a weekend at the beach

Since Jimmy had Monday off for Martin Luther King Day and Mac returns to school next Monday, we decided to go to the beach for the weekend. The only glitch in this plan was that the entire Brazilian population is at the beach (vacation is ongoing since Christmas) and we could not find a reservation anywhere. Then Jimmy got an email from a coworker who had a reservation at a really nice pousada (Brazilian bed and breakfast-type place) but who couldn't go because a friend was unexpectedly coming into town.

We jumped on it because we really wanted to go to the beach and we were hopeful that the extra money we were paying (it was double what we normally pay at our usual beach place) was going to result in a fantastic place that exceeded our wildest imagination.

The pousada enjoys a million-dollar view over Toque Toque Grande Beach that is simply incredible. Exhibit A:


Unfortunately the pousada is located on a beach that is reminiscent of Lions Beach of my childhood. If you're not from Moncks Corner, this reference will mean nothing to you, so allow me to explain. There are some really nice folks on the beach, but you've got one choice of a food vendor and they don't even have really great food. The sand is really coarse and there are little no-see-ums out there that tear your feet and legs up. Exhibit B:


But aside from bug bites and no food, the main problem at this beach for us was that the waves weren't good for Mac. The beach was steep and the waves broke right on the sand, which resulted in Mac getting dumped repeatedly. Learning the power of the ocean was a great lesson (that came with a lot of sand in his hair).

On Sunday, we decided to spend the day at Maresias, a beach about 15 minutes from our pousada. Maresias has a reputation as a beach for young people with lots of nightclubs and noise and general commotion. But it also has food and good waves, so we braved the flesh-baring adolescents and had a fabulous day. Mac made friends with a 10 year-old Brazilian child named Patrick. Patrick proved to be a great playmate for Mac and when we were leaving, Patrick asked if Mac had Orkut (Brazilian Facebook) so they could keep in touch. Um, no. He's 6. He barely knows how to turn the computer on. Exhibit C of a nice day in Maresias:


On Monday, we went to our favorite beach on the Sao Paulo coast: Juquehy. The weather was so spectacular with blue skies, hot sun, and cool, clear water. We couldn't help but have a perfect day. Mac took his first surfing lesson and he seems to be a natural. With a low center of gravity, he maintained great balance and just totally rocked. He said he was an A+ student. Exhibit D and E:



It has been a secret dream of mine for 20 years to take surfing lessons. Jimmy is the only person who's been privy to this dream and he's encouraged me without fail to realize the dream. The problem for me is that a good book on the beach trumps physical activity like surfing any day. Well Mac had his lesson and it went so well that Jimmy asked the school if they had availability for later in the day for me. Shocker- they could take me right then. So I had no time to beg off, make excuses, throw up, etc. Before I knew it, I had the anti-rash shirt on that really screams "I am a student in no control of a very long surfboard that could kill you, me, your young innocent children playing in the shallow water and/or all of us".

So I went out with my instructor and realized that I was older than all of the ages combined of the other students. I also shrieked more than all of them combined. And I did make the embarrassing mistake of getting on the surfboard backwards one time. But that was an honest mistake because the instructor was rushing me to get on before I was ready and I didn't pay attention because we were getting ready to be pummeled by a wave. The good news is that with that flashy shirt on, everybody got out of my way and I didn't kill or injure anybody. AND I RODE WAVES IN. I know, it's shocking. I actually laid down on the board, jumped up when the instructor yelled at me to get up and rode waves in to the shore. So I am pleased to tell you that surfer chicks totally rock, but they can't move the next morning because they engage muscles that they never use. Exhibits F and G: