Happy times :)! At last Ievunia arrived! In spite of Friday 13th and in spite of TAP's tendency to be always late, the flight was on time. After passionate hugs and kisses at the airport, we hopped on the pick-up car - Toyota Bandeirante, the same one that a month ago carried 10 people to Taiba lagoon. The car maybe was a bit out of place but it did the job well, soon we arrived to 'Cumbuco Guesthouse', which is one of the best value for money Pousadas in Cumbuco - recommended!
Saturday, we took it easy in Cumbuco. In the morning Carlinhos (also recommended in case your kite breaks down or you just wanna buy something kite related), the kite kite doctor, made small fixes to the kites. Carlinhos has definitely the best prices, but you can never be sure if he's open, this time he was :). At this time of the year, mid-December the wind in Cumbuco gets weaker and my 9 square meters Bandit was hardly large enough to ride. In addition, the Cauipe lagoon got very small, which made Cumbuco not the best place to start kiting for Ieva. So, we decided to go back to Jerico!
On Sunday morning, we expected the transfer to Jerico by a minibus to pass by around 9 o'clock in the morning 'Brazilian time'. As it hasn't arrived by 10AM, which is late even for Brazilian standards, I went to check to Douro Beach (5 minutes walk) what happened. Actually, the minibus passed by when I was asking were it was, but, shockingly, they were so much in a hurry that they could not wait for me even 5 minutes and left without us. Imagine our frustration! So we walk back (quite angry, needless to say) to Douro Beach to complain. They inform us, with a typically Brazilian easiness, that the taxi is about to pick us up to catch the minibus on the way. Well, we come back and the taxi that had arrived while we were walking to Douro Beach, cannot wait either! However, the driver assures us that another one will come in no time. 10-15 minutes later, exactly the same driver comes and picks us up. The chase begins! In spite of more than hour and a half of the chase we fail to catch the minibus. So after all this time we are given a choice, either we pay 400 reais (the initial minibus fare was 80 reais) for the taxi to get us to Jerico or we come back to Cumbuco and get the same transfer the following day. In the meantime we paid the driver 100 reais 'for petrol'. This money allegedly we were supposed to get back. We don't give up so easily, as we are close to Paraipaba town, we come up with the plan B - to catch a public bus to Jeri. Plan sounds reasonable but at the bus station we find out that the only ride we can get is the one back to Fortaleza. So we go back to Cumbuco :(.
What a mess! BUT, will you believe that it ended up very well :)? We go to a local bar for Acai, where by accident we meet a Pawel and his wife, the Polish couple with whom I went to Barra Grande a week ago. Acai stimulates the mind and we came up with the plan C. We rent a car and instead of Jeri we go to Ilha do Guajiru, where we are now! In the Pousada Windy Addiction also known as Pousada Ilha do Guajiru, run by David, that happens to be the kite teacher, where the only two other guests are a Dutch couple that Ieva met a month ago at the opposite corner of Brazil (something like 3 thousand kilometres away) in Pantanal.
The view from our Pousada ...
So few words about Ilha de Guajiru - the place that seems to be one of the most controversial on the coast. Some people love it, other hate it. Some say it's perfect for beginners, the other that it's unsuitable. The situation 'forced' us to come and check it out ourselves as Ilha was as far as we good get before the nightfall.
And... so far we have not regretted it :). It's a small village, with only nine pousadas and a large salt water bay that get almost three times bigger at high tide. Ieva had her first kite class, which went fine and me I had a very good session, enjoying flat water. The only issue is that beginners need to wear shoes as the bay bottom is covered with shells.
Here is Ieva's first 6 meter kite (and the view towards the sea entering the bay) ...
and here is Ieva herself (and the view towards the sand bank that separates the ocean from the bay)...
... more to be continued.
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