Day 51
Today I'm in: Transit between Fernando de Noronha and Fortaleza, Brazil
Not a lot to write about today. I'm writing this entry from the departure lounge of the airport in Natal, a city of just under a million people in the state of Rio Grande do Norte in northeastern Brazil. As I mentioned a few days ago, Fernando de Noronha has only four flights a day and none of them go to Fortaleza, my next destination. A six-hour connection in Natal was the only way I could get from one place to the other. The Natal airport is suspiciously quiet; my flight leaves at 12:15am and there are two other flights leaving the same time, so it should pick up a bit by then.
Owing to yesterday's sunburn, I took things pretty easy today. I crashed at about 10pm and slept almost nine hours, which was nice to do, and took my time getting up and getting out of the room today. Equipped with stronger sunblock, I walked (no electric bike since I wasn't going as far) about three-quarters of a mile to Praia da Conceicão, a nice (and shaded!) beach where I passed a few hours in the water or with a book under the trees. Around noon it got cloudier - a nice break from the heat - and for the rest of the day there were intermittent light rain showers. I took the hint from Mother Nature and headed back to the pousada to pack up and get showered.
In happy(ish) news, the pousada staff sort-of fixed my shower. I came home yesterday and there was thick electrical tape over all the faucets and the showerhead. I don't think the electrical problem is solved, but I was able to operate the shower and enjoy hot water without shocking myself. Just to be on the safe side, I took pretty quick showers, though; not more than a few minutes.
At about 3pm the shuttle came to take me to the airport, which was a little aggravating since my flight didn't leave until almost 6pm. Noronha's airport is basically three interconnected rooms so there wasn't much to see and check-in took no time at all (no small victory here in Brazil where I've been routinely waiting more than half an hour to check in.) We took off on time and did a low-altitude circuit of the island, which was encircled by rain showers and clouds, before setting course for Natal. And here I am, waiting on a flight to Fortaleza.
I also have to confess to feeling a little bit worn out at this point. Although the last few days on Noronha were incredible, I'm starting to feel the strain of not always being understood and almost never understanding people; I didn't expect everyone in Brazil to speak English but I have been surprised at how few people know even a few words. Noronha was also packed with families and couples and so I felt additionally conspicuous as a solo traveler. Feeling like such an outsider has me a little bit down these past few days. I'm happy it took me almost eight weeks to get to this point, and fortunately I have a nice, long, five-day stay in Rio de Janeiro coming up where hopefully I can slow down a little bit and take things easy before the last two countries.
Today I'm in: Transit between Fernando de Noronha and Fortaleza, Brazil
Not a lot to write about today. I'm writing this entry from the departure lounge of the airport in Natal, a city of just under a million people in the state of Rio Grande do Norte in northeastern Brazil. As I mentioned a few days ago, Fernando de Noronha has only four flights a day and none of them go to Fortaleza, my next destination. A six-hour connection in Natal was the only way I could get from one place to the other. The Natal airport is suspiciously quiet; my flight leaves at 12:15am and there are two other flights leaving the same time, so it should pick up a bit by then.
Owing to yesterday's sunburn, I took things pretty easy today. I crashed at about 10pm and slept almost nine hours, which was nice to do, and took my time getting up and getting out of the room today. Equipped with stronger sunblock, I walked (no electric bike since I wasn't going as far) about three-quarters of a mile to Praia da Conceicão, a nice (and shaded!) beach where I passed a few hours in the water or with a book under the trees. Around noon it got cloudier - a nice break from the heat - and for the rest of the day there were intermittent light rain showers. I took the hint from Mother Nature and headed back to the pousada to pack up and get showered. In happy(ish) news, the pousada staff sort-of fixed my shower. I came home yesterday and there was thick electrical tape over all the faucets and the showerhead. I don't think the electrical problem is solved, but I was able to operate the shower and enjoy hot water without shocking myself. Just to be on the safe side, I took pretty quick showers, though; not more than a few minutes.
At about 3pm the shuttle came to take me to the airport, which was a little aggravating since my flight didn't leave until almost 6pm. Noronha's airport is basically three interconnected rooms so there wasn't much to see and check-in took no time at all (no small victory here in Brazil where I've been routinely waiting more than half an hour to check in.) We took off on time and did a low-altitude circuit of the island, which was encircled by rain showers and clouds, before setting course for Natal. And here I am, waiting on a flight to Fortaleza.I also have to confess to feeling a little bit worn out at this point. Although the last few days on Noronha were incredible, I'm starting to feel the strain of not always being understood and almost never understanding people; I didn't expect everyone in Brazil to speak English but I have been surprised at how few people know even a few words. Noronha was also packed with families and couples and so I felt additionally conspicuous as a solo traveler. Feeling like such an outsider has me a little bit down these past few days. I'm happy it took me almost eight weeks to get to this point, and fortunately I have a nice, long, five-day stay in Rio de Janeiro coming up where hopefully I can slow down a little bit and take things easy before the last two countries.
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