played in the sand a bit and he perked up.  The sand was like sugar cookie dough-soft, and just that color.  It was beautiful and clean and made me wonder-why are the beaches here so clean and beautiful while a lot of the rest of Brazil is so dirty?  My friend and former mission companion, Dani has mentioned many times how Brazilians have a habit of just throwing their trash on the ground.  I think it's less of a problem in the South where as a whole people tend to be more educated and have more money but it still happens a lot more often here than in the States.  She was also telling me how there was a big push for Brazilians to clean up after themselves during the World Cup in Rio.  She said they showed a game on television where after the game, the Japanese whipped out little trash sacks and cleaned up all the trash they could find on their way out.   "How embarrassing," my friend said, "That we have another country cleaning up after us."  But she said that is their custom.  Now that being said, she has also mentioned how it's the habit of Brazilian house wives to spend a lot of time cleaning their houses and their pots and leaving every thing sparkling clean.  So you know, take everything I say with a grain of salt!

Anyway, I enjoyed my time on the shore with The Boss just relaxing in the shade and playing in that beautiful sand.  I could see Papai and Safari GIrl jumping the waves.  As usual, Safari Girl made a friend right away.  Later, Papai told me she was excited when she found out that they were from the States and wanted to tell Safari GIrl all the English words she knew.  Meanwhile, I spent some time people watching--and counting how many modest swimsuits I could find.  There was one.  Many people had little cover-up dresses so I couldn't always tell but most of the time even with the little beach sundresses you could see the girls had bikinis on--And more string bikinis than I've ever seen in my life!!  My eyes are still burning from the sight of so many sunburned bums!  YIKES!  and OUCH!!!  I was feeling a lot overdressed in my workout pants and shirt.

Papai and Safari Girl with her new friend jumping waves.

Soon Papai and Safari Girl came back and it was my time to go in.  Before we knew we were coming to Brazil I had a tankini type suit.  The bottom was pretty worn and stretched out from such frequent use the previous two summers so I finally worked up the courage to just toss it out, thinking it's winter now, I could just buy a new one when summer rolled around.  Unfortunately, I forgot I did that until the day before we left and I just didn't have time to try and find and buy one at home in the middle of winter.  Here, it's very hard to find a one piece and one in my size is even trickier, so I've resorted to my workout clothes.  At Guaratuba I at least wore my swimsuit top with my workout pants but this time I knew it would be tricky to find a place to change, and for religious reasons I prefer not to change until it's time to actually swim so I opted to go in my shirt.  I was feeling pretty conspicuous in this fully dressed outfit in the water but I don't get to go to the beach in Brazil often so I tried to just swallow my pride and enjoy it.  It took me awhile to decide how went I was going to get knowing I wouldn't be able to change out of my clothes until we made the long drive home.  Finally, my conspicous outfit and the fact that I'm not often IN Brazil, drove me to get all the way in the water!  It was warm and beautiful--the perfect temperature.  

After I swam for awhile, Safari Girl came to tell me Papai was going to go search for the part of the beach with fish.  I wasn't sure how that was going to happen because he couldn't possibly carry all stuff and we didn't want to leave it there because everyone tells us how common it is to be robbed here.  I was going to get out and talk to him about it but Safari Girl and I got distracted when I found a spiral seashell.  I pulled it out of a wave and discovered it had a snail living inside!  Safari GIrl was THRILLED and had to go show Papai and get her picture taken.  By the time she came back, we found another mussel/clam type shell with an animal in it and we had fun playing with it--trying to give it sand and water so it would come out of it's shell and dig so we could get a picture. We had a blast.  There is nothing like seeing your child's pure delight with something!!  The other thing she and The Boss had fun doing waas making sand balls.  They'd take a big scoop of wet sand, roll it into a ball, smooth it out and harden it up with some dry sand, and then The Boss would chuck it into the water.  Once the schrapnel hit an unsuspecting, not-too-happy person! 

 

All too soon, Papai was ready to go.  I was a little disappointed to find out we'd only been on the beach for a little over an hour!  But Papai didn't love how crowded it was (me either!) and we did want to find the area with the fish.  So we left.  I was annoyed with myself for not doing more homework before coming and for not being assertive enough to just ask someone who was there on the beach.  We went back to our car, helped the kids change and headed out to look for the boat or the area with fish.  It was getting late and we were all tired so when we couldn't find it, we ended up just heading home.  We stopped at a gas station near the freeway and got some food (Doritos and ice cream for dinner.  Yum!) and I was able to change out of my wet things which improved my mood enormously.  We sat in traffic all the way back to the freeway and on the freeway until we passed Camboriu, which is another famous beach town.  Apparently, the beaches there made onto the cover some some magazine and then suddenly it exploded in growth.  It is a sight to behold even from the free way.  There is a huge, thick wall of these very tall, very skinny, WHITE hotels.  It looks like a 

Lego city or something.  I tried to get a picture of it but it just doesn't do it justice.  We were wondering how all of Brazil could go to the beach at once and after seeing Camboriu from the freeway we understood--just skyscraper after white skyscraper!

Another part of Bombinhas

Other sights along the way:

A Go Kart raceway

Plates from Paraguay

A Walmart Distribution Center

The following four pictures are of Camboriu and it's walls of white sky scrapers.  One hotel (that I couldn't quite get a picture of)  had three buildings with skyways between them on the 20th floor!!!

 

So we finally made it past Camboriu and the traffic eased up and we started to go freeway speeds and thinking, "At least we'll make it home a little faster!" and then the heavens opened and the thunder and lightning and rain started.  I've said when it rains it pours here and it's true.  The freeway becomes a river and wipers can't swish fast enough to clear the windshield to give you a good view.  Lightning and thunder were going every minute or so and the kids were terrified.  It was a spectacular show, let me tell you!! Every few moments despite the darkness, the lightning would light up the entire sky like it was noon!  The kids eventually drifted off to sleep with their hands and stuffed animals and blankets (or what ever they had on hand) over their heads and Papai and I prayed our way home.  Ironically, as we arrived in Joinville, which is also known as Chuvaville (RAINville) because of how frequently it rains, the storm ended and the streets were completely dry.  Oh, the irony!   

And that my friends, is the story of how we drove 7 hours in one day to spend an hour and a half at the beach in Brazil.  Totally worth it in my book!!  We already have plans to go back to go on the boat and see the fish.  This time though, we'll talk to someone and find out exactly where we need to go!