After just a few hours of sleep following Mucuripe the night before, we woke up before 7 so we could eat a little something and then head out to Praia do Futuro (Beach of the Future). Our Brazilian friend, Yury, met us outside the hotel and we walked across a busy street to wait for the bus. We figured that at that hour of the day on the weekend there would be plenty of room, but two packed buses flew by the stop before we hiked up a few streets into a small town area where we could catch a different route to the beach. The four of us wound up boarding a privately run bus rather than a city bus which also passed Praia do Futuro. However, it was surprising that the less crowded and air conditioned bus cost the same as the city system at $R 2 or the equivalent of about 1 USD each way.
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| Attempting to surf at Praia do Futuro. |
When we arrived at the beach about 20 minutes later, it was pretty empty, not surprising since it was still around 8 AM. While walking along the boardwalk that is removed from the beach by tons of barracas, or beachside restaurants that offer food, drink, and umbrella-covered table space. Some of the larger barracas also have musical entertainment at certain times. The walk showed the barracas loading up on provisions for the day with sacks of crab and a truck wielding nothing but coconuts preparing for some of the most popular choices.
We found a table at one of the barracas and put our stuff down while receiving instructions from Yury to make sure that at least one person is at the table at all times so nothing is stolen. Yury took the first shift since our simple minds could think of nothing but to sprint toward the water and soak in the salty air. As we had been told, the water was comfortably warm because the sun beats down on it all day, every day. We loitered around the ocean for awhile then returned to the table for some fruit that Yury brought and to figure out how to try surfing.
We each got a surfboard for an hour and ventured into the ocean for a self-taught surfing lesson, which turned into more of a floating lesson. The waves were a bit rough for first-time surfers but it was still a blast paddling out as far as we could and riding the water inland. We took a short break to gather more energy as surfing is surprisingly exhausting, and then Ben and Matt went for round two while I gave Yury my board to give it a shot. While they were out, I had some good time to reflect and people watch as well as turn away the ever present beach vendors. I made sure to wear my sunglasses because at least those vendors automatically didn't bother with me.
When the surfboards were returned, we all sat down at the table and ordered crab, something the beach is known for here because it is so inexpensive. We got three delicious and healthy-sized crabs delivered to our table with cutting boards and plastic mallets for cracking, all for less than 2 USD per crab given its regular availability in the region.
Following our crab feast and washing the sand and ocean out of our feet and hair respectively, we boarded a much less refined city bus back toward the hotel with a stop at the grocery in mind for laundry soap and beer. The grocery was relatively uneventful as we found everything we needed. However, the trip home was the root of an adrenalin rush. While the four of us were waiting for the bus across the busy street from the grocery around noon, a man nonchalantly walked by us when I felt a hand touch my shoulder. In that instant my mind figured it was just a friend from work surprising us but then I felt a tugging on my neck as he had grabbed my necklace of Judaic persuasion from behind in an attempt to steal it. The chain broke against my neck under the force of his pull and he began to sprint away, albeit not very quickly since he was wearing flip flops. Ben took a few steps in pursuit before we knew what exactly happened. Fortunately the man hadn't gotten a good hold on the gold chain and it fell into my hands in front of me. Seconds later the bus arrived and we boarded all shaken up. We've been told never to wear nice jewelry out and I always leave my watch, bracelet, phone, and wallet save for a few dollars at home but it hadn't crossed my mind to remove something I wear all of the time and tuck into my shirt. This was a tough lesson to learn but fortunately the only problem is that I need to get my chain repaired when I return to the States and I now have a slightly better understanding of crime in Brazil. The situation also exemplifies what we've heard about the buses in that they are very safe and you are just very vulnerable while you are waiting.
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| Laundry drying all over the room. |
The weekend was rounded out on Sunday with our first attempt at laundry, the purpose for going to the grocery. We investigated different sources for laundry here and decided it would cost a lot of money. From what we can tell, laundromats aren't a part of the culture, possibly because of the lack of a solid middle class. Many people have washing machines in their house, although the immense heat here means that dryers are hard to come by since people can just as quickly hang clothes up to air dry. Those who don't have laundry in their houses tend to wash clothes the old-fashioned way with a grate in a bucket of soapy water. Alternatively, we could use a laundry service, but they either charge by the piece or kilo and both options would have been expensive for our two weeks worth of sweaty clothing.
Instead, the three of us decided to try our hand at a version of the old-fashioned method. Before you judge the pictures, just keep in mind that we made the conscious decision to do our laundry this way, just as they made the same decision two years ago but last year the students chose to pay for laundry. This is not a reflection of poor living conditions but rather a financial decision. We plugged the tub and filled it with water and a cap of detergent. Clothes were unceremoniously piled in and stirred for awhile until everything was hopefully clean. Then the tub was emptied and clothes were rinsed using the shower head and wrung out by hand before finding a drying place somewhere in the room on a towel or hanging from the window sill. We opened all of the windows and the breeze was fantastic. Although it wasn't as good for our clothes as it was for our spirits, the weather was cool and comfortable while we enjoyed the few remaining hours of daylight of an event-filled weekend.
-David Rood
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