Buzios

Nick and I arrived in Buzios, Brazil yesterday afternoon. I was smittened with the place. There are cobble stone streets. The water is a clear blue-green and in the distance are blue-gray mountains jetting out of the sea. It~s stunning!

Upon arrival Nick and I immediately dropped off our stuff at the hostel and took a stroll along the waterfront to see the sunset. I remarked that this might be one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. However, as the first cruise ship rounded the corner this was the beginning of the end of my infatuation with Buzios.

Apparently we~ve some how landed ourselves in the cruise ship capital of the southern hemisphere. Three more ships arrived during the night and have plopped themselves down right in the middle of my idyllic view. I should have been tipped off when a girl in Rio de Janeiro remarked that in Buzios you can go shopping at 3 in the morning. I had heard it was touristy and I figured that would be ok. I~m a tourist too afterall. But I hadn~t really prepared myself for cruise ship touristy.

At breakfast I sat looking out at the harbor. Charming, colorful fishing boats are anchored just off the beach, behind them loom four gleaming, gargantuan ships. The ships~ tendors have started their endless jaunts from land to sea and back again. I feel duped. I bet those charming fishing boats are not even real fishing boats but instead just props placed there for my viewing pleasure.

(Sidenote; The Brazilian key board is completely unrecognisable. They have traded in all my handy English grammatical symbols for ç ñ â and such. I can~t even figure out how to make a question mark. I see it on the key, but no combination of keys can make it appear!)