It was about 7pm and I couldn`t wait any longer to arrive in the MAGIC VILLAGE for the end of the year forró festival. I had been on the road for longer than usual due to heavy rains in the previous days, which resulted in big road constraints (a piece of the road actually fell off haha things you only see in Brazil. Glad no one god hurt). I`m also glad my friend Latino, also known as linguanos (para os intimos), kept me company and took over the wheel through the many detours and huge puddles on the road. It was all worth it!
Just before hitting Itaunas village area (it's still in Espirito Santo state, in case you are wondering), we honoured the tradition: stopping at the first bar for a cold catuaba and some chatting with the locals. Then off to the most real forró experience anyone will ever hear of: FORRÓ DA PADARIA (yes, the bakery forró haha). I'm talking barefoot dancers, free live forró music, big smiles, long hugs and walking biquinis that just came back from a day at the Dunas Beach. Only open-hearted deep-connecting people at sight. Seriously, it's Narnia paradise. Here is their insta, if u wanna check them out: https://www.instagram.com/forrodapadariaitaunas.
I usually get too excited when I'm in a place I love so deeply, or a new place, and after living in my own mind for 30 years, I knew I that would probably drink too much and end the night in an anxiety crisis - or worse: vomiting -, so I bought a big bottle of water and made sure I (and everyone around me) stayed healthy and hydrated all night. This is actually a great tip if you, like me, become a drinker when excited. The mission was a success.
Me and my friend headed to the ticket center to guarantee our entertainment at Cafe Brasil. I felt my attention being attracted to a tall stranger with long hair, stylish shirt and beautiful posture (I could only see his back from my spot in the line) a few steps ahead of me. INSTANT INTEREST. You might not know this about me yet, but I'm not one to stand back and wait when I'm interested in someone or something. He was in a group of 3 boys total and there were 2 beautiful girls behind them, all of them looking like they are not from here. Well, it doesn't hurt to ask, does it? I started a conversation with the girls and found out they were french, friendly and NOT WITH MY INTERESTING STRANGER.
Excuse me girls, it was nice meeting you and I'll see you around, but let me just see what he is doing over there.
"Ei, tudo bem?"
"Sorry, I don`t speak portuguese very well"
"That`s alright, I`m Bia. You?"
"(Foreigner name I couldn`t pronounce fast or remember later)"
"Where are you from?"
"France" "Je vis au Bresil" (my only french sentece)
(Speaks a whole french sentence and I`m like ----)
"haha that was all my french, Where are you going this week? Let me see your tickets. (has a ticket to a different place I have). Oh no, you don't wanna go there, it`s more expensive and less fun. Most of us are going here. Let's change your ticket?"
(He smiles and realizes he actually didn`t want to buy those tickets. Gives it back and we continue the convo).
I made sure I established long eye interaction and short body contact before agreeing to seeing him after his dinner. I wasn`t hungry and I was too excited to sit down now. I didn`t rest until I found him later in the crowd (picture me on top of benches haha) and we never let go of each other after that. I don`t know what was more unbelievable: that he asked me to be his girlfriend after knowing me for 4 days, or that I said yes. There are 2 brazilian portuguese words that describe me well when I'm in a relationship: "brega" and "emocionada". Not embarassed. I think there are too many people trying to hide their feelings and emotions now, to "stay safe" and that prevents so many of people from beautiful experiences and also from being themselves fully. Be aware. Here is real footage of me in a relationship:
And this is how my french dream-boyfriend hopped on a road trip around Brazil with me 3 months later. Here we were again. Back to the magic village that got us united in the first place, this time with Ollie sharing the excitement with us. We laughed together and relived the day we met as we drove around the empty village and past Cafe Brasil`s closed ticket counter (https://business.google.com/website/cafe-brasil), trying to find a restaurant before checking in our hotel that we found on booking, but called to book directly with them.
We were starving, so we stopped at a restaurant close to Cafe Brasil (I forgot to get the name,but if my memory doesn`t fail me, it was Flor de Mandacaru) and had a delicious MOQUECA CAPIXABA. Ollie didn`t wanna wake up, so here is a picture of his first roadtrip bed scenario:
A moqueca (do quimbundo mu'keka: 'caldeirada de peixe' ou do tupi opokeka: 'fazer embrulho') is a stew seafood dish from Angola and Brazil. It is mostly common in Espirito Santo (moqueca capixaba), my land, and Bahia state (moqueca baiana), and the moquecas from both states vary ingredients. Every moqueca experience is unique. You will never have the same moqueca twice, as every person gives it a twist, but there are main steps and ingredients each state uses for their signature moqueca. In Espirito Santo you will have a more "clean" experience, with ingredients being as few as garlic, onion, tomatoes, coriender, green onions, olive oil, maybe some coloral, and then something from the sea, or banana-da-terra instead. In Bahia you will have a more "complex"dish, adding azeite de dendê, leite de coco, capsicum and maybe other veggies.
It is served boiling hot in a clay pot (traditional brazilian indigenous creation) with rice, farofa and pirao, a side dish made by adding farinha to the moqueca sauce in a separate pan and mixing constantly until reaching the right consistency. I get a moqueca every change I have, and my favourite is my mom's moqueca.
After our delicious dinner we had soe leftovers and took them to our pousada (a small hotel). I remember being DELIGHTED when checking into this pousada. There was a beautiful green area, a clean pool, a peaceful atmosphere and a whole small apartment just for us, all for R$150/night (2023). I highly reccomend staying at Vila Cizinho when coming to Itaunas, if you are able to walk 10/15 minutes to the village center. It's a gorgeous walk and you will get to know more of the village, not so many people drive there. If you can't walk for any reason, look for something closer to the village church square.
We rested and I was up at 6am with Ollie. He's an early bird, like me (I confess I could use some extra sleep, but oh well). I took him to the village center for breakky (breakfast) at Padoka (best pao de queijo ever!) and playing time. We also visited the local school and I loved seeing one of their classrooms had no chairs (for 1 year olds).
I must share with you how culturally rich Itaunas is! There is capoeira, an afro-brasilian dance/sport that mixes martial arts, music and play with no physical contact. In Brazil, capoeira was created by africans who were kidnapped from their continent in the 16th century, brought to Brazil by force and obligated to serve the colonizers and build this country until death. Capoeira was a way for them to not only connect and have some sort of entertainment, but also to learn moves that woulh help them fight for their freedom if they ever escaped (like many did). When a slave escaped, they would find a safe place in the forest to hide and live. This was called a quilombo. Many quilombos have now become fvelas. Some communites still exist, of course adapted to today's reality Brazil. If you are brazilian, or thinking of coming to Brazil you must know our real history and roots. I want to learn and practice capoeira. It's powerful, beautiful and culturally rich.
Anyway, here is a bit of the village and the school (slide for more photos):
I got some fish at a local fish shop (it is a fisher's village after all!) and we made lunch before heading to our first trail and beach adventure at the Dunas Beach. This was when things started getting a bit tricky. Oliver, my 3 year old son, isn't the most walking child you will meet in your life, he was a "bebê de colo", portuguese for a baby who is carried to much by their care givers. And that still affects our days. The 3 of us began teh trailwalking well, but by the time we got to the sunny Dunas Oliver refused to walk and cried until I carried him for what felt like 30 minutes. Maybe it was less, but I'm not a gym mom, no mucles built and he was 15 kilos by then. Can you imagine? It was tough and I questioned myself all the way through that walk. I questioned the decision to live on the road, I questioned my motherhood skills and I questioned my new relationship during that long hot walk.
When we finally arrived at the beach I was relieved. It was the best feeling to lay down and have a caipi by the ocean. There are a few options to drink and eat at when you arrive at the Dunas Beach in Itaunas, all of them are nice. I usually pick the place based on the music they are playing when I`m there. Here are the Dunes, beach and caipirinha, a brazilian limeish drink made with cachaça (slide for more photos):
We cooked more than ate out, but my favourite restaurant in Itaunas is Cizinho (probably owned by the same hotel people, based on the name). By now I feel it's important to say I'm not sponsored by any of these places I'm reccomending and this post is not an ad.
Itaunas is one of best places in the world to be in, expecially in july when there is FENFIT, one of the biggest international forró festivals in the world or between december 26th and january 2nd, for New Years (after, people usually head up to caraiva). People have told me it's aldo nice during culinary and cultural festivals througout the year. The vibe in this village is beyond peaceful, the food is delicious, the culture is rich and the people and unbelievably kind.
3 days and a lot of struggling, self doubt, relationship work and parenting challenges after we were hitting the road again. We are always heading up and our next destination after Itaunas would be Prado, Bahia.
Off we go.
See you in the next destination.
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