Here it is: the Brasil blog!!!

Where do I begin? how do I write about 6 weeks vacation in paradise? I decided to post one big blog about the entire vacation to give you an idea of how it was. I'm not here to write a detailed report about everything we did, instead, I'm going to give you some highlights of our adventures.

To start, we spend too much money, we drank too much alcohol and we partied too much. was it worth it?...

HELL YES!!!

This vacation was by far the wildest and craziest vacation I had in my life!!! Fortaleza was absurd!!! but before I go any further, I want to thank one of my best friends who made this vacation be possible. G., if it wasn't for you, Fortaleza would not be the same. To be honest, I don't know anyone else with who I would want to spend this vacation with (no homo). But enough with the emotions, let me tell you how it all went down.

Literally, from the first moment we set foot on Brazilian soil, the game was on

We arrived at São Paulo airport at 12.00 and we met 2 girls there, who happened to take the same plane as us. at 13.30, flying high above the sky, one of them asked me to sit next to her and at 13.45, I already was kissing her. Brazilian style.

40 hours later (!) we arrived at the place of destination, dropped our bags at the apartment (more about that later) and went to a restaurant.

The steak was great

And so were the Caipirinha's

Caipirinha is the national cocktail of Brasil and it's also very popular in Europe and in the US. it's actually very easy to make. just take one lime, two ounces of cachaça, some sugar and a couple of ice cubes and you can start your own cocktail bar ;)

But seriously, this is how you make it:
-wash the lime and roll it on a board to loosen the juices
-cut the lime into pieces and place them in a glass
-sprinkle with the sugar and crush the pieces (pulp side up) with a pestle, just enough to release the juice
-add the cachaça and stir to mix
-add the ice and stir it again

Saúde!

So if everything was great, why did we do the 'hit & run'? maybe because we like to have fun?

Another typical thing about Fortaleza is that you can never TRULY relax on the beaches. there are always some salesmen disturbing you while you are listening to your iPod or reading your book. most of the time it is fucking annoying, but sometimes you can get your plants with them for a fair price. but keep your eyes wide open and stay focused, because some of these guys sell you sea-sand instead of hash. furthermore, never be fooled by appearances, small children want to sell you stuff, but in the meantime they steal your Hugo Boss flip-flops ;)

I'm a big fan of seafood, so I had to eat the shrimps and lobsters

On our journey in Brasil, we met a guy and we chilled with him for a couple of days. S. is a capoeira master and also an infamous playboy. he is known in all of Brasil. he helped us and we helped him ;)

At one spontaneous night -after drinking shots of vodka every night- I came with the idea to have a shot of...

Milk?

Girls gone wild!

G. gone wild!
     

Me gone wild!

We gone wild!

After a wild night of partying and wild sex it's time to explore the environment.

We were located in the center of Fortaleza; Beira Mar. Beira Mar is like the Rembrandtplein of Amsterdam and the Manhattan of New York. it's a place where there is always something going on. it's a place where girls try to seduce men to sleep with them, it's a place where painters want to sell you works of art, it's a place where police officers stand on every corner of the street (it's still Brasil); in short, it's the place to be!

Playboy G. with the Prada shades and the Dom Rebel shirt
 

Our jewelery; handmade, straight from the favela's of Brasil

In the daytime the sun is always shining. Fortaleza is characterized by its hotness. the city is a very hot one, making it appropriate for tanning sessions at the beach, or, as we say it: chilling at the praia.

After a hard day of baking in the sun, we have to eat something. what better place is there to go than to Lounge Club & Restaurante La Casa? La casa is a glamorous and by far the most luxurious restaurant in Fortaleza. needless to say, we dined with the crème de la crème.

Combo La Casa
    

Picanha
 

If you're eating in Fortaleza's most luxurious restaurant, you also have to pay a very luxurious price.

But of course, you can also save some réais and eat at 'the end of Praia the Iracema' at the "Fish Place".

The concept is very simple: you buy your seafood at one place and you take it to a another place (20 meters next to it) where they'll cook it and serve it.

After the shrimps and lobsters, it's time to take it to the next oceanic level.. I'm talking about the level of piracy...

Pirates have been around as long as people have used the oceans as trade routes. back in the old days, pirates were rebellious, clever teams who operated outside the restricting bureaucracy of modern life. they were cold-blooded thieves and cruel murderers..

Nowadays, the definition of piracy has lost its original meaning. nowadays, if you want to experience piracy, you have to go to the infamous Pirata Bar. it's a place of freedom, where happiness is the main philosophy of the house, and where the party never ends.

After partying at Pirata's, we don't go home. no, not yet; first we had to go to another wild club..

Keeping the shield up

Keeping the shirt up

Having fun

Still having fun

That's just funny!

After a wild night partying and a wild night sex, it's time to go to the praia. the night before I met a really nice girl, so the next morning I took her along to Croco Beach.

Like I said before, salesmen always disturb you
    

The guy on the right sells Fortaleza's finest plants

Later that evening, we had to take care of some "business".

But after business comes pleasure.

Pre-party at our apartment
 

Main party at the club
 
After-party at our apartment

For those of you who don't already know it by now, the nightlife in Fortaleza is wild!!! it is absurd. you think Ibiza is crazy? think again! I've been in Ibiza many times before, I've partied all around in Europe; from Amsterdam to Berlin, from Warsaw to Paris. I've been traveling all around Asia; from the lounge-clubs in Kuala Lumpur to the sex-clubs in Bangkok.. let me tell you.. nothing compares to Fortaleza.

Every night shots of tequila

Every night chilling

Every night crazy Italiano's

Every night getting wild

Every night wild sex

Saúde!

Of course we can not have one-night stands all the time. sometimes we have to chill with the boys.

Playboy G. doing his thing

This night was actually pretty special to me. I met J., the same girl who I took to Croco Beach a couple of days earlier. it's a lovely girl and we started spending more time together..

After spending another night with her, I made her breakfast the next morning
 And later that evening, I took her to the cinema

Another great club in Fortaleza is Órbita. it's not your everyday typical dance-club; it's more like a big café where you can have a chat, play some pool, have a drink or two and just socialize. because honestly, isn't that one of the most important things in life? just being social and spending time with quality people?

Sometimes we don't even have to go out. staying at the apartment and just relax is also a great way of spending time.

But back to regular programming..

My favorite club in Fortaleza has to be Armazem. it's not exactly like the Jimmy Woo, but it's a fun place to spend some quality time and drink a Vodka-Malibu on the rocks. but what is more important, it's the place where I met J.
J. is a beautiful girl, she's my love.. YES YOU READ IT CORRECTLY!!! SHE IS MY LOVE. from the first moment of spending time with her, we developed a very intense and very strong connection with each other. I don't go into details, but I can genuinely say that I feel very much for this girl.

People who know me, know that I've had many girlfriends. I'm always in for a one-night stand or a casual relationship. but what I have with J.... trust me.... it's not easy to find something like that. I wanted to find out just how far it can go, so I took her for a trip to Cumbuco, just the two of us. (G. was still drunk from the night before, so he stayed home).

We got up at 8.00 in the morning (horribly early), had sex, took a shower, I made breakfast for the two of us and we went with a buggy to Cumbuco.

  Cumbuco is nothing like the party scene in Beira Mar. it's a place where you can be one with the beauty of nature.

Butterfly in my stomach? or just being fly?

The butterfly effect

Flying high

Touch the sky

After one month in paradise, vacation time was over. it was about time to go back to Amsterdam. on our last night, G., J. and myself partied at Armazem.

It was one hell of a vacation!!! it was wild, it was absurd, it was crazy, it was a circus, it was a freakshow!!!

But that night, the strangest thing happened. I was in bed with J. and things started to get very emotional.. she really wanted me to stay longer with her..

So I did..

I didn't use my ticket and while G. took a taxi to the airport, I stayed 2 more weeks in Brasil!!!

But the story gets even more crazy...

Out of an impulse, J. and me packed our bags and went to a different city in Brasil; Canoa Quebrada. let me tell you.. if you have a girlfriend and you want to take her to a nice and romantic place, go to Canoa Quebrada, also known as "the pearl of the east coast". it's totally not like the rest of (dangerous) Brasil. it's a small traditional fishing village, a great and peaceful atmosphere and the people are very friendly.

J. and me stayed in a very simple, yet very comfortable apartment. we had a nice little terrace in front of our house and every night we sat outside and just talked for hours.

Talking and tequila
    

Tequila and J.'s thong
    

A work of art
 

A work of art

The nightlife in Canoa is not as wild as in Fortaleza. but then again, we didn't go to Canoa to party (we already partied more than enough). we went to Canoa to chill, relax and enjoy each other's presence.

That night we didn't leave the bedroom

Canoa Beach is a great place to spend quality time

    

As a matter of fact, she loves me SO much, she did something very spontaneous.. just to memorize our love..

We were walking on the beach, hand in hand, just talking and being in love.. and then.. out of nowhere, she stops.. looks at me.. and says: 'babyy I love you so much and you are the best thing in my life!!' to make a long story short: she wanted to take a tattoo of my name on her body...

YES YOU READ IT CORRECTLY: she is taking a tattoo with my name!

At first, I was just overwhelmed and didn't know what to say. we talked about how the tattoo would look like. just the initials? the full name? or maybe also with an image?

We looked at each other and we both knew it: a butterfly.

Why a butterfly? ever seen the film The butterfly effect? the film itself is not great or whatever, but the concept is very ground-breaking and true! basically the idea is this: a situations occurs at a certain moment in time, which has an (unknown) effect or consequence at a later moment in time. example: if I didn't meet G. a couple of months ago, we wouldn't go together to Fortaleza. or as S. would say it: 'one situation makes another situation'. if I would not go out to club Armazem, I would not find J. and my life would go into a different direction. (I would take the flight back to Amsterdam with G. instead of staying two more weeks in Canoa with J.)

So the tattoo of the butterfly is a tribute to the idea that it was faith/destiny (or is it coincidence/randomness?) that brought J. and me together. it was for this that we found each other on that particular night, which was the beginning of a development at a later moment in time, hence, the butterfly effect.

We chose this image to be portrayed on her body
    

The tattoo artist
 

Now there is nothing...
    

And now there is no way back.

It's happening!!! my girl is getting my name on her body!!!
    

The final result: is it beautiful or is it beautiful?

Another day at the beach

And the love story continues...

We went to a restaurant and ate picanha, nothing unusual about that..

After that, I took her to a lounge bar and we had a desert, nothing unusual about that either..

After that, I took her for a late-night romantic walk and I asked her to marry me..

Needless to say, she started crying of happiness and said YES!

Just to make something very clear. Most of you who read this, think it's just a "vacation thing" and that it doesn't mean that much. I'm not here to convince you that she is the love of my life and that she is perfect for me. why would I tell you this? when I say that I love her, you can never feel what I feel. no words and no photos can capture how I truly feel, but believe me: what I feel is very real. of course I realize that all things in life are temporary. because life in itself is temporary. you are being born and within 100 years -more or less- you will die. this is why all things in life -whether it's love or lust- are temporary.. so take it for what it is and enjoy it for as long as it lasts. in my opinion, THAT is the truest definition of Carpe Diem. enjoy the moment very intense, but be able to let go when you've surpassed that moment. sometimes a moment can be a half second -a blink of an eye- and sometimes 'the moment' can last for years.. unfortunately I have no glass bowl (I wouldn't want to have one) and I can not predict the future.

After Canoa Quebrada...

I didn't want to go home. I wanted to stay longer in Canoa. Unfortunately, I already missed two weeks of college and my parents were calling me and sending me emails everyday that I had to come home immediately..

J. and me finally went back to Fortaleza where we stayed for a few more days.

Getting head
    

Going down on Iracema

Some clubs

And of course I had to eat the picanha. if you go to Brasil and you didn't eat picanha, you didn't go to Brasil.

On our last night together we decided to go to Armazem. it's the place where we first met.. it's the place where we fell in love..

It's OUR place...

And we OWN the place!

6 weeks vacation in paradise; living the carefree life. enjoying the sun, sea, sand, sex, friendships, clubs, restaurants, drinks, dinners, cinemas, supermarkets, internet café's, taxis, buses, planes, Caipirinha's, Shangrila's, La Casa, borrelhapjes, geheimen, Satéhut, spaghetti's, picanha's, blondes, brunettes, shrimps, lobsters, fish, Mambo do Forro, Armazem, Cafe del Mar, Pirata Bar, Heineken Café, Órbita, Mucuripe, Dragão do Mar, Iguatemi, Aldeota, Smirnoff Ice, Smirnoff vodka, Coke Zero, tequila, Baileys, vodka-Malibu, boobies, strippers, Beira Mar, Cumbuco, rave party, favela's, hit 'n run, policia, Croco Beach, Praia de Iracema, Praia do Futuro, Joe's, coconuts, cervezas, simkaart, beltegoed, Altavista 1104, putana's, one-night stands, thin walls ;), HSBC, ABN internet bankieren, doekoe, réais, sos, jonko, salesmen, Italiano's, breakfast, eggs with blue cheese, bitterballen, gehaktballen, kroket, kibbeling, Spiderman, New York homies, chillen, bouncen, Havaianas, mask, paintings, caixa mágica, 5L aqua, shots, drama, love, buggy, Canoa Quebrada, tattoo, butterfly effect, ordem e progresso, Logus 114, Freedom Bar, pousada do Toby, grillburger, eu te amo, wasps, mosquito's, swimming pool, wedding rings, fiancée, bambino, cortes, buceta, safado, gostoso, best sex ever, it's true!, le petit déjeuner, Piña Colada, Sex on the beach, sheesha, emotions, wat is er?!

Wat is er?

Wat is it?

It was the greatest vacation ever!!!

That's what it is.

C'est la vie.

Carpe diem!

With love,

A.