July 11th-Gunga Beach

Today we went to what people say is one of the best beaches in the area- Gunga Beach.We stopped at a lookout tower and here was the view:


It was beautiful and different than our beach across the street.


The beach is different because it was steeper, so trash/seaweed didn't wash up like it does here. It was very clean and didn't have the rotten seaweed smell that I get near the hotel. BUT the water was also MUCH rougher! The rip tide/undertow was very strong and the waves were pretty big. Plus, the sand washed out right from under my feet! Basically, I thought I was going to drown right there. I got sand in my pants and top (which nearly came off completely). I was laughing and couldn't see from the salt water burning my eyes, I got a sinus rinse too. Just when I was about to stand up, and wave would hit me from behind and knock me down, then the undertow would drag me farther away from the beach. Suddenly a hairy leg I didn't not recognize was in my vision, and a hand was extended to save me! Some guy helped me get out, I was pretty embarrassed but also happy to be out of the water! It wasn't over yet though, because I had literally handfuls of sand in my pants.

I walked farther down the beach, looking for a group of kids that looked like they weren't being pummeled by the ocean. I found a spot and waded out...then took of my pants to try and rinse them out. Unfortunately I got washed back to shore so I had to pull them back up. In the end, I just changed into some other shorts, although  some sand stuck around.

After my near-death experience, I stayed out of the water for the rest of the day! I drank some coconut water (obviously) and ate some R$15.00 french fries, everything on the beach costs more. I did some shopping and just relaxed with my team. It was really nice. The driver was late coming back for us, so we ended up staying about an hour later than anyone wanted to, but it wasn't too hot. I think there were some biting bugs there because the next day a few of the coaches had bites on their legs, like dozens of them!


We all got home and had a shower and rest, then it was time to go out again, Saturday night of course! We went to a bar/restaurant where our coordinator knew the singer. I knew it was a woman, but I thought a man was singing first. She had the most beautiful alto voice, really. It was fun, but we were also really tired. There was a mime up on the sidewalk that was being silly, like he would impersonate the people walking around, he had his face painted and everything. We ended up getting a taxi home, my first taxi ride here.

Here I am at dinner with the lipstick that my students helped me pick out.