Praia dos Carneiros

One of the many reasons why I love Mark is that he loves old churches. For someone who's not religious, he really appreciates a place of worship and the history and memories created within the walls.  So when I found out about the famous 1910 Sao Benedito Church on Praia dos Carneiros (Sheep Beach) I used my parent's visit as an excuse to go see it. After all, Sao Benedito happens to be one of the most sought after churches for getting married in northeast Brazil; with no wonder- the setting is romantic and secluded. The pousadas in Carneiros love it because nearly every weekend the church gets booked for weddings and invariably giant wedding parties.

I made the idea of visiting a church seem less boring to my kids by booking us on a boat tour. I merely walked 5 feet from the edge of the pousada to the beach where friendly boaters gave me my options: I could travel by catamaran party boats, private speed boats, fishing boats, kayaks or stand-up paddle boards. David and Margo could hardly contain themselves even though I couldn't promise dolphin sightings. Instead, they saw many people in scanty swim suits doing squats and odd-end poses on the steps of the church. They watched throngs of people slather their bodies in buckets of exfoliating local clay and drinking cans of beer. They saw sun-drenched sand bars and dank mangrove with tangles of roots anchoring the trees into place.  

The entirety of Praia dos Carneiros stretches no more than one mile, protected by a seemingly man-made rock wall against the south Atlantic Ocean.  In other words: little wind, very shallow with few waves, and very VERY warm. It's like sitting in cozy bathtub-water with other tourists. Because of the isolation, we ended up eating every meal at the pousada which, conveniently charged exorbitant prices. Annoying, but not horrible. We did eat some fantastic dishes and my parents got to experience northeast Brazil traditions like cake for breakfast, tapioca with cheese, and fried macaxeira- cassava root.

Everyday after swimming and beaching, my mom, dad and I would push the kids for hours on the pousada's wooden swings, strung high into a giant tree. Or, we'd play "pirates" together on an old fishing boat next to the swings. By "together" I mean Deets would yell and throw beach toys off the boat like anchors and then order us onto the ground because he needed to sink his ship due to war guns attacking us. Specifically, war guns on B-17 Flying Fortresses. 

The swings and boat almost made up for the fact our place had no pool. The pousada next door did and when the children realized this, boy did the tears fall. In fact, it was so stagnant and hot, even I threw a mental fit. Thus all weekend I couldn't escape the intrusive thoughts of fresh, cold water. Unfortunately I knew this going into our trip and had opted to pay the cheaper rate so I had no one to blame but myself. Yet somehow we'd have to make it through another trip in paradise. 

Andy Sandburg's song "I'm on a Boat" invariably
stuck in my head. Every. Time. 

Dutch cross at the end of the point,
dating back to 1600's according to the boat guide.

Mangrove swamp.

Margo in her cycling hat. 

Hammocks, like coconuts and
teeny swim suits are a staple in Brazil.