Good morning in Brazil

La daabacay: 26.07.2018

On July 4th, the day finally came when we picked up Luana and Martin from the airport in Recife, in the northeast of Brazil. While we were waiting for the rest of the Brazilian family, we first explored the colonial city of Olinda. Like many colonial cities, Olinda was strategically built on a hill near the coast to quickly discover invited or uninvited newcomers on the coast.

After a warm welcome from mother, aunt, brother with girlfriend and future mother-in-law, and after what felt like a month's shopping at Walmart, the nine of us set off to our first paradise, Porto de Galinhas.

The accommodation was 200m from the beach, which meant that Martin, Matthias, and Lisa had plenty of time to satisfy their desire to surf.

Matthias at the first morning session, Porto de Galinhas, Brazil

Martin practicing in the pool, Porto de Galinhas, Brazil

Other than Porto de Galinhas, the region south of Recife also offers some other beach paradises...

...and even some action for the bravest members of our group.

In addition, Brazil was still fighting for the 2018 FIFA World Cup title and we watched the game in a bar, well-equipped by the family.

Unfortunately, the mood was not as cheerful as it was during the last "home game" in Colombia, which may have been due to the 4-2 defeat against Belgium. ☹ What we can say now is that the Brazilians cheer for their team until the last second, but once Brazil is eliminated from the tournament, nobody really cares about the event anymore :-D

After almost a week in Porto de Galinhas, we continued to Praia da Pipa. The waves called for us again. But this time, the special thing was that we were allowed to surf with dolphins, which was truly an breathtaking experience. There is a bay where dolphins leisurely swim two hours before and two hours after low tide, completely undisturbed by the many spectators. Those of you who are knowledgeable already know that the waves are much smaller during low tide, but the dolphins quickly made up for this lack of action.

And the beaches there are considered the most beautiful in the world.

The last two days we spent leisurely in Natal with coconuts on the beach 😊

After 2 weeks that felt like a holiday with a car, a Brazilian mom who took care of everything, and pre-booked accommodations, it was time to say goodbye to our beloved family and we traveled to Rio de Janeiro to the famous Copa Cabana and the Christ the Redeemer monument. Due to the season (winter at 30 degrees), there were not so many tourists, but that didn't bother us so much because the city is overwhelming enough even without thousands of tourists.

The obligatory Free Walking Tour, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

We spent the last days in Brazil with Luana in Sao Paulo, where we were once again able to enjoy Brazilian hospitality.

And we managed to convince Luana to accompany us on our obligatory free walking tour in her hometown.

Despite occasional lack of language skills on both sides - which even our perfect "portospagnol" couldn't always overcome - we got along very well with Luana's family, we have embraced them in our hearts, and we hope to see them again someday in Austria or maybe even in Brazil!