On Saturday, November 23rd we toured the island on the "Capitao Pipoca", aka Captain Popcorn. We waded out to the old wooden ship at 8:00 to begin our journey. The ship moved at a very slow pace allowing us to really enjoy the large ocean swells. :) The water was crystal blue. We saw dolphins, and skipping fish. Our first stop was at the village/beach of Morere. One of the most beautiful places we have seen while in Brazil. There were tide pools and reef about a half mile off the coast full of fish and shells. The water was high enough for the boat to float through. The water was so crystal clear, we could see the bottom. While in the village of Morere we met a couple from England that owned a Pousada (bed and breakfast) there for the past five years. He has written a book entitled, "Paradise my Ass" detailing the difficulties and joys of owning property on the farthest point from civilization on the island. The couple witnessed the tsunami in Thailand December 26th, 2004. After surviving the experience they decided to live the life they always dreamed about. They quit their secure jobs in the UK, sold all their belongings and bought an existing Pousada, in complete disrepair, in Brazil. Their story is pretty fascinating. Brad and Annette bought the ebook online for $1.99 and read it in amazement, wondering if something like that is in the future.
Our next stop was Boipeba. Boipeba is the location where the river that splits the island meets the Atlantic ocean. It is a tourist location full of restaurants, bars, and shops selling local souveniers. It was okay but not our favorite stop. The kids enjoyed hamburgers while Brad and Annette devoured a large platter of lobster.
Our third and final stop was the village of Canavieiras, up the river an hour from Boipeba, where we pulled up to one of many oyster bars floating on the river. We pulled the boat over and hopped off as if we were stopping at Sonic for a milk shake. This was fast food, Brazilian style. We had raw and cooked oysters, cooked clams, and crab. Everything was alive in the ocean until we ordered and they pulled the food out for us to see. The kids weren't huge fans of the raw oysters but were good sports to try them. The crab was the favored entree by far.
After Canavieiras it was getting late. We had no desire to head back in the very slow boat in the dark so we were picked up in Boipeba by jeep and taken home on land. Incredible day!
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| Leaving Garapua on "Capitao Pipoca" for our day-long journey |
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| The first 45 minutes are all smiles :) |
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| It took us 2 hours to get to our first destination, the boat was very slow and the ocean swells high. 1 hour into the ride the excitement wore off and everyone was flat on their backs, hoping not to get sea sick. |
Waters of Morere
Crystal clear water
anchoring off in Morere
Doing backflips off the boat
Playing games of "loser" and "kings corner" to pass our time at sea.
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| The beach of Morere in the background |
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| Lunch in Boipeba |
The tourist town of Boipeba, this is a picture of the river side; kind of ugly compared to the crystal blue water on the Atlantic side. |
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| Enjoying lunch in Boipeba |
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| The oyster bar on the river in Canavieiras |
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| Other oyster bars in the background. |
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| Trying a raw oyster |
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| Taryn not a fan of raw oysters, at this point we asked them to cook them |
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| Capitao Pipoca docked at the oyster bar |
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| Carson holding up live crabs |
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| Overlooking the live fish cages |
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| About to leave the oyster bar; what a great experience. |
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| On our way back down the river. We are all exhausted |
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| All of us passed out on the boat |
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| Departing our good friend "Capitao Pipoca" and our driver GuGu. (Brazilians are really into nick names) |
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| The jeep ride home from Boibepa as the sun is setting. Awesome day! |
