Praia das Baleias

Patricia’s family on her mother’s side has a house on the beach called Praia das Baleias, which although being relatively close to Sao Paulo (~ 3hr drive), feels like a world away. We were lucky enough to spend a whole week there, where we were able to completely relax for the first time on our entire trip. Travelling is incredibly fun, but it was nice to be pampered for a change. The wonderful housekeeper, Nadie, looked after cooking and cleaning and our family took care of the shopping. The place was fully stocked, including a never-ending cooler of beers and Guarana, the delicious Brasilian pop drink. It was like being in a five star hotel but even better, because we were able to share the company of our family who really know how to enjoy life!

The days quickly developed a rythym: getting up to go for a jog/walk/swim, then a leisurely breakfast at 10am.

This was followed by lathering on the sunscreen in anticipation of heading down to the ocean. The beach chairs and cabana would already be set up (oh yeah!), and we would spend the afternoon chatting, drinking beers or coconuts, eating corn on the cob from the beach vendor, walking up and down the 2.5km stretch of sand, people watching, playing beach tennis, and overall just having a lot of fun.

Around 4pm we would head back to the house where we would have some appetizers from the grill with caipirinhas, and then a late lunch such as a barbeque, which would last until about 6pm. After this it was time to relax and enjoy the comfortable sofas, laze by the pool and then head out for a final beach walk to catch the sunset.

Ar night we all relaxed over a glass (or two!) of good wine and snacked if we were hungry. One night was spent learning how to make a Brasilian tasty chicken-filled pastry called “empada” from the friendly maids, who are superb cooks. Our own superb cooks, Bill and Lucila, had a blast!

Most of the family had to head back into town after the weekend so we got to enjoy the place with Ben’s parents for a few days on our own with the marvellous Nadie taking care of us.







We broke out of the routine one day to walk over to the neighbouring beach of Camburi, known for good surfing. There we rented a board and Ben, Patricia and Ben’s father had a blast trying out the waves. Patricia was able to improve her surfing skills and became a regular two-footer on the board!

Since the Brasilian side of the family had left, Bill and Patricia got to perfect their Caipirinha making skills, which they put to good use mixing passion-fruit, kiwi and lime versions with good pinga (sugar cane alcohol).






When the time came it was very hard to leave, but there were more adventures to look forward to in Sao Paulo and more family time to enjoy. However, all good things come to an end and before we knew it we were saying sad goodbyes and boarding our plane to Barcelona for the next part of our trip. Cheers to family! Europe and Africa, here we come!