Out and about again

Not put off by our last adventures,we tried a coach cum boat trip this time. The destination was Pipa, a smaller resorty-type place south of Natal. The idea was to transfer to a boat when we got there so we could annoy some of the local dolphins. What they didn´t tell us was the method of transfer. First we had to climb down a vertical and rickety flight of wooden steps along the cliff face at which point we were met by an army of uniformed T-shirts who ordered us to put on life jackets. A bit much for a stroll along the beach, we thought. It soon transpired that our boat was only 100-or-so metres away.The catch was that we were separated by the Atlantic surf and a very narrow break in the rocky breakwater surrounding Pipa bay. Their answer to this minor obstacle was a shuttle that was essentially a raft with half a dozen benches nailed to the deck and an outboard motor in the back. The game was to pile on to the benches and hold on tight (to what I´m not sure) while the T-shirts pushed us through the breakers to our waiting vessel a dozen at a time.We did reasonably well.We only lost one tourist; a rather heavy lady on the front of the bus (yes,I was wise enough to sit right at the stern) got flung off when we hit an unfortunately large wave. Despite the T-shirts best efforts to get her back on the bus she spent the rest of the ride clinging on to the side of the raft, mostly underwater as each successive wave hit. Still, she survived the trip and her husband managed to retrieve her glasses while she was clinging on (¨Well, they cost ₤300¨, he explained later - a man after my own heart). Still, he too fell later, as did 50% of the rest of the passengers, as they succumbed to a nasty epidemic of sea sickness. The Atlantic swell didn´t stop with our embarkation onto the main vessel but stayed with us for th entire voyage. I suspect complaints were made to Thompsons afterwards but, Oh, how the dolphins laughed. (Yes,there were plenty of dolphins, so the day was technically a success!)

We were supposed to explore Pipa after being re-acquainted with dry land/wet beach (especially since Thompsons have a hotel there) but we squandered most of our 3 hours free time in the bar. Still, what we did see looked very nice, so much so that I would consider a stay there if we ever came back this way again. Our guide suggested that Pipa was quite a lively place; those party-loving Brazilians tend to flock to places like this at the drop of a hat. Certainly,there are plenty of places to eat and drink and the beaches go on for miles. In addition to the dolphins, there is an active eco-force hereabouts that supports the turtles that nest here and a protected forest where monkeys and such live (I´m not going to mention all the eagle-like creatures we´ve seen lest I upset Andy again). Still, that´s enough excitment for one day. Its back to the poolbar and the latest Dan Simmonds space opera for me.