Camping in Brazil: Campsite Review of Camping do Amor

Over Easter weekend we spent three days at Camping do Amor, on Praia do Amor (pretty much the same local as Pipa, a very popular surf tourism beach) in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. It was a lovely  site, pretty empty campsite, but they said it was because Easter here is such a family holiday. We were hooligans, we ditched the family and went camping. Actually... now that I think of it, we went to Camping do Amor on my birthday, so mid-March. Apologies.

Anyway, I thought it might be nice on this blog to have some campsite reviews written in English. Brazil is such a lovely country, and so fantasticly full of nature, I can't imagine people not wanting to camp here. I had a horrible time finding campsites, but my husband found probably all of them within a 10 minute search period. What a guy.

So, Camping do Amor, here's what you need to know:

Pipa seemed incredibly touristy, we saw more 'american' looking people there than we've seen anywhere else. The small town of Pipa is super cute, all walkable, and the beaches are great too. There were lots of surfers, but the waves (to me, the non-surfer) didn't seem incredible. But maybe they are reliable, and that's why they're good. There are a lot of rocks at the shorebreak, they looked really sharp, and sort of volcanic-ish, so watch out for those. Early morning we walked south from the campsite (the campsite has a rough stair down to the beach, the campsite is located about 40 feet up on a cliff, as is the rest of the town) and South to the Chapadao, a really nice red clay plateau. We visited early in the morning, and there was no one there. It was beautiful. Later in the day it was packed with tour buses, so I recommend early. Also, an added note, there were tons of hostels and a big handful of other campsites nearby, incase you

The campsite itself:

Cost: R$15 per person, per night

Camping Spots: Lots of caju trees for shade, probably as much parking as are spaces for tents, three or four big umbrellas, but no chairs under them

Ammenities: Wi-Fi access, cafe (small, with snacks and sandwiches), beach access, bathrooms and showers, kitchen with pots, pans, utensils, fridge, stove, fresh water, electricity and plugs (they had lots of adaptors there too). Dog friendly (there are two or three dogs that live there).

Bring: Surfboard, boogie board, camera, chairs (no available seating), tent (okay, camping supplies, bring your camping supplies), lots of sunscreen, sunglasses, umbrella, a car is good for nearby, but not walkable attractions.

Nearby: Pipa, Tibau do Sul, Chapadao, Baia dos Golfinhos, lots of great sand dunes

Directions: Driving on BR-101 towards Pipa, turn East at Goianinha. We weren't actually sure what road to take in, so we just kept going on one, and it took us there. You sort of just keep going until it ends in Pipa. To get to Camping do Amor, take a right at the curve of the road and just go... you'll see signs. Awesome directions, am I right?

Notes: Privately owned by an Argentinian couple, so I believe they speak spanish. The Pipa crowd seems pretty transient, and a bit hippie ish. So if you're not okay with people smoking pot near you, maybe this isn't the place for you. When we got there a van of traveling hippies showed up, they'd been on the road for a year, just moving from place to place. Crazy, right?

Rainy Days and Sailboats in Recife

It hasn't been too rainy yet, people have told us the rainy season is starting though. I thought it was a bit later. We'll see. But when it does rain, our street floods like crazy. The dog uses the bathroom in front of the house, but if there is a flash storm, the drains clog up and make our front sidewalk an island. Buses go by and it's tough to take her out to walk without getting a splash of drainage water. 

But the rainy days to make for some beautiful views. Sometimes I still can't get over the view. I'm constantly taking pictures of it. Just waiting for that professional photographer to come live with me so that they can be captured a bit more accurately.

Also there have been quite a few sailboats lately. I think it's something like weekend regattas. Last weekend there was a large group (like 7 maybe) catamarans followed by a much larger (like 20) group of single hulled sailboats. For two weekends there have been large groups like that. And of course plenty of little single sailboats scooting around during the week.

Ilha de Itamaraca & Fort Orange

We had some of my childhood friends as guests during New Year's. They had done a ton of research before they came, and had so many touristy places to visit on their list that we'd never even heard of (or, I guess I hadn't heard of, Toby knows the area a lot better). One of the places was Ilha de Itamaraca, an island. There is an old dutch fort there, Fort Orange, a small beach, and a little town. We ended up never making it to the small town, but instead went to a little lake, called Blue Lake, which was great! It had a zipline (and the shakiest structure I've ever been on holding it up), and around the lake there was a little snack bar, and maybe a little hotel, I forget. The zipline was R$5 (so, like USD$2.50) so we all did it. Affordable fun. After a full day of sweating and salt water, the lake was reeeefreshing. A good place to visit, but we'll have to see the downtown too sometime to get the full impression.

Pontal do Maragogi

Our neighbor owns a really great snorkeling joint. He let us bring some of our recent guests there to check it out, and it was super fun. They take you in pontoon boats out 6km (we definitely don't believe that, it looked like maaaaybe a mile, I'll google earth the distance and let you know) and let you swim in their reefs. As you know, we have reefs off our coast. Recife means reef (it's the city near where we live). So yes, reefs. Ours are like 40 feet off our coast, Maragogi (little city down the coast)'s are apparently 6km off the coast. It's neat swimming in waist deep water that far off the coast.

The water is pretty incredibly blue too. If you visit us, you're likely to see this lovely attraction. While we were out there I saw a new kind of 'Cheerio' coral. This kind of coral below we normally see is like Cheerio size, but this was like bigger than Fruit Loops. Probably...well, I can't think of a bigger cereal. Nice and big though. It was nice to see this new coral. 

There's also all sorts of nice fish, but lately I've been setting down the camera and just taking it in. I'd love to bring some sort of waterproof sketchbook next time I go.

They also give "free scuba lessons", but you pretty much get hooked up to the tank, and a guy with a snorkel and fins swims above you dragging you around. Methinks not work the 30 minutes of sales pitch you'd hear. 

 

Nordeste Video

This is kind of a fun video of The Northeast of Brazil. Enjoy your Friday.

The Beach, Done Right!

Check out those umbrellas, even out in the middle of the water!

 Our friend Wendy and my lovely wife enjoying fried cheese!

 Sarah and my cousin Duda enjoying the ice cold beer (well not Duda, but Sarah)

Cashew salesman walking by as we enjoy the beach!

So, I love beach!  Who doesn't?  Well actually a lot of people don't, but that is beside the point.

I have been to beaches all over the world, and at face value they are all great.  They all have the basics of a beach.  Salt water, sand, beautiful scenery and sometimes sea life.

Brazil is different.  Brazil has a beach experience that in all my travels I have not found or replicated again.  Brazil does the beach right!

So unlike when you go to most beaches in the US or Europe, once you are arrive on the beach you are not left alone to fend for yourself.  You don't have to bring your own chair, table, food, umbrella, sunscreen, or anything else for that matter.

Most beaches in Brazil are lined with chairs and umbrellas that you can sit at for free as long as you purchase just one thing...So you can go to the beach, buy one coconut water and sit in the beach chairs all day long, with someone watching your stuff and with the protection of an umbrella.

But the good part about most of these beaches with chairs and umbrellas (at least here in the Northeast) is that you can have a full day of food and drink at a reasonable price (I am going to talk about costs going up in a a future post).

To give you an idea:  a soft drink, 500ml costs about R$2.50, almost a liter of beer R$4.00, a coconut water straight out of the coconut R$2,50, a whole fish with french fries and salad, R$18,00.

And if you aren't interested in what your vendor is selling just wait a few minutes and someone will be walking buy selling something else.  Anything from quail eggs, hot dogs, crabs, shrimp, ice cream, to tanning oil and sunglasses.  It really is quite the treat.