Discover the Beauty of Northern Brazil !!!

Traveling with Max & Oksana, my son & daughter-in-law, we flew up to Fortaleza, the capital of the state of Ceara. For those of you who are carnivores, it is renowned for its meat restaurants, and for anyone with a sweet tooth, the ice cream stores are at a whole new level.

From there, we took a tour down to some of the spectacular beaches in the area

My favorite was Morro Branco, with red sand canyons and hidden pathways leading down to the gorgeous white sand beaches overlooking the warm, turquoise tinted ocean.

We decided to hire a 4X4 from Fortaleza for the journey over the sand dunes up to that infamous little village called Jericoacoara.

You drive for miles across the sand dunes and suddenly end up in “Jeri”, a popular tourist town in the middle of the desert. There were hundreds of restaurants, shops & souvenir stands lining the sand streets, and spectacular sunsets from a big sand dune overlooking the ocean.

Kite Surfing in Jericoacoara

Juliet takes a tumble while learning how to kite surf

Max & I decided to take our first kite surfing lesson, which was a blast! I have to take two more lessons before they deem me proficient enough to go out on my own. The instructor said Max was a “natural”.

As for me…I obviously need those lessons –
have a look at this faceplant:

After a few days in Jeri we hired another 4X4 vehicle to drive us out through the sand dunes to an incredible National Park called Lencois Maranhenses, where they have hundreds of pools of water in the middle of the sand dunes.

Some of the larger pools are the size of small lakes where they have built resorts to capitalize on tourism, and at Lago Paraiso we kicked back in the “over water” hammocks under palm frond palapas and watched the windsurfers fly by us.

Christ The Redeemer

Headed back to Rio, a trip to Brazil would never be complete without a trip up to the iconic statue of Cristo Redentor overlooking the city. It was an overcast day, but I decided to climb up the mountain, instead of taking a bus or the train.

In the middle of the city, I walked into the park and felt like I was in the jungle – heading up a path through the forest with no sounds other than the occasional waterfall. I was told it was a 2 hour hike, and I got past the point where I had to clamber over some boulders using the metal rungs embedded in the rock, but the trail got rougher and steeper, and it started drizzling rain. It seemed longer than 2 hours, but I could see daylight and thought I was near the top, so I continued to haul myself up the slippery mud slope by vines hanging in the forest.

When I finally made the top, I realized I must have taken a wrong turn & was on a mountaintop 200 yards away from the statue with a canyon in between. I slid back down the mud trail hanging onto those vines I had pulled myself up on and managed to find some hikers in the woods who put me on the right path. An hour later I finally made it to the right mountaintop….It took me almost 5 hours to reach the top, so I took the train down.
In Surge, you might take some wrong paths, go off course, make some mistakes, but the important thing is that you go back, try again, and persevere on your journey to the top, no matter how long it takes.

If you decide to visit Cristo Redentor, take Max & Oksana’s advice in their Travel Blog: http://www.drinkteatravel.com/hike-to-christ-the-redeemer/