Itacaré

Following my favorite city, Salvador, we went to what I found to be my favorite beaches in a city called Itacaré.  Our agenda was short and simple: two days of just beach time.  That was absolutely okay with me.  We visited the beaches Itacarezinho, Havaizinho (which literally means "little Hawaii" and Engenhoca.  These were the beaches that made this trip.  The other beaches were of course beautiful, but I found the most tropical, most exotic and most postcard-worthy beaches that I have been to yet, on this stop.  

To get to the beaches, we had to hike through a forest/jungle/group-of-trees.  It took about 20 minutes and was glorious because the trees gave shade from the sun that was very hot that day.  I was fascinated by the sun rays streaking through the palm trees.  It was so iconic and fantastical that it felt like I was in a movie or a book.  A lot of my year in Brazil has felt like that, seeing things and going on adventures that I've only ever read about.  Finding out that they exist in real life is very exciting and often hard to believe.

And here we have more palm trees.  It has been almost 8 months that I have lived in Brazil, seeing palm trees every day, but I still haven't gotten used to them and truly believe that I will never take them for granted.

Arriving at the beaches everyone was so excited to put down their backpacks and be at the beach.  Everyone had a different beach routine, some people soaked up the sun through layers of tanning oil, others played volleyball or frisbee, while others swam in the waves.  My personal routine was first going for a run alone the beach and chasing the waves in and out, then swimming in the water and jumping the waves, and then drying off in the sweet, sweet sun.  I could get used to this.

One of the beaches was another hike up a huge hill (almost mountain, but not quite, I don't wanna sound too dramatic) that opened up into a palm tree forest and the beach.  Talk about tropical.

One beach had a beautiful contrast of black, ash sand against white, clear sand closer to the water.  I had never seen sand like that before.  It was even hotter than normal and I ran super fast to get to the water and not burn my toes.

And here you have it folks, the Brazilian bikini.  It's not just a stereotype, its a reality.  The Brazilian bikini come in various sizes.  The biggest covers about half of your bottom.  The medium (the one featured in my photo) is adjustable and covers about a third.  And then you have the smallest, which folks, is literally a thong.  In the front you've got minimum coverage and in the back there is a minuscule triangle and a string.  At first I was a little resistant to this part of their culture, clutching to my full-coverage American bikini for dear life.  But, this is exchange and where else will I have the opportunity to wear a bikini this size?  YOLO.  So, I succumbed.  I like to call this cultural adaptation.  

Here we have some Mexican/American love.

And with this photo I will end my report on Itacaré.  This is the postcard photo.  This is Brazil.  

I love exchange.