Bashford adventures in Brazil!: Surfing in Itacare, Bahia, Brazil

The owner of the pousada we are staying at also has a surf school in Itacare. He has surfed all over the world but was born and raised in Bahia, the largest state in Brazil. We had two different guys help us out named Junior and Adriano. I think we entertained them more than they entertained us. One of the days we walked through town carrying 5 longboards. As if the white gringo family with all the kids weren't a spectacle already...now we are carrying surfboards with us to draw more attention. Another day we (7 in our family, 2 surf guides, and the driver) piled into a car with room for 6. We have gotten used to being uncomfortably close to strangers and always being sweaty is kind of the norm here so this wasn't a big deal. And another day all 10 of us piled into a boat made for no more than 4 people and drove across the bay to reach a hard to access beach. Getting to the and from the surf spots was just as entertaining as the surfing. And our guides/instructors were total tree hugging, pot smoking, nature worshiping surf rats which made for interesting conversation with a family of conservative Mormons from American suburbia. The surfing conditions weren't the best but we had a great time and saw some incredibly beautiful beaches.

Carson getting ready to shred on his Brazilian potato chip.

Hannah, Maile, and Carson lined up after a successful surf session with the beautiful Praia da Ribeira in the background.

Maile, Brad and Hannah at Praia da Ribeira.

Grabbing the boards for lesson #2, everyone got pounded and beat up today.

Taryn and Derek's job was to wax the boards

Ready to go. Junior, our white faced, crazy instructor in the back with Adrien.

One of the first waves of the day for Maile. Carson wanted to catch a wave and not ride whitewater; sorry, not today.

Hannah popped up from the beginning

Beautiful Ribeira beach

Lesson #3: walking out to the boat that took us across the river from Coroinha beach. We headed to Pontal beach (Long beach) Today was much more successful; the kids didn't take such a beating and had so much fun.