Pizza in a Cone, Detours, Lizardo, and Portuspanglish

Since my last post, Felipe and I visited Buzios in Brazil - which others have refereed to as the Hampton's of Brazil.  We had a bit of a rough time getting there because no one told us that the Easter Holiday is one of the busiest in Brazil - and everyone in Rio leaves town to go to beach resorts - Buzios being one of them.

Felipe and I left Ihla Grande on Friday of the Easter Holiday expecting to go to Buzios same day with

On the Ferry leaving Ihla Grande

a detour through Rio's Bus station.  Ihla Grande is south of Rio; Buzios is north.  Upon arrival to Rio and after two hours of standing in line and trying to buy a bus ticket to Buzios in Portuspanglish, we found that all of the bus tickets had sold out for the day.  With little more than a Lonely Planet map on the ipad, we got a cab to take us to a hostel  recommended in Lonely Planet.  We played it old school that day and simply walked in and asked if they had room.  They had one private room available for 325 pesos per person...that's approximately $160... per person...for a hostel room!

Pizza in a Cone

I'm always amazed how things can often just work out when one is traveling. As it happens, there was a group checking into the hostel at the same time we arrived and two of their friends had bailed on the trip and they were forced to pay the full fee for two empty beds for their friends. They basically offered us the extra space which we happily took...for about $40 per person...still pricey by hostel standards but much better than the alternative.

We spent the rest of the day in Copa Cabana beach enjoying Pizza in a Cone, Caipirinhas and a Jack Sparrow look alike wandering around the beach...presumably as drunk as Jack Sparrow seems in the movies..."why is the rum gone?!"

Next day, we were off to Buzios...the three hour trip took about six after several detours due to road closures forced the driver to get creative with his routes...but we made it! Our hostel owner, Lezandro, was incredible. Not only did he not charge us for missing our reservation the prior night, he also took us to the best beach in Buzios where we hung out all day drinking Caipirinhas and eating incredible, fresh-caught fish (he's sitting next to Felipe in the pic).  Afterward he insisted we spend our remaining three days at his Hostel for free as his friends.  It was here that I was absolutely floored by the friendliness of Brazillians.  If you find yourself in Buzios, be sure to visit Lezandro at his hostel Lobo Inn, Buzios.  It will be one of your highlights of Brazil.

So these were all incredible experiences but there were also some rough situations over this time period:

CC shot of the ATM thief

1. My ATM card number and pin (though not the card) was stolen and someone pulled about $1200 in cash at various ATM's in Rio. About ten ATM charges took place in Rio...while I was not in Rio. All I can say is thank god for American banks who work quickly to right fraudulent charges.

Ten Second Shannon...er, Tom

2. Turns out I am "Ten Second Tom" from 50 first dates.  I've referred to Caipirinhas several times in this post.  However, the entirety of my time in Brazil, I kept calling them "Caipirinis."  Felipe would point out that I was mis-pronouncing the name, I would repeat it properly and then forget it...10 seconds later.

Thats not the worst of it. Our amazing hostel owner Lezandro... I called him "Lizardo"the entire time we were his guests.  I would constantly realize I was mispronouncing his name but couldn't remember his proper name.  Luckily he was gracious enough to say nothing about it and respond to me like I did not just insult his name...but we both knew.  I hope this is a product of having to speak Portuspanglish and I haven't lost my mind...but only time can truly tell.

Stay tuned for updates on Rio and Machu Pichu coming up next!