Fun day in Buzios, after a great evening with our new friends Vic and Wendy from Guernsey, a place that sounds like heaven to us. Look it up if you aren’t familiar. Interesting history, especially in WWII. Although they are leaving us in a few days, we might have the chance to meet up with them when our boat eventually finds its way to France. Sometimes the world feels small!
Buzios is a nice little seaside vacation spot a few hours drive north of Rio de Janeiro. It’s generally safe and quite lovely, which is nice change from the last few stops. The constant drizzle was a minor hassle and took away some photo opportunities but the accompanying coolness was a nice break. The narrow streets are rough-cut cobble stone, and the sidewalks seemed mostly an afterthought, and often blocked by restaurants adding a few extra tables. Those challenges aside, it’s mostly flat and it felt great to take a relaxed and scenic walk. But the best part….oh, my….was lunch.
No shortage of places to eat in Buzios, and because we had a strong cell signal we could actually do a little research. A few places you could reject on sight alone (see the pictures for a prominent, but interesting example). But if you ever happen to be in this neighborhood and you AREN’T craving a McCoxinha — shredded chicken meat, covered in dough, molded into a shape resembling a drumstick and deep-fried (a local invention from the American clown-based fast food tragedy) — look up Xerelete.
We had a lovely outdoor table looking out over the bay and a helpful server who actually spoke a little bit of English and seemed genuinely happy that we were there. We ordered shrimp carbonara, a spicy ceviche with mango sorbet, and a pork bao consisting of a piece of Asian grilled pork served in a bao masquerading as a burger bun (with pickles). Easily one of the best meals EVER. Cherri had a drink that looked like a healthy heap of fish eyes in orange juice (see picture) but was actually a passion fruit cocktail called a Caipirinha. Potent and yummy!
Tomorrow we are docked in Rio de Janeiro for 3 days. The forecast is for non-stop heavy rain for the entire stay (sigh), so I may have to download some sunny pictures from the interwebs. On a brighter note, my old college pal Vern and his bride Debbie are joining the cruise on the Rio-to-Buenos Aires leg of the journey, so sobriety is no longer an option.
