Unfortunately, due to our skepticism, we had not brought any money with us beyond bus fare. Thus began an hour long quest for an open ATM that would distribute international cash. James referred to it as the Death March, and I gamely trudged along because I wanted those earrings!
The quest began with several Brazilians pointing James in several different directions (once, we were surrounded by at least half a dozen people, all talking at once and each pointing in a different direction). In our journey, we passed by an open pub where a local patron, upon seeing James wearing the local Fútbol team jersey, the Flamengos, insisted on buying us beers. We said we were in a hurry, so he ordered them "to-go" in plastic cups, so we were able to dispose of them around the corner (he was very insistent!). After 45 minutes of walking in the Brazilian sun and about five ATMs, we got our cash and returned to the feira.
The Antiques Market
We saw the Lapa Arches on our Death March. They used to be an aqueduct,
now the trolley runs over them on its way to Santa Theresa
I not only got the earrings and matching necklace that I had originally spied, but also another pair of earrings carved from coconut, and James got an old wood carving of a village scene. We saw many beautiful paintings, jewelry, antiques and crafts. I'm sure Antiques Roadshow would have had a heyday here. There was lots of gorgeous old hardwood furniture and marble sculptures, china and silver probably imported from Europe decades ago, and newer (and older) paintings of the Brazil countryside. I began to regret that I'd brought such a small suitcase!
Beautiful sculpture
I liked this painting!
What does one wear when one is washing their clothes?
Me in front of one of the jewelry booths.
Some of the jewelry at the shop I got my necklace and earrings.
Some beautiful paintings.
We arrived back to our apartment mid-afternoon and hurried to catch the remaining sun on the beach. By this time, a strong wind had picked up on the coast, but that didn't deter us, or anyone else, it seems! It being Saturday, the beach was very crowded, but we managed to find a clear spot to enjoy the sun and the waves. There was a group of about five "gangster-type" fellows sitting near us, also enjoying the day at the beach. One of them spent some time posing for photos taken by his buddy, possibly to post on his website and show what a stud he was. We were highly amused, mostly because his "tough guy" ensemble composed of a bucket hat and a pair of sagging capri jeans. Appropriate maybe for Rio gangstas, but I don't think it would have quite the same effect in NoPo.
Too cool for long pants.
The waves were more wild and aggressive than I had seen in previous days, so we just stayed on the beach. At one point a large crowd gathered, looking out into the sea. A beach vendor explained that someone had gotten caught out in the ocean and a couple of young men were bringing him in. All the more reason to stay in our lawn chairs and enjoy the sun and breeze. We did watch to make sure the kid (he was probably 16) was okay when he arrived back on shore. Exhausted, and maybe a bit sheepish, but he was breathing just fine.
Some guys in black speedos watching the rescue effort.
You can see the rescuers in the water between the two kids on the left.
Fun at the beach! Those are my coconut souvenir earrings.
After things started to cool down sufficiently to warrant leaving the beautiful beach, we returned to the apartment to change before dinner. And there were bugs in our room! Now, don't get me wrong; I expected bugs when I came to Brazil. I brought a large bottle of bug repellant. But this was the first sign of domestic bugs that I had seen in almost a week. And they looked like termites. So we double checked the wood carving that James had bought (and then put it in the fridge to avoid contamination), and informed our landlord of the problem.
Then we went out for dinner (ham and cheese roll and açaí!) and dessert. We saw more of the bugs on the outside of the dessert counter of the cafe, so James asked about it, and the lady said that they come out in this kind of weather (cool and windy) and that they're really harmless; not the "devour your house" kind of termites. We were relieved (although, I think we forgot to reassure our landlord . . . oh well) and ordered a couple of sweets. Upon eating mine, I remembered James telling me how Brazilians like their desserts small and super sweet. Too sweet! I couldn't finish my jelly roll. I think in the future, I'll stick with cookies, which I know are good!
Ham + cheese + bread = Yum!
Think really good, handmade Hot Pocket.
Açaí!
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