I woke up and looked at my clock… its 11.30am! The sun is high up in the sky already! I quickly took a shower and got ready to head out. Leandro was still in bed so I decided to use my laptop to get some things done while waiting for him to wake up.
I looked down at the clock on the bottom of the screen and it showed 7.30am! It was then I realised that I had forgotten to adjust the time on the phone and it was actually 6.30am when I woke up! Apparently the sun rises really early in Natal (around 5.15am) and sets very early too (5.30pm).
Breakfast comprised of a big variety of food on a buffet line spread, however payment is made based on the weight of food on your plate! This method of weighing your food is typically practiced in a lot of places in Brazil, as we had a similar style of meal for lunch too!
Leandro subsequently showed me around Natal as he drove me around the coastline of Natal and to the famous Ponta Negra beach.
It looked like a bell pepper, but with a cashew nut still in its shell at the top of the fruit. Smells really nice too!
My first impressions of Natal, it reminded me of Philippines strangely, yet different. It is hard to put in words something tangible to describe the feeling and would have to be experienced personally.
Cost of things and food was actually more expensive than I had expected. I know I had been warned that Brazil is a more expensive country than the rest of South America, but it was probably like double of my earlier expectations, and it was just Natal! A simple plate of food for lunch with a drink and a small portion of dessert actually cost about S$20.
I would think it is going to be more expensive in the bigger cities in Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro.
For soccer fans, Natal is also one of the cities where the World Cup in Brazil is going to be taking place in 2014.
As for night life, apparently once a month, bars in Natal will have free entry starting from 5pm to about 11pm, and it coincidentally took place while I was there.
We headed into town with Leandro’s friends at about 8.30pm as we had spent a few hours earlier at a remote waterfall unknown to many (it was even Leandro’s first time there and he had stayed in Natal for more than 8 years). By this time, many places were starting to have their last act.
We headed to one of the clubs that had good live music playing and I had my first local capirinha (a cocktail created in Brazil) and it was yummy!
It has been a long but interesting 1st day in Brazil… Brazil is a whole new world with lots of things to see and lots of experiences that is going to be a first!
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