A Return to Paradise

Wow, after four days of non-stop rain (my pool was close to overflowing) the sun finally came out today.  If I had wanted rain, I would have stayed in San Francisco.  Luckily, today was absolutely perfect.  Typically, I wake up and walk to beach for some acai and to check the waves.  This morning I knew the waves would be good because of the swell so I woke up early, grabbed my board, and headed down to the beach.  It was seriously incredible.  The waves were perfect, the water was warm, and the sun was beating down.  After spending too much time in my house watching old TV shows (Brazil is a little behind on its TV to say the least), I was very anxious for a nice day so I ended surfing for three hours.  The whole time I was thinking about how lucky I am to be able to do something like this.  I try to stay up on the news (especially the markets) back home and I can't imagine a better time for me to be away.  That may seem like a selfish perspective but at least it's honest.  I compare it to the weekends we used to go to Tahoe.  The weekends were always better when we knew it was raining or whatever back in SF.  If it was a sunny weekend in the city, we were always a little bummed to be missing the sunshine.  That's not to say that I wish the turmoil was occurring.  That's the last thing in the world I want (especially thinking about all those I care about in the business and knowing what they are dealing with each day).  But it's interesting to see what is going on back home and to be living in a country that is on the opposite end of the spectrum.  Everyone is so bullish on everything that is happening in Brazil.  It sort of feels like the Old West when things were just getting started and anyone with an idea and some energy could be successful.   Of course, those people have to be willing to deal with the incredible bureaucracy here but that's another story for another time.  I have a lot of fun just looking around and thinking about different ideas.  There is certainly a great deal of opportunity here and although this would be a great place to be at any point, it definitely is great to be here RIGHT NOW. 

Anyway, after the surf session, I spent a few hours on the beach just reading and hanging out.  There is a lot to look at on the beach ;) so it's easy to kill a few hours there.  I couldn't resist the temptation to head back out in the water so I grabbed my board and surfed for another few hours.  I surfed until the sunset came and went and realized that this is exactly why I came here.  Paradise has returned, and I couldn't be any happier....

One of the interesting aspects of my life is meeting the new crew of Americans (or mostly Americans) that arrive each week for the Nexus surf camp (or whatever you want to call it).  My friend runs Nexus and we spend some time with the groups each week whether that be at dinners, night clubs, etc.  First of all, it's just fun to meet new people and they are all very interested to hear my story, which I've told 1,000 times already.  But secondly, I love to watch the progression of their time here.  Every single one of them falls in love with this place during the week and can't stop talking about it.  I know how I feel about Floripa, but it is very exciting to get confirmation from others.  The large majority of the visitors are males for obvious reasons, but this week their are two separate groups of girls.  We all went out to dinner on Monday and they are having a BBQ tonight.  I'm very interested to see how they all feel about Floripa when their time here is over.  I will let you know....

Third Time is a Charm - Don't Believe the Hype!

Well, I finally bought a car.  It wasn't easy but I got it done.  The only problem is that it doesn't start....haha.  I test drove the car on Friday and liked it a lot.  It's a used car in great condition and it's exactly what I wanted (something simple and easy).  It was amazing how quickly we got the deal done.  I had lined up my bank to wire the funds and I had all of my documents that they needed (Brazilians are big on providing multiple unnecessary documents to buy anything).  I had the keys and was off to go in less than an hour.  Just as my friend Maria and I were saying that it couldn't have been easier, of course the car wouldn't start.  To make a very long story short, the cars here each have a unique electronic code that are engaged on a car lot to prevent car theft.  The car won't start without the code.  The "code guy" had come earlier in the day to unlock the car so that I could test drive it.  However, at some point the code re-engaged itself and the car wouldn't start.  It literally took four Brazilians and three hours to get the car running again.  We must have started and stopped the car 10 times to make sure it wouldn't happen again.  Wouldn't you know it but as soon as I got back into town (I stopped to get some food), the car wouldn't start again.  The used car dealer came and picked it up with a tow truck and the car is currently sitting at the Ford dealership to hopefully (fingers crossed) get permanently fixed.  They were nice enough to drop off another car for me to use in the meantime, but the whole saga was so very interesting to say the least (nobody could really explain the whole code thing to me in detail).  I was taught two very important things when I got here by another American that have made everything a little easier to deal with.  First, if you don't have a sense of humor, you won't last a week in Brazil.  Second, you can get anything done in Brazil; it just takes much longer than what we are used to in the U.S.  

On another note, I experienced my first localism today out in the water.  There was a Brazilian who wouldn't allow anyone to sit to the left of him, therefore, ensuring that he got all of the waves he wanted.  He was yelling at anyone (including me) who had the audacity to actually surf to his left.  The funny thing about it all is that he sucked.  It's always a bummer to run into people like that in the water.  It's not what surfing is supposed to be about.  Unfortunately, you have to respect localism (most especially in foreign countries), otherwise, you expose yourself to a lot of danger.  I just laughed at the guy and went on my way.  The waves were around 6-8 feet today and cranking so I had much to be happy about and certainly wasn't going to let some insecure surfer get me down.   

Picture #1: sunset view from my patio

Picture #2: meu carro novo

Round Two

I checked the waves this morning and it was too windy so I decided to give car shopping a second try.  This time I took my friend who only speaks Portuguese.  Luckily, the Volkswagen dealership had someone who spoke English there today.  Not much different than two days ago occurred.  I still found everything to be too expensive and not worth it.  After searching for a few hours, my friend Maria called and told me her friend works at a car dealership and has a good car for me.  We went over there and indeed it was a car I liked.  Unfortunately, I was unable to test drive it but I will be going back tomorrow to hopefully buy the damn thing.  I'd much rather be surfing or hanging out at the beach than driving around town.  I guess this dealership doesn't accept credit cards so trying to find a way to pay for the car should be very, very interesting.  After all was said and done, it was more successful than my first try.  I blew off some steam by going on a long walk down on Barra da Lagoa.  It's a beautiful, long beach about a five minute drive from my house.  Here are some pics from the walk.  I'm off to hang with some guys from Hermosa Beach that are here for the Nexus surf trip.  I met them earlier this week and they absolutely loved what I have done with my life and they want me to join them in their debauchery tonight.  Should be fun.....

Rainy Days

It's been raining here the last two days so there hasn't been much to do.   With not much to do yesterday, I drove to Centro (downtown area) to look at cars.  It was a little ambitious.  I thought that maybe there would be someone who spoke English at each dealership but that definitely was not the case.  You would think that at Chevrolet there would be someone who spoke English but apparently not.  I went back later in the afternoon with my friend who speaks Portuguese and English.  I had been warned ahead of time that cars are very expensive here.  The import tax is somewhere around 100% if you can believe that.  I'm just trying to buy a very basic small four door car with a few things (air conditioning and power steering).  Everyone here has very similar cars.  Nobody really cares what kind of car you drive here, which is very refreshing.  The status symbol thing doesn't exist at all.  If you have a nice car, it really stands out.  Anyway, to give you an idea, a Hyundai SUV (which we were looking at just for fun) costs around $70K (a Hyundai!).  We looked at the Volkswagen dealership, the Chevrolet dealership, and a random auto dealership.  I didn't find anything I liked within a reasonable price.  The basic low-end 4-door Volkswagen (which is the car I want) costs 35K reais, which is around $20K.  It's totally crazy.  At the end of the day, I found the exact car that I wanted (it only has 7 kilometers on it so it was a little cheaper) but of course it doesn't have power steering so I had to pass.  People here drive like maniacs so the last thing I want is to struggle turning the steering wheel.  Needless to say, it's been an interesting experience.  I will go back tomorrow with a different Brazilian friend.  I want to stop thinking about it (and stop paying for a rental car) so I can keep focusing on the stuff that I want to be doing around here.  

There was a small break in the rain this morning so we went sand surfing at Joaquina Beach, which is just around the corner from my house.  It's a world famous surf break and the area has some very large sand dunes behind it.  It was a lot of fun except for walking up the hill each time.  Here are some pics of the day.....

I couldn't help but notice that that market was up 400 points yesterday and Eliot Spitzer likes prostitutes.  What an ass....

U Fim de Semana

My first weekend in Floripa has been a fun one for sure.  After a big night out on Thursday, I took it easy Friday night and went to dinner with my buddy Hans and our friend Alessandra.  We had dinner at Fatto a Manno, which is a great Italian restaurant in the Lagoa.  Yesterday I surfed for a few hours and played some tennis.  It has been immensely joyful to get my mind off work and all of the things that I'm used to thinking about back home.  I have a cell phone here but it seems that nobody here ever uses them (and I don't know a lot of people) so I have very little connectivity other than my laptop, which I think is a very good thing.  Last night we had dinner at a new amazing French restaurant, Confraria das Artes, which is also a night club.  We went there back in November but the restaurant was not there at that time.  I had filet mignon for the third night in a row (it's tough to pass up).  My total bill for the filet and three beers was around $30 (tough to believe, I know).  The owner's fiance was there making the rounds.  She's one of the most beautiful women on the planet and she's actually on her way to the US for her own cooking show (go figure!).  There was also a Playboy bunny party right next to us to celebrate the end of the TV show, Big Brother, which I guess is a very popular show here in Brazil.  I continue to be amazed at the beauty of the people here.  It definitely is special.  There were two Americans that got in yesterday and joined us for dinner.  They couldn't stop talking about how unreal Floripa is and they were only here for a few hours.  

Today was full of hikes.  We were supposed to make a day trip to this amazing beach but my friend had to work so we had a change of plans.  Instead, early this morning I went on a hike with Alessandra to the natural preserve behind my house.  It's a gorgeous area and I'm very glad that the government chose to protect the area (all of us in the neighborhood are equal owners of the land).  It's a short hike but very steep and once you're on top, the view is unbelievable (see the pics).  After relaxing in the pool, my friend's work problems were over and we all went over to the Lagoa for another hike.  This hike took over an hour and was unbelievable.   It felt like the Amazon and people actually live in this area.  It's pretty incredible as the area seems very remote.  Apparently, there is a boat that brings food and other supplies every few days.  The resourcefulness of these people boggles my mind.  

A few random things: I haven't watched TV since being here and I don't miss it at all.  I take a nap every day now (sometimes two!) and can't imagine living without it.  Portuguese is a very tough language (I spend a lot of time with people that don't speak any English so I guess I'm getting the crash course).  I've spent a total of probably 10 minutes on the phone since being here.  I'm buying a car this week and can't wait to see how difficult it's going to be.  I had my first Mexican meal tonight and it was fantastic (the beef here is ridiculously good).

Pictures - 1st pic: my kitchen has a lot of black and white so I decided to spice it up with some yellow.  2nd pic - the view from the top of the hill behind my house (I live in the yellow house). 3rd pic - a random pic from the first hike.

O Primeiro Dia

It's safe to say that the trepidation of moving to Brazil after only one visit is long gone.  The place is as amazing as I remember it.  The weather is still sunny and warm, the surroundings are still breathtaking, and the girls are, well, Brazilian....and trust me, that's a good thing.  I arrived yesterday and spent the day familiarizing myself with the house (since it was the first time I have ever seen it in person) and the neighborhood.  It's an incredible little neighborhood, and there is an opportunity to make this a very special little paradise.

Today has been the dream day that I had imagined when thinking about living here.  I had a tennis match with my neighbor early in the morning and followed that up with some acai on the beach to check the waves.  After that, I surfed in warm water for a few hours and then just relaxed on the beach reading a book. Tonight, I have some hot double date action going on with a buddy and his girlfriend and another girl I met during my last trip.  I promised my buddy and his girl a nice dinner on me for all the help they have provided the last few months.  My buddy's girl asked if I would mind if her friend joined us.  She's a swimsuit model so it was a very tough decision for me.  We are headed to El Divino for hippie hoppie (as they say down here) night.  That was my favorite night last time so I'm definitely looking forward to it.  

BTW, it's amazing how many people you see on the beach here in the middle of the day on a weekday.  It's safe to say that Brazilians don't have the same obligations (or mindset for that matter) as Americans.  Very refreshing to see....

I just got back from the mall so that I could get a cell phone.  If you ever want to see the highest concentration of ridiculously hot girls, just go to the mall in Brazil.  It's totally unreal, and they definitely dress to the nines.  It was great times all around.  The mall provided me with my first Brazilian experience.  The salesman at the cell phone store wanted proof of residence in Floripa, my passport, and my CPF card (the equivalent of a Brazilian social security number), none of which I had with me.  Luckily, my friend Maria was with me and after MUCH haggling, he let me buy a cell phone plan anyway.  I found out that, as my buddy Jed always says, everything is negotiable....even in South America (or should I say especially in South America?).  

Some pics: The first pic is my new little "hood." The second pic is the beach in front of my house (Praia Mole) and the third pic is the view from the patio off the master bedroom.  I will get closer for some "real" beach pics soon....

One More Time....

It's safe to say that the going away bash was a huge success.  We had dinner at Umami, drinks at Notte, and then we finished the night dominating the dance floor at Apartment 24 (there was an obscene amount of sweating).  It will definitely go down as one of the most fun nights of my life.  It was incredibly special for me because pretty much every one of my close friends was there to share in the good times.  At one point I looked around the room and realized how lucky I was to have the friends that I have.  I'm not sure what I would do without them, and I guess that is one of the things that scares me most as I make my final preparations to take off today.   Especially living in the city, it's incredibly easy to meet up for a drink, dinner, or whatever and inevitably good times will follow.  I will no longer have that luxury, and it will be interesting to see how I will be able to cope with that huge void. Regardless, the memories from the times we have had will be with me forever, and I wouldn't change a single one of them. My only job now is to keep convincing my friends to come visit because our memories together in Brazil will surely be unforgettable and I very much look forward to that.