arraial do cabo


“seek and see all the marvels around you. you will get tired of looking at yourself alone, and that fatigue will make you deaf and blind to everything else” - carlos castaneda

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this is a blog about arraial do cabo, which the tour company guide, as I remember, told us was one of the travel guide’s top 5 most beautiful beaches of the world.

it’s why one of the most popular activities any hotel or hostel will recommend from rio is taking a bus for an hour and half to these blue water beaches, swimming off the boat, and snapping pictures to your heart’s desire.   

the first time i heard of this, i admittedly missed the boat. but the next weekend when some new friends that i made offered to add me to their trip, i was ready by 7am the next morning.

i wasn’t all the way ready, really. i switched hostels and lost my phone charger. but anyway, on 13% and 5 hours of sleep i got on the bus.

i laughed at my friends sleeping with their sunglasses covering their eyes and towels wrapped around their heads. i didn’t take a picture, because i didn’t charge my phone. 

the tour came with lunch at the end, but the guide advised us we would make an extra stop basically for the bathroom but also to load up on fun road trip snacks. i was in. 

the place was very clean, and had a colorful park. swings, treehouses and games that all looked built by hand and painted in primary colors. 

and something i’ve never seen before in the united states, a little old cowpony saddled up in the corner for DIY pony rides. 

i checked the girth. it was already secure, which i took as an indication, yes, this little pony really a playground attraction at this brazilian bus stop park.

to confirm, i asked one of the staff in broken portuguese, yes!  

i tried to convince the others on the bus in my little spanish that this was a thing. it had been years but i understood how to sit on a horse, even here.

i led the pony to a makeshift mounting block and climbed on. my heart was beating so fast! mostly because the last time i was on a horse was so long ago. my head forgets but something inside me always remembers, the feeling of being bucked off by an unknown horse. and definitely never went on a horse with bare feet before, but here i was.   

i took the only pictures of the scenic beach trip day here before the battery of my phone died.  

the water really was wonderful, cold and blue. i dried off in the sun petting moss on the rock. i jumped off the boat first and swam back last every time. 

 

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