(Sao Sebastiao looking at Ilhabela from our friend, Ligia's house)For New Year's weekend Leto and I decided to go to the beach with his family. I was ecstatic about the idea of leaving the concrete jungle of Sao Paulo for the long weekend. The only problem was we were not the only ones with this great idea. Brazilians flock to the beach for New Year's like American's flock to Time's Square. Sao Paulo, with its 11 million inhabitants (that's the city, NOT the metro which has nearly 20 million inhabitants) becomes a vertual ghost town as people try to catch some summer rays. We arrived at the beach town of Ubatuba after about 5 hours of driving with moderate traffic. Even though the sun was nowhere in sight and rain was threatening the beach was packed with people.
(crowded beach of Ubatuba)After a few hours I realized why people do not live at the beach. One cannot sit on the beach without being bombarded by vendors selling anything from hippie crafted earrings to cheese grilled on a stick (which i have dubbed "squeaky cheese" because of the noise it makes as you chew it). One of the benefits of having vendors on the beach is that you are never without a beer, so I can't complain too much. There are also an abundance of homeless dogs on the beach begging for anything that will satisfy their empty stomachs. A couple of New Years' ago I was on a different beach in Sao Paulo and there was a dog that looked like it was on its last breath and decided to make its death bed right in front of us. The nice people I was with decided to scrounge up some food and even offered it up on a plate to the dog. It ate the food in less than 10 seconds gathered some strength and made its way down the beach to some more of what I guessed were unknowing victims.
When we when we got back to the little apartment from the beach on New Year's Eve we returned to the news that there was no water. As it happens, this is a very common occurrence in the beach cities during long holiday weekends. During the week and throughout the year the beach cities are almost deserted and pluming is no problem, but when the crowds come the water and sometimes electricity seem to vanish. The small beach cities cannot cope with the increased needs during the long weekends and it is almost expected that there will be no water at some point during your holiday. This is another reason why people do not live at the beach in Sao Paulo.
One of the great traditions of New Year's at the beach in Sao Paulo is the migration to the water for the count down. We got to the water about 30 minutes before midnight and there were already hundreds of people there. Another Brazilian New Year's traditions that I love is that everyone wears white. I was once told that Brazilians do this in hope of peace for the coming year. A wonderful tradition except in a beach city like Ubatuba where it rains everyday. Of course it started to rain at about 11:45pm and everyone was soaked... wearing white. Talk about wet t-shirt contest! The rain subsided as the countdown neared. There was a little confusion about the countdown as there was no official person keeping time, just everyone with their watches or cell phone clocks. Champagne was sprayed and drunk as fireworks exploded overhead while people kissed and hugged and wished their friends and family a "Feliz Ano Novo." Ten minutes later the rain returned and we headed back to our little apartment. Leto and I were in bed a 12:35am, a record for me!
(a few minutes before midnight in Ubatuba)So I guess my dreams of living at the beach will have to be put on hold for the foreseeable future... but at least I can visit it whenever I can convince my husband!
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