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Apparently, Coconut Trees and Fishes are Best Appreciated Early

I’m leaving the blackout curtains open because surely, waking up to sunlight beats getting jolted awake by “Moon Discovery” from Samsung.

I’m still setting up the alarm, though.

Actually, alarms, plural.

There’s no chance I will ever wake up naturally this early.

The sun will rise before I’m supposed to, at 6 a.m.

On the bright side—pun intended—when the sun rises around here, it stays where it’s fucking supposed to be, up in the sky, bright and hot.

It helps.

I hope.

Occasionally setting up my alarm at 6 a.m. to go to the beach is a masochistic move I had to get used to in Brazil. Somehow, I think this is not what the “early risers are more successful” team had in mind with their endless propaganda aimed at convincing the rest of us that yes, we can change, it’s just a mindset.

I’m not setting up the alarm at 6 a.m. to perform, be productive, and all that crap.

I’m just going to the beach—a great one, according to Brazilians.

And I’m totally planning on napping on the beach if needed, take that, early bird productivity!

I try to sign up for passeios (excursions) everywhere I stop. It’s a cheap way to explore the region when you don’t have a car, and the deal is usually pretty straightforward—get picked up by a van, get dropped off at a beach or two, find the van at the end of the day and get dropped off at your place.

The only “issue” is that the typical pickup time is ridiculously early. I gave up on the idea of passeios in Fortaleza (pickup time was 5:30 a.m..….). Natal was a bit better, 7:30 a.m. João Pessoa was even better, 8:30 a.m.

But in Maceió, it’s 7 a.m. for the closest beaches—and it’s 5 a.m. for further destinations, like Maragogi.

Honestly, I have no idea when Brazilians sleep. They seem to be early birds, night owls, and madrugada people. They eat a hearty breakfast but you can always spot crowds in bars at 4 a.m.

Coffee. I guess it helps. Everybody drinks a lot of coffee in Brazil, including me.

I signed up for Praia do Gunga, 35 kilometres from Maceió.

It was already 38⁰C at 9 a.m. when we got there (yes, it took a while to pick up everybody, there were about ten of us).

Praia do Gunga is lovely. It’s a long, long beach, with hundreds of coconut trees and natural pools full of fishes you can easily reach by boat. It was worth getting up early for.

However, these are also the hottest hours, and the light is terrible for pictures. So if I ever start a tour company in Brazil, we will leave around 10 a.m., alright?

Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro - State of Alagoas
Praia do Gunga, Roteiro – State of Alagoas
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Zhu

French woman in English Canada.

Exploring the world with my camera since 1999, translating sentences for a living, writing stories that may or may not get attention.

Firm believer that nobody is normal... and it’s better this way.

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