Costa de Lagoa Hike

On May 1st Jessica and I decided to head out and try to hike the 5 miles trail to Costa de Lagoa. We started out with nothing more than her book about trails in floripa and our little bit of portuguese. We headed to Lagoa Concencou on the bus and got off by the bridge that leads over the bay. Here we ask for directions and were pointed north. We walked down a road through a beautiful tropical area with gorgeous huge house with amazing views of the bay.

We soon realized that we could have taken the bus an extra mile and a half, but we would not have gotten to see the views as well. That is one of the beauties of the Brazilian life style, we had a whole day of nothing to do, so walking for an extra mile and a half was no big deal, we just enjoyed the view. Once we made it to the start of the trail there was a huge wooden sign and lead us in the right direction. The trail was gorgeous, it was like something out of King Kong or Jurassic Park.

The vegetation was so green and untouched, pure nature. The trail winded through the forest and behind massive houses that  are on the bay-front. There were paths some of the way, rocks, grass, gravel, and cement. The change in scenery and trail kept it interesting. Every time we turned a corner there was a new breathe taking view, it was exhilarating. (looking at this entry, I think my writing sounds corny and fake, but I am being dead serious it really was exhilarating! ) As we were walking we found a small water fall, and decided to eat one of our snacks and chill for a little and drink some water. It was a perfect day for hiking because it was sort of over cast so we were not being baked by the sun, yet it was still warm enough to work up a sweat. I was sweating the whole time, by the end of the hike I drank 2 liters of water, but it was awesome. My legs started to get tired  towards the end, so you know it was a good hike :) It took us about two hours to hike the trail, and when we reached the Costa de Lagoa we were welcomed with an even better view!

There were houses all along the water, beautiful beachy houses, with quant little restaurants. the smell in the air was of delicious fresh sea food cooking and fresh bread. As you walk down the path you pass bars and restaurants with people relaxing on their holiday off, drinking Skol beer (the most popular beer here) and eating fresh oysters for the bay only 10 yards away. We kept walking to the waterfall of costa de lagoa. To get there you have to walk up a short path and it takes you to a secluded part of the stream with a huge rock faced natural wall that water runs over, it was the perfect place to eat the rest of our lunch. Then we headed down to the docks, where waterfront restaurants welcome speed boats and water taxis full of guests coming to enjoy the scenery and eat fresh seafood for lunch and dinner. Jessica and I decided to try the fresh oysters for the first time in Floripa and man were  they good! We got some plain and some cooked with cheese and enjoyed those with some free cachaca compliments of our waiter while looking around at the huge green mountains surrounding us and the calm bay water surrounds us on the dock.

There were some little kids trying to fish with a long stick of bamboo with fishing line tied to the end of it  and a hook tied to the end of that. They would put a pick of raw shrimp at the end and fling it into the water. One of the sisters caught a fish but she was screaming the whole time trying to hold onto it and it ended up flopping back in the water, but she was still very proud of herself for catching on, it was pretty entertaining to say the least. After we sat on the docks for about an hour or two, enjoying the sights and smells, we took a water taxi back to lagoa, and then a bus back to centro. All in all it was an awesome and adventurous day, unlike any other I have experienced in Floripa to date :D