Red buns

Today was exactly what I had hoped for - a nice relaxing day on the beach. It was warm and sunny with the perfect amount of sea breeze.

Praia da Rocha is a beautiful wide beach with fluffy white sand, pretty blue water, and large rock formations, hence the name.

After several hours of sunbathing I had a late lunch at a restaurant right on the beach. There are quite a few that line the edge away from the water, if that makes sense. I've been craving some rice and beans which I know is a staple here, but they don't seem to have it at the restaurants. I ordered a salad with veggies and fruit. Most of the fruit fresh, some canned, all in all it was a tasty lunch.

Once I was done I walked the beach and picked up too many seashells. I did so good yesterday only picking up one! Oh well, they are light and free.

Even though I slathered myself from head to toe with sunscreen I got a bit too much sun in a few places...

Once I was done sunning myself, gazing at the Atlantic, and picking up seashells I headed back to my hotel. I walked to the beach via the town and purposefully strolled down Avenida do Brasil. On the way back I decided to walk by the Arade river, the more scenic route. One of my favorite past-times is to read boat names, so I walked slowly by the docks. What always comes to mind when I do that is what I would name my boat if I had one. I just don't know.

Once I got back I decided to take another bath, taking full advantage of the fancy amenities. Will be back in hostel land tomorrow. The book I'm reading is 'A Long Way Down' by Nick Hornby. It is dark and sarcastic humor so I'm enjoying it. Randomly there are several mentions of September 11th and the Iraq war, seems fitting. Apparently it has been through several hands and several countries, so I'll try to find someone cool to give it to.

I like how quaint this town is and am glad I'm here during the low season - both for the few tourists and for the weather. It was the perfect amount of hot today. It is quite humid as well. I can tell by the curls in my hair. I've only seen one American chain here - Pizza Hut. Happy that there aren't more, or at least I didn't see them. I've seen three locations of a chain called Burger Ranch. I looked it up and Wikipedia says it's the only Portuguese fast-food chain. I won't be going in there for obvious reasons.

Three random things:
1) A lot of hotels claim that they are trying to be environmental and ask that if you are ok with using the same towels twice to leave them hanging, and put ones on the floor if you want them changed. I've been in probably 30+ hotels since this notice has become popular - and this is the FIRST time they actually follow through with it. So proud Made Inn.
2) Key card - when I checked in the guy at the desk let me know that when you leave they ask that you give them your keycard. I laughed and said "oh good, cause I keep losing them". It's 50 euros if you lose it here, yikes. And you may be thinking - since I lost the other two inside the hostel, I could easily lose it in this hotel. Well luckily when you are in the room you are required to put the keycard in a slot for the lights to work - another environmental bonus point for this place.
3) Rooster - in the few souvenir shops here they have lots of ceramic roosters. The same rooster image is the cover of my guidebook. So I decided to consult the internet. There are several stories, but they all seem to have the same gist. The rooster signifies luck, honesty, integrity, trust, and honor. That's a lot to ask of a rooster if you ask me.

Here is what Wikipedia had to say regarding the legend: "One of the many versions of this legend goes that a rich man threw a big party. When the party was over, the rich man noticed that his sterling cutlery was stolen by a guest. He accused a pilgrim and let him go to court. He protested his innocence, but the judge didn't believe him. The judge was about to eat a roasted rooster when the pilgrim said: 'If I am innocent, this rooster will crow three times.' When the pilgrim was about to be lynched, the rooster crowed. The judge released the pilgrim. "

I'm now taking advantage of the TV. There are two British channels - a news station and a movie channel called Men&Movies. A movie called 'Shadow Warriors' with Hulk Hogan just started. Judging it by the first 30 seconds, I changed the channel back to news. Where is the Women&Movies channel I wonder.