Guarujá

Spontaneous. That is what this weekend was. Spur-of-the-moment. After spending Thursday night out dancing at a live Samba concert, and Friday walking around the beautiful Jardins neighborhood down to Ibirapuera park in São Paulo, my friends Elsa, Natalia and I decided we would like to spend the rest of the weekend on the Paulistan coast at the beach. Thanks to modern technology, within 20 minutes of deciding this we were able to book a room at a quaint Pousada (Brazilian version of a bed and breakfast) in Guarujá, a beach city located about 1 1/2 hours from SP. Everything was all set for us to leave early the next morning on the bus until we checked the weather: 80% chance of rain and thunderstorms. I was in denial about the prediction because for me beach towns are always going to be sunny and picturesque no matter what weather.com says. Well unfortunately, our warm sunny wishes were not enough to keep the rain away from Guarujá. And boy did it rain. BUT, we had an absolute blast. Here in Brazil they have an expression, "Chuva de verão"** which means summer rain. People say it as a way to say "Oh well, now lets move on". So needless to say, that was our mentality this weekend.

**Please watch your pronunciation on this people. "Chuva", is pronounced as Shoova, "de" as gee and "verão" as verOWW, get that nasal thing going on the OW part. Now say it all at once. Don't be embarrassed. Dad, I can only imagine how you are pronouncing these words right now.  Sometimes, to make my accent sound better I plug my nose to give me more of a nasal tone overall. It works. Until people look at you like you're crazy.

Upon arriving at our Pousada, after a winding bus trip along the edges of Brazil's plush, green, mountain sides, we were met by a plump, beaming Brazilian lady, Silvia, who immediately took us in as her own kin. Her daughter, who we also met, had just done an abroad program in Romania so Silvia knew what it was like to have a daughter traveling around in a foreign country. As soon as we got settled, Silvia offered to drive us along the coast to show us the different beaches and the center of town. The three of us, Silvia, along with her son and daughter piled in to the two-door, four-person car. It was raining hard at this point making it difficult to see out the foggy windows so instead, Elsa, Natalia and I used the car ride to practice our portuguese with Silvia and her family. Silvia told us how this summer had not been like the other summers because of all the rain. Guraujá is normally a quick getaway for the city folk but because of all the bad weather, less people were making the trip. Her daughter told us about how difficult it was to get used to the food in Romania. She could not warm up to things like raw fish for breakfast with her morning coffee. 

After making our way down the cost to the center of the city, Silvia brought us to a traditional Churrasquería where you pay by the kilo. This restaurant style is huge in Brazil and makes a lot of sense. Instead of paying $20 for a defrosted entree with one piece of meat, a small side of steamed vegetables and a baked potato like we do in the U.S., why not pay the same price for 6 pieces of meat, seafood stew, paella, a mountain of salad, grilled vegetables  steamed vegetables,  rice, beans and a fresh squeezed Maracujá juice. Okay so I went a little overboard. But you would of too. Two steps from the door is a buffet line with every thing an average human being could want. And this is no greasy Asian Buffet with mystery meat and soggy green beans. Oh no. You can tell right away how fresh the food is simply by looking at the endless salad bar with every type of lettuce you can thing of, sliced tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, hard-boiled quail eggs, cucumber, shredded carrot, pickled asparagus, corn, marinated red peppers, cornichons, sliced mango halves, papaya, cabbage. I could go on. In the next section you are bombarded with ensaldada rusa, tabouli, white rice, feijões (beans), roasted potatoes, grilled stuffed eggplant, sauteed garlic spinach, etc. And incase your plate wasn't heavy enough, here comes all the seafood. Fried fish, whole grilled fish filets, tomato seafood stew, seafood chowder in a pumpkin, grilled shrimp, calamari, seafood paella. Are your mouths watering? Well just wait. As you make your way to the end of the buffet line you are then at the beginning of yet another buffet, but this time of meat. So what do you prefer? Cheek, tongue, intestine? What about a baby goat? Yes, these were just some of the myriad options that awaited me as I stood there. Behind the plates of meat were burly, Brazilian men slaving away infront of the hot Churrasquería (Brazilian grill) in order to ensure that every cut was fresh and salted to perfection. 

Silvia and her family joined us for lunch. She made sure to get extra pieces of meat so that we were sure to try them. Before leaving she gave us her phone number so that if we had any problems or needed a ride, she would be there. 

The only downside to this pay-by-the-kilo method is that you know exactly how many kilos (note plural) you are about to eat. When you then convert it into pounds you sit there flabbergasted at your spotless plate feeling satisfied, and appalled? Impressed? Confused? It is really a bag of mixed emotions. Needless to say it was a delicious first experience accompanied by wonderful new friends. 

Elsa, Natalia and I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the beach. The rain had let up at this point and even though it was still gray and cloudy the warm summer air lingered making walking around very pleasant. Around seven, although still full from our gluttonous lunches, we caught a whiff of something delicious being carried across the sand. As soon as our gaze was able to locate the smell we saw a man coming out of his beach stand carrying a mountainous plate of fried seafood to his customers. Without acknowledging the fact that none of us had more than an inch of room in our stomachs for more food, we sat down immediately in the plastic beach chairs and called the man over. Practically drooling, we told him we wanted exactly what he had just brought out to the other table. Twenty minutes later, caipirinhas in hand, there we were sitting on the beach with the biggest plate of fresh, crisp, fried fish, shrimp and calamare. Now, before you get all caught up on the fact that this was technically fried food, remember, it is no McDonalds or Long John Silvers. Instead, it was all breaded, battered and fried to perfection by this magical man in his little beach hut.  

I really do apologize for not having pictures of these gastronomic experiences. However, part of being a Foodie is actually forgetting that anything else in the world exists when delicious food is placed in front of you. The thought of stopping to take a picture before taking that first bite, well, it really does not even cross our minds. So for now you will just have to rely on the images my words create, or google it. That being said, I do want you to experience these things with me so I will try to remember in the future to take a quick snap shot before digging in. 

Sunday in Guarujá was spent on the beach drinking fresh coconut water along with a few more caipirinhas, eating mouthwatering fried seafood with each bite being yummier than the last, playing soccer with new friends, dancing, and swimming in the warm ocean water. As the three of us plopped down in our seats on the bus back to São Paulo that night, I could not help but beam at all the fun we just had in the past 48 hours. This really is what being abroad is all about: meeting new people, trying new things, going with the flow, and at the end of the day being so happy you did it all.

Here are a few pictures that I did manage to take on the trip! Thanks for reading!

  Fresh squeezed Maracujá juice! YUM

 Pictures of our Pousada. I compared it to a Bed and Breakfast, but like I said before it just has that Latin American flavor that us westerners never got the memo about. Take note of the hammocks! 

 Stairs going up to our room

 Elsa and Natalia eating our delicious breakfast of fresh papaya slices, yogurt, Brazilian coffee, and toast at our Pousada.

  View of the pool. We had a great late night swim here on Saturday. Silvia let us take a dip even though the pool technically closes at 10. She waited up for us, of course.

 This was my favorite part of the Pousada. I plan to have this exact thing in my backyard one day. Silvia really does have great style.

This is a Churrasquería so you have an idea. The little square is where you put the fire to cook the meat.

 Another view of the pool showing off more of Silvia's great decorative skills.

 Natalia, Elsa and I on Sunday after eating our scrumptious lunch on the beach.

 Elsa being a beach model. The huts in the background are where we ate.

New friends we met on the beach! Take note of stage in the background. A radio station was giving free dance classes all morning and all afternoon to who ever wanted them. It was probably one of the most fun things I have ever done. It felt like a flash mob. And i swear having 50 people dancing all together on the beach keeps away the rain. 

 View of the beach courtesy of Elsa.

 Me drinking my first coconut water (coco gelado) on the beach. One of the most refreshing things in the world.