Two weeks ago, I set out to travel to four cities in the Northeast of Brazil.  Porto de Galinhas was the first stop.

Porto de Galinhas is a small town full of scuba diving and dune buggy outfits, which cater to the tourists who come here for the beautiful beaches.

I acted the tourist that I was, and joined my partners Laura Rose and Mike for a catamaran cruise around the area.  After puttering around a river delta, we stopped for a few hours in the most beautiful beach I’ve ever seen.  Praia dos Carneiros was pure postcard material ­- white sand, clear water, and no waterfront development, except if you count the beer and snack shacks set above the high tide mark.

In the evenings we hung out on the city beach with a group of Argentinians that Laura Rose had run into in several other cities.  It was hard to switch into Spanish mode, but I had a great time playing truco and drinking fernet, both typically Argentinian pastimes.