I recently came across some old photos from my semester abroad in Brazil back in 2013. One weekend during my five month stay my friend Alex and I took a bus to Garopaba (a town in Santa Catarina, south of Florianópolis), we took naps, walked through the beautiful, lush mountains, and swam in the cold ocean. I remember it was Halloween, but it wasn’t a big holiday for them so no one was out. We drank beers at a cafe and made our own masks with glitter and paint and wore them around town.
One afternoon we met the man who is in this photo up on a hill in what seemed to be an abandoned property. He was incredibly interesting. I wish I could remember his name. We talked about life and traveling and quickly felt very comfortable with him. It wasn’t a super eventful trip, and neither are these photos, but it really stuck out in my mind. The simplicity of it. The comfort. Not having an agenda, or an itinerary. Just being. Cruising around in a sleepy town in the off season. The locals said it was normally a bustling area with lots of fisherman and tourists in the warmer months. It didn’t bother me that it was quiet, it felt like the way towns naturally are before they become somewhat tainted with money and tourism. Nobody was trying to sell us anything or bother us.
I got a little emotional when i found these photos. Emotional about the people I have met around the world. If even just for brief moments like the one I had with this man. When I travel I don’t like to make too many plans or expect too much, sometimes things go to shit, but most of the time I find myself in the most beautiful and real situations. Nothing is forced, its like I never left home. There is beauty in the fact that everywhere is home, and everyone is part of the same family. When you speak a different language and can't verbally communicate with each other, but somehow you have a special connection. It makes me feel like we all come from the same place in a strange way. I look forward to many more experiences in strange places with strange people. #saudade #brazil