It was an unusually windy day and I was unusually sad but we picked a beach for the day as usual because life always feels better at the beach—at least for me and apparently millions of Brazilians.

As they say, or rather as the many handwritten signs on any beach say, “Perto do mar a gente é mais feliz” (“People are happier close to the sea”). I mean, not that Brazilians living in “o interior” of the country are miserable. I’ve been there, they look just fine. But they also tend to flock to the beach even if it means a ten-hour bus drive, so yeah, “Água salgada, alma lavada” (“Saltwater washes the mind”).

I agree. I think better and clearer at the beach, any beach. The sound of waves crashing on the shore over and over again is soothing. The sand is a worry-free place—no traffic, very little clothing required, and nowhere to be in particular.

Praia do Campeche is one of the island’s longest beaches so we can go back over and over again, it will never look the same. There’s the crowded version, the empty version, the calm waters and jellyfish version, the cloudy version, the steamy version, etc.

We got the windy version, a paradise for the many kitesurfers who showed up all excited.

The rest of us stayed on the shore, covered with sand from the huge dunes behind.

I felt a bit better at the end of the day.