A travel mishap turned good: Why we skipped Canoa Quebrada

After having our fun in Jericoacoara it was time to hit the road to our next beach town on Brazil’s northeast coast – Canoa Quebrada. But, spoiler alert, this stop was not meant to be. What may have been one little travel mishap to others, created a no-go situation for me, so almost as quickly as we had arrived in Canoa we were leaving.

From Jericoacoara to Praia da Baleia – the (mostly) mishap free portion!

But, I jump ahead! The drive from Jericoacoara to Canoa Quebrada was scheduled to take about 7 hours, as per Google maps, but that didn’t include the one hour 4×4 ride out of Jeri beach into the town and then the indeterminate amount of time to add in avoiding potholes, etc. We actually weren’t even sure if this drive was going to be possible, because some of the road is still being built, but our rental made it, just very, very slowly.

To break up the journey a bit we decided to stay overnight about halfway through. We chose a little beach town called Praia da Baleia (which means Whale Beach), located close to Itapipoca. This would be an hour 4×4 ride out of Jeri plus a 186km (84 mile) drive on our own. The 84 mile drive was supposed to take 3 hours … it ended up taking us more than 4 (don’t calculate that MPH, it’s not awesome)! Those crazy Brasilian roads.

One thing we really came to love on our drives was seeing the tons of windmills that some towns had installed. They were clearly very proud of them, as there were viewing points and information at each set we passed. Wind energy has so much potential (har-dee-har-har) and we both strongly believe that countries should be retraining workers and shifting resources to this sustainable form of energy, so it was nice to see it being used in some areas here.

However the windmills were just the start of the adventure. The funniest part was when we got to the street our accommodation was on. When we got to Praia da Baleia we drove down a little street essentially right to the beach (where Google Maps told us to go), and got to a run down building. Note that the name of our accommodation was “Altas Horas Beach” and then what is written on the boards used on the dilapidated building.

Um yeah, so that was a no go, and I guess what could be considered a mini mishap! We walked around for a bit to see if we could find any other buildings, and finally some motorcyclists passed us by and so we asked them the way. They were all “yeah, yeah, it’s this way, just follow us”. At this point, they just started driving down the beach. No, not like a side road next to the beach, or a dirt path, or anything paved, literally on the sand, down the beach! Turns out that the “street” is actually the beach, and it’s a good thing we got there during low tide!

When we pulled up we were so excited! The owner/operator greeted us and he was so excited about his place. He had built up Altas Horas Beach Pousada e Restaurante himself over the last two years and was so proud of it. We loved our simple room, the relaxing pool, the great service and food, and most of all the sea-front location! It made us wish we had more time there! As soon as we could we put on our bathing suits and headed out to play in the water.

We decided to take our GoPro out to enjoy the fun, and it ended up being a great day to do so, because the waves were big, but not too scary. We spent over an hour just trying to dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge the waves and just laughed our way into the setting sun.

Below is a little 30-second video of us getting pelted in the face by waves over and over. Sounds stupid, but this is kind of our version of a perfect evening!

I got out of the water and read for a bit while Damian continued playing in the waves, and the colors on the beach ended up being even more beautiful after the sun had set. Once it got too dark we showered up, ate dinner and then hit the sack, ready for the next day’s drive in front of us.

When we woke up the next day it was Saturday, Royal Wedding day! I turned on the TV and all the Brasilian channels were showing the wedding, but dubbed over in Portuguese. It was still nice to be able to get a little taste of home / pop culture before we started our drive to Canoa Quebrada.

Praia da Baleia to Canoa Quebrada – it’s mishap time (sad face, I know)

The drive from Praia da Baleia to Canoa Quebrada was scheduled to take about four and a half hours, but we allocated five and a half, because you always hit a mishap or two. When we rolled into our Pousada there, we were so excited! I mean, look at this view!

Canoa Quebrada is a nice mix of a town – it has beautiful beaches, but also more “adventure” type activities like sandboarding, ATV-ing, kitesurfing etc. I was pretty excited to be here and we had scheduled in (at least) three days of fun. Our pousada and the operator were super friendly, and we were excited to have a beautiful room by the pool, with a balcony, where we would have breakfast every morning.

But, it was not meant to be, as this was the mishap that broke the camel’s back. As soon as we got there I went to the bathroom, and when I sat down all of a sudden there were mosquitos all around me. I was able to kill four of them, but being trapped while they flew threateningly around me made me panic. I am allergic to mosquitos, and each bite can swell anywhere to 2-8 inches in diameter. The bites become red, inflamed, hard and insanely itchy. It is not comfortable or fun.

I went and told Damian and we agreed to see how it goes and then make a decision. If they were just in the bathroom then that would be bearable and fixable (with bug spray). So we started unpacking and when Damian opened the armoire there were dozens upon dozens of mosquitos in there. It had rained the few days before, but why mosquitos would make their home in an armoire (supposedly inside and dry) I don’t know.

Damian sprayed the room with bug spray (another mishap in hindsight, as he unnecessarily breathed in at least some of those nasty chemicals) and we went off the lunch. Before we ate, we did go to the beach to check it out, and it was beautiful.

Then, at lunch, my panic set in. My body and mind just cannot handle mosquito bites. I knew that staying in this pousada was not going to be enjoyable, and by then we had seen enough of the town to know it was also a bit dirty (lots of animal poop and flies everywhere). Damian was amazing and offered me whatever solution I wanted – more spraying, trying to get another room at the same pousada, trying to get a room at another pousada or leaving Canoa Quebrada altogether.

It may not be my proudest moment, but this mishap got me, and I needed out. We decided to leave Canoa, and Damian, bless his amazing-ness, drove another five and a half hours to the city of Natal. (Note to self: Maybe I should learn how to drive stick?).

We checked into a Best Western in the heart of Natal and I could breathe again, mishap solved. I realized this sounds very “first world” of me, but I just needed to be in a place where I knew there were no bugs and where I could sit inside in the AC for as long as I wanted. And just to say it again, seriously, Damian earned all the husband-points for all time.

Natal – Down-time and recuperation (and mishap free, woohoo!)

When I woke up in the morning in Natal, I looked out from our balcony and saw this view. It was amazing and relaxing and just what I needed to chill out and get over the mosquito incident.

I spent the morning catching up on a bunch of work – some of it related to this trip (figuring out our itineraries, looking for lodging, writing to folks for info, etc.) and some of it related to a freelance gig I took on. Damian went for a run, did some grocery shopping and just chilled out (much deserved after 10+ hours driving with a panicked Jyoti the day before).

In the afternoon we decided to go to Ponta Negra, the nicest beach in Natal. We walked down to the beach from our hotel and it was gorgeous! Ponta Negra has a dune on one end named Morro do Caereca, which means Bald Hill in English. You can see it in the picture below, and it earned that name because of the “bald strip” of sand that runs down the middle of it.

In the old days you used to be able to sand board and do other fun activities down that strip, but now the area is preserved, and people aren’t allowed up there. Fun fact: When Damian’s mom arrived in Brasil for her time with the Peace Corps, she arrived in Natal! It was fun to hear her remember her times in the city from back in the day.

We really enjoyed walking up and down the beach, and one of the most unique features was that there were guys selling crepes from their carts everywhere. Damian started with a grilled shrimp skewer from Angela’s beach cart (a huge winner, so delicious), but I went all-in on the crepes. We got a salty and a sweet crepe (banana plus Nutella all day, everyday) from Julios (the best cart on the beach, go Julios!) and then headed home to our hotel as the sun set. Seriously, if I could eat Julio’s crepes every day I would. They were so. good.

The next morning we woke up and headed to Praia da Pipa, my absolute, number-one favorite beach town on this trip (so much so that we extended our two-day stay there to six days, which we wouldn’t have been able to do had we spent time in Canoa Quebrada, so, silver linings!). I can’t wait to write about it, but to close this little chapter out, I’m really proud of how I, Damian and we as a couple handled this mishap, and it made me even more excited about our marriage and future together.

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Read more about our time in Brazil using the links below:

• Brazil Country Recap – What we loved (and didn’t love) in our six weeks there
• Iguazu Falls
• Exploring São Paulo
• Exploring Bonito
• Touring in Bonito (river snorkeling and waterfall hiking)
• Rio de Janeiro: Our first three days in Rio
• Rio de Janeiro: “Professor-ial” thoughts on attending a game at Maracana
• Rio de Janeiro: Volunteering with Project Favela
• Three days in the beach paradies of Ubatuba!
• Rio de Janeiro: Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf Mountain
• The amazing landscape of Lençóis Maranhenses
• Three days in the hippie beach town of Jericoacoara
• Why we had to skip Canoa Quebrada and go to Natal instead (you are here)
• Six days in Praia da Pipa (my favorite beach town)
• 24 hours in Olinda