Thursday, November 13, 2008

Trancoso: A Curious Oasis at the Pousada Hibisco



I am alone.  Birds are singing. The sky is a deep blue.  The pool shimmers invitingly in the light breeze.  This place could define feng shui.  And if I wanted a place to chill out completely in northeast Brazil, this is the place I'd buy.  I would build a chic villa with multiple guest rooms, replacing the ones that are currently two steps up from camping. These rooms do have private bathrooms, but that's where any pretense of being up-market ends.  We've been in some very basic pousadas before. (Caraiva, particularly, comes to mind.)  The surprise here is the disconnect between the quality of the rooms and the extraordinary pool area, which has been designed with an eye for quality and comfort.  Enough of my dreaming.  It's a great place to spend the day, while Alison investigates a few more pousadas.  Her site, hiddenpousadasbrazil.com is just about to be launched, and it's a fitting tribute to the huge amount of work she's put in to investigating the pousadas she recommends.  Pousada Hibisco will get a "recommended with reservations" designation.

Solitude has been a constant on this trip.  These have rarely been more than a couple of other people at the pousadas we've visited--mainly a product of it being low season, but also due to the fact that pousadas are as ubiquitous as Starbucks on a US high street.  How anyone makes any money is a total mystery, and probably contributes to the number of "for sale" signs around.  In the case of Pousada Hibisco, the owner left hurriedly, due to stress, leaving a "friend" in charge, but with no money to pay the bills.  No one was expecting us, and we were told the place was full.  Clearly, the reality is that they didn't want anyone to stay.  Which leaves open the question, "when you're stressed in paradise, where do you go?"


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