life's a beach
--Susan; May 16, 2005

Copacabana Beach in Rio

Life on the road can be pretty tough at times. Long stretches of flying and driving, difficult language barriers, constantly feeling lost and unsure, being cut-off from friends and family, and handwashing the same dirty clothes over and over - it can make a traveler feel weary and yearn for home. And, oooh, the mosquitos...

Then there's all the work and decision-making. For example, right now we're in a town called Buzios about 3 hours east of Rio de Janeiro. We've been exploring it for 3 days already and we haven't even seen half the beaches this town has to offer. It can be a burden in the mornings deciding whether we should go to a beach we know and like, or explore a new one. Luckily, our friends Jeremy and Hope are here to help with this difficult decision-making process. It's the most important agenda item at our daily bungalow breakfast meeting.

relaxing on Joao Fernandes Beach in Buzios

It wouldn't be as bad if we weren't worn out from a similar situation in Rio de Janeiro last week. There we had to choose between world-famous big-name beaches like Copacabana and Ipanema, etc., and when we got to the beach we had to make brain-twisting decisions like, should we rent chairs, or no chairs? And how many umbrellas? Constantly, there are the nagging questions on the back of our minds: Shall I go for a swim now? Book or magazine? Sun or shade? Nap or not? Should we go watch the beach soccer tournament? Do I need to put on more sunblock? Water or coconut? Should we rent surfboards? What should we eat for dinner? And we had to concentrate all day long; we were constantly having to make split-second decisions about what to buy (or usually *not* buy) from all the beach vendors (see brazil: bizarre beach bazaar). Then there's all the work involved in looking away from all the gorgeously-tanned women in skimpy bikinis. Lucky for me, Grace is a workaholic.

Seriously though, traveling can be tough, but it isn't right now. A lot of what we've seen of Brazil is beautiful. A lot of what we've seen of Brazil is beach. I know it's not very "world-traveler-y" of us, but we're resting for the moment - a vacation from traveling, so to speak. We'll be on the road again soon enough, but for now, I think I'll have another coconut...