Buzios

I treasure the memory of that small paradise, where I ran barefooted marveling at the humming-birds, the flamboyants and bougainvilleas… the transparent sea full of sparkling foam that seemed like blue champagne.
--- Brigitte Bardot

Though she may have discovered the place in the 60's, I'm guessing Brigitte Bardot wouldn't recognize Buzios today. While it has the feel of a small resort area, with some of the most remarkable beaches I've seen, Buzios has all the trappings of a full-fledged tourist destination... a downtown area with dozens of restaurants, souvenir and t-shirt stores everywhere as well as some very high-end stores. Even so, it has a charm and relaxed atmosphere that made it a welcome escape from Rio for a few days. (Imagine that… you know the place is low-key when people who live in a beach town – Rio – go to Buzios to relax!)

Buzios is actually a collection of a few towns on a peninsula north of Rio de Janeiro city, but still in the State of Rio de Janeiro. It is a hilly area with winding roads that take you to each of the many small beaches that hide in nooks and crannies around the coast.

Throughout the area are dozens of small hotels, or Pousadas. Ours was a series of small bungalows nestled into a hillside overlooking the ocean. It has a remarkable view, which reminded me of our stay in Vela Luka, Croatia last summer. I’ll have more about the Pousadas in a future posting.

Our primary mode of transportation while in the area was a blue “buggy” (pronounced it “boogy” not unlike the “Boogey Man”) which I assume is supposed to be a beach buggy though you’re not allowed to drive it anywhere near the beach. This thing did 30 MPH if we were going downhill; had no seat belts, power steering or any other basic safety equipment and barely fit the three of us.

I had to drive because Anderson doesn’t have a license and, at 6’7”, Chris couldn’t fit his foot between the brake and the drive shaft in order to push the gas. As it was, I could barely fit my size 11.5 feet in there either making it very difficult to go from gas to break in any meaningful time.

I did get the camera out on this trip and got some fun shots of the beach, some boats and the downtown area. Take a look.

All in all, we had a great quiet few days. Of course, it wasn’t without its excitement. At the end of our trip, with about an hour before I driver was to arrive to take us back to Rio, we decided to take the buggy out for one more trip… to see another beach we hadn’t made it to. About five miles from the hotel and the rental agency we got a flat tire. Thankfully, the folks in the local pousada were helpful and made some calls and the rental agency was there in no time to help us out.

Back in Rio now with Carnaval kicking in. Down to my final week.