Mobile

I climbed to the top of the sand dune named alligator tonight to take in the sunset. For the past two weeks I’ve seen the tourists ascending to the top to watch the sunset. Instead, I’ve spent my sunset-time at the Club de Ventos (Wind Club), drinking a beer and exchanging stories with fellow windsurfers.

It’s a special view from the top of the big dune. The scene is what I imagine about burning man, only northern-Brazilian style. As I walked there, dogs barked and chased each other, excited by the people gathering and trudging up the dune. As I watched the sun set, people did some pretty entertaining things. Sandboarders (like snowboarders but only on sand) took their turn careening down the dune. A man did acrobatic flip flops all the way down the dune to the excitement of the crowd (in a Speedo). As the sun set, I looked the other direction and saw the full moon rising (I am not quoting a song here). We all descended while the wind whipped the sand against us. I began thinking about happy hour…and that’s where mobile comes in.

So many things have different meanings here. I had learned sailing with two Brazilian guys in San Francisco, that the word for “pull” in Portuguese, is pronounced “push" (v. puxar). It made for an interesting day out on the bay with the rudder commands. Mobile also has a very different meaning here. I have not had cell phone coverage since I arrived, making it my 15th day without a phone. I am still trained to listen for the sound of the phone though, so any similar sounds make me feel like a Pavlovian dog as I look around for my iPhone. Now, mobile has an even better association. As the sun sets, the mobile bars are wheeled out to the beach from nowhere. The “caipiranha boys” make fresh drinks to take along on your stroll down the beach or into town. For a $1.50 you get a potent drink to ease the pain of the windsurfing-day.

By now, I have a pretty regular routine. I walk down the beach every day to the Wind Club. There is no hotel, just a kitchen and a bar and hundreds of sails and boards to choose from. All new equipment arrived two days ago. JP Australia boards, Neil Pryde booms and sails. The open-air beach club opens at 9:30 am and many of us stroll in and pick our “regular” spots. Some prefer baking in the sun; others like me prefer the shade or a hammock to recover from the sailing. It’s a very friendly and diverse crowd of all ages. Music plays all day long with a really good variety of Brazilian and US/British tunes we’re all familiar with. I sail twice a day, starting on the earlier end so I can try to get some practice in with lighter wind. By 1:00 the tide has come in and the waves and wind are full throttle so by then I’m just concentrating on making it over the waves and getting back and forth. I’m not the worst sailor, but the best are amazing. Every day I see guys and girls do the super-cool tricks that have names like “Spock, “ Vulcan,” and the best of all: the loop. I didn’t know before I came here that the loop has a “forward” and a “backward” version. I’ve said I could consider my life complete if I did a loop-and I still think it’s true. Only now I have to say, a forward loop. I hope I have a long-life ahead of me.

And to round things out, for those of you who mailed after my last posting, the answers to the top 5 questions from my last blog post:

1) Are there alligators in Jericoacoara? There are no alligators in “Alligator taking sun” aka Jericoacoara. Evidently the sea-tired sailors thought the sand dune looked like a giant alligator as they approached from the Atlantic.

2) Have I made friends here? Yes, many acquaintances and lots of people to go out to dinner with. Most tourists are European-and most think I’m German until I look at them dumbfounded as they rattle off questions to me in German.

3) Do I know how insane the market has been while I’ve been gone? Yes, it’s crazy and now when I talk to Argentineans, I ask them about what to do when your currency gets devalued and you can’t get money from banks. (I know it’s not that bad but sheez!)

4) What is Mr. DJ doing while I’m gone? My dog walker is taking care of him-he gets walks twice a day while friends of a friend stay at my place. He has lots of company. I miss him a lot.

5) What am I going to do for the next 1.5 months of leave after returning from Brazil? I’m not sure just yet, but some time home will be good. I plan to take a navigation class that will get me closer to getting my offshore-skipper license. I will definitely go visit my brother in Hawaii for a bit.