Even in heavenly beaches it might rain (2/3)

After several hours of trip, I arrive to Vila do Abrão by ferry. I find my mother in the crowd, and she gives me a big hug.

We go to the pousada (guesthouse, inn). We pass in front of a small church, turn to the right, and take a street perpendicular to the sea. There is no pavement, it is a earth path with pousadas in both sides, and palm trees. I feel like in a film, it is hard to believe that this is the place where my mother lives.

While we walk we do not talk much. I feel very tired and it is difficult to assimilate everything I see. At the end of the street, we find the pousada that she bought with her husband.

The next day I wake up early. My mother is waiting for me with a papaya juice she just prepared. She proposes to spend the day in a well-known beach which is at the other side of the island. I accept without thinking much. Apart from going to the beach, I do not think there is much to do, here. I only ask how we are going there, if there are no cars.

‘By boat and trekking’, she answers me.

I nod. I do not understand why she wants to go that far if there is also a beach in the village, but I let her choose. We go to the seaport. Today it is a bit cloudy but still hot. We take a boat that goes around the island, to the right. 

After a good time we arrive to Pouso beach. In fact, it is beautiful. The sand is all white, and the trees next to the water give it a mysterious feeling, but cozy at the same time. 

At the left corner there is a small path that enters the forest. Mata Atlântica (Atlantic Forest) is a tropical forest, very dense, green and humid, typical from the south coast of Brazil and which, inland, goes as far as Argentina and Paraguay. 

We follow the small path and, half an hour later, reach Lopes Mendes beach. Waw! This one is even more beautiful than the previous one. And there is a big difference compared to Mediterranean beaches: we are almost alone, as if someone had booked the beach only for us.

On the other hand, it is getting cloudier and it feels like it is going to rain. 

We sit under the trees and watch the sea. I do not know how to start talking to her, so I only ask if she is not getting bored, in this village without cinemas or theaters.

‘Oh, there is a small hall where there are some shows, but the best of the island is nature. There are more than 80 beaches, a lot of hiking trails, pure air and quiet life.’

We see a lightning and we hear the thunder.

‘I thought that it never rained in heavenly beaches’, I joke, ‘the postcards always show a completely blue sky’.

We decide going back before it really starts raining. We get up, get our stuff in the bags and go back to Pouso beach to take the boat.

Once in Vila do Abrão I feel like going for a walk along the beach, while my mother goes back to the pousada.

I love watching the sea, it makes me feel peaceful and organize my ideas. And I feel I really need it, I feel there is something that I do not completely understand.

A drop of water falls on my nose. And another one on my head, my foot and my arm. And it starts raining, an intense light rain.  I walk fast along the beach, and I almost step on a man who is sitting. Sitting on the sand, under the rain!

‘What the hell he’s doing?’ I say aloud without thinking.

The man looks at me. He has a peaceful look. He taps the sand next to him, and says:

‘Come, sit down, it’s just a bit of rain, it will be good for you’.

 He has such a calm tone that, somehow, I trust him and sit down. He does not say anything else, only closes his eyes and looks up to the sky. Intrigued, I do the same. Anyway, I am soaked through. The water falls directly on my forehead, my eyes, my nose. It is like being under the shower, refreshing, receiving a light facial massage.  He is right, it is relaxing.

After a while, he starts talking and tells me about his life. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<<  Even in heavenly beaches it might rain (1/3)
>>  Even in heavenly beaches it might rain (3/3)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------