Today was another travel day. Caraiva is definitely in the middle of nowhere, meaning that any way out is via dirt and sand road. The journey didn't start very auspiciously. Despite the pharmacist's drops, I still had a problem with my eye. In addition, we woke up to grey clouds, indicating that somewhere close by it was raining. This was not good news, because we'd been told it would be impossible to reach Espelho, our next stop, in bad weather. And neither of us wanted to follow the rain clouds back the way we'd come. I suggested to Alison that we go straight to Trancoso, located in relative civilization, and come back to Espelho for the day via boat, but after talking to the man where our car was parked, she changed my mind. According to her source, there was only one really large hill close to Espelho that would give us trouble if it rained, and after that it was plain sailing.
I'm not sure that Alison's source had ever been to Espelho, because there were plenty of challenging sandy hills, even after the turn off to Espelho, that would have been difficult to navigate in bad weather. Luckily, the wind started blowing hard from the northeast, which meant sun and no clouds. As usual, there was a distinct dearth of signs directing us to our destination, Pousada Recanto do Espelho. We received information from a man at the beach parking area, but baulked at the road we'd been told to take. It was even more rutted than the average sand track, descended at a 45 degree angle, and ended up who knows where. So we parked at the top and walked down the hill. There we discovered the most wonderful beach and ocean view. We were exactly where we were supposed to be.
The pousada manager, Thiago, went to college at the University of Kentucky (of all places) on a tennis scholarship, and is fluent in English. When I commented on the state of the road, and suggested that he might get more business if the ruts were fixed, he laughed and said they actually would pay for potholes, because it discourages tourist buses. That's how Espelho keeps its reputation as the second best beach in Brazil. Of course, there are day-trippers, but avoid Wednesday to Friday and you can pretty much have the beach to yourself.
Espelho's reputation is high praise, given how many beautiful beaches we've already seen in a tiny section of Brazil. But this one is definitely special. I'm sitting now in the wonderful open restaurant of our pousada, overlooking the ocean with a pristine yellow sandy beach. Bug spray is definitely recommended from dusk on, since the variety and size of the bugs is quite impressive, but so far my US-bought Buggspray is doing quite well.
The pousada almost next door is also owned by the same people who manage our pousada. It is slightly more up-market (read more expensive), and always full, even in low season. Curiously, though, the rooms there do not have an ocean view. I think we got the best of both worlds by sleeping in our pousada, but going next door for internet access and the most amazing shrimp in a pumpkin dish (Camarao na moranga). This is where we also made friends with other guests, who'd found their way to paradise in a Range Rover. After hearing that, I had no more worries about getting out of Espelho. I was sure they could just pull our car over the hills and ruts.
One final important fact about Eseplho: you need lots of cash. It may be off the beaten path, but they don't accept credit cards, and because everything has to be trucked in, the prices are more similar to those found in Boston or New York than other local Brazilian prices. Entrees were about $25 per person.
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