Buzios

One of the most brutal journeys yet… 24 hours travel and only 4 hours sleep later we made it to Buzios, a lovely little town 3 hours drive North of Rio. Our gaff was a little out of town but right next to one of the best local beaches, Geriba. It also had a swimming pool and a lovely German host so after initially booking 3 nights we decided to stay for a week and chill out for the last part of our trip.
The first day was very chilled round the pool with a trip to the beach later on where we discovered the water was absolutely baltic. It’s also pretty windy but we welcomed that as it was around 35 degrees. Still shattered it was a takeaway pizza for tea which was actually delicious!

The next day we went on a boat trip which gave us the chance to see a few of the Northern beaches, all pretty but crowded compared to ours. Dan took the chance to do a few back flips of the boat with his new pal Bruno, yet another happy go lucky Brazilian. After the boat and a few hours on the beach we explored the town centre which is full of shops and restaurants set along the cobbled streets and we settled down in a seafront bar with a caipirinha, what else, and watched the sun sink below the horizon.
We chose a really nice por kilo for dinner and then an outdoor creperie which is a local institution for pudding. The crepe was tasty but the highlight was watching one of the cooks who was making them at lightning speed dishing them up quicker than the waiters could take them out!
The following day was another chilled one, by now we had made friends with quite a few people in the hostel including 3 chaps from London, Ed, Ben and Ollie so we decided to have a BBQ. After some much needed help getting the BBQ going this turned out to be a roaring success, the food was seriously good and washed down with plenty of red wine.

The following morning there were a few sore heads so we didn’t quite manage to tear ourselves away from the pool and couldn’t resist another pizza for tea! Friday came around and we managed to muster up the energy for a day trip. We had heard from a few people that Arrail de Cabo, which is around 1hr from Buzios has some spectacular beaches so we jumped on a bus. The first beach probably would have been nice if you could see it but it was far to busy. So, we carried on through a fairly rough part of town to the next one but as it was also the main port for the town the 100s of boats ruined the view somewhat. Feeling a little frazzled by this point we trekked to the other side of town to Praia Grande which as the name suggests is huge and thankfully much less crowded. The water although extremely cold was a beautiful shade of pale turquoise and the sand was the lovely fine white kind so we settled in with a few beers and some cakes as you do! After a couple of hours and some tips from a local we headed to Praia Forno via taxi boat which is a beautiful little beach in a protected cove where we soaked up the last of the rays. There was also a big black submarine out to sea for good measure. It was a short steep walk back over the headland which offered some gorgeous views of the beaches before we set off home. A rather long and surprisingly cold bus ride home and we were shattered, beach life can be tough…

Saturday was upon us and Buzios gets very busy at the weekend and has plenty of parties to keep everyone entertained. After a few beers round the pool we headed to Silk, a nearby beach club, with some people from the hostel. A pretty swanky place with the usual overpriced drinks but the music was brilliant, house music classics had us all stomping. We danced the night away with a lovely Argentinean couple before heading home and getting, yes you guessed it, another pizza!
Sunday was our last day and full of plans for a beach tour but one thing lead to another and we didn’t quite make it. We did head up to the center in the evening to shop for presents for the family and a final dinner with our chums Ed and Ollie before a bumpy ride home in their dune buggy. A lovely way to end what was a relaxing week in Buzios. Last stop… Rio!