Posts tagged: Brazil

Every now and then you come across a person or a group of people that remind you that there is something called humanity out there. This story goes back about 5 weeks now, to when I was still in Massaguacu in Brazil, but I didn’t get around to blogging about it (in full) when I was there, so now is the time.

Rose and I had visisted Breeder surfboards on the second day we were in Massaguacu to look at boards, but as I wanted to check out some of the other shops in the area, I didn’t actually make a purchase.

A month later after breaking the fin off my board and being on the search for a new set, we returned to Breeder to see if they had any in stock. Unfortunately they didn’t, but Renato (Casimiro) the owner said he knew someone who could make some. It was going to take about a week for them to come through from the shop up the coast, so whilst I was there I had a second look around the shop and got into the mindset to buy another board.

After having a tour of the shop and the shaping room, I went for a tasty 7’0 fun board (see previous blog post about Clyde) which was the best purchase I made whilst in Brazil. What I didn’t realise was that this board came with a whole lot more than just a thruster set-up, sock, leash and board bag. It came with the Casimiro family stoke.

Rose and I had walked to the shop, as we didn’t have a car and the buses are a little thin on the ground in those parts. As well as going to the surf shop, we were also due to go to the supermarket to buy food and supplies for a few days.

After purchasing the board, we asked if we could leave it there just whilst we popped up to the shop. Joao (Renato’s dad and business partner) asked us if we wanted a lift to the supermarket (about 10 mins walk up the road) but we said we’d be fine.

15 minutes later, whilst walking around the shops, we bumped into Joao, who had driven up to the supermarket with the sole intention of picking us up, taking us back to the surf shop and then driving us back to the apartment, all to save us the hassle and effort of taking back all our stuff on foot.

This was one of those moments, where you thought, man, there are still decent people out there who will go out of their way to help you. He was just stoked to help and happy that we were grateful for his help.

So anyway the moral of the story this time, spend £350 or more in a Brazilian surf shop, and you might get a free lift home – joking!

But seriously, in a world with more than its fair share of assholes, it is just nice to be reassured that there are decent people out there! Thanks again Joao and Renato.

Here are a couple of pictures I took with the underwater camera today, not amazing, but a little proof all the same. I actually got pounded trying to take the pictures as I was caught inside. they don’t really do the surf justice, but to give you an idea it was about 4-5ft today, still fat, but the wind was blowing onshore and so it wasn’t as hollow as yesterday.

There was a beautiful sunset last night which we just about caught before heading out to dinner, check it out below.

Today Rose and I made the trip down the coast from Massaguacu to Maresias, via Sao Sebastiao. We are staying at the Tambayba Hotel Pousada, an Indonesian-style resort set in lush, tropical surroundings.

The surf was pretty intense today and I felt a little out of my league alongside a handful of local surfers. The set waves were in the region of a good 6ft, very thick, fast and pretty hollow. I haven’t surfed waves like this since Fiji a few years back, and more recently at Itamambuca. I think I got about 3 waves in the space of about an hour, not that many to be fair, but at least I didn’t snap my board on the (heavy) lip of the wave (i’ve already broken 2 leashes and a fin).

I’ll give it another bash in the morning.

After breaking my fin on the 6’3 fish over at Itamambuca, I had real trouble in trying to get a replacement. More frustratingly I was getting used to the board and also the waves. I had taken off on a wave and half way into the drop, the tail of the board flew out to the side. I immediately knew it was the fin that had either snapped or come loose. Either way when I resurfaced, I was left with one fin and as it turned out it had snapped off right at the base due to the pressure of the water from the wave. I was really pissed off out of desperation I hired a 9ft soft top board for 30 minutes, only to break the leash on it and have to swim back to shore to retrieve the board and replace it. After that I called it a day!

We returned to Massaguacu that night and made a plan to visit the local shaper Renato over at Breeder surfboards the following morning. It is funny, most of my mates know that I don’t really spend a load of money on material things. I mean, I have a nice Mac laptop, some cameras, some skis etc, but I don’t have a super flash car or anything. But when it comes to money and surfboards, I go all out.

We went in to the shop looking for some fins and left with a new 7’0 surfboard, leash, wax, board sock, travel bag and fins. Either Renato is a good saleman, or I just can’t say no to a good looking board. Ironically Breeder was the first shop we went into when we arrived in Massaguacu 3 weeks ago, but I didn’t make a purchase as I wanted to check out a few other options.

Renato said the fins on the other board were poor quality, and I have to agree with him as in 6 years of surfing, I have never broken a fin on a wave before, I simply don’t go that fast, haha!

To sweeten the deal, Renato chucked in a nice little wax container, a few bars of wax and gave me a discount on some of the gear I had bought. If that wasn’t enough, his father (parter in the business) then offered to drive us back up the road to the apartment as we had too much stuff to carry on the 20 minute walk back. Two top blokes, 1 great new board and a renewed stoke!

Pics of the new board, Renato and the shaping room coming soon!

On our way back from our trip to Paraty, Rose and I checked into the Canto do Itamambuca, a nicely kept pousada about 500 metres from the beach and river.

The funny thing about the “500 metres” to the beach is that they don’t mention that you actually need to cross a river to get to access the beach, either by getting a small boat (paddled by one of the local boatmen) or wading/swimming across. Depending on the tide, the river can be ankle deep to neck deep, so you don’t really know what to expect. But after a few crossings you get used to it (unlike Australia, there are no nasties in the rivers around these parts – or so I was told).

The Canto is a nice place, with friendly staff, a nice pool and a decent breakfast, the only thing was that we were the only guests staying there (as it was low season after carnaval) so it lacked a bit of atmosphere.

Whilst staying in Paraty, we booked in a charming little hostel near the river called Casa do Rio (house on the river). It had an arts and crafts feel to it (in the artisan sense of the word, not the architectural style).

The only thing I could fault was the fact that the room was a little small and when it is 39.5 degrees in the day time, you HAVE to have air con in your room, we didn’t and you would need a nuclear-powered ceiling fan set to turbo to even come close to reducing the evening heat by a few degrees.

Sticky, sleepless nights aside, our stay was pleasant, and probably the first time on our stay outside of the city of Sao Paulo that we bumped into English speaking tourists, in Caragua and especially Massaguacu it is mostly locals who don’t speak (or let you know they speak) English.

Our second day in Paraty was spent trekking through the hills surrounding the town on horse back. Rose had been asking me for months if we could go horse riding (whether in the UK or elsewhere) and finally persuaded me to take the plunge. I wasn’t really sure what to expect and was a little apprehensive as the last time I had been on a horse was when I was about 2 years old.

Our instructor was cool, giving me a quick 5 minute introduction about how to ride a horse and not kill yourself (I was dressed in shorts, trainers and no hat). At first I just wanted to trot along at quite a slow pace, but after a while got up a little more speed to a canter and finally a gallop on the way back home.

The trip through the foot hills was amazing, we passed through lush forest and jungle and stopped off at a waterfall where we had a rest and swam to cool off from the scorching heat.

I would definitely try horse riding again, but I think that it would have to be done outside the UK as I don’t think I was supposed to do half the stuff we did on our trek (you would probably only trot around a field on your first time in the UK, not gallop up a hillside in the middle of the jungle).

A few days after visiting Ubatuba and chilling at home in Massaguacu, Rose and I headed up to Paraty, just across the State border in Rio State.

Paraty is an old colonial settlement and port with amazing architecture and old colonial charm. We spent 2 nights there and really enjoyed strolling around the old streets and taking in the sights.

Unfortunately for us the temperature soared to 39.5 degrees on our second day, and although I like the heat this was a little too much even for me. Paraty was definitely one of the highlights of my trip.

Today Rose and I headed up the coast on the bus to Ubatuba, about an hour away from Caragua.

Our previous plan was to hire a car and cruise up the coast, stopping off at different places on the way to Rio. As it turned out, hiring a car in Brazil is a bit of a hassle. The roads are sh*t, the drivers are mental, and there is a pretty useless insurance policy that comes with all hire cars, meaning that you are liable for the first £500-750 of any accident that you incur, whether it is your fault or not. Anyway I digress! We ended up taking the bus EVERYWHERE!

We had a nice day checking out Ubatuba, it was scotching hot day, so we didn’t over exert ourselves and just took in a few sights and rounded it off with a nice meal on the beach front in the evening!