Thoughts on Trindade

 As our time in Brazil draws to a close, I am striving to enjoy every second of my time here. I'm glad that our last real stop is Trindade. A tiny fishing town that is not yet on the international tourist trail but is filled with Brazilian tourists and has quite a chill atmosphere is just the place to be. Golden beaches and crashing waves welcome locals and tourists alike, with a few small stands selling fried snacks and drinks.

Even though precious few people here speak English (and that's a good thing!), everyone is friendly and helps the very best they can. Smiles and pointing can really get you far! Going out to dinner during the week meant being surrounded with live music and the community who all know each other. Friday night found parents out strolling down the Main Street (all 400 meters) with kids in tow, even into the wee hours of the night (think 11pm!). I'd hazard a guess that there are no babysitters here and the family sticks together even if it's late. A teenager zips by us on his remote control motorized skateboard; young boys ride up and down the road on their bikes, yelling out to each other; dads walk down the block with their arms around wives and daughters alike, calling out to friends; little ones swing between their parent hands - Trindade is heaven for people watching.


One thing we've done in Brazil more than we usually do is hike around, and hike UP. All the beaches here, like in Ilha Grande, are connected by little trails that go up, up, and more up. With crossing streams and mud, it's usually easier to do it barefooted. Locals in Trindade are usually barefoot, although the random few are sporting flip flops.   So like the locals, when we decided to hike to the natural pool, we did it barefoot. There was much scrambling over towering rough boulders and walking through streams and across uneven beaches.

I could feel my legs burning, as I'd step up on something nearly as high as my hips, pulling myself up with the handrail. Brazilians don't mess around with their walking. The jungle here comes right down and meets the beach, so there are no easy ways around. Instead they carve paths straight up into the trees, using the giant root system to hold the soil in place and adding in a handrail or piece of plank wood here and there. 9 steps in and I'm completely out of breath, my legs aching and I'm wondering, 'Are we there yet?'. This is inevitably followed by more steps, more up. 

Then finally, the not so blissful down. Some of the steps I literally have to sit down on to reach the next one. Finally we arrive at the first welcome beach, only to reach another trail and do that type of hiking to get to the next natural pools. And remember this is all barefoot! Two mini hikes (mini in length not in energy used) and a grumpy sweaty Paul later, we arrive at the natural pool. Protected from the ocean by enormous boulders on all sides, the pool is mostly calm. The tide still tugs at you as you walk through, but it's never more than shoulder high.

I left Paul responsible for our bags as he wasn't keen to get in and had a swim around. It was packed with people (it is Saturday after all) but the water was quite clear you you could see several types of fish darting between your legs. The light sandstone colored boulders rose sharply out of the water, all different shapes and sizes. None of the pictures I took could remotely capture how large or imposing these rocks were, and I feel quite lucky to have gotten the chance to swim near them.

With the tide rapidly rising we packed up and headed out, as a high tide would make navigating part of the rock scrambling sections too dangerous. It seemed we got back in the nick of time, as just as we went to cross the boulders, the waves crashed violently against them. We took the next pause between receding waves and rushed across then ran on the wet sand past the boulders to safety. Phew. We settled down on the beach to enjoy huge waves and fading sunlight.

Tonight's our last night here, then Paraty-> São Paulo tomorrow, and a flight to Bolivia in the morning. I feel like even though I've only been here three weeks, Brazil will always be here waiting to welcome me home.