Natal, Brazil
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
After Manaus we wanted to spend a few relaxing days at the beach. We decided on Natal because it was close to the Equator and we figured the sun and the water would be warm. Little did we know that few people in Natal speak English. We are under the impression this resort town is a winter destination for people living in the south of Brazil. We did a lot of charade playing to communicate but it was fun. Our last day we went on a dune buggy expedition to the sand dunes which Natal is known for. We had a blast! We had a guide that was learning to speak English and he was quite good. Going up and down the dunes he was blaring out music of the 70's on the buggy's radio. We were in heaven. He had to stop twice to make sure I wasn't having a heart attack because I was screaming so loud! He took us to this one place where we went down a zip line and landed in a pond. Of couse this was after a couple of caipirinhas (Brasil's infamous drink)! Then he took us to another place where we surfed (on our bums) down a sand hill into a pond. If you didn't balance properly and make it all the way to the water you wound up eating sand. Not to worry - we both made it to the water.
Natal was our last destination but we had to catch an early morning flight back to
Sao Paulo for our return to California. We spent some time in the airport doing last minute shopping and lo and behold we found a McDonalds. We scarfed down a cheeseburger and french fries. We spent the rest of our time people watching.
Obrigada Brasil, we will miss you.
