A typical Shani Elise adventure

By the third day of the trip I needed to get out on my own, separate from the group. I had seen this little sand trail in side of the hill that was part of a protected parkland area. So on this particular day I packed a picnic (piqueniqui in Portuguese pronounced picky-nicky...isn't that cute?) and ventured off to see where the trail led. I had heard that there was a nude beach close by Praia Mole, but I was not exactly sure where. The man openly relieving himself along the trail--so close that I almost brushed up against him--should have clued me in. Of course that's where the trail led. No I did not go nude. But, I walked along the beach as if I had walked through a nude beach everyday of my life. It was mainly a bunch of older men.  I went hiking on the rocks, ate my lunch and then went for a swim. I was the only one swimming, but it was nice because I didn't have surfers to contend with like at Praia Mole. Having trouble finding the path again to return, a man sensed my confusion and walked over to help me. So here I stood attempting to communicate with a naked, albeit very tan, Brazilian man, trying to explain where I wanted to go. Now, my Portuguese is pretty bad in normal situations...But, I was REALLY struggling now...it was totally ridiculous.