Moojinorbit

Now I know why Katie lived in Brazil for nearly a year and has since returned several times. It is easy to fall in love with Brazil. And tonight or tomorrow on our one “sail day” without a port stop, we officially leave Brazil behind. Our next stop is Punta del Este, Uruguay. I look forward to that too.

But if on one of our shore stops someone told me I couldn’t go back to the states and had to stay in Brazil for a couple years, I wouldn’t freak out; I’d be grateful. I plan to come back, with any luck many times. Here’s why:

• Brazilians know how to have a good time. They seem to glory in color, fashion, music, laughter, and play. I hope to know more about this if I ever get to spend more time getting to know some of them.
• Brazilians are every color and ethnic combination imaginable. To me this is captured by a lively conversation I caught outside Sambadrome between a blue-eyed, curly red-haired guy who looked phenotypically Irish and the darkest-skinned Afro-Brazilian man—both speaking lively Brazilian Portuguese. (These girls, though, are likely Uruguayan. I saw them at a beach in Punta del Este.)

• They have gorgeous beaches that are open to everyone. Private beaches are not legal in Brazil—you can have beach access in front of private property, but you can’t keep anyone out. I loved seeing brown-skinned Carioca (Rio residents) kids splashing in the aqua waters in front of my beach hotel in Rio alongside the fat Americans and Europeans.

• Caipirinhas, oh my god. Cachaça, sugar cane liquid straight from the Divine.
• Beautiful bods, boys, and bathing suits. (Yeah, I’ve seen some gorgeous women as well.)

• Modern highways, cities that look like utopias from the coastline, colorful buildings.

• Fish markets with the most amazing variety of fresh fish you’ve ever seen.

• The 300 year-old fig tree in the center of Florianopolis that the people love so much they have propped its lush branches up with metal girders. They believe that if you make a sincere wish and circle this tree three times, your wish will be granted. I loved offering my wish to a tree so appreciated.

This doesn’t begin to do it justice, and I know I’ve only seen the tippy tip of the Brazilian coastline. But still. This place was magic.