A vacation from my vacation: Itacare

With a population of approximately 25,000, Itacare is small fishing village on the coast of Brazil, located in and around some of Brazil’s most beautiful beaches. The town is the type of place where everyone seems to know everyone, and many of the tourists have fallen so in love with the place that they have stayed long term, becoming another one of the well known locals. The streets are made of uneven cobblestone, without traffic lights or stop signs. Although ‘sleepy’ is the wrong word for the town, it could be described as quiet most of the time. During the peak hours, the town has some hustle and bustle, although even this is minimal. All in all, Itacare is the perfect beach destination to surf, practice yoga, and relax.

Ryan and I were staying a bit off the main tourist strip, but because the town is so small, everything could be reached within 15 minutes of walking. The beach right in the centre of town is more of a port, not intended for swimming, so we spent our first day on the beach at Praia de Concha, a few minutes past the main strip and just past the port beach. Walking from our part of town towards Praia de Concha gave us a chance to see all of the restaurants and tourist shops along the main road, and I was instantly reminded of being in South East Asia. Although Praia de Concha wasn’t the most spectacular beach, we had great chairs close to the water, fresh coconuts, and a perfect 40 degree day. While Ryan spent his time in the shade, I soaked in the sun, dashing to the water every few minutes to cool off. The water was the perfect temperature, and each time I went in, I swore I was in heaven. Our first night in Itacare, Ryan and I headed to a yoga class taught by an American girl who had moved to Itacare. The class was held in an open air wooden hut, and we were able to hear the cicadas as we practiced. It was nice to do yoga in english for the first time since being down here, but mostly just nice to practice yoga.

The following morning, we headed off to a 4 beach tour. Yes, you heard me – we went on a beach tour! The beaches in Brazil are not only spectacular, but they are also incredibly hard to reach, making a beach tour necessary. Everyone else on our tour was Brazilian and spoke Portuguese but our guided stumbled through a bit of english to try and explain each location to use to make us feel included, which was much appreciated. The van dropped us off on the side of the road, and we trekked through the jungle for about 20 minutes until we reached our first destination: Engenoca. The beach was straight off a postcard with white sand, leaning palm trees, crashing waves, and lush greenery on either side. It was about a kilometre long and nearly deserted. After enjoying a coconut, we headed into the water to enjoy the waves for a few minutes. We spent about an hour at Engenoca before we made our way through the jungle to Havaizinho, which is known as Brazilian Hawaii. Here, the waves are too big and uneven to surf or swim, so we simply took in the scenery and enjoyed the nice weather and the sound of the crashing waves against the shore. Here, we also enjoyed our first tapioca. We had heard about this strange thing that Itacare was known for, but I figured it would be like tapioca pudding, which is not my thing. As it turns out, a tapioca is like a crepe or a wrap, but made with tapioca flour. After seeing one of the Brazilians get one, we immediately ordered one as well, with banana, coconut, cinnamon. It was amazing, and both Ryan and I were instantly hooked. From Havaizinho, we trekked through the jungle for about half an hour until we reached Camboinha, which was another small, picturesque beach. After a brief stop, we made our way to Itacarezinho, which at 4km long was easily the longest beach we visited that day. Once again, I was shocked by not only it’s beauty, but how remote and quiet it was. There were no chairs anywhere, and all the people were spread out down the length of the beach. It was wonderful.

After spending a few hours soaking in the sun and enjoying the water at Itacarezinho, the van picked us up to take us to a waterfall called Cachoeira do Tijuipe. Although the waterfall wasn’t overly high, it was quite wide, and it was beautiful to watch the sun to begin to set behind it. From there, we made our way back to Itacare. Ryan and I were exhausted and famished, and after taking a quick shower, we head out in search of food. This wasn’t difficult, as Itacare has some of the best and most affordable restaurants that we’ve eaten at in Brazil, making me optimistic for the rest of our time in Brazil. After stuffing our faces, and finishing the meal off with a frozen yogurt, we called it a night. After all, beaching it does get incredibly tiring!

Our final full day in Brazil was another lazy day. After sleeping in, we headed to the bus station to get tickets for the following day, sought out breakfast, and then headed to Praia de Concha one last time. While Ryan rented a stand up paddle board, I soaked in the sun and nearly finished my book. It was a quiet, peaceful afternoon, and I left the beach feeling very relaxed. That evening, we went to another yoga class, and finished off the day with a delicious tapioca (a little less sweet this time around!). We headed back to our hostel to pack up our bags, which were spilling into one another and all over the floor, in preparation for our bus ride to Salvador the following day. Although it has been wonderful relaxing, it will be nice to soak in the Bahia culture in Salvador over the next few days.