Monday, April 29, 2013

Brazilian Campsite Reviews: Lagoa do Bonfim

New Campsite review! This time, we've hit solid gold, baby! Toby found the Camping Club of Brazil (Camping Clube do Brasil), and so now we have a whole list of campsites to visit. Yay! Our 2 year anniversary is coming up, so maybe we'll take a nice trip.

Camping on Lagoa do Bonfim was wonderful. It reminded me most of what American campsites are like. Probably for two reasons only, though. This site is a part of the Camping Club's sites, so it probably has all the amenities and organization associated with that club. Also, it was on a lake. An extremely beautiful lake, but I guess it was that we weren't beachfront that reminded me of the states. The lake, though, was the clearest lake I've ever seen. A really goopy bottom, but extremely crystal clear water. This is the time we camped on Easter (on the Camping do Amor post I misspoke). We were the only people camping. There were probably 30 spots (for RVs and tent camping), actually probably more, but we were the only people there. It was really relaxing, and we had a grill, so we got to burn things, which is why you go camping in the first place, right?

Here's what you need to know about this site:

Cost: R$17 per person, per night, + a R$4 one time electricity charge. There is a discount if you are a member of CCB

Amenities: Soccer field, volleyball net, lake access, tables (at a non-functioning food court), plenty of shade trees, showers, bathrooms, electricity (but no plug access, I guess I mean lighting), sink for washing clothes/dishes, grills, dogs allowed for a fee (also, dogs live there), it's gated and has a full time guard guy, fresh water.

Bring: Sport balls, camping stuff, a bike to ride around would be nice, water toys (perhaps a float with an anchor would be nice), umbrella for beach, bug spray (we saw a ton of wasps packing up the last day, and there were lots of ants), charcoal, goggles (I'm not sure what there'd be to see on the bottom of the lake, but it was sooo clear!), earplugs, machete (only for coconuts), had we thought about it, we would have brought our water filter, instead of lugging around a cooler of water, towels, camera (waterproof camera!).

Nearby: Gas stations within driving distance (for beer!), and little shops within walking distance for charcoal and food, yacht club and shooting club nearby, horseback riding club as well, Natal is about a 30 minute drive away.

Notes: We visited in April, and the fruit trees were just jam packed with fruit. We were the only people there, so I don't know if the rules were more lax, but there were mangos galore, coconuts, pitanga and 'black olives' (which I found out are Jamuns; I didn't know if they were edible, so I stayed away, but now I know. They are!). One bad thing about this campsite is the neighbors. There were big parties each night, loud enough to wake us up. When the parties weren't going, there were roosters. So many roosters. Crowing and crowing and crowing....bring earplugs. Also, at night the place flooded with sugar cane toads. I know they're poisonous (to dogs), so if you have a curious dog (unlike ours, who is a bit wimpy at times) watch out for that. Oh, and one more, the place was full of those grass seed things that stick to your clothes like velcro. I hate those. Just a note.
















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