sunday in fortaleza.

today we attended church,

then walked around the center of town before heading back to our hotel.

We visited the cathedral again since many of the group were not able to see inside yesterday.

They were holding some sort of church services so it was interesting to see :)

We also visited this fort that was across from the cathedral. It looks like it is now a military base. It was really neat. We've been able to visit various forts since we've been here, and since we are in "fortaleza" (which means fort or fortress) we couldn't pass up going to a fort, while in fortaleza :P

We then had lunch with the fitzgibbons, tawyna, shawndeen, cristina and michelle. 

On our way back, we stopped at the pier again to see if we could see any dolphins. But we didn't have good luck today.

It was a beautiful sunday in fortaleza!

Now we have many many things to get done before traveling to MANAUS tomorrow!
(I just got the chills while typing that!)

turtles in bahia.

on our second day in salvador, 

we rode about 1.5 hours to visit a little turtle sanctuary!

It was amazing seeing how large sea turtles can get, and seeing the baby turtles was so fun.

It was like a mini mini sea world "bahia" style with turtles, fish, string rays and sharks.

We were able to pet the sting rays & that was really cool :)

what I couldn't believe was that the sharks pool was not gated off or anything!

I literally sat against the shark pool on the mini wall of the pool... what if a kid jumped up and decided to go for a swim! & these were big sharks! Ahh Brazil!

anyways, it was such a fun trip & I loved seeing the turtles!

afterwards, we got back on the bus and drove another hour or so to another beach that was really nice here in Bahia. It was a lot more secluded than the other beaches we've been to so it was really relaxing. 

 Our first stop on our tour was at this lake that has this legend that it was created by an indian woman whose tears created the water and her wedding veil made the sand. Supposedly, handsome men should not get close to the water or else she will beg them to come inside.

sea turtles 

sting rays

at the beach near the turtle sanctuary

beaches of bahia :)

porto de galinhas (chicken port)

today felt like christmas morning to me!

I have never seen a more beautiful beach than porto de galinhas!

(even though natal came in real close, porto de galinhas has it beat)

We were able to take these boats out, walk on the reef, feed the fish and then go swimming!

The water was literally turquoise & clear.

not to mention..warm!

"Porto de Galinhas" in english means Chicken Port.

Why would they name a beach Chicken Port?

Well..when slavery was first abolished in Brazil, this beach was a huge importer of illegal slaves into the country.  Many of these slaves, who arrived on ships, were hidden below the chickens held on the ships. Therefore, when these slaves arrived into the port, the people transporting the slaves would tell others, as a code, that "the chickens have arrived at the port." chickens meaning slaves.

There are statues of chickens everywhere in Porto de Galinhas, and most of the souvenirs you can purchase there are also chickens. It is a breathtaking beach, and was even named 

"The Best Beach of Brazil" for 10 years in a row by a popular Brazilian travel magazine.

The only thing I wish was that they made a limit on how many people can step out on the reef each day. There were HUNDREDS of people out there today, a Thursday in the "winter"...I can't even imagine what it's like on a Saturday in the Summer. The reef is so unbelievably beautiful but it's all going to die from all the people who step on it every day! Brazil needs to preserve more of it's precious reefs.

Anyways, we could not have gone to Porto de Galinhas on a more perfect day. 

If I had to choose one place to honeymoon, have a beach house, go on summer vacation every year, etc it would be THIS place! It was unbelievable & these pictures don't give it any justice.

porto de galinhas- my heaven on earth! 

beach day in Natal.

Sunday night, we arrived in Natal (meaning: Christmas) and we were so excited about our beautiful hotel right on the ocean! Everything was absolutely breathtaking, (& romantic) and we absolutely loved it there. Natal might be one of my favorite cities in the northeast. I really loved Olinda too, mostly for it's historic charm but Natal just had this unbelievably natural beauty.

Monday we woke up & got ready to go to Genipabu beach which is this amazing beach with tons of sand dunes. We spent a few hours swimming & laying on the beach & then Vanessa set us up with some dune buggies! We thought that we would go on a nice drive along the beach but instead we went on this wild, crazy ride through the sand dunes & it was AMAZING!

our sweet ride :P

in a pool of rain water.

the girls!

i must say the one on the far left is mighty handsome :P

kissing a dolphin. do you see it?

a lagoon, sand dunes, and on the other side-ocean!

yes, Natal has camels! we didn't ride them cause it was super overpriced but still cool. 

genipabu beach

my happy place!

do you see that goose & the man in the blue behind danilo? Well that was his pet goose and he went swimming with him in the ocean, no kidding. He was following his owner home. 

one more post on Natal to come :)

João Pessoa

Today we left for João Pessoa(literally translated as John Person), which is the capital of the state above us called Paraiba. It is one of the oldest cities in Brazil, and the most eastern city in all of South America. It is known as the "city where the sun rises first" & was founded in 1585 by French traders of Brazil Wood. It is a charming big city that we get to explore for just a day :)                   

We were fortunate enough to have a big, comfortable bus that will be our personal bus for the next 4 days! It was so big too, so we all got to have our own row. It was perfect for me because I could lay down (caught the cold) and cough all I want without getting all my germs on other people :P                                                                         

After arriving at our hotel & settling in, we got our bathing suits on to head to the beach. The first thing we did was get food (there is nothing worse than a hungry husband) & I had a yummy acai bowl for lunch with granola, banana and condensed milk. :) After getting food, I went to the beach, bundled myself up in all the towels and went to sleep..(I really wasn't feeling good) while Jordan spent the day throwing danillo into the water and playing football.  

After we went to see the sunset on this beautiful river and to have dinner there.

on the bus!

tamandare beach :)

I love natalia! 

waiting for the saxophone player 

sunset on the river.

We went to see the sunset & to also hear this saxophone player play on the lake. It was amazing how everyone (hundreds) of people waited patiently to listen to this old man come out on a boat to play his saxophone. Everyone was taking pictures, videos, and so anxious for him to come out.  He was dressed all in white, and he came out on a little boat on the river and played music while people sat on the deck and listened.  It amazed me how much people appreciated music, specifically the saxophone. I wonder if it's uncommon to come across people who play that instrument, but I thought our singer at dinner was amazing & she didn't get any where near the recognition that the saxophone player got. It made me happy to know that people still appreciate talent and good music. Vanessa said that that was like his 4,267th (something like that) playing out there & he just seems like a nice humble old man. :)

Later we got a steal of a deal on some table place mats/table runners. (I don't know why these things make girls so happy..) but they are adorable!