Our 4th of July was better than yours!

We spent 4th of July weekend in Canoa Quebrada, one of the most popular beach destinations in Ceará. The town itself, which dons a moon and crescent as its ubiquitous logo, was reminiscent of Charlottesville with a cute and colorful central mall, full of stores, bars and restaurants. In the evenings, many hippy-ish artisans line the rustically cobbled Broadway (the main strip), selling hand-made jewelry and other trinkets. Reggae is the music of choice. We ended up getting matching head bands to signify our commitment to each other ;) The artist actually finished the one of the headbands after Galina was already wearing it. Unfortunately the finishing touches included burning off the yarn ends, which were frighteningly close to Galina’s hair. In the end no hair was lost but a few fright-related gray hairs were gained.


Canoa Quebrada's logo carved onto the dune

Our matching headbands

We started July 4th with a buggy tour of Canoa Quebrada’s famous pink sand dunes (which are actually terra cotta-colored). Several times the buggy descended the dunes almost vertically, producing a roller-coaster-type tingling gut feeling. Along the way, we stopped at a rest stop of sorts, which offered activities such as swinging off the dune into the lake and sand boarding. When swinging onto the lake, the guy took it easy on us the first time around. However, the second time around, he let the rope go and let us make a bikini-top-losing splash into the water. The sand surfing (done sitting) was also a trip, complete with a swimsuit full of sand.

Decending the dune vertically, fullspeed

The lake plunge, look closely and you will see a person diving in

Joana went first on the swing

Galina is clearly happy to go the second time around

The splash (second one almost hurt)

Galina went first on the sand board

On the way back, we stopped at an Oasis located in the middle of the dunes, where we ordered some agua do coco and relaxed. Joana got served the biggest coconut we’ve ever seen. Many jokes were made about the size of the nut. Yes, we are 12.



After an adventurous morning we spent the afternoon relaxing on the beach. Our 4th of July meal consisted of $5 lobster (prepared traditionally with garlic and olive oil) and 60 cent beers. Yep, less than the price of your low-fat turkey hot dogs.



One of the funniest things this weekend was that everyone and their mother made it their business to point out that Galina looked Brazilian and Joana looked like a “gringa, gringa, gringa.” Must be Galina’s amazing Portuguese, oh wait…

"Gringa" on the walk way overlooking the beach

Our accommodations at Pousada Europa, albeit simple and with a very shaky staircase, had four unbeatable advantages: cats (which made Joana happy), a baby (which made Galina happy), amazing ocean view, and it cost $10/night per person. Who says you can’t have it all?

On a side note, the men of Canoa Quebrada had some of the most original pick up lines we’ve ever heard (your eyes bewitched me). Some were quite funny but kudos to Brazilians, at least they always opened with a compliment. Learn, American boys, learn.

P.S. Check out the rest of our Canoa Quebrada pics (and be jealous) here: http://picasaweb.google.com/jperd114