First up we have another Brazilian carrot cake. Nope, still don’t get it. What’s the point if it doesn’t have grated carrot in it? And get outta here with that meagre chocolate icing – thick layers of cream cheese for me!

Today’s photos are a bit out of order because it’s easier to write this way. We went on a buggy tour with Bené, perched in the back praying he didn’t hit the brakes and knock our teeth out on the cross bar. Well, Louie’s teeth, I would just get a banged forehead.

In any event, it was a fantastic way to see the area with a full view of all the different neighbourhoods, streets, houses, sweating tourists hiking up steep streets and countless little shops selling cervejas and picanha (I had to do a manual correction of the spell check there, they weren’t selling lady bits and viscous fish).

For anyone bothered by birds in the morning, have a thought for the houses in this area – they have vultures sitting on their chimneys and balconies. Vultures. Imagine the mess if you put your washing out!

We also spotted a capybara on the side of the road just having a grassy snack. I don’t know if it would have been happy for us to go up to it, and I wish we had tried. To me, it was only something I’d seen in a zoo and after some unfortunate encounters with kangaroos, I wasn’t ready to revisit the scenario. A little earlier in the day we saw something that looked like a cross between a giant rat and a possum hanging out around a restaurant (which we weren’t eating at). It had a bowl of water so I guess it lived there, but I have no idea what it was!

Lunch by the beach (at the place in the photos below that shows a table and a thick mass of orange umbrellas) was very similar to the day before, with a sizzling plate of meat, onions and the usual rice, fries and farofa. They also provide a “salad” which is more of what we would call a fresh salsa, chopped onion, capsicum & tomato in a light vinegar. In our defence the menu just said Argentinian Steak, which I guess is what we got but the form was far too familiar.

Louie has notice a lot of people speaking Spanish here, and we think it’s a popular place for Argentinians to come to, which would explain the flag in the drink the other day. I can’t tell the difference between two languages I have a less than rudimentary understanding of so I’ll just avoid mentioning Thatcher or the Falklands to be safe.

We went visited so many beaches that were tucked away and down small side roads, but somehow may tourists managed to find them. They were all populated by people in various states of tan or sunburn, with some pretty uncomfortable looking bottoms on some people. And no, I wasn’t looking on purpose, it’s hard to miss with so many pretty much exposed arse cheeks just there. There is absolutely no body shaming in the areas we have visited, everybody of every body shape is represented just relaxing, getting skin cancer and having a great time.

As you can see, it was a fantastic day with temperatures ranging from 26c to over 30c, full sun all day. We saw luxury restaurants fronting beaches, spectacular long wide beaches, beaches literally crammed with umbrellas and drunken (loud but very cheerful) tourists, rocky bays, and quiet coves. The thing they all had in common was beautiful sand and crystal clear water. We really should have done this the first day instead of the almost last, and this isn’t the first time I’ve made this mistake. I did a bus tour of Manhattan on one of the last days after spending almost 4 weeks there, with the accompanying “oh, I want to go and see that area”.

After four hours driving around it was time for a swim in the pool, this time we actually made it before the sun set. It was like getting into a bath it was so warm from the day’s sun. Again, it’s the simple things in life, floating around in warm waters in a still evening at the tropical hotel with a Corona at your elbow. Actually it was on the side of the pool quickly getting warm because it was on the hot concrete.

Not quite as amazing as João Pessoa, but still photo-worthy.

Later on we headed into town to see if there were any Halloween events going on. Louie has some masks he had left at his mum’s so we brought them with us to Buzios. We did wimp out at the last moment and didn’t take them to town which was the right call. There was a Rock music themed pub that had a corner of people in costumes and that was it. Not a big event in Buzios. This was a Thursday night and the place was so busy, absolutely full of people enjoying themselves, having dinner and walking around. We visited a few shops, and did some t-shirt buying and probably got overcharged in the Rock Nerd shop by R$10 but we worked it out as being an extra $2.50 so wasn’t worth going back. The shirt I bought had a Star Wars / Simpsons theme, and the shop owner proudly showed us a video of the Homer voice actor visiting the store. I pretended to look impressed when she showed us some random guy who sounded vaguely like Dan Castellaneta but looked nothing like him. Then it dawned on me it was the guy who does the Brazilian voice over of the Simpsons. No less unimpressive but at least I didn’t have to break it to her she was scammed.

After walking around for a while and checking out some shops we decided on an Italian restaurant called “Primitivo” for no adequately explained reason. It seemed relatively modern. I didn’t get a photo of my beef short rib gnocchi before the waiter grated a block’s worth of Parmesan cheese onto it so you’ll have to use your imagination. Despite being completely different underneath, Louie’s looked the same.

To walk off the large amount of beef / shrimp and potato inside of us we took a walk along the waterfront past the statues and still very busy restaurants and nightclubs. All the while I was warily eyeing up the edge of the uneven footpath, a quick ankle wobble would send me into the waters and rocks below. Luckily I made it out alive!

Our last full day here tomorrow, another sunny day on the cards and a boat trip “planned”. Louie talked to one of the tour boat people the other day about tickets and they just said to come to the wharf and pay them. Not 100% sure we will be sailing today…