What a delightful day we had in this charming and quaint beach town, which is known as the last paradise in the tropics. We decided against taking any organized tours today so we would have an opportunity to explore the town on our own. We tendered into town this morning and when we arrived at the dock we were shocked to see a massive line of people. We learned they were waiting for the water taxis to transport them to beaches which are father away from town. Whew! Glad we're not waiting in those lines!!!! There are 25 beaches nearby which offer beautiful white sand, a variety of water sports, a lively nightlife, and "all-over" suntans. A favorite activity for locals appears to be sitting on the esplanade watching the people walking by or enjoying a sunset.
We learned that this attractive port town was a favorite hangout of former movie and recording superstar Brigitte Bardot. There is even a bronze statue of her on the boardwalk. Plenty of people (including us) stood in line to have their photo taken with her :) Shows our age. Our kids would have no idea who she is!
Afterwards, we explored this absolutely delightful beach side community on foot. Thankfully, the weather was a bit cooler than it was in Rio. It was still quite warm, but not unbearable, for a walking tour. Specifically, we continued to look for the cabaca, or gourd doll we saw in Rio. It was quite expensive in the shop on top of Sugarloaf Mountain so we resisted purchasing it. However, we really wanted to find one before we left Brazil. We strolled leisurely up and down the cobblestone streets, entering all the shops where we thought finding our doll might be a possibility, while thoroughly enjoying the alluring atmosphere of the quaint streets. We would have liked to stop for a drink or snack but we were determined to stay on track with our mission. Finally, as we neared the end of town, near the dock we entered a small shop and found a limited, but quality, selection of the dolls. When the shop owner realized we were serious customers she brought out some additional dolls. We were able to purchase one at about half the cost of the ones we saw at Sugarloaf, so we were quite pleased with our accomplishment. Now, we had one final mission to complete. We had to find our magnet from this lovely port. Luckily, this task was much easier than finding the doll. Soon we had our magnet in hand and had seen the entire town so we returned to the dock for our trip back to the ship. Now we have a day at sea, with time to relax before we arrive at the first of our three remaining ports in Brazil. This is a huge country and extremely diverse in its geography, architecture and culture. We're anxious to continue our journey in this immense country.
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