downwind Jericoacoara to Tatajuba

I am sooo exhausted today. We did a downwinder yesterday to Tatajuba, 28k! 4 overpowered wsurfers and one kiter, about 4 hours with 2 short breaks. One broken board, one ripped sail, lots of sunburned skin, then the sandblasted buggy ride back to Jeri. A few great wave spots. Worth it! Then there was the Choro Jazz festival the last three nights. Must rest the body today, float in the pool, maybe a massage, maybe a wax... Try to rest up for the last night of the festival. If I don't sail and sleep more maybe i can make the "after" party, haha.

Sights, sounds and smells

IMPRESSIONS

During the night the roosters cock-a-doodle. The donkeys Braaaaaay day and night, sound like they are mating but i think this braaaaying is just their normal voice cause i see them during the day on the main street making the same bray. Lord only knows what the mating sounds like.

Oh and the other day I tried to take a nap in the afternoon, the neighbor was blasting "I wanna live forever", same song, over and over. Why this song? Sometimes if the wind is just right I hear sweet choral songs wafting in from the church. Or even the preaching, not so sweet sounding, actually it sounds quite adament.

Then one night there was some wicked cat fight or mating or both? Of course in the morning there are many birdsongs during the sunrise, which normally I only half hear in my sleep. Some nights there are too many dogs barking while I try to sleep.

Loud buggy engines and trucks driving in the sand during the day.

Rattling of shutters, doors and windows from the blessed wind.

Walking past the back door of the bakery the other day the salivating aroma of cinnamon cake, OMG, wonderful.

The smell of fish on the grill in the little alley where they grill your choice. Then there is the fish seller cleaning and leaving the smelly guts in the middle of the street.

Horses and donkeys are often seen eating out of the trash cans on the sand streets or eating grass in a hotel.

When the waves were good, I saw a medium sized black dog riding a wave on a longboard for at least 25 yds, I didn't see how he caught the wave, I'm assuming someone pushed him into it. He looked so happy.

Walking near an outdoor local bar I could hear a guitarist and a woman with a sweet church like voice singing when all of a sudden everyone started cheering. As I passed, could see everyone was watching Futebol on the TV. Brazilians loooove their futebol. I don't think they heard her at all.

One morning there was the distinctive loud sound of metal on metal, then lots of excited voices. Of course there was a fender bender. Right in front of my condo a garbage truck hit a 4X4 Hilux. After much commotion I watched from my porch the Hilux pull the bumper out of the garbage truck with a cable so it could continue on it's rounds. I couldn't see any damage to the Hilux. They drove off apparently without much more consequence. Can you imagine this happening in the US? "Oh your bumper is rubbing against your tire? Well, let's just take care of that right now and yank it out".

Sukha Yoga Retreats: Space to See the Wisdom in Others

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My paradise, Jericoacoara outra vez

Hi all, Hope this finds you all happy and healthy. So last year when i came to Brasil I didn't write a travel log. I was thinking "oh, same place, same activities, they don't really want to hear a repeat of previous years". But many friends have said they missed the travel adventure reports. So here we go, Jericoacoara again.

I left Hood River Oct 5, 8:30 AM. I arrived in Jericoacoara on the Oct 7th at 5 AM, after two flights delayed, one missed connection and a 6 hour layover and the long drive to Jeri. I was planning to meet my British friend Armelle at the Fortaleza airport in the afternoon. Well her luggage took a detour and arrived around the same time as I did; 10:30 pm. We found a transport (trucks or 4X4) to Jeri to share with some German windsurfers. Anyway we finally left the airport around 1 AM. The ride was fast and uneventful, no traffic in the middle of the night. The last 10 miles are through sand dunes, always bit tricky.

I had arranged to rent a condo from a friend in town. My new friend, Scott Hughes is sharing it with me. He had arrived a week or so before me. As it turns out Armelle and her father are renting a unit in the same complex. This is the nicest place I have stayed in Jeri. Very modern, clean, secure, a POOL, rooftop deck with view of ocean and mountains. Thanks, Leticia.

The first few days were spent recovering from the 37 hours of travel to get here. The wind was light so I didn't rush out to sail, I was TIRED and I know it will be better. I went kiting yesterday. Had a good hour or more until my kite deflated, arggghh. Once again I had to be rescued. I have a tendency to go too far out to sea cause I feel comfortable doing so on the windsurfer. BIG mistake. A very nice frenchman took my kite into the shore and then came back to drag me in.


Now I have been here over a 2 weeks, I've been kiting a few times, windsurfing many days. when i went kiting with my friends from the Naish kite center they kept accusing me of going to Africa to find a boyfriend, haha. That's because I go too far out for my own good. You see after windsurfing for 20+ years I feel very comfortable a ways out to sea. Only difference; when one is kiting it is much more difficult to get back in if something goes wrong. And in kite surfing things go wrong much more frequently. Oh, and I'm not very experienced so stuff goes wrong. Oh, and the wind is a bit off-shore. Oh, I might like Africa... The windsurfing has been as expected for this place. 2 days w 4.5 sail and 84l board (thanks John), pretty good little waves, 2 more days w 3.4 sail and the old favorite Maui Project 65L board. Great! Then a whole week of NO wind, this is unheard of in Jericoacoara.

But at least there was a very cool 3 day Music festival for free on the beach. First night was a 7 woman Samba band. they were HOT. Then the second night Bebel Gilbero played, she was cool. but she came out an hour and a half late :( Third night was Sandra de Sa, pretty much brazilian rock with a few sambas and Samba reggaes

I have been reconnecting with Brazilian friends and others from all over the world. There are many windsurfers and kiters who come to this mecca every year. So it is a bit of a reunion. It's particularly fun to see someone for the first time out on the water, waving and throwing kisses. Remember, kissing or rather fake kisses on the cheek are the normal way to greet and say "Good Day, all is well?"

Today we had the wind return, I caught lots of waves and rode one with my swiss friend, Violaine and rode another with my Israeli friend, Reggie. Cool.


Tchau, Pat

It is a far, far better thing to have a firm anchor in nonsense than to put out on the troubled sea of thought.
- John Kenneth Galbraith