Turning 41 was the easy part, I literally had nothing to do—getting to Itacaré, deep down into Bahia, was the challenging part.
When I arrived, I discovered that Itacaré was on the “costa do cacau” and thus, I was pretty much guaranteed excellent chocolate desserts. That plus gorgeous beaches, a relaxed atmosphere and hot weather convinced me it was worth going all the way down there to turn 41—or rather, all the way down there just for the sake of it, period.
Honestly, I don’t mind getting older—I’m just sad everybody else does too.
I was considering the lazy birthday option, i.e. beach plus chocolate-something. Then I signed up for Itacaré’s classic tour at the last minute—four beaches and a waterfall.
May as well spend time on even further-away beaches with perfect strangers, after all.
On March 21, I got up at 8 a.m. and packed what I was told to pack—swimsuit, Havaianas, water. Other than a swimsuit, clothing is very optional in this part of the country. It’s hot, you spend half of your time in the water, and it’s perfectly fine to go to the supermarket in your bikini. The last time I wore a t-shirt was… a while ago.
The van picking me up was right on time. I just admit that being sung “Parabéns pra você” at 8:30 a.m. was not exactly what I had signed up for but I appreciated the enthusiasm a bunch of Brazilians as sleepy as I managed to show.
The first endless empty beach was more the “wow” experience I had in mind. Itacarezinho is endless, mostly empty, and very picturesque.
The van dropped us off here, seven of us plus a guide. We were going to need a guide because exploring beaches involves trekking in the wild here.
“So, why Brazil?” one of the Brazilians asked me.
“I live in Canada. I hate winter,” I replied.
And then the six Brazilians started sharing winter stories.
“I went to São Paulo in July once, it was so cold! Like 14 °C.”
Oh, guys, if only you knew how cold it gets up there…!
And so we chatted, walked from the first beach to the second beach, then the third, and eventually the fourth beach, all lovely and very picturesque.
The last part of the trip was a quick van ride to the Cachoeira do Tijuípe, a waterfall to rinse off the salt.
Now I’m going to eat my chocolate cake.
Birthday mission accomplished successfully.
Praia de Itacarezinho, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia de Itacarezinho, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia de Itacarezinho, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia de Itacarezinho, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia de Itacarezinho, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia de Itacarezinho, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia de Itacarezinho, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia de Itacarezinho, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia de Itacarezinho, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia de Itacarezinho, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia de Itacarezinho, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia de Itacarezinho, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia de Itacarezinho, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia de Itacarezinho, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia de Itacarezinho, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia de Itacarezinho, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia de Itacarezinho, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia de Itacarezinho, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia de Itacarezinho, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia de Itacarezinho, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Trail to Praia da CamboinhaPraia da Camboinha, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia da Camboinha, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia da Camboinha, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia da Camboinha, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia da Camboinha, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia da Camboinha, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia do Havaizinho, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia do Havaizinho, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia do Havaizinho, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Praia do Havaizinho, Itacaré, State of Bahia, 45530-000Cachoeira do Tijuípe, Travessa Terceira da Rodovia – Km S/N, BA-001, 46 – Serra Grande, Uruçuca – BA, 45680-000Cachoeira do Tijuípe, Travessa Terceira da Rodovia – Km S/N, BA-001, 46 – Serra Grande, Uruçuca – BA, 45680-000Cachoeira do Tijuípe, Travessa Terceira da Rodovia – Km S/N, BA-001, 46 – Serra Grande, Uruçuca – BA, 45680-000Cachoeira do Tijuípe, Travessa Terceira da Rodovia – Km S/N, BA-001, 46 – Serra Grande, Uruçuca – BA, 45680-000Cachoeira do Tijuípe, Travessa Terceira da Rodovia – Km S/N, BA-001, 46 – Serra Grande, Uruçuca – BA, 45680-000Cachoeira do Tijuípe, Travessa Terceira da Rodovia – Km S/N, BA-001, 46 – Serra Grande, Uruçuca – BA, 45680-000Cachoeira do Tijuípe, Travessa Terceira da Rodovia – Km S/N, BA-001, 46 – Serra Grande, Uruçuca – BA, 45680-000Cachoeira do Tijuípe, Travessa Terceira da Rodovia – Km S/N, BA-001, 46 – Serra Grande, Uruçuca – BA, 45680-000Cachoeira do Tijuípe, Travessa Terceira da Rodovia – Km S/N, BA-001, 46 – Serra Grande, Uruçuca – BA, 45680-000Cachoeira do Tijuípe, Travessa Terceira da Rodovia – Km S/N, BA-001, 46 – Serra Grande, Uruçuca – BA, 45680-000Cachoeira do Tijuípe, Travessa Terceira da Rodovia – Km S/N, BA-001, 46 – Serra Grande, Uruçuca – BA, 45680-000Cachoeira do Tijuípe, Travessa Terceira da Rodovia – Km S/N, BA-001, 46 – Serra Grande, Uruçuca – BA, 45680-000Café com coco, Rod. Ba-001 Ilhéus, km 58 – Marambaia, Itacaré – BA, 45530-000
Bon anniversaire Juliette !!!
Merci!
Selamat Ulang Tahun, Zhu!
Seems to me you don’t get any older 😉
It sounds better in your language!
Happy belated birthday Juliette ! <3
Thank you!
Joyeux anniversaire.
41, c’est bien, parce que c’est un nombre premier.
Et pis ils ont raison les Brésiliens. 14°, c’est beaucoup trop chaud en hiver.
Je crois que tu serais très malheureux au Brésil! Il te faut la Patagonie.
Belated Happy Birthday! May this year be a great one for you.
This is a lovely birthday wish! 🙂 Thank you!
Happy belated birthday Juliette!
Thank you! When is yours?
October 12 🙂
What? Same as Mark?? I must have known that…
Lol yes birthday twins