Buggy experience

Girmantas | Travel | December 13, 2010

Travelers going to Brazil know about or at least have heard of the endless beaches where you can find wind and endless waves. The most convenient, fastest and simply the best way to do this – is getting a buggy ride! But what is this loud, stinky and fuel burning beast all about? Short answer – freedom. Longer – it provides you an opportunity to see all the dunes, estuaries, rivers, palm forests and endless beaches that Brazil is famous for.

Kiters usually consider buggies as the most natural transportation along the shore. There’s nothing better than loading the gear on the roof and setting for another ride with your friends. We did just that with our Lithuanian friends Povke and Vaidas. We took all the photo, video and kiting gear with us and drove from Taiba to Cumbuco. Trip along the seaside takes under 20 minutes. On the way to Cauipe lagoon (the most popular kiting spot in the area), we’ve passed Pecem sea port and sveral dry river mouths without any problems. However, after staying a little bit too long at the lagoon, we were too late to leave before the tide started coming in.

Paved road back to Taiba is much longer so we’ve decided to try our luck and make it back on the seaside. It seemed that we’ll be able to make it before tidal waves will cover the shore. But several times whitewater pushed us back to the dune or some rocks. We had to ride the waves, look for the gaps, count the sets and with the right timing – just hit the pedal to the metal to make the last few meters before water was covering the shore. Finally we have reached small river in Pecem that was already too deep to cross and we had to finish our trip by the road.

And while this trip ended the same way it started, my other experience was quite different. On a Sunday night me and my family went to Cumbuco for a dinner at the famous Gaucho steakhouse. After the great dinner at the candle light (electricity was out in the whole town – usual in Brazil) we were about to enjoy the ride along the beach with the low tide. But electricity problems weren’t over. As soon as we’ve reached the beach – the front lights went off. We couldn’t figure out when and why they turn on and off. Later on the buggy became even more independent – it was running with no ignition key and the engine was starting as soon as you switch the lights on. We wouldn’t dare to go back to Taiba with no lights, so we turned around and started to look for some help.

And then surprise…surprise. We just stopped next to the very first house and asked if there’s any mechanic around but faster that we could tell – there was all of the neighborhood checking the buggy and offering their help. After it was decided that light problem will not be fixed before the morning – we decided to look for the cab. Locals immediately found some taxi driver that after short bargaining agreed to bring us back to Taiba. It was a great surprise that locals were so helpful, offered a place to stay overnight and so on. Of course, the fact that I could talk to them in Portuguese, made us look like less “gringo”. However, after five months in Brazil, this hospitality left an impression even for me.

Verdict? If you’re not afraid to get your hair salty and full of sand and you don’t panic when your hands get dirty and oily – you should certainly get a buggy trip in Brazil!