Natal, Rio Grande do Norte

We woke up bright and early on Friday (7/1/2011) morning and traveled in our van to the city of Natal, located in the state of Rio Grande do Norte. It was about a three hour trip, but it was worth every minute of travel time. The first destination that we went to was a beach called Genipabu. This beach, along with every beach along the coast of Natal that we drove by was breathtakingly beautiful. Nick, me and a few other members of the group paid a few Reais to go on a sailboat ride out into the ocean for about an hour. This was a lot of fun! It was a small little sailboat that was filled to the brink with us, so it seemed like the thing was going to tip over, especially when we would go over the waves. When we got a little ways away from the coast, our guide stopped the boat and we jumped out to swim around in the ocean a little bit which was fun as well. Overall, I really enjoyed this short but sweet adventure. Also along the beaches that we visited were some beautiful sand dunes. On the first beach we went to, we ran up and down this huge sand dune. At the top of it was an absolutely beautiful view looking over the ocean and the beach for miles which we got some great pictures of. It was a lot of fun to run down 

the dune at full speed as well.

Standing next to the sail boat we took out.

The group and I getting ready for our adventure!

Right after we abandoned ship.

Heading back to shore.

On the boat with the beautiful beach behind me.

Up on top of the sand dune with the ocean behind us.

Still on top of the dune.

The second stop on the trip was a beach called Ponta Negra. At this one, there was a beautiful bay that we got to swim in a little. Right next to the beach there was another sand dune, this one was called Morro do Careca (roughly translated as Bald Man’s Hill). Unfortunately this one was closed off so we weren’t able to run up and down it. After eating some dinner, we rode back to the home that we were staying at in Joao Pessoa. Believe it or not, we got lost again trying to find the home that we were staying at. After a half hour of looking around aimlessly and asking a few people on the streets how to get to our destination, we once again solicited the help of a local, this time a young man on a motorcycle who knew where the street we were looking for was located. He was nice enough to let us follow him to the street we were looking for. Overall, the day trip to Natal was a great adventure; I loved getting to know one more of the beautiful cities and states (Rio Grande do Norte) of Brazil.

Right before I went for a swim in the bay.

Morro do Careca behind me.

Another beautiful Brazilian sunset on the beach.

Me with the sunset behind me.

On the way back to Recife, we stopped at a delicious Rodizio Churrascaria and I ate way too much meat. I did however snap a great picture with the guy who grills the meat in the huge oven they use. He let me hold up one of the swords of meat with a knife in my other hand. After the large meal, I slept pretty much the whole way home. It was nice to reunite with Tiago, Fernanda and Xica when we arrived in Recife. They were very excited to see us and said that they missed us the last couple days; I missed them too. I already feel like we are a part of the family here, which is a really great feeling.

Me next to the traditional open oven, they use coals and fire to cook the delicious, succulent meat. It looks like I'm ready for the job!