jacuípe

the whole family, including maya's veterinary classmates, took a trip to a beach called jacuípe (jah-quep-ey). we piled into 3 cars and drove for about a half hour until coming to a turn off road where a very lean shirtless baiano (bahian man), with dreads on top of his head and a bright floral bathing suit, directed us into our given parking spots and placed cardboard sheets over the windshields. we walked down a cobblestone sidewalk for a few minutes, with the river on our right and tall coconut palms on our left. we crossed a wooden plank bridge and entered the sands of the curvy beach. greeting us was a large, colorful and very broken, river boat. the sand was flat and rounded into the curves of the river. across the river was a row of palms that lead your eye left toward the ocean. they all leaned to the right and stood very tall, looking as if they would fall over at any moment. the mouth, where the river and ocean met, was giant. the water swirled and curled in all directions. you could see the water split in half, one side leading to the ocean and the other leading to the river.

ben, leda and i were the first to cross the mouth. at that time the water was not so strong and we made it across in a matter of minutes. we met the sand and laid in the shallow stream that had been created. next, the boys from maya's class, alici and dave made their way across to join us. we took turns with silly games, like running off the edge of the sand and belly flopping into the shallow water, or chasing someone, trying to land on their back as they wiggled away like a fish. i went for a walk sozinho and ended up laying in the sand pretending to have been washed ashore from a ship wreck. from the laying position you could see nothing but sand, water and palms... once you lifted your head the fantasy was wiped away by the barracas and people jet skiing. i found 3 pieces of sea glass and turned back to meet the rest of the group. ben met me half way with urgency. he said that dave and leda had almost drowned, they tried to cross the river back to the other side and the tide had become a lot stronger. leda was on the other side already but dave came back to help us across. instead of heading straight across the river i decided it would be a good idea to go back on a diagonal, so when the rip pulled us we would be back far enough so as not to get sucked in. we all took a deep breath and dove in. it was exhilarating and scary, but i knew i my heart we would be fine. the 4 of us (myself and the 3 boys) swam one stroke at a time, trying hard not to lose a stroke and be pulled closer to the mouth. we made it, in about double the time it took us to get there. out of breath and glad to be safe we fell into the sand and caught up with ourselves.

the sun was getting lower and we played as close to the mouth as possible. the sand was soft and fell away from you when you tried to stand on it. we took turns pretending to be swept away into sea before jumping out over the sand cliff and running back into the water with a flip. when the water became too string and we could feel the danger growing, we made our way back toward the river where the rest of the group was. gabriel and i built a sand arena while others played "fresco ball" aka, paddle ball. the sun was almost down and had created a beautiful streak of light in the water. everything was now nothing but a silhouette. we walked back to the car, had a bowl of ice cream and drove home... pooped.

today the house was empty, everyone was out at work or school and i was feeling restless. after trying to talk to the maids and watching a bit of the hurcules disney movie i decided to be proactive. i put on the new running shorts my mom mailed me and naiana's sneakers, created a playlist on my ipod and set out running into the 97 degree sun. thankfully there was a cool breeze, and the playlist was great. i found a dirt road next to a small river and ran along it until i got to the beach road. i ran for a bit until i saw an open slab of cement where a barraca has been but was now gone. i claimed it as my own and danced around, pretending to be aerobic. the dancing turned into yoga and the yoga turned into silent meditation in the wind of the ocean. then ke$ha came on my playlist and i danced a bit more. i ran further before turning back to little dirt road next to that river and up the hill past the church and playground by our house. a hot shower and a hot bowl of quinoa. the house is still empty but i am not longer restless.