There are two amazing couches in my Ubatuba Airbnb, the kind you splurge on when the kids are grown up and are less likely to jump on a sofa while eating chips (or pipoca in Brazil, I suppose, pop corn is popular) during every commercial break or other occasional brief moments of boredom. Seriously, these are massive couches. I’m actually wondering how they fit through the door, it sounds logistically impossible but hey, who cares, not my problem, they’re here for me to use.
And I’ve been sitting on one of these two couches a lot. It’s the best spot to work on my laptop in the evening.
But it turned out the fancy couch is not that comfortable. It’s a bit hard. My bum goes numb after a while, and this isn’t just an excuse to walk to the balcony and take a smoke break.
This is how I feel about Ubatuba. It’s a pretty place, there’s nothing wrong with it, but it’s vaguely uncomfortable at times.
Ubatuba is about halfway between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, a five-hour drive either way, basically next door by local standards. Yet this part of the trip along the coast is challenging. I’m lost in the jungle, between small towns, immersed into a different world I don’t master yet.
You’ve probably never heard of Ubatuba but it’s a popular holiday destination with 102 beaches scattered along the coast. Fine print, though—most are far from Ubatuba or simply hard to access but I knew that and I was fine with a small sample.
My adventure in Ubatuba started at the Airbnb with a dirt road leading to BR-101, the recommended route to the nearest supermarket and main avenue. I’d normally avoid walking on the shoulder of a main road but it was only 650 metres to the roundabout where I’d turn into a normal street with a lot of traffic but sidewalks.
I came to hate this stretch of the road but on my first day, it took me where I needed to be—supermarket, bakery, another supermarket and gas station (yay, coffee!)
Finding your way around is easy in beach towns. There’s always a long avenue along the marina, the beach or the coast. Then there’s always a lively spot somewhere—“at the whale skeleton,” my Airbnb host had explained on the drive from the bus terminal to the apartment. Like, literally, a whale skeleton marking the beginning of Rua Guarani, a street packed with cafes, ice cream shops, buffet restaurants, pizzerias and souvenirs shops.
It didn’t take me long to figure out where to go, what to do and where to eat. Yet, nothing was really easy or instinctive—sometimes, it was even completely counterintuitive. Common brands and foods I had been able to find absolutely everywhere were missing from the shelves in Ubatuba. Desserts were surprisingly expensive with few options, while typical Brazilian cities have dozens of bakeries. Don’t even get me started on buses… more on that later. My Airbnb host was very welcoming but for the first time ever, I didn’t find people friendly.
I got nervous a few times in Ubatuba. First, during the big thunderstorm and subsequent flooding—I’ve seen rain before and it was business as usual for locals but still, pretty impressive. I also felt uneasy when navigating empty residential streets in Itaguá, with big dogs barking non-stop.
And I started to fear guys wandering around on their bicycle.
One evening, coming back from the supermarket around 6 p.m., a guy on a bike caught up with me as I was walking along BR-101, the above-mentioned shortcut to my apartment. He tried to grab my sarong, then rode away before coming back. He tried to kick my butt, then tried to grab my boobs. The weirdest part was that there was traffic, people around. He left at one point, I think he crossed the street—I was too focused on making it to my exit to the apartment.
I avoided the road after that, even though there’s always traffic and people walking along it. It creept me out.
But it’s not the only place where I’ve seen guys wandering around on their bike, slowing down to assess lone pedestrians, even in busy areas. Interestingly, I saw very, very few police cars in Ubatuba—I have issues with some aspect of law enforcement but maybe it would have felt safer with police around as a deterrent…
And again, counterintuitively, I found “centro,” the city centre, much safer than many residential neighbourhoods. It’s usually the other way around in Brazil.
I still enjoyed Ubatuba. I explored six beaches—Praia do Pereque Acu, Praia Vermelha, Praia do Tenório, Praia Grande, Praia das Toninhas and Praia da Enseada. It “only” rained for two days. Ubatuba has great comida por kilo and I ate a different kind of fish every night, probably the best fish meals I’ve had in Brazil. I learned to use my phone to take pictures since the DSLR is dead. I had a girly day for my birthday.
Ubatuba wasn’t what I expected, and for that, it was worth it.
That sucks regarding the wandering bicycle guys; a nice jab with a parasol through the bike spokes would have completed his journey for certain. But I still think you’re brave and a little crazy lol – be careful. I didn’t realize that they treat tourists like this in these rural areas.
It’s not a tourist thing (I’m pretty much the only foreigner around), more like… a women thing :-/ It’s super rare in Brazil to be honest.