BEACH HOPPING TRIP

The most amazing trip of all time!!!!

I’m going to write this in English cause I want everyone to be able to read this. When I was in Sweden in november I got an invite from Berta to join a beach hopping trip in Brazil.
 

I have only met Berta once, but she seemed to be a wonderful girl. Berta is from Hungary, but just like me she wants to stay in Brazil!

The trip was described like this:

"join us on our low budget beach hopping trip in december in brazil.

dates are fixed but the destinations are still flexible, we are planning to go to rio, ilha grande, salvador, recife, and the lencois up north, plus whatever nice random beach we bump into on the way. we will probably spend xmas in salvador and new years in recife.

this is going to be a trip that requires high stress tolerance as we are hungarian gals in brazil and we want to PARTY, travel by bus, stay at busy hostels etc etc so if your idea of a beach hopping trip includes five star hotels and fancy restaurants then this trip is not for you!

but if you want to explore the most beautiful beaches in north east brazil, have fun and get to know with the locals whilst making the most of your money then sign up and i will let you in on the details!!"
 
At the time, I think the only two people that had signed up for the trip were Berta and Krisztina.

Krisztina, I have still not met her, but I'm sure she is just as wonderful as she looks like!!

I thought, ok, this sounds crazy but I’m going!!! This is something you only get to experience once in a life time.

After a while the trip got more and more organized because we got this great “trip-organizer” on the boat with us - James!

James - great trip-organizer!!!

(And by the way… my pre-tanning isn’t going very good either… I just lost my skin so now I am as white as I was before! Haha)

Jose - never met either, but he seem also to be nice

Alonso - never meet either, but he also seems nice!!!

So about the trip:

24th of December – I will give myself the biggest Christmas gift I ever got – THIS TRIP! (I will be my own Santa Claus and I decided that I have been very nice – so yes I’m going to get this gift)

The trip begins at Congonhas airport in São Paulo – for me! (or first how to go to the airport, which still is a mystery). For my travelling friends, the trip starts at Campinas airport in Campinas which is 1.5 hour from São Paulo because they had the luck to find cheaper tickets from there.

We will arrive to Salvador around 23.30, or something like this. Here in Brazil this is the big hour, when they celebrate Christmas (first I thought that was weird, but actually that is kind of smart, because Jesus was born around midnight wasn’t he?). In Sweden we celebrate in the morning and on the evening (but not at midnight). Anyway this is where I will be at Christmas. To be honest it doesn’t feel like it is going to be Christmas soon at all – maybe because of the weather…!!

The beach in Salvador!!!

We will stay in Salvador for two (or two and a half – Christmas eve) but we only have reservations for 25 dec and 26 dec – I guess it is because we aren’t planning to sleep anyway… haha!!

Farol da barra is in fact the oldest lighthouse in South America. It has a stunning museum showing Salvador's marine history. It also has a beautiful cafe where you can enjoy a drink whilst watching the sun set.
 
I don’t really know what’s on this video but I found it on the webpage of the place where we are going to stay, but my Internet was to slow. But anyway, watch it!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMRL6fh-kwM&feature=player_embedded

The place where we are staying in Salvador:

Relax area

27 of December – we are moving on

Next stop is Maceió
 

Wonderful, right!?!?!

There we are going to stay in a pousada (inn) which is an apartment flat for 6 people, right in the heart of downtown Maceio and one block from the beach! We are going to stay there, two nights 28th and 29th of December.

The biggest yellow sign is where we are staying

Next destination was Recife but not until New Years Eve so we decided to stop by a small beach town Japaratinga, before we are going to celebrate the last day of the year. So…

C = Japaratinga

30th of December - we will travel for 3-4 hours to Japaratinga. Japaratinga is only 10 km away from the famous beach Maragogi, so will go there – yeahhh I love the beach!!!!

Maragogi - my mother would never go in there! She is scared to death of fishes!

Japaratinga:

And we will stay at the most sweetest pousada I have ever seen!!!

From Maragogi, we will take the 2 hours bus to Recife - just in time for New Years Eve!!!!


31st of December, we will go to Olinda and Recife (which is two cities that have grown together). We will spend 31st of December and 1st of January in Olinda.

Where we will stay in Olinda:

3rd of January - we will leave Recife, going north for two hours, to the small beach town of Jacuma. As James wrote: “This village will be like an escape from the craziness and business that we have been experiencing. It will be like a vacation away from the vacation!” Jacuma is nice but the beaches around are astounding!!! We will stay there at Jan 3rd and Jan 4th.

We will stay here:

5th of January we will leave Jacuma to Praia da Pipa. It is located about two hours north of Joao Pessoa. Again as James said “This place will be practically the opposite of Jacuma; great nightlife and lots to do! They say that Pipa rivals Jericoacoara, which is in the far north, as one of the 'hippest' places in the country.” And there we will stay for two nights Jan 5 and Jan 6.

Then there are two nights left – and then I have a wish of going to Natal. Natal means Christmas, which is kind of weird for me as it suppose to be cold on Christmas. But then I saw a picture of their big sand dunes they have and looks like snow actually. Natal is only 1.5 hour from Pipa and maybe Tereza is going to be there at this time…

Anyway, this trip is going to be the most amazing trip of all time! Party and beaches, exactly what I love!!!! Haha

Thank you guys, for arranging this amazing trip!!!