Beachhopping in beautiful Cabo Frio

Oi gente,

Beleza? Today I am not that happy as I had to say goodbye to my love and leave Brazil and him behind. I am at the airport in Madrid waiting for my connecting flight to Frankfurt right now. The goodbye last night was the hardest goodbye I have ever had to say, but I know it is only temporary. Unfortunately I couldn't get my temporary residence in Brazil as planned, so I had to leave for now. It is sad, but I do believe it happened for a reason and I know Helcinho and me will be back together in just a few months.

Anyhow, for now let me dream away back to the time when I was on an amazing road trip with my love. As mentioned in my previous post, we spent the first day of the trip in Saquarema and stayed the night in Cabo Frio. The first thing we did in the morning was get a quick breakfast and then head to the beach. Life can be so good! :) The weather was perfect, about 26 degrees, a little windy and Cabo Frio's most famous and popular beach Praia do Forte did not disappoint us at all. 7.5 km of white, very fine, soft sands and an Ocean of the most beautiful shades of blue awaited us. One of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen! See for yourself: 

Here we are at Praia do Forte in Cabo Frio! The sand is white as snow and the softest I have ever felt.

... And of course they sell fresh coconut water. A gringa's paradise! =D

Selfie at the beach :)

How much I wanna go back there! It's a bit of heaven on earth.

After a little walk along the beach, a dip in the water and after I had my beloved coconut-icecream, we decided to have a look at the fort, the beach is named after. The Forte de São Mateus do Cabo Frio is located on a little island on the Northeastern edge of the beach. You can access it by crossing a little bridge to the island. It sits on a little hill and offers you great views of the beach. Well worth a visit and no entrance fee! ;)

The fort the beach is named after

Lovely views from the fort

7.5 km of heavenly Praia do Forte! :)

Once we have seen enough of Praia do Forte, we decided to make the most of the perfect weather and head to the nearby beachtown named Arraial do Cabo. The town itsself is much smaller than Cabo Frio, but its beaches are equally beautiful. We spent most of our time at Praia Grande and had a super time. It was not very busy, so that we almost had the beach to ourselves, swimming and laughing all afternoon. :) Later on we drove by Prainha, which is another really beautiful, but smaller beach, right at the entrance of Arraial do Cabo.

Heading to the next beach in Arraial do Cabo!

Praia Grande in Arraial do Cabo

Eu te amo!

Beach # 3: Prainha in lovely Arraial do Cabo

As Prainha was more crowded, we decided to move on to the last beach of the day: Praia das Conchas. We just arrived there in time to see one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. Very impressive! The beach is surrounded by rocks and cactus trees. We were climbing up the rocks until we found the perfect place to watch the sunset.

We made it just in time for the sunset to beach # 4: Praia das Conchas, Cabo Frio

<3

Love the colours of the sky!

Happy Helcinho :)

After all the fun at the beach we were really hungry and decided to head to the center of Cabo Frio's night life: The canal. Actually it was not that exciting - a lot of overpriced restaurants and bars. So I just decided to try some new Brazilian street food: Acarajé. It is a speciality from Bahia in the Northeast of Brazil and consists of  a deep-fried paste of black-eyed peas filled with shrimps and spicy sauces (see photo below). I really enjoyed it. Delicious! :)

The Canal of Cabo Frio

Dinner time: Acaraje - A speciality from Bahia. Really tasty!

Afterwards we went to Praia do Forte again to take a walk along the Promenade, where tons of locals where playing soccer and beach volleyball. Really lovely was also the water installation at the promenade. Really nice!

Reminds me a bit of Miami... Fancy water installations along Praia do Forte

Helcinho found a new friend :)

Well, so much to Cabo Frio. I loved it and would love to go back anytime! If you ever get the chance, go visit! :)

Um beijo,

Dani

Exploring the best of Brazil! :) A day in Saquarema with my love

Oi gente!

Tudo beleza? Today I have some photos of a beautiful trip my better half and I did last week. We hit the road and went to the Região dos Lagos, the Lake Region of the state of Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilians amongst you know it for sure - Cabo Frio, Buzios, Arraial do Cabo, it's just heaven on earth! :) We had a wonderful time enjoying the sandy beaches, dips in the cold Ocean and Salgadinhos for breakfast, lunch and dinner. ;) haha Not a good idea for the body, but it's cheap and delicious. :))

Well, from Resende to the Lake Region is quite a drive. It took us about 5 hours to get to Saquarema, the Surf Capital of Brazil. It's located about 100 km north of the city of Rio de Janeiro. Saquarema is famous for its Surfing Championships taking place at Itaúna Beach and it is also home to the Brazilian national volleyball team. 

Very picturesque is also the church named Igreja Nossa Senhora de Nazareth, that sits on a hill overlooking the town and Itaúna Beach. Such a stunning view! Here are some photos for you guys:

Overlooking the Lagoa de Saquarema from the Church hill

Saquarema's beautiful Nossa Senhora de Nazareth Church

Praia da Saquarema

Beautiful Praia da Vila

This is the cemetery of Saquarema

It has great views of Itauna Beach

Time to relax a little with some icecold cerveja! A vida boa! :)

Lovely patio with views of the church

We decided to spend the rest of the day at the beach before heading on to Cabo Frio, where we spent the night. Itaúna Beach is really long and has amazing waves. I was a bit afraid of swimming there though, so I was just enjoying the sunbeams on my skin watching the waves of the wild ocean and loving every moment spent alone with my better half. The world is a so much better place, when you're in love. :)

Itauna Beach!

"And then some days you wake up and everything's perfect..." David Nicholls One Day

It was such a happy day :)

"Here comes the sun. Do do do doo. It's alright." The Beatles :)

Must be fun riding the motorcycle through the sandy beach :)

Well, after the sunset it got a bit chilly so we drove on, stopped at a little view point overlooking the lake of Saquarema, had some Salgadinhos and Guarana for dinner and then went on to our hotel in Cabo Frio. And so a really happy day went to an end. The next day was even more beautiful. Wait til you see the photos. I'll post them soon, I promise. :) Sometimes I just love Brazil!!!

Scenic view from the Mirante do Morro da Cruz

Beijos,

Dani