Long Read
I Accidentally Found This Brazilian Town and Now I Can't Leave
so here's the thing, i was supposed to be in rio for a client call that got canceled last minute and i had three days to kill and a hostel booking i couldn't refund, so i did what any rational person does - i got on a bus going north and told the driver to wake me up when it got pretty. he laughed. i think he thought i was joking. i wasn't.
that's how i ended up in this place that doesn't really have a name foreigners remember easily, somewhere between the tourist noise of angra dos reis and the backpacker chaos of paraty, just... sitting there, existing, being annoyingly beautiful at 6am when i stumbled off the bus with my laptop bag and my one pair of clean socks.
Quick Answers
*Q: Is this place worth visiting?
A: if you want to feel like you discovered something before it gets ruined, yes. if you need wifi strong enough for zoom calls and a coffee shop that doesn't judge you for staying four hours, also yes. it's not on anyone's bucket list yet and that's the point.
Q: Is it expensive?
A: cheaper than rio, more expensive than the north. i paid about 80 reais a night for a private room with a fan that actually worked. food is cheap if you eat where locals eat. tourist restaurants will quietly drain your wallet.
Q: Who would hate it here?
A: people who need itineraries. people who need english menus. people who think a vacation means having someone else plan every hour. there's no instagram-famous brunch spot here, no rooftop bar with infinity pool, no nothing. just a beach and some boats and a couple of bars that close at midnight.
Q: Best time to visit?
A: honestly? september through november. the weather is that perfect in-between where it's warm but not humid enough to make you want to die. i was here in what i think was late spring and the temperature hovered around 20 degrees celsius almost the entire time, which felt like a lie because brazil is supposed to be hot, right?
the weather data said it felt like 20.01 degrees, which is basically the universe telling you there's no excuse to not go outside.
local guy told me: "the tourists all go to angra. they have the islands. we have the quiet. sometimes quiet is worth more."
i didn't believe him until i sat on the beach for three hours and counted maybe twelve other people. twelve. on a saturday. in brazil. i had to check if i was still in the same country.
The Digital Nomad Reality Check
let's be real for a second - i wasn't here for the beaches. i was here because my hostel had wifi and my client decided to reschedule our call from "tomorrow morning" to "next week" and suddenly i had time to actually see what this place was about.
the coworking situation is... not great, if you're picky about it. there's one cafe near the main square that has decent internet and doesn't care if you order one coffee and stay four hours. the owner, maria, eventually just started putting my drink on a tab and told me to pay when i left. i stayed two weeks. i still haven't paid that tab. (i will. eventually.)
the wifi situation: it's not fiber, it's not fast, but it works. i did three video calls, one presentation, and uploaded an entire photoset from my camera without wanting to throw my laptop into the ocean. that's a win in my book.
there's a hostel a few blocks from the water that specifically markets to remote workers - i saw their flyer, they have a "workation" package. i didn't try it but i saw people on their laptops in the common area at 9am on a tuesday, so either they're working or they're very dedicated to looking like they are.
the pressure was at 1020 when i checked some weather app, which someone told me is "good weather" or "stable weather" or something. i don't know what any of that means. what i know is it didn't rain for eleven days straight and my hair looked incredible the entire time.
The Beach Situation (Yes, I Eventually Went)
okay fine, i went to the beach. don't tell anyone.
there's this one cove that's basically impossible to find unless someone shows you, and a local fisherman pointed me in the right direction after i bought some fish directly from his boat. i don't know what kind of fish it was. i pointed at the biggest one and he laughed and gave me three for fifteen reais.
the beach was empty. like, actually empty. not "empty for a famous beach" empty, but empty-empty. i think i saw a dog and maybe a bird. that's it.
i sat there for two hours doing absolutely nothing productive and it was the most expensive two hours of my trip because i didn't do any work but also i didn't need to do any work and that feeling is worth something, i think.
humidity was at 74% which sounds high but honestly it felt fine? maybe my body just gave up. the sea level was exactly 1020 according to some app i downloaded, which i only checked because i was bored and wanted to feel like i was doing science.
i heard from another traveler: "i came here for two days three years ago. i'm still here. don't tell my mom."
that's the vibe of this place. you don't leave when you planned to. you just... stay.
The Food (Finally, Something Useful)
if you come here, eat at the place with the blue chairs. i know that's not helpful but there's no english sign and i can't pronounce the name and honestly the chairs are blue, just look for blue chairs.
they do this thing with shrimp that i can't describe because i don't know what any of the ingredients were. it was good. i ate it three times. the fourth time i tried to order it the cook came out and shook his head at me and pointed at the catch of the day and i realized i was that person - the tourist who orders the same thing every time. i let him pick. it was better.
breakfast at the hostel was included and it was fine, standard brazilian breakfast - bread, cheese, fruit, coffee that was somehow both too strong and not strong enough at the same time.
there's a market on thursdays where local women sell produce and i bought a mango that changed my life. i'm not being dramatic. it was the best mango i've ever had and i used to live in são paulo. the woman saw my face and laughed and gave me two more for free.
The Practical Stuff (You're Waiting For This)
cost breakdown for the chronically online:
- hostel private room: 80-120 reais/night depending on season
- meal at local restaurant: 20-35 reais
- meal at tourist restaurant: 60-100 reais (just don't)
- beer at the beach: 8 reais if you know who to ask, 15 reais if you don't
- bus from rio: about 50 reais, 3 hours, bring a jacket because the ac is always too cold
- coffee at maria's place: 6 reais, unlimited time, she will eventually adopt you
safety wise? i felt fine. i walked around at night, i left my laptop at the hostel, i didn't get robbed or scammed or anything. common sense applies - don't flash your phone on empty streets, don't be the loud tourist, don't act like you're better than everyone because you're not.
the tourist vs local experience here is actually achievable in a way it isn't in rio or sp. locals are still locals, not performing for cameras. i sat at a bar and listened to two old guys argue about soccer for two hours and i understood maybe four words but it was still the best entertainment i'd had in months.
The Numbers Game
someone told me the population is around 3461477 but that seems way too high for a place this small so i think they were messing with me. or maybe that's the whole region. or maybe i misheard. i was on my second beer.
the other number, 1076198023, i have no idea. i saw it on a bus ticket and assumed it was a reference code or something. i tried to google it and got nothing. if anyone knows what that means, please tell me, it's been bothering me for weeks.
Final Thoughts (I Guess)
i was supposed to stay two nights. i stayed fourteen. i missed two client calls because the wifi at the beach was better than the wifi at the cafe and i made a choice. i don't regret it.
this place isn't for everyone. it's not for most people, honestly. it's for people who don't need a plan, who can sit with silence, who are okay with not having anything to show for their day except a good mood and a better tan.
i'll be back. maria still has my tab.
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links for the curious*:
- tripadvisor - not much here yet, be the first to review
- reddit - search the region, some backpackers have posted about it
- booking - hostels and small hotels, book ahead in season
- skyscanner - flights to rio, then bus, or try sao paulo
- waze - works for the bus routes, kind of
- google maps - you'll need it, addresses here are suggestions not rules
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