Day 130

Morro Sao Paulo, Brazil

One thing we have learned is the only thing that can make a beautiful place better is beautiful people. So, we woke up happy this morning after having a lovely dinner last night with three friends we met on the Ferry. Mother, Father, and daughter, from Arizona joined us for dinner and excellent conversation was had for hours under the stars. A beautiful night made more special by the interesting people we meet.

Empowered, we decided to go exploring today....to The Other Side of The Island.

Phillipe, the owner of our Pousada had told us there were "mud people" there and we needed to see that!

So...down the road, past town, under the arches, through the jungle, and along the beach we went. After about two hours of walking the deserted beach on a Robinson and Curuseo style hunt...we started to think Phillipe might be pulling our leg......but then we found them. They are not hard to spot. 10 to 15 Brazillians and tourists alike smearing themselves with mud pouring off towering cliffs that surrounded the beach. As you can imagine, it did not take long for us to decide we wanted to be mud people too! With a little help we went about cherrily covering ourselves from head to toe, loving the amusement of it all. Bryce of course thought it was wonderful. I mean, come on, how often do your parents encourage you to cover yourself in dirt??? And talk about exfoliation! Our skin was so soft Bryce kept insisting for the rest of the day "Just touch me. I´m soft like a kitty." They could make a fortune with this stuff at a NY salon. I only wish little Kayla could have been there.

PINK MUD! What could make a little girl happier! After a quick rinse in the warm ocean we headed off to explore a little more of our deserted beach. But, much to our shock....around the next corner....it was no longer deserted. We had happened upon Monkey Beach, a huge beach bar and restaurant with music and food that takes about 2 hours to arrive at your table.....ohh Brazil. So we stayed a few hours hanging out in the sun and then hitched a ride home on a passing fishing boat. Even in my relaxed state the decrepid fishing boat ( I thought we were going under when Rich climbed aboard) may have made me nervous, except for the fact that the Captain also seemed to know his vessel was on the verge of sinking, and hugged so close to the shoreline, had we actually gone down....even Bryce would have been able to swim ashore.