Many decisions are made on the spur of the moment and many experiences happen because you’re at the right place at the right time, willing to go with the flow.

This is basically how I ended up on top of a hill, inside an abandoned factory overlooking the longest beach ever, just after admiring sea turtles and wandering between fishermen shacks.

I would have missed the trail but for the fact it was a slightly cloudy day. In fact, I did miss it the first time I went to Arraial do Cabo and discovered Praia Grande. I mean, it’s an amazing beach, you’re supposed to be jumping over the one, powerful wave and relaxing on beautiful white sand, not going any further, paradise found.

But clouds were coming and the beach was packed, so I decided to go for a walk.

And I took what looked like a trail behind a coconut shack.

I avoid random trails when I don’t know where I’m going and when I’m alone, so I hesitated for a second.

Then I spotted a Brazilian couple just behind me.

“Do you know where the trail leads to?” I asked.

“No idea. Let’s find out together!”

I do take random trails that may lead to nowhere when I’m with an equally clueless group. I know, questionable logic, but strength in numbers. And eh, I’m still alive after following many middle-of-nowhere trails with many strangers—most recently in Vila Velha—so my logic isn’t completely flawed.

Brazilians are amazingly friendly, by the way. They like to hang out in groups, pretty much anyone welcome, no need to be best friends or anything. I’m always surprised to see large groups travelling together—sounds like a recipe for disaster in individualistic cultures but it seems to work out just fine in Brazil. There’s a unique sense of community I really appreciate here. People don’t spend their time avoiding each other and complaining about the “inconvenience” of sharing public space. They help out, watch out for each other, clean after themselves…

… and welcome a random French/Canadian eager to team up for a random hike.

The couple was from Minas Gerais, a nearby landlocked state, the one that provides Brazil with plenty of cheese and coffee. In return, the rest of Brazil welcome the residents on the beach, fair trade, right?

We decided to go down to the fishermen shacks first—“something different,” the guy noted. “Interesting to see how other people live.”

Then we followed a trail up to an urban ruin, the pump that used to cool off the equipments of the Companhia Nacional de Álcalis factory when it was producing soda ash and salt before shutting down in 2006. I hope I got that right, because the history of the factory was explained to me by one of the friendly fishermen and I can’t find sources in English.

The urban ruins felt like a window to paradise with Praia Grande just below.

We kept on going for a better viewpoint, more pictures, until we reached the end of the trail and realized we were pretty tired.

Then we walked downhill together, traded WhatsApp numbers to share pictures, and parted ways.

Later that night, we thanked each other for the wonderful afternoon spent together. “I wouldn’t have gone alone,” the girl confessed. “Me neither!”

Told you, Brazilians are awesome. Strength in numbers!