Fortaleza, Brazil

From the Chapada Diamantina region of Brazil I was bound for Fortaleza, about 24 hours away by bus. I arrived in the small city of Seabra to catch a direct bus to Fortaleza but that didn't turn out to be so easy. When I arrived in Seabra the bus office was closed so I asked the hotel about bus schedules and a couple of people told me that the Fortaleza bus came through about 7:00 in the morning. I arrived the next morning before seven, and finally a bus showed up about 8:30. around that time the bus office open and I learned that the one daily bus for Fortaleza bus actually passed through about 4:30 in the morning!

Not wanting to wait almost another whole day I took the bus that came and pieced together a series of rides that got me to Fortaleza – more than thirty hours later! It seemed that things kept going wrong creating more of a delay. The humorous grand finally was a blown tire about one hour from Fortaleza. The bus had a spare tire but the team of three drivers and helpful passengers couldn't get the blown tire off even with two men jumping on the wrench! We had to wait for another bus to stop and help us out with an extension, and even their jack since ours didn't work. We were back on the road in another hour and soon after I was greeted by a fabulous person from the Couch Surfing program, Raquel. I was finally in Fortaleza and it felt so good to be off a bus and comfortably settled in Raquel and her brother's apartment!













Later in the evening Raquel and I went to yet another Sao Joao (Saint John) festival where we met some other friends from couch surfing. It was another great Brazilian party with plenty of dancing, food, beer and even a mechanical bull! The actual bull was much more ferocious than the operator seemed to be.










The next day was a full day starting with going to the beach with Raquel and her friends. I didn't take many photos, but it was a good time and beautiful beach.



From the beach we went to an outdoor bar to watch the US Brazil soccer game. The U.S. was up 2-0 going into the second half, and then Brazil staged an incredible comeback beating the States 3-2 in the final moments of the game! I was proudly supporting my team and gloating while I had the opportunity, but it was also happy to see everyone in such a good mood after the comeback. Brazilians are incredibly passionate about Soccer.





Raquel is an evangelical Christian and she invited me to her church. So we went from the game to clean up and made it to her church's evening service without missing a beat. It was an incredible sight to see the service which was held in a nearly packed stadium that holds up to 12,000 people! There is a massive Christian revival movement in Brazil that seems to buck against the hedonistic ways that the country is better known for. Through much of the country and especially in the northeast of Brazil you are as likely to see as many Christian book stores as party stores.






After the service we still made it out to see some of Raquel's friends.



The next day was we went to another beautiful beach outside of Fortaleza near a water park. There is something beautiful about laying in the sand and looking up to see coconut trees and blue skies!









In Fortaleza we saw some of the city, which is in most ways is just another big city. There were some cool sights, but really best part of Fortaleza is on the beach.

























Seafood is abundant in Fortaleza so one night I made a good dinner for Raquel and her brother Rafael.



On my last night in Fortaleza Raquel and I went on an organized night bicycle ride through the city. We rode with a couple hundred people about 15 miles along the much cooler and less trafficked streets at night. It was a fun ride and good exercise.






I had a great time in Fortaleza and I would have liked to stay longer but it was time to keep moving towards Colombia where I would be flying home from in nearly a month. Long way to go!




Glass bottle pavers