SING ALONG WITH SUSIE - A DIFFERENT SORT OF TRAVELOGUE
I'm taking a different sort of vacation this time around. No internet. Really. Nor meat, but I'll get to that. But it is, still, a trip to a different, somewhat exotic country (Brazil), and I am doing things that don't necessarily align with most people's idea of relaxing, or even fun, for that matter. Fortunately, my friend Lisa has been crazy enough to volunteer to come with me. Although when you consider that she regularly herds two small daughters, one large husband, and assorted Private Investigators of all sizes, perhaps she's not so crazy for chucking it all for a week to join me.
So we're going to deepest darkest Brazil, to Ilha Grande (for you non-Portugese speakers, which I'm assuming is pretty much everyone except my dear Crunchy Cousin Karen, it means, Big Island, which it is) to a spa. What's crazy about that, you might ask? Well, it's not just any spa. It's kind of a holistic, tap into your inner self, boot campesque kind of place. Fourteen people at a time. Daily kayaking, long rainforest hikes, yoga. And it was recently written up in a NYT travel article about the new trend in masochistic vacations....
So since there is no internet to be had (I guess so no one can send out distress emails, asking for air drops of Power Bars and Pop-Tarts), and even if there were I'd be too exhausted to type a word anyway, I thought I'd just invite everyone to play along. Feel free to track me with pins on a map or some such thing, and, below, is the rough itinerary for each day as well as some of the highlights of the all veg, 1200 calorie-a-day food.
Saturday, April 1:
-Arrive in Rio!
- Wreak havoc on the innocent citizens of Rio, do some sightseeing and see if we can squeeze in a touch of shopping. Last chance for alcohol, caffeine, sugar and meat for a week.
Sunday, April 2
- Meet the rest of our group at the airport, and travel by bus and ferry 100 miles south of Rio to the spa.
- Masochistic Moment of the Day: surely it'll be dinner of "Yummy Yam-Pumpkin Soup"
Monday April 3
- yoga: 2 hrs, hiking: 5 hrs to Dois Rios, kayaking 2 hrs to and from Morcego Island, beach time: 3 hrs, massage!
- Masochistic Moment of the Day: well, it's a toss up between the 5 hrs of hiking or the Tofu Sandwich for lunch...
- Food Glorious Food: Hearty Soy-Oatmeal for breakfast and, look!, Grilled Tofu with fresh shitake mushrooms for dinner..(seasoned with garlic and ginger no less)
Tuesday April 4
- yoga: 2 hrs, hiking: 4.5 Witch Waterfall and Praia Preta, kayaking: 2 hrs, massage!
- Masochistic Moment of the Day: 6am wake-up call
- Food Glorious Food: Hooray, the snack is popcorn and pineapple-mint punch. AND IT'S A FISH DINNER NIGHT!
Wednesday April 5
- yoga: 2hrs, hiking: 6 hrs to Lopes Mendes & back with, yes, surfing in between; no kayaking, massage!
Masochistic Moment of the Day: I'm going to vote for the Capoeira presentation, but I'm hoping I'm wrong!
Food Glorious Food: God help me, it's Manioc Salad with Black-eyed peas for lunch...
Thursday April 6
- yoga: 2hrs, hiking: 2 hrs to Camaringa Beach and back, kayaking: 5 hrs, massage!
- Masochistic Moment of the Day: from where I'm sitting now, I'd say the 5 hrs of kayaking is the hand's down winner
- Food Glorious Food: Ooooh, spinach ricotta crepes for dinner....
Friday April 7
- yoga (repeat after me): 2 hrs, hiking 7 hrs to Parrot Peak, No Kayaking!, massage
- Masochistic Moment of the Day: apparently the Parrot Peak qualifies, esp for those, like me, with a fear of heights.
- Food Glorious Food: a "Brazilian Feast of Brown Rice and Beans served with Mango-Tomato-Onion Salad" for dinner. And can anyone tell me what exactly should I be expecting from a breakfast of "Avocado Cream served with Granola and a slight touch of Honey"?
Saturday April 8
- yoga: 1 hr (morning only), kayaking to the "small island of Ilha Abraao" & snorkeling, no hiking, apparently a small shopping opportunity in town
- Masochistic Moment of the Day: Manuevering through Rio's International Airport & the overnight flight home.
My goal is to come home slightly brown and buff, and, hopefully, with a very entertaining recap to send out. For those of you who are very curious, the website for the spa with all of the gory details is: HYPERLINK "http://www.bodysouladventures.com"http://www.bodysouladventures.com/
Have a great week!