Just my luck…we nickname this man, “You for Scuba,” from the movie, “Along Came Polly.” Mare has yet to see his face, hidden by long locks of bronze hair draping down his brown chest and ending just above his six-pack. Oh yes, he sells the white-tissue clothing that he always wears. I must admit that he is beautiful, even told him so.
As for me, the hopeless hetero, I have not so much eye-candy to enjoy. At least this remote setting satisfies, as does the “extra” energy generating from my angel of a wife. The beach may be nature’s version of Viagra.
Fortunate to be here in the off-season, Jeri’s dunes and miles of beach provides a tropical and laid-back setting. We have time to breathe. Watching the locals teaches us how to move slowly, a difficult lesson for us to grasp. What a contrast to the crowded sands back at Fortaleza. Each evening, a group of folks make a Mecca to the top of Por do Sol, a dune with a view of sunset.
Young men and women spar nightly, inside of a circle of clapping on-lookers. Capoeira is a form of martial art mixed into an aggressive but fluid dance.
The participants display incredible agility, strength and balance. Slaves brought this art from Africa, and were forced to hide the practice of it from their owners. Apparently the owners did not want the slaves to become skilled enough to beat them up. Not until the 1930’s did capoeria emerge openly as an expression of fight, game, dance and playful respect.
Sand-buggy rides, horseback riding, and all forms of surfing are available as activities, but we are content to sit and be. It’s nice to do nothing. I chat with some Rastafarians, (using hand gestures) and wonder if the “Hair Club for Men” would consider sewing some dreadlocks onto my barren skull.
Nightly dishes of fish stew cooked in clay pots, or sun-dried beef taste fine, but nothing beats the daily breakfast included with our room at “Vila dos Ipes.”A tabletop filled with fresh exotic fruits, juices with names we cannot pronounce, tapioca, and of course, ham and cheese with rolls proves the best meal of the day.
We are ready to leave this paradise called Jeri, after four days of lounging. Something about the crowded cities calls out to us, or perhaps the calling comes from the challenge of getting there. Click – Ron Mitchell.