Canoa Quebrada
Canoa Quebrada means’ broken canoe ‘in Portuguese. In 1650, a Portuguese navigator named Francisco Ayres da Cunha washed ashore in a broken boat. Thus was born the appellation ‘Canoa Quebrada’.
I ventured there on my own. It is 110 miles from Fortaleza and took 2.5 hours to get there and I suffered. I sat next to 2 stinky Italians for the whole ride. I complained to Sergio, one of the guides. “Oh, they’re Italian,” he said. As if that explained everything. And maybe it did.
No Soap
This is nothing new, apparently. Mark Twain had a really big problem with soap when they traveled to Italy. There was no soap.
“In Milan…after we were stripped and had taken the first chilly dash, we discovered that haunting atrocity that has embittered our lives in so many cities and villages of Italy and France – there was no soap…There was not such an article about the establishment…They had to send for it…We had to wait 20 or 30 minutes…The English know how to travel comfortably, and they carry soap with them; other foreigners do not use the article…At every hotel, we stop at we always have to send out for soap at the last moment, when we are grooming ourselves for dinner, and they put it in the bill.”
The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain
Luckily for me, the two offenders stayed in Canoa so I could breathe easy on the return trip. When I got back to town I told Roberto and he said, without hesitation, “Yeah, Europeans smell bad.”
Muslim Territory?
I have to admit that when I saw the moon and the star I thought, “Where are we? Have we just entered Muslim territory?” Time to cover up, ladies. But, no, the moon and star have been symbols of Ceara state since the mid-eighties.
Lousy Lobster, Marvelous Massage
We rode around in dune buggies but the buggy rides were better at Morro Branco. I swam. We stopped at an oasis for a drink. I ate lobster that I didn’t like. And I had a massage on the beach that I liked. The massage lasted an hour. She asked me if I wanted a “forte” massage which I guessed to mean strong. I said yes and she did a good job. The girl charged me 30 reais. I said, “30?” She looked at me as if worried I was going to get angry when really I couldn’t believe how cheap it was. That’s about $5.00 US. I gave her 60 reais. When she took the money, she had tears in her eyes. I felt embarrassed. Later, I thought I should’ve given her more, but that would’ve been more embarrassing.
The place is gorgeous though. But, only if you are into beaches. Some people are not.
Weaving Renda or Lace
On the way back we stopped at a village where they were selling a few things. These ladies were tatting or making lace the Portuguese way. I am a fiber artist myself, so I am interested in all things having to do with yarn. This particular lace-making method looks so complicated. I especially love the names of the stitches like: remember me, crazy rooster, good night, and pig’s intestine.
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