Windburned in Natal

One of the big tourist things to do in Natal is to go on a dune buggy ride through the sand dunes that surround the city.  We don't get to drive the buggies (a professional driver takes us on the tour). We opted for the 2 hour excursion over the 7 hour excursion that went further north, and I think our windburned faces are thankful for that.  We all wish our trip had included more buggying up/down the dunes and less time speeding along the flat, wet beach.  The dunes part was more fun and involved less sand whipping up into our faces.  We are all nicely exfoliated now.

Perhaps our favorite part of the trip was when we stopped to take pics at a viewpoint.  A nice Brazilian man came over as our "paparazzi" and proceeded to have us pose in a series of ridiculous poses.  I think you'll agree that the pics below were well worth the $5 (US) we gave him.  (We did turn down both donkey and camel rides though...)

Made it back to town to watch the Brazil-Mexico match at a crowded beachfront bar.  Think the Brazilians were slightly disappointed with the tie while the Mexicans were pretty happy.

We tried tapioca pancakes for dinner last night, which are similar to a crepe/tortilla/Swedish pancake but made with tapioca flour which makes them a bit thicker and sponger.  It's nice to see that most cultures have figured out a way to make a thin pancake and stuff it with tasty goodness.  For as diverse and large as the world is, some things (like stuffed pancakes) transcend borders.  

Off to the Amazon rainforest and 100% humidity.  Hello ponytails and high-octane bug spray.