A four day weekend for ALL of us, took us to a northern state in Brasil. Ceará, a state located in northeastern (noredeste) Brasil and was a three and a half hour flight from Campinas. When we arrived in Fortaleza, the capital of Ceará, we took a short Uber ride to our hotel. Once we arrived, we were informed we were upgraded!!!
Hotel Brasil Tropical was amazing. From the pool, to the staff, to the restaurant, to the VIEW. Our upgrade from a family room to a two-bedroom suite was a new experience to the boys and one they very much enjoyed.
Snapchat was the only good video we took and when uploaded, it flips the camera?!?! But you can still see how beautiful the room is!
The view was beautiful!
Middle building, 21st floor - the ENTIRE floor was ours!
The boys made a friend
After some play time, we walked to a pier to see the fishermen and check out the sunset.
Walking up to the 24th floor at night gave us an amazing view of the city!
We took a walk down the beach to a local restaurant for dinner. It was a LITTLE farther that Greg thought, but worth the walk. Ceará is known for the fresh shrimp and we could not wait to try! The boys fought over the who could have the last piece! Coco Bambu Beira Mar was amazing!
It was a busy day, full of traveling and exploring. The boys snuggled in bed to watch a movie and fell asleep!
The next day we went to Praira do Futuro, a beach to the east of our hotel. We were dropped of at Croco Beach and were not disappointed.
Greg ordered a few beers for us and we had to giggle when they were delivered in this cooler! No complaints from us, but a new experience.
The beach/ocean was full of people exploring different activities. Boogie boards, surfers, wind surfers, para-gliders and more
The sun was a little bright!!
That night we walked to NBS Burger to enjoy an easy dinner. The tables were outside and the night was beautiful. The dinner was delicious.
On Sunday, we had set up a tour to Morro Branco. We woke early, had breakfast and went to wait for the bus.
It was over an hour to our first stop and the boys were tired from all the swimming!
The first stop took us to a custom fair. Ceará is known for making lace - from hand. This was an extremely busy fair, but beautiful to walk through. Some vendors were working while waiting. They had doilies, clothing, table cloths, and so much more. Mostly white, but a variety of colors as well.
Our second stop took us to Morro Branco. We jumped in our dune buggy and headed to the top of the ridge.
At the top, we were greeted by a guide who took us through an area to the sands.
When we arrived at the natural canyons formed by the water and created by 12 natural occurring sand colors, we were breathless.
Walking through the labyrinths took 30-40 minutes and the pictures do not do it justice!
When we made it through the labyrinth, we explored the beach and then hopped back in the dune buggy to head to Praia das Fontes (beach of fountains). Again, we were not disappointed. Praia de Fontes is a beach full of natural sand cliffs, caves and small waterfalls.
We stopped to explore some of the natural pools!
Our last stop took us to the biggest natural fresh water lake in Ceará, Lagoa do Uruau.
The ride back was just as fun and beautiful.
Since they were taking us back to where we started, they took us through a dessert-like dune area.
Back at the restaurant (where we started) the boys explored the natural rock formations and pools on the beach.
On the way home, we stopped at A Maior Rapadura Do Mundo. The city of Pindoretama, less than 50 km from Forteleza, wants to enter the Guinness Book with the record of producing the largest rapadura in the world. For this, a rapadura was produced 3.8 meters long, 2.5 meters wide and 38 cm thick. Rapadura is unrefined pure cane sugar, with a flavor and consistency like brown sugar. There are many uses for Rapadura. In Brazil it is basically used in substitution of sugar or consumed as is, in chips, or as a dessert. In the northeast of Brazil it is widely used, together with the flour, to be consumed in the workplace. They also can add ingredients such as cashew nuts, coconut, peanuts, etc.
Overall, this trip was one of our favorites!