Brazil: 3 Days to Fall in Love with Churrasco, Samba, and Beer.

Sambódromo in Sao Paulo. Brazilian Carnival.

My trust was at its lowest, and caution was at its highest.

It is my first time in Brazil, and based on what I’d heard, I should be extra cautious with my backpack, especially with my beloved phone (which, to be honest, might be better off if it just disappeared).

Surprise.

Strangely, the first thing that sticks in my mind is not what I expected. A guy walks down the street, drops his phone, and without hesitation, another runs after him to return it.

Hmm, it’s curious that the first thing I see here is an act of honesty. Paradoxes of life.

By 6 AM, we arrive with plenty of time to rest, take a shower, and throw on some glitter before heading out to our first adventure.

We dive straight into the heart of Brazil’s Carnival.

I can’t even begin to explain the whirlwind of sensations… The music leaks from every crack, every street, every open window. It’s not just heard in bars and parties; you hear it in the day: at the market, in the hair salon, in the car that passes with its windows down.

Here, life has a sound.

One of the ways they celebrate this centuries-old festival is through blocos — live bands that play and dance down the streets, surrounded by people just looking to have a good time.

Next to me, a blonde guy with blue eyes laughs fluently, stumbling over his words in perfect Portuguese. Further along, a woman with dark skin, tight curls, and curves walks by, nearly naked, exuding confidence that disarms me; not a trace of insecurity. Her friend, with delicate features and almond-shaped eyes, looks of Japanese descent.

One word comes to mind: inclusivity.

In Brazil, appearances don’t give away your origin. It’s like this country has dissolved labels — they don’t care about fitting in; they care about celebrating every difference. Locals don’t fit a specific mold.

(Fun fact: Brazil is home to the largest Japanese community outside of Japan.)

And amidst all the music, we all dance to the same rhythm, eat churrasco, drink ice-cold beer, and smile until our cheeks hurt.

A country that welcomes you this way can only bring good things: spontaneity for starters. And definitely, no formal introductions.

What an incredible two days we spent between blocos and samba!

Surprised by the number of Japanese-Brazilians, my mind started to wander to Sakura, the Japanese festival celebrating the cherry blossoms. These blossoms live for only a week and symbolize the fleeting beauty of life.

And there I was, thinking how just two days ago I was dressed in winter clothes, somehow forgetting what freedom tastes like, only to now find myself unable to stop smiling in the middle of this whirlwind.

Two days passed, and then, on the comfiest bus I’ve ever been on, we drove for 5 hours into the heart of the Atlantic Forest.

Speaking of the fleeting nature of life, peace arrived after the frenzy.

Green filled the landscape, mixed with little colorful flowers I don’t recall seeing in any other jungle. Now I get how the vibrant art and clothing I’ve seen in the street markets perfectly blend with nature itself.

This is the most beautiful jungle I’ve seen to date (and I’ve been to Hawaii and Costa Rica, trust me, that’s saying a lot).

We keep going deeper into the jungle, and the sound of the ocean starts blending with the birds’ song. The humidity sticks to my skin, the colors are more intense, and the air feels different—heavier, more alive.

We’ve arrived in Ubatuba.

In this little town, we’re staying in Itamambuca.

Nothing more to say: Itamambuca is everything.

It’s everything that was on my invisible list of what my perfect place should be. And something tells me (and people who’ve been here before say the same) that this place is just the beginning of all the perfect places I’m going to find in the coming months.

Whoosh!!

Ah, finally! I feel the foam brushing my hair, my feet sinking into the wet sand, the mix of warmth and cold on my skin… the weight disappears. I cross the first wave, turn, and get back on the board. Looks like I haven’t completely forgotten how to do this.

After a few tumbles, it feels like the months of socks and big boots just vanished in an instant.

That night, while we had an incredible “escondidinho” cooked by the family who runs the charming little house we’re staying in and shared stories with travel friends we hadn’t seen in two years, I found myself feeling a little freer, more fortunate, and honestly, a little strange.

I’d almost forgotten what it was like to explore a new place with bare feet and flip-flops full of sand.

The smells, faces, flavors, the landscape — everything fits perfectly in this moment.

And that’s the story of how it only took me 3 days to fall in love with this country, its food, its people, and its music that reminds us there’s no one right way to live...

...Oh, what a beautiful and huge hummingbird...

Sorry, I got distracted, but let's keep going.

Among all these first impressions, the time to explore a little deeper arrived.

Sticking with the style of the place (everything mixed), I threw on a combo of sarong, sneakers, and backpack, ready for anything.

We started with a little trail through the forest that led us to a waterfall.

Well, you can already picture it: one jumping off the vine, another climbing rocks, another walking under the waterfall, each one playing with nature in their way.

As usual (and I love this), we only encountered locals there, and no doubt, they were far better at the jumps than we were.

Then one did a flip, the next tried to follow, then another jumped higher, and one climbed even higher. Then, someone thought they could jump from the top of the waterfall.

“What, are you crazy?”

Crazy or not, they jumped. And the next followed.

Hint 1: They survived.

But then a third person wanted to jump too.

Hint 2: he also survived.

But… that one didn’t jump. Something happened right before he did.

The other one, not the crazy one, the one who had already jumped first, went back up to explain how to jump because the third weren’t sure about it (obviously he wasn't, remember, we’re talking about jumping from the top of a waterfall).

Between “yes” and “no”… the other one, the one who already jumped, slipped.

Yes, slipped. From the top of the waterfall, with all the rocks below. We were watching.

He slipped, hit the rocks on the way down. Don’t ask me the meters, but yeah, the usual would be a fatal fall.

He fell into the water; we heard the impact, and the air could’ve been cut with a knife.

A few seconds later, he popped up from the water with a thumbs-up.

Not a scratch.

Between what happened and what could have happened, it was only a second, and it could’ve been a whole lifetime.

No more jumps or vines after that.

This moment reminded me once again how fragile everything is. In this life, while we have it, we can only honor it by living it.

Today is my last day in this area after almost 3 weeks, so we’re heading to Rio with some stops along the way. I already have so much to share in this short time, so I’ll likely be telling you stories more often in these upcoming months so you can live this experience with me.

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Bom dia!!

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