Just Keep Swimming: Buzios!

A couple weekends ago, April 11th-13th, we finally made it outside the city of Rio. We traveled alone to a beautiful city about 3 hours east called Buzios. Our first night there, we were exhausted from the school week so we went straight to sleep at the Catavento Guest House. There was some confusion in finding the guest house at night, but we made it safe and sound. First thing in the morning, we were treated to a delicious breakfast of coffee, ham, cheese, bread, papaya, and watermelon. Then, of course, we got ready to go to the beach!

The weather couldn't have been more perfect. It was warm and sunny with a fresh tropical breeze blowing all day long. The main street of downtown Buzios is called Rua das Pedras. It’s a quaint little street running parallel to a beach. The road is paved with cobblestone and lined with little shops and restaurants that open and close whenever they please. For a tourist destination, we found many good bargains for souvenirs and things to bring home. After walking around aimlessly looking for a good beach to swim at, we met a man offering buggy tours around the island. I'm so glad we agreed to go because it was an amazing opportunity to see the entire peninsula, its gorgeous views, and colorful neighborhoods.

The land was very open with rolling hills, tall trees, flowering bushes, open fields, and rocky cliffs. The traffic was also refreshing compared to the cut-throat drivers from the big city. The buggy man dropped us off at a beach called Ferradura and agreed to pick us up again around 3pm. The water was cool and calm because it was in a cove which blocked most of the tide. It was so clear that we could see straight to our feet and a few fish swimming around. I probably looked like a crazy person playing in the sand, but it was so clean and soft that I couldn’t stop running my fingers and toes through it.

After returning back to the guest house to shower and change, we went back downtown to shop and find a place to eat. The restaurant we went to had the most amazing fresh fish I’ve ever tasted. And our waiter spoke English because he used to be an MMA fighter in California! We ended our perfect vacation by walking around, enjoying the night life, listening to music, and watching street performers. We walked to Ferradura one more time the next morning to get some sun before heading back to Rio on the bus around 4pm.